Offices above Connolly Station guiding at least €18.5m

With Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre in constant demand by investors and tenants, FBD Insurance plc plans to capitalise on its landmark office investment over Connolly Railway Station by selling it on the international market. The block is the final commercial property asset held by FBD as it simplifies its investment portfolio.

Damien McCaffrey, investment director with BNP Paribas Real Estate, is seeking in excess of €18.5 million for the modern three-storey office building with 49 car-parking spaces at 5 Harbourmaster Place over Connolly Station.

The investment produces an annual income of €1,026,557. The guide price reflects a capital value of €6,025 per sq m (€559/sq ft).

With a ground rent payable to CIÉ, the new owners can bank on a net yield of 4.3 per cent and a reversionary yield of more than 6.5 per cent as soon as 2020, allowing for standard purchaser’s costs of 8.46 per cent and taking an estimated rental value of €42.50 per sq ft into consideration.

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The elevated modern office building with excellent floor plates benefits from unobstructed natural light from all sides and with panoramic views of Dublin city landmarks, including George’s Quay, Croke Park and the docklands.

The prominent building comprises more than 3,070sq m (33,052sq ft) of office space, which is accessed from a shared reception entrance on Harbourmaster Place. All floors are served by two elevators.

The location is probably the most easily accessible offices in the city by public transport. Connolly Station is served by the Dart, Luas and mainline railway services. Busáras is almost on the opposite side of the road and is well served by Dublin Bus.

The office development is currently let to three tenants, with 30 per cent of the income State-backed by a 10-year lease on the third floor from 2015. The lease on the second floor is due to run out as early as next June. According to FBD, this break will present an excellent opportunity to add investment value by refurbishing and leasing the upgraded space at market rent.

The Irish Insurance Federation boasts impressive contemporary offices of more than 1,112sq m (11,975sq ft) at first floor on a 25-year lease from 2015, offering an attractive 11.4 years to break option. Passing office rents are significantly below market level, ranging from €22.95 to €30.24 per sq ft.

McCaffrey said the IFSC consistently experiences excellent occupancy with several significant lettings achieving rents of €50 to €52 per sq ft, including Hibernia Reit's letting to Hubspot and ComReg following their high-quality refurbishment of One and Two Docklands Central and the IFSC's latest office development, The Exchange, by Iput and Cosgraves.

With limited value-added office investment opportunities in the Dublin market, the Harbourmaster Place sale is expected to appeal to a range of private and institutional investors.

The railway line environs have an interesting future. The Sean Mulryan-led development company Ballymore is set to partner with CIE on the delivery of a 3.2-hectare (7.9-acre) urban regeneration scheme.

The new “Connolly Quarter” format east of the station will include 82,000sq m (883,000sq ft) of mixed-use space, including 50,000sq m (540,000sq ft) offices, a hotel and apartments. The largest single office block will extend to 13,450sq m (145,000sq ft).