Stillorgan branch of KBC Bank on the market for €5m

A prominent office building in the Dublin suburb of Stillorgan, home to the Belgian bank KBC, has been placed on the market for €5 million.

Maple House is located on a prominent corner site directly opposite Stillorgan Village Centre and adjacent to the overflow car park at the entrance to the well-known Kilmacud GAA club.

The building comprises ground floor banking/retail use and two floors of overhead offices with separate entrance foyer and lift providing access to the overhead offices. It extends to about 1,111sq m (11,963sq ft).

The ground floor has been sub-divided, with the banking hall occupied by KBC and a separate retail unit sub-let from the bank to Reads Printing, Graphic Design & Stationery. There is parking for 19 cars in a private car park with spaces provided both to the front of Maple House and rear for office occupiers.

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10-year lease

The property is fully let with rent of €335,788 a year. The ground floor is let on a 35-year lease from 1994 to 2029 to KBC Bank Ireland at a current rent of €180,000 a year. The first-floor office accommodation is let to house builder Durkan New Homes, on a 10-year lease from April 2017 to 2027 at a passing rent of €63,450 a year. The second floor is let on a new 10 -year lease from January 2021 to PAX Asset Management at €62,710 a year and three income producing telecoms licences provide a combined income of €29,628 a year.

This indicates a net initial yield of 6.1 per cent, and a price per sq m of €4,500 (€418 per sq ft) after allowing for typical purchasers costs of 9.96 per cent.

According to selling agent BNP Paribas, with a term certainty of over six years, the property provides investors with a stable investment return with asset management potential in the medium horizon.

Future of KBC

In April of this year, KBC Bank surprised the market when it disclosed that it was leaving the Irish market and selling its performing loan book to Bank of Ireland. It has now progressed its plans to exit Ireland, although the future of its branches remains uncertain. Last year, the Belgian bank closed four of its 16 branches, but kept the Stillorgan hub open.

In an update at the end of August, the bank said that there are no immediate plans for the future of its physical hubs, noting that “our headquarters, hubs, contact centre and digital channels will continue to operate as usual”.

However, given that Bank of Ireland also has a branch in Stillorgan, the long-term future of the KBC outlet would appear uncertain. With a lease agreement at Maple House until 2029, this won’t be of immediate concern for the new owner of the building.