Vico Capital sells block in Washington DC for $155m

VICO CAPITAL, the property company controlled by Dublin solicitor Brian O’Donnell, has sold a landmark office block in Washington DC for a reported $155 million (€118 million) – $17.5 million less than it was purchased for in 2008.

New York property company Paramount said earlier this week that it had acquired the 12-storey building at 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue, which is near the White House, the US treasury and federal office buildings.

The US company declined to disclose the purchase price but local news reports, citing estate agents Jones Lang LaSalle, said the building sold for $155 million. Vico said at the time of its purchase in 2008 that it had acquired the property for $172.5 million.

Neither Vico nor Mr O’Donnell could reached for comment yesterday.

In December, the High Court ordered Mr O’Donnell and his wife, Dr Mary Pat O’Donnell, and companies with which they are associated, to repay €71.5 million in property loans and guarantees to Bank of Ireland following long-running litigation with the lender.

Vico valued the Pennsylvania Avenue building at €138 million in July 2010, according to a statement of affairs filed in the O’Donnells’ legal action with the bank. There were loans of €98 million drawn from AIB relating to the US property, while Vico valued its associates’ interest in the building at €26 million.

Vico estimated it would earn management fees of €100,000 on the Washington property for the year to June 2011.

The O’Donnells disclosed in the statement of affairs submitted to the bank that they had a 35 per cent equity interest in the Pennsylvania Avenue property and that the majority of the rent reviews in the building fell in 2011 and 2013.

Vico and its associated companies had borrowings of €886 million in July 2010 and valued their properties in Ireland, Britain, US and Sweden at more than €1 billion.

Bank of Ireland secured the court order against the O’Donnells after they failed to meet the terms of a settlement with the bank.

Mr O’Donnell, a former managing partner at law firm William Fry, said in an RTÉ interview after the court ruling that the bank had rebuffed efforts by him and his and his companies to negotiate a settlement.

Vico sold the Sanctuary office building in London last year for €202 million, of which €30 million went to the bank.