Cosgrave pays £15m for site near Quay

The Cosgrave Group has assembled an office site of almost one acre a short distance from its ongoing office development at George's Quay in Dublin.

The group is believed to have paid around £15 million (€19.05m) for three adjoining properties with frontage on to Townsend Street, Princes Street and Gloucester Street.

One of the sites was acquired from Dyno-Rod, which ran its drain service from a warehouse on Townsend Street.

The largest section of the site with frontage on to Princes Street and Gloucester Street was owned in recent years by property developer John Byrne and was used at one stage as a surface car-park. The third premises was owned by Anne's Bakery.

Cosgraves is likely to seek planning permission for around 100,000 sq ft of offices which, like those under construction at George's Quay, would probably attract some of the overspill from the International Financial Services Centre on the opposite side of the quays.

Almost 200,000 sq ft of the 250,000 sq ft being developed in George's Quay has already been let to mainly international financial companies like Global Asset Management, Northern Trust and the Luxembourg bank, BIL.

The Townsend site is located in a rundown area of the south inner city that is due to be redeveloped over the next five years.

A consortium recently paid a record £7.88 million (€10 million) for more than one-third of an acre opposite the Ulster Bank's Dublin headquarters at 25/27 City quay. The site has frontage on to City Quay, Moss Street and Gloucester Street.

It is located along the side and rear of the City Arts Centre.

The new owners of the site are likely to have had discussions with the arts centre about redeveloping the entire site, which has a high profile location opposite the Matt Talbot Bridge.

A short distance away on City Quay, another consortium of P Elliott and Dave Mackey is to be begin construction of 75,000 sq ft of offices at a cost of £20 million (€25.39m).

The half-acre site, formerly owned by Eirebus, was sold at auction for £8.2 million (€10.41m) - double the pre-auction guide price.

Insignia Richard Ellis Gunne is to handle the marketing of the offices which are likely to rent at around £40 (€50.79m) per sq ft.

Like Cosgraves at Georges Quay, the consortium is hoping to attract companies unable to find space in the IFSC.

Letting agents say there are a small number of big players still looking to locate close to the financial centre where space seldom becomes available.