French bank agrees to buy IFSC office for £20m

THE board of Banque Nationale de Paris is to decide this week whether to ratify the purchase of a large office block at Dublin's International Financial Services Centre for mare than £20 million.

The bank has agreed terms, subject to the approval of the Paris board, to purchase a 50,000 square foot block at 5 George's Dock. Work on the new building will begin next month and is due to be completed by autumn 1997.

Harrington Bannon is acting for the bank and Jones Lang Wootton represents the Hardwicke British Land consortium, which is to develop the block.

If the deal goes ahead, the French bank will occupy about half of the six storey building and let the remainder of the space.

The price agreed equates to close to £400 per square foot but the air conditioned building will be handed over with raised floors, ceilings, carpets and light fittings.

The bank is to let part of the building to one or two other institutions. This will leave a further 15,000 to 20,000 square feet available for letting on 25 year leases at rents of £27 to £30 per square foot. Rents are expected to revert to open market values but not less than £23 to £25 per square foot once the tax breaks run out.

Bank Nationale de Paris is planning to move its entire Irish operation to the IFSC from the Ardilaun Centre on St Stephen's Green. It currently occupies about 25,000 square feet of space at the Ardilaun Centre, which should be relatively easy to off load in the current strong market.

If 5 George's Dock is acquired by the bank, it will be the fifth block in the IFSC to have been bought for clients by Joseph Bannn of Harrington Bannon. He has already acted. in the purchase of buildings for MB, Irish Permanent, Irish Intercontinental Bank and another block which is shared by Irish Permanent and Green Property Company.

Meanwhile, the first review of office rents in the IFSC is to take place later this year on the fifth anniversary of the completion of 1 and 2 Harbourmaster place.

Businessmen Martin Naughton, and Laughlin Quinn are the owners of 1 Harbourmaster Place, a 62,000 square foot block which is occupied by accountants Arthur Andersen. The second building of 61,000 square feet is rented by solicitors McCann FitzGerald.

Andersens and McCann FitzGerald face increases on their current rents of £22.50 per square foot. Rent levels for these types of buildings have been running at up to £26 per square foot, through recent leases have been for a period of 25 years rather than the 35 years which apply in the case of the Andersens and McCann FitzGerald blocks. Both companies will be able to claim double rent allowances and a remission of rates for a further five years, after which the rents will revert to open market value but not less than £24 per square foot.

The three main blocks at the front of the IFSC, which have a considerably higher specification, were originally let at between £27.50 and £29.50 per square foot. Suites in these blocks are now making up to £35 per square foot.