Green Property plc is to pay £20 million for a substantial new distribution centre occupied by Irish Express Cargo (IEC) at Rosemount Business Park, near Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. The deal will provide an initial yield of 8.5 per cent. IEC's sale and leaseback is a funding route increasingly being taken by companies embarking on a major development of its facilities. The Blanchardstown facility will eventually have 260,000 sq ft of high-bay warehousing, of which 180,000 sq ft is already occupied. The second phase, which accounts for £5 million of the purchase price, is due to be completed in December. IEC is taking a 35-year lease of the buildings, which include a corporate headquarters of 20,000 sq ft.

Mr Stephen Vernon, managing director of Green Property, described the warehouse as one of the finest he had ever seen and said he was delighted to include it in their portfolio.

Irish Express Cargo IEC was established in 1972 and is likely to have a turnover of around £120 million this year. It recently took possession of a distribution centre of 110,000 sq ft at Ratheen Industrial Estate, Limerick, and will shortly move into a 180,000 sq ft warehouse in Glasgow. Mr Patrick Curran, of Harrington Bannon, brokered the deal.