Dublin docklands building and site bought for €27m

Hibernia REIT has acquired a building and development site in the popular Dublin docklands area for a combined sum of €27.6m.

The Hanover building is in Windmill Lane in Dublin 4 with an adjoining one acre of a development site.

These acquisitions bring Hibernia’s total number of acquisitions since listing in December 2013 to seven, and brings total funds committed to about €253m.

“We have again demonstrated our ability to seek out and successfully conclude transactions in prime locations and at attractive prices,” said Hibernian REIT chief executive, Kevin Nowlan.

“The Hanover Building will give us a significant yield and is complemented by an exciting office development opportunity with planning permission in a popular area at a time when vacant high quality office space is extremely limited. These two transactions reflect Hibernia’s stated strategy of sourcing off market investment opportunities where possible.”

The offices are occupied by BNY Financial Services Plc under 3 leases running to 2026/2027. The retail space is occupied by Eurospar on a lease to 2032. The building generates total rent of €1.5m per annum, an average of €30 per sq ft for the office element.

The Windmill Lane Site adjoins the Hanover Building and has existing mixed use planning permission for 125,000sq ft net lettable of offices, 9,000sq ft of retail space and 15 residential units. The area has been a destination for social media companies. Twitter, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn all have their European headquarters in the vicinity.