Investec to open Albert Quay office

Cork’s soon-to-be largest office block, One Albert Quay, is set to land another major tenant as the landmark development continues to attract considerable interest.

International specialist bank Investec is to expand its operations in Ireland outside of Dublin for the first time by establishing a regional sales office at the Albert Quay site.

In doing so, Investec will join fellow tenants Tyco and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in committing to the office block being built by John Cleary’s development company, JCD Group.

The investment bank, whose Irish operations are located on Harcourt St, where it employs some 240 people, is recruiting for an investment manager to head its Cork office.

The Irish Examiner understands Kieran Ferguson, a former senior AIB employee, has left his previous role to join the new Investec venture.

Mr Ferguson worked as a senior dealer in AIB’s Customer Treasury Services division at the bank’s Cork offices on the South Mall.

He and his new colleagues are set to be located in the 15,420 sq m Albert Quay development, which has been under construction since late last year, when Taoiseach Enda Kenny turned the sod to mark the beginning of works on the site.

Since then, it has proven a huge success, with deals struck for more than half of its lettable area.

Fire prevention and security specialist Tyco is to take close to 7,000 sq m when it moves its global headquarters from its current location at City Gate, Mahon — another JCD development.

Professional services firm PwC will take a further 1,300 sq m of space as it relocates from its current base on the South Mall to nearby Albert Quay.

The early success of Mr Cleary’s development saw it snapped up by Irish property investment company, Green REIT in a deal worth up to €58m, months before its expected completion date.

At the time, Green REIT chief executive Pat Gunne lauded One Albert Quay as Cork’s “best office building” and the first major city centre development in the city for more than a decade.

He also pointed to the attractive yields on offer in Cork as opposed to Dublin and added that he was looking forward to the remaining space in the seven-storey office block being taken up by high-quality tenants — a category into which Investec certainly fits.

The dual-listed bank and asset manager has developed a strong reputation in this country since arriving in 2000 with the acquisition of Gandon Capital Markets.

In 2012, it acquired stockbroking firm NCB in a €32m deal that saw 120 staff deployed to Investec’s Harcourt St offices.