Harbour site recycled

IN one of the larger industrial deals in several years in Cork, a harbour site with 233,000 sq ft of buildings has been bought for close to €3m, by a waste recycling company.

The former purpose-built premises of Fleming Construction and their associated steel-frame/system/pod building arm Fusion Building Solutions was put up for sale last summer with joint agents Downing Commercial, and Jones Lang.

According to business sources, the 14 acre site with three modern quality buildings has just been bought for close to €3m by Wiser Recycling. The long-established integrated waste management business, based in Midleton and Cobh in East Cork with a city base also, has grown significantly in the past 22 years, and collects and manages domestic, corporate and commercial waste. It was the first firm to introduce wheelie bins in the region 20 years ago, and has since expanded into Waterford. The business is owned and operated by the O’Brien family, and employs over 70 persons, and a runs a fleet of over 20 trucks for bin and skip collections. Its proposed new base at Ringaskiddy is 15kms from the city centre on up to 14 acres, and is served by the N28, which is due a major upgrade/realignment under NRA supervision, pending funding.

It has three stand-alone buildings, one of 88,000 sq ft with 6,000 sq ft of offices overhead, another of 69,000 sq ft, and a third with 51,000 sq ft at ground, with 12,000 sq ft overhead, and there’s a portion which is let out.

Neighbouring properties include Port of Cork, Novartis, Pfizer, Novartis, De Puy, Johnson and Johnson and the National Maritime College.

While declining to confirm the new owner’s identity, selling agent John Downing said the offer had got a wide level of inquires, including from FDI sources, but said the majority had come from local businesses.

Meanwhile, also in the same vicinity DTZ are under offer on 73 acres of key-located land being marketed for Pfizers at Shanbally, Ringaskiddy.

It’s next to the Cork-Ringaskiddy port road and the Rafeen Creek Golf Club with 22 acres zoned for industrial use, and 51 zoned for agriculture.

Interest is being shown by investor/speculators and farmers, it is understood, and offers are currently about the €1.25m level.

Also sold in the Ringaskiddy harbour basin by Pfizers in recent months was its Loughbeg facility, offered via DTZ with 300,000 sq ft of buildings on 15 acres. It has been acquired by DePuy/Johnson and Johnson, for an undisclosed sum, likely to be sub-€3m.

* Details: Downing Commercial, 021-4271000; JLS, 01-6731600; DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, 021-4274204.