Former Guinness House hits the market for €2m

A landmark Cork quayside property, from butter warehouse to Guinness House and Zazzle's former office, is for sale at €2m or €185k to let.

No 6 Union Quay, home to US online marketplace company Zazzle, and formerly known as Guinness House, is for sale or to let via Savills.

A landmark quayside premises originally used as a butter warehouse, later known as Guinness House, and more recently home to online marketplace Zazzle, is on the market for €2m.

The property at No 6 Union Quay, which dates to 1865 but has been upgraded internally for modern use, is also available to let for an annual rent of €185,000.

The building’s high-profile waterfront position, combined with own-door access “offers a flexible opportunity for a broad range of purchasers and occupiers”, according to Savills agent Micheál Walsh.

The 1911 census records show No 6 Union Quay was once home to a butter factory.

American e-commerce company Zazzle bought the 11,539sq ft, two-storey premises for about €1.2m in 2013 from brewing giant Guinness Ireland, who relocated there from No 86 St Patrick’s Street in 1997.

Prior to that, No 6 Union Quay was part of the Dowdall O’Mahony & Co Ltd butter and margarine manufacturing operation.

The 1911 census records it as a butter factory, with a margarine factory at adjoining No 7, reflecting Cork’s historic importance in the international butter trade. The building is on the south channel of the Lee, an area that developed as a major trading and warehousing quarter as Cork expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Dowdall O’Mahony produced products such as Black Swan butter, Sunrose Margarine, Bakers Pride Golden Shortening baking fat, and Frytex. They also made soap up to 1960 including Whiteline soap and Wizard carbolic soap used in institutions and laundries. Up to 50 people were employed in the 1960s before it was sold to Kraft Foods in 1969. The factory closed in 1989 and Guinness bought the premises in 1997.

Under Zazzle’s ownership, the property was adapted to provide high-quality office accommodation, “finished to a strong specification”, the agent says. Internally, the building comprises predominantly open-plan office space complemented by meeting rooms, canteen facilities, shower provision, and secure access throughout. Accommodation is over ground and first-floor levels and is “presented in turnkey condition, allowing immediate occupation with minimal capital expenditure”.

It’s understood co-working space/innovation hub Republic of Work showed interest at some stage, but instead undertook a phased expansion of their Cork city centre campus at 12 South Mall.

Mr Walsh said the premises could suit a company looking to have a European headquarters in Cork as per Zazzle when they bought the premises.

“It could also suit a solicitor’s firm looking to own their own premises, buildings like this don’t come up very often,” the agent said. Alternatively, it could be re-purposed for educational use if nearby occupier MTU Cork school of music was interested. The building might also suit an architectural practice, which was once considered.

Sinéad Barry of Zazzle said that while the company valued the waterside base, they were shifting to smaller offices as part of a flexible work culture.

“With a global workforce, the company has invested in tools and processes that support collaboration from any location. As part of this shift, Zazzle is also rethinking its physical spaces, moving toward smaller, purpose-built offices designed for team-mates who collaborate in person,” Ms Barry said.

Mr Walsh said the property was “a rare opportunity to secure a substantial headquarters building close to Cork’s core central business district”.

“No 6 is a unique offering in the Cork market. Its rich history, combined with its scale, turnkey specification and prime riverside location will appeal to owner/occupiers, prospective tenants and investors alike,” the agent said.

For owner occupiers, the property is available with vacant possession and provides a distinctive headquarters opportunity, Mr Walsh said.

He added that for investors “it represents a compelling asset with strong letting potential, underpinned by its scale, location and minimal capital expenditure spend post-acquisition, and for prospective tenants, the building presents a rare leasing opportunity being a fully fitted, character-rich office environment, allowing for immediate occupation”.

Separately, but in the same price bracket, No 71-22 St Patrick’s St — home at ground-floor level to Boots pharmacy — is also fresh to market with a guide price of €2m. The 4,705sq ft three-storey, mixed-used building includes two vacant upper floors, which previously operated as a restaurant. Boots have been ground floor tenants since 1987 — paying a passing rent of €155,000pa — and have recommitted to the property by way of a new lease that runs to June 2032. Colliers agent Stephen Conway said the sale was “an opportunity to acquire a high-profile city centre investment, with excellent value-add potential”.

“The quoting price reflects a net initial yield of 7.05% on acquisition, assuming standard purchaser’s costs of 9.96% and provides an incoming purchaser an excellent opportunity to drive rental growth on letting the upper floors,” Mr Conway said.

• Details: Micheál Walsh at [e-mail] or Niall Guerin at [e-mail], T: 021 427 1371.
• Details: For 71-72 St Patrick’s Street, Stephen Conway of Colliers, T: 353863654387.