CHQ building sold for €10m

The landmark CHQ building in the IFSC was sold by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority yesterday as it was revealed that over €100m of commercial property has changed hands in Ireland each month so far this year.

Neville Isdell, the former Coca-Cola chairman, bought the building for just over €10m. He said his team will be evaluating and developing “a number of ideas over the coming months” aimed at establishing “a new distinctive destination location for Dublin”.

“Initially our focus will be to make some demonstrable improvements within the building as we work through the plan to recreate CHQ,” he said.

The deal is one of 36 so far this year that has seen over €100m a month poured into the Irish commercial property sector.

CBRE tracked sales of units in Ireland in the first six months of the year. The total value of sales was €610m.

The total value of transactions of properties over €1m was €603m, with 35 transactions of greater than €1m completed during the course of last year.

CBRE executive director Marie Hunt said deals such as the sale of Clancy Barracks to Kennedy Wilson for €82m and the €35m sale of La Touche House in the IFSC to Credit Suisse show the appetite for quality Irish properties among foreign investors.

“There is strong demand for prime Irish real estate, particularly in Dublin, as has been evidenced by the volume of transactions and the pricing achieved for some trophy assets over the first six months of 2013. Prime yields have contracted faster than was anticipated during the first six months of this year,” Ms Hunt said.

The strong demand and new money entering Ireland have resulted in yields on buildings rising faster than anticipated, with prime office yields in the order of 6.25% and prime high-street retail yields of 5.75% likely to strengthen. Source: Irish Examiner