Irish Life has acquired Hume House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 from Blackstone for €35m. Savills acted on behalf of Irish Life, while CBRE represented Blackstone.

Hume House is a 7,600 square metre office block sitting on a site of 0.35 hectares in a prime location within Ballsbridge, producing €2.1m of short term income. The immediate area is set to benefit from the redevelopment of the former Berkeley Court Hotel site, known as Project Trinity, and the completion of One Ballsbridge, further enhancing the existing prime location into a modern vibrant district. 

Irish Life previously owned Hume House, having sold it to a Sean Dunne company for over €100m as part of a larger transaction in 2006. Blackstone acquired the asset as part of Project Platinum, a NAMA controlled portfolio sale, in 2014. 

Fergus O’Farrell of Savills commented: “This is an exciting opportunity for Irish Life to benefit from the shortage of office accommodation in the city centre. The desirability of Ballsbridge as an office location is already evidenced by the number of investors who have acquired property in the area over past five years.”

The asset which is a value add play for Irish Life, has significant flexibility. It currently has planning permission to redevelop the site into 16,900 sq. m of modern third generation office space, but also within the existing frame offers the new owners a refurbishment opportunity to benefit from the shortage of office space in Dublin city centre. 

Martin O’Reilly , Head of Property at Irish Life commented “Needless to say, we are delighted to have reacquired Hume House at a time in its lifecycle which is perfectly aligned to the dramatic urban transformation which is unfolding in the Ballsbridge area, and the opportunity to capture and benefit from the exception level of office occupier demand for the location.”