German investment management firm KGAL has secured an additional office property in Dublin's embassy quarter, acquiring 2 Burlington Road, Saint Peter's from Henderson Park, for €94 mln.
PropertyEU sources said the deal represented a yield of 4.3%.
The property, which has been bought for a pan-European real estate special alternative investment fund, is fully leased to EBS Building Society – a 100% subsidiary of the stockmarket-listed Allied Irish Banks (AIB) – until 2027.
It was built in 2002 and comprises around 86,000 ft2 (7,990 m2) of rental area and 33 parking spaces. The prime office property formed part of Henderson Park’s acquisition of Green REIT in November 2019, and comprises 7,924 m2.
'Dublin is a very attractive location for global IT companies, with Google, Facebook and Amazon all operating their European head offices in the Irish capital. These companies are continuing to experience dynamic growth and fuel the office market,' said André Zücker, managing director of KGAL Investment Management and responsible for real estate.
'Ireland has the youngest population in the EU and the level of education there is high; and demographic forecasts indicate growth ahead,' Zücker added.
Nick Weber, founding partner and CEO, Henderson Park, said: 'The sale of Burlington Road is consistent with our intended business plan and enables us to accelerate investment into our Irish development pipeline. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, this asset attracted significant interest from major international real estate investors, highlighting their confidence in both the Irish commercial property market and Ireland’s economy over the long-term.
'The sale also underlines institutional conviction in the important role that offices will continue to play in our working lives and, as a result, the ability of prime Dublin office assets to deliver stable and consistent returns.'
Around 20 international embassies have premises within one kilometre of the property, and other high-profile neighbours include LinkedIn, the Bank of Ireland, Sky and Amazon.
Earlier this year, KGAL was rumoured to be also looking at acquiring another property from Henderson Park, 5 Harcourt Road, but subsequently withdrew interest.
