Union Investment to bankroll prime Dublin office development

Union Investment is to forward fund the development of Burlington House, Dublin’s largest new speculative office building.

The site was acquired in June last year by UK listed developer Development Securities for €40 mln after its previous owner, Glasbay, went into receivership. The five-storey building, formerly occupied by Allianz, has since been demolished and will be replaced by a new 16,000 m2 building.

Sisk Group has been appointed as the main contractor for the development, with construction expected to be finished in Q2 2017.

Burlington House is located in central Dublin’s prime commercial core, with an established blue-chip occupier base that includes Amazon, BSkyB, LinkedIn and Groupon. The building will provide net floor plates of between 2,480 m2 and 2,846 m2, with car parking.

Philip La Pierre, Head of Investment Management Europe for Union Investment, said: ‘After having made our debut in the Irish market this year, buying the 4+5 Grand Canal complex in Dublin’s South Docklands, we are delighted to team up with Development Securities and its partners for our first forward-funding deal in Dublin, adding to our extensive track record in European investment regions. This is one of the best buildings in Dublin with excellent leasing prospects.’