Tristan Capital buys Dublin's tallest office project from NAMA

Tristan Capital Partners has acquired the development site for what is to be Dublin’s tallest office building from Ireland’s ‘bad bank’, or National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

The Point Square site in the Irish capital was bought for European Property Investors Special Opportunities 4 (EPISO 4) through a joint venture with SW3 Capital.

Businessman Harry Crosbie planned to build Dublin’s tallest office tower, called the Watchtower, but the project was never completed and came under the control of NAMA. The new project, called The Exo Building, will create 169,150sqft of prime office space.

Tristan, which raised €1.5bn for its latest opportunity fund in 2015, has agreed with joint receivers Stephen Tennant and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton to buy the site in the North Docks area of the city.

It is the third investment in Dublin that EPISO 4 has made with SW3 Capital, which will take a minority interest in the project.

Tristan said the purchase of the site completed in late December and development finance had been made available to start construction. Work is expected to start before the end of the month and the building is to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

The development of the Dublin Docklands strategic development zone is a major priority for NAMA, which at one point held an interest in 75% of the 22 hectares of developable land in the area. NAMA has funded the planning permission and design of the The Exo Building.

Savills and CBRE have been instructed to secure pre-let the 73-metre tall building to prospective tenants.

Peter Mather, the managing director of investments at Tristan Capital Partners, said: “Brexit has amplified Dublin’s status as a sought-after destination with strong economic growth and continued foreign investments into Ireland.”