Hibernia REIT plc (“Hibernia”) announces that it has exchanged contracts to acquire Blocks 1, 2 & 5 Clanwilliam Court, Dublin 2, for €51m.
Blocks 1, 2 & 5 are three 1970s office buildings totalling 93,700ft² (8,705m²) arranged over five to six floors above a double basement with 220 underground car parking spaces. The buildings occupy a prominent position on the corner of Mount Street Lower and Clanwilliam Place in Dublin’s central business district, a short walk from Merrion Square and Grand Canal Dock railway station.
Following the acquisition of Marine House in March 2016 for €26.5m, Hibernia now owns four contiguous blocks (totalling over 134,000ft²/12,450m² of office accommodation) of the seven blocks that comprise Clanwilliam Court (six office, one residential).
Blocks 1, 2 & 5 are currently 76% let to a range of occupiers, including the Electricity Supply Board (the “ESB”), An Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) and Hines Real Estate Ireland Ltd, generating total current rent of €2.9m/year, an average of €34/ft² (€365/m²) excluding parking. Recent lettings in the buildings have achieved in excess of €40/ft² (€430.6/m²). The weighted average period to break and expiry is 5 years with all leases due to expire by the end of 2021.
The purchase price equates to a capital value of €544ft² (€5,855/m²) for the office accommodation and a net initial yield of 5%. Once fully occupied and post-settlement of an outstanding rent review the contracted rent is expected to rise to over €4m/year, equating to a yield on cost in excess of 7.5%.
Kevin Nowlan, CEO of Hibernia, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Blocks 1, 2 & 5 Clanwilliam Court, increasing Hibernia’s contracted rent roll to €41.9m with further upside potential. The transaction is consistent with our strategy of focussing on prime Dublin city centre office assets with asset management or development potential.
These buildings, combined with our previous acquisition of Marine House, extend to over 1.1 acres in a prime city centre location and are an exciting addition to our longer term pipeline of development assets in central Dublin with options for refurbishment, extension or a full redevelopment.”
