€3.95m for portfolio

Three Dublin buildings occupied by Crown Paints Ireland are to be offered for sale as investments as part of an asset restructuring exercise by the paint company and the chemical producer Akzo Nobel.

Crown Paints (UK & Ireland) was formerly owned by Akzo Nobel but was sold in 2008 in a management buyout through the private equity firm Endless. The sale was triggered by the EU's concern of a possible monopoly after Akzo Nobel's takeover of ICI. Crown Paints was subsequently acquired by the Danish paint producer Hempel which has reported that the takeover has been a great success.

Ross Fogarty of agents HT Meagher O'Reilly has been engaged to handle the sale of Crown Paint's administrative headquarters, main distribution base and retail decorating centre in Coolock, Co Dublin, which are rented at €300,000 per annum. The ten year lease has another five years to run. A price of €3 million is being sought for the detached industrial facility with HQ offices and decorating centre extending to 9,387 sq m (10, 104 sq ft) on the Malahide Road. The 4.8 acre site has a broad zoning including car trading, petrol station and residential use.

Fogarty is also seeking buyers for paint outlets at 56 Camden Street Lower in Dublin 2, and 1/3 Cardiff Lane in Dublin 2. A price of €550,000 is being sought for the Camden Street investment, a three-storey over basement period building with retail at ground floor and offices overhead. There is also a covered yard/parking area to the rear. Crown Paints pay a rent of €30,000 while Quilligan Architects contributes €24,000 per annum in rent.

The third investment with a guide price of €400,000 involves a single storey retail unit trading as Crown |Paints Decorating Centre at Cardiff Lane, a busy street linking Sir John Rogerson’s Quay with Pearse Street. The 131 sq m (1,410 sq ft) building is let on a ten year lease from 2008 at a rent of €40,000 per annum.