Goodbody Stockbrokers HQ returns to market at heavily discounted price of €32.5m

Dublin 4 office block came close to being sold for €48m immediately prior to Covid-19 pandemic

Goodbody's offices at No 2 Ballsbridge Park in Dublin 4 are for sale
Goodbody's offices at No 2 Ballsbridge Park in Dublin 4 are for sale

After coming close to securing the sale of Goodbody Stockbrokers’ Dublin 4 headquarters for €48 million to Derek McGrath’s Core Capital immediately before the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, agent Bannon is offering the property for sale once more in a targeted off-market process.

On this occasion No 2 Ballsbridge Park is guiding at a new and much-reduced price of €32.5 million.

The subject property, which is owned by Intrust Properties, benefits from short-term passing income of €3.025 million from a strong tenant line-up comprising stockbroker Goodbody, BlackRock and Coca Cola offering the buyer an 8.5 per cent yield on acquisition. That rental income will expire as each tenant vacates the property in stages until May 2025.

Goodbody is understood to have agreed a six-month extension of its lease while it awaits the completion of the fitout by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Oakmount and Core Capital of its new headquarters on Dawson Street in Dublin city centre.

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The departure of the tenants at No 2 Ballsbridge Park, meanwhile, will clear the way for its purchaser to pursue the extension and refurbishment of the building, a process that would bring its Ber rating from its current C3 certification to A3 standard.

No 2 Ballsbridge Park sits on a 1.1-acre site and comes for sale with full planning permission (DCC Planning Reference 4729/22) for an extension and refurbishment of the existing building to a total of 133,624sq ft.

Core Capital recently secured planning permission for a 173,556sq ft development at the adjoining No 1 Ballsbridge Park, which it acquired for €32 million in 2021. While the site is of a similar size to that of its neighbour the building at No 1 extended to just 35,000sq ft compared to the 57,576sq ft footprint of the existing building at No 2.

The vendors have also compiled a massing study for No 2 Ballsbridge Park, which indicates its potential for the development of 157,047sq ft of office space and its joint capacity with the adjoining No 3 building for 371,621sq ft.

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan is Property Editor of The Irish Times