Telecoms group Cable & Wireless has announced the sale and leaseback of one of its two Dublin properties. The telecoms group said the exercise would release capital, which it will invest in customer services in Ireland.

Following the acquisition last year of rival telecoms company Energis, Cable & Wireless carried out a review of its operations in Ireland, including its property interests.

The company said yesterday it had now exchanged contracts to sell its Tallaght building. The property, which currently houses a network switch and offices, will be leased back for a period of three years. No financial details were disclosed.

Cable & Wireless confirmed yesterday that the sale would not affect jobs. The 40 employees based in Tallaght will continue to work there for the duration of the lease. The company said it had yet to decide where those employees would be relocated to once the term of the leaseback ends.

All of the network equipment from the Tallaght centre will be moved to the company's Clonshaugh property over the next three years. This building was acquired in the Energis takeover, and is currently being used by Cable & Wireless as a data centre and offices.

The company said internal consultations with staff were being carried out to ensure the disruptive effect of the transfer of equipment to Clonshaugh was kept to a minimum.

Cable & Wireless took over Energis in August last year in a £700 million (€1.04 billion) deal.