The fast-growing high- tech company Dropbox is to locate its international operations centre in part of the former Aviva offices at Park Place on Hatch Street in Dublin 2.
The San Francisco company has completed legal contracts to enable it to relocate to two floors of the modern office block where it will occupy 5,109sq m (55,000sq ft) under a subletting of the Aviva lease which has another eight years to run. Dropbox negotiated a rent of just under €376 per sq m (€35 per sq ft) compared to the original rent of around €473 per sq m (€44 per sq ft) agreed between landlords Clancourt and Aviva around 2006.
Dropbox offers a free cloud service that allows its 175 million users – over one-third of them of them in Europe – to access and share documents, photos and videos from anywhere in the world. It is the company's first move outside the United States and is designed to provide technical support to users around the world. Dropbox has become one of the notable California tech companies to watch with a $4 billion (€2.9bn) valuation at the time of its last investor round.
Agents Knight Frank are apparently looking to offload additional office space in Park Place no longer required by the insurance company. Permanent TSB recently moved into 2,322sq m (25,000sq ft) originally occupied by Aviva at a rent in the early €30s per sq ft.
Aviva is now understood to be occupying around 11,612 sq m (125,000sq ft) compared to 18,580sq m (200,000sq ft) when the lease was signed about eight years ago.
Dropbox’s acquisition of its new Dublin offices was handled by CBRE.
Meanwhile, Yahoo has completed contracts to move into three office floors on top of the €650 million Point Village, in the north Dublin docklands, which was developed by businessman Harry Crosbie. The controversial complex includes the Gibson Hotel, Odeon Cinema and multistorey shopping centre which was completed over a year ago but has not opened due to a dispute between the planned anchor tenant Dunnes Stores and the promoter. Yahoo will be paying a rent of €161 per sq m (€15 per sq ft) for its new accommodation which will extend to 6,967sq m (75,000sq ft). Yahoo has indicated that it will be hiring an additional 200 staff. Savills handle the letting and CBRE acted for Yahoo.
In another sign of Dublin's thriving technology industry, Amazon has apparently completed contracts to rent 5,574 sq m (60,000 sq ft) in the Burlington Plaza on Burlington Road in Dublin 4. Amazon will be paying around €296 per sq m (€27.50 per sq ft) for the high quality accommodation which is controlled by Nama and Prescient, now owed by Davy. CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle are letting agents.
