Lettings:The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is set to move out of its offices at 56 Lansdowne Road as demolition work begins to gather pace on the nearby stadium.
Over the past couple of years there have been persistent rumours in property circles that the IRFU was on the look-out for new headquarters.
However, the organisation's treasurer, John Lyons, denied this relocation was part of any strategy to exit its head office at 62 Lansdowne Road.
He said that the rugby governing body had no "plans to sell" its Georgian headquarters but would not be drawn on whether this had been ruled out as an option at some point in the future.
The IRFU is also planning to apply for permission for a new building on the area behind the present East Stand at Lansdowne Road Stadium that will accommodate IRFU offices and a new pavilion for Wanderers RFC.
This proposal will see the IRFU build Lansdowne RFC, a clubhouse of similar size to its present one: approximately 1,208sq m (13,000sq ft).
In the same building the IRFU will have 1,394sq m (15,000sq ft) of office space and Wanderers RFC will have a 186sq m (2,000sq ft) pavilion.
It's understood the IRFU's lease on 56 Lansdowne Road, a Georgian building which the organisation rents in its entirety and which houses its human resources division, is due to expire shortly.
The two-storey over-basement property extends to 279sq m (3,000sq ft) and is on the market for an annual rent of €1.35 million, although it's believed that the IRFU's lease terms were considerably less than that figure.
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) is acting for the building's landlord, David Keen, while the renowned former Irish international and Lions wing-forward Fergus Slattery is acting for the IRFU.
Demolition work has already begun at the world's oldest international rugby ground.
Sarah Winters, an agent with Lambert Smith Hampton, rejected suggestions that any construction noise from the stadium development site would affect the property's marketability.
Earlier this year the IRFU forked out millions to purchase two houses on Lansdowne Road owned by objectors to the planned 50,000-seat stadium.
The move sparked fierce criticism from local resident groups who had campaigned against the €365 million project that is due for completion in 2009.
The IRFU owns several properties in the Ballsbridge area, which were acquired prior to the planning hearing into the new stadium.
