OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS:THE DUBLIN-BASED Harcourt Developments has flipped on one of two substantial office buildings bought from the Conservative Party at Westminster in London.
Just over a year after paying £30 million for the pair of buildings used as the Conservative Central Office, Pat Doherty's company has sold 32 Smith Square to the European Commission for £20 million (€25.3 million).
The second building around the corner on Tufton Street has a similar floor area of 2,322sq m (25,000sq ft) and is currently let to the British government.
The building sold to the European Commission is a well known political landmark. It is convenient to the Houses of Parliament, to the major political party headquarters, government departments and the political media in the Palace of Westminster and on Millbank.
Gerard Onesta, MEP, vice-president of the European Parliament said "this excellent deal" would provide a suitable and convenient "Europe House" in the UK.
The European Commission plans to refurbish the building to the highest standards of environmental excellence, fit for the 21st century.
The refurbished building will include a conference centre for up to 150 people.
It will also have the latest energy saving and environmentally-friendly technologies when it is ready for use in around 2010.
Harcourt Developments is one of Ireland's largest and most successful privately-owned property companies.
Its portfolio includes offices, shopping centres, industrial parks and leisure facilities in Ireland, the UK, Europe, the US and the Caribbean. The group employs 500 people.
Key Harcourt Developments schemes include Park West Business Park, which is offering some of the most competitive office rents in Dublin, the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and a number of other regional shopping centres across Ireland.
