The first property sale by the National Asset Management Agency that it is helping finance has attracted bids from six companies including Atlas Capital Group and Prudential, a person familiar with the matter said.

At least five bids for One Warrington Place, an office block in central Dublin, were for more than €25 million, three people familiar with the matter said.

The property was expected to sell for €28 million when it was put on the market, according to The Irish Times. Nama's chief executive Brendan McDonagh said in October that the property attracted 30 expressions of interest.

While the State's bad bank for property loans prefers to help finance purchases when they involve Irish properties, it is also considering using vendor finance to back sales of loans, Mr McDonagh said in an October interview.

Most of Nama's disposals next year may be loans, he said.

The value of Irish investment property fell 4.6 per cent in the three months to the end of September, according to CBRE Group. Investment properties have seen a decline of almost 65 per cent from the peak.

Bloomberg