A British-owned investment firm could make a profit of more than 1,200 per cent on four prestigious Georgian office buildings purchased from the State in 1992.
Greythorn Ltd, controlled by PJ Kennedy Investments Ltd, acquired 30-33 Merrion Street from the Government for £500,000 (€634,869). The four prime properties, which are opposite Government Buildings on Merrion Street, are thought to have fetched more than €8 million in a sale expected to be finalised in the next fortnight.
The purchaser's identity is not known, but it is thought there was strong interest in the sale. The selling agency GVA Donal O Buachalla declined to comment.
It is clear, however, that Greythorn has become a significant beneficiary of the Dublin property boom after buying in when the market was poorly. The company was identified in filings at the Registry of Deeds, which indicates that some of the buildings were leased in the early 1990s by the Earl of Pembroke.
The 13 properties, once the location of the Land Commission, are in a row of buildings on Merrion Street sold by the State in the early 1990s. They include what is now the Merrion Hotel, controlled by the businessman Mr Lochlainn Quinn, in the block next to 30-33.
The original intention was to sell 21-33 Merrion Street but the highest offer of €4.44 million was not acceptable. The properties were then divided into three lots, among them the four buildings sold by Greythorn.
In 1995, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, told the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts that the sale of 13 houses had realised €5.5 million for the State. The expenditure incurred by the Office of Public Works in the sale was €614,968.
The upcoming sale of the former State buildings comes at a time when the Government has re-entered the property market.
For example, the OPW invited offers last month from developers to provide around 9,000 sq m of net lettable office space in the city centre to house the Department of Health and Children. Last year it spent €34 million acquiring the former Irish Press building on Burgh Quay from Shelbourne Developments earlier. The building was formerly owned by The Irish Times.
With 1,253 sq m of office space and car-parking, the four buildings on Merrion Street are highly convenient to both central Government and the city centre business district.
Put on the market in recent weeks as a "trophy investment", the buildings were very dilapidated when sold by the State. Greythorn refurbished the buildings, which are fully let and have a current annual rental income of €336,000.
The company's parent, PJ Kennedy Investment, is registered in the Isle of Man. The company is controlled by Mr Patrick James Kennedy, who lives in Chesire but is believed to be from an Irish family.
According to the latest abridged accounts filed in the Companies Office, the company had tangible fixed assets worth £4 million (€5.08 million) and investments worth €1.99 million at the end of March last year.
