Hamilton Osborne King has been under pressure for some time to retain its dominant position in the Dublin development sites market with many other agencies sharpening up their act in the hope of grabbing part of the action.
HOK has been in the happy position over the years of selling much of the land for not only the Catholic Church and the religious orders but the Protestant churches. These sales have accounted for a large proportion of the housing land that has changed hands in recent years.
However, with 20 other agencies pitching recently for the sale of the Clancy Barracks on the Liffey at Islandbridge in Dublin 8, HOK had to pull out all the stops and undercut the lot of them to ensure they got the £20 million-plus (25.4m-plus) sale.
The Department of Defence disclosed this week under the Freedom of Information Act that the £6,000 (7,618) fee agreed with HOK was the lowest tendered. The next lowest was £24,000 (30,473) and the highest, wait for it, was £156,000 (198,079) - an incredible £150,000 (190,460) more than HOK.
Seven of the agencies offered to handle the sale for fees varying from £48,000 to £108,000 (60,947 to 137,132). A number of others would have settled for a percentage of the selling price. The only unfamiliar name on the list was Bridge deFeu &Co, which is based in Roscrea.
Oh, how times have changed. Up to now, the public seldom learned how much the State paid for these commissions. Sometimes the job went to the firm with the best political connections rather than the best selling and marketing skills.
