A Dublin office building, owned by South Korean investors and leased by Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, has been seized by a creditor, according to an official filing, the latest example of an ill-timed overseas property spree by the country’s money managers.
German lender Helaba appointed receivers to the company that owns the Beckett Building in the city’s north docks area, the filing shows. Korean investors had acquired the building for about $140 million (€130 million) in 2018.
A spokesman for Seoul-based KB Securities confirmed it is an investor in the building and declined to comment further. Real estate fund manager LB Asset Management, which is also involved, declined to comment.
The property was offered to the market earlier this year and failed to sell after bids came in at about €50 million ($53.6 million), according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The asking price was about €80 million, The Irish Times reported in February.
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The receivership shows the ongoing negative impact of the pandemic on demand for office properties, which have plunged in value as staff continue to stay home and companies focus on renting the best space to tempt more of them back to the workspace.
The Irish capital has also been affected by a drop in demand from the tech sector, with office values falling 11 per cent from the first quarter of last year through June of this year, according to broker Savills Plc. Meta, for example, decided to sublet part of its recently completed European headquarters in Dublin.
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Helaba, which declined to comment, appointed Grant Thornton as receiver to Beckett Acquisition Ltd., according to the filing. Previous financial statements by Beckett Acquisition show it acquired the building in 2018.
Grant Thornton confirmed the appointment and declined to comment further. Meta did not respond to an email seeking comment.
At least six office buildings in London owned by Korean investors are being offered for sale after valuations fell, Bloomberg News reported in July. The country’s financial watchdog told brokerages that same month to make provisions for bad debt on foreign real estate investments. – Bloomberg
