€9.25m for D4 office building

THE Dublin-based Layden Group has paid €9.25 million for an office building owned by the Swedish telecoms company Ericsson at Clonskeagh in Dublin 4. The investment will show a return of 9 per cent.

Boole House in Beech Hill Park was first offered for sale last May by Duncan Lister of Lisney when the asking price was €10.05 million. Ericsson signed a 20-year lease with a break option in the tenth year.

The 3,941sq m (42,420sq ft) block was built in the late 1990s to a modern specification.

Last year Ericsson completed an extensive upgrading of the upper floors, providing new ceilings, lighting, wall finishes, floors and cabling.

The initial rent roll of €870,000 per annum reflects a rate of €180 per sq m (€16.80 per sq ft). At the end of the fifth year, the rent will increase by 15 per cent to €1 million, pushing up the yield to 10.3 per cent.

The Layden Group led by Joe Layden has a diversified investment property portfolio which includes a number of high profile Bank of Ireland branches, the arcade and a number of shops in the South City Markets off South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2. It also includes the Epicurean Food Hall at Liffey Street in Dublin city centre.

Robert Murphy of agents Murphy Mulhall, who advised the Layden Group on the purchase, said his client was interested in acquiring similar investments in the future.