An animation studio and headquarters building for Boulder Media at Sandymount village in Dublin 4 is to be offered for sale at a guide price of €10.5 million by agent HWBC. At that valuation, the investment will show a net initial yield of 6.37 per cent after standard acquisition costs of 8.46 per cent.
The substantial two-storey building at 2-4 Claremont Road provides 1,851sq m (19,920sq ft) of office accommodation with flexible floor plates allowing excellent natural light throughout.
The building occupies a site of more than half an acre overlooking Sandymount Green, with 16 designated parking spaces and bicycle parking to the rear.
The property was originally let to OPW on a 35-year lease from 1980. When that arrangement ended in 2017, the owners refurbished it to grade A standards.
The facilities were subsequently single let by HWBC to Boulder Media Ltd (with Hasbro Inc as guarantor) on a 20-year lease from May 2017, at an annual rent of €725,200. The lease incorporates five yearly open market rent reviews, with the first review due in May 2022. The tenant has break clauses at the end of the fifth, 10th and 16th year of the term, subject to nine months’ notice and a penalty of nine months rent on each option.
Boulder Media set up its Irish animation studio in 2000 and is famous for such productions as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends for Cartoon Network and El Tigre for Nickelodeon. General manager Jennie McNeaney said the staff was delighted with the studio space.
“It’s a creative space that perfectly fits the work we do – producing high-quality animation for some of the world’s best-known brands. All in all, our crew sees our location and the amenities here as a terrific benefit, and it is certainly a selling point as we recruit new talent.”
Patrick Campion of HWBC, who is handling the sale along with Emma Murphy, said the quality of the covenant matched with the location should attract significant interest from both domestic and international investors.
