Citadel move into docklands sign of ‘market stability’

Irish commercial real estate investment fund Iput plc has let 18,500sq ft of penthouse office space at 1 Grand Canal Square to Chicago-based Citadel Securities at €60 per sq ft, the peak price previously achieved in this market before the crash in 2008.

This letting is worth €1.1 million a year to Iput and is a signal of confidence in the Irish office market post the UK's vote to leave the European Union, according to the fund's chief executive Niall Gaffney.

"It's a big letting in the context of the Dublin market and we see this as a sign of confidence in the stability of the Irish market," Mr Gaffney told The Irish Times.

Mr Gaffney said there “definitely was a hiatus” in the letting market over the past three months, driven by uncertainty around the outcome of the general election here and the Brexit referendum in the UK.

“But we are seeing interest beginning to pick up again,” he said, adding that financial services companies have been inquiring about space since the Brexit result became known on June 24th.

The UK’s decision to leave the EU has led to speculation that some financial services groups in London might seek to relocate to other EU cities, including Dublin.

Citadel is a leading global market maker across a broad array of fixed income and equity securities. It had more than $24 billion in investable capital on its books as of July 1st of this year.

It is understood that its Dublin office is part of the expansion of its market-making business in Europe serving a broad range of clients including asset managers, banks, broker dealers, hedge funds, government agencies and public pension programmes.

In May, Citadel announced that it would open in Dublin in the first quarter of 2017 and said it would be supported by the firm’s existing European headquarters in London.

“The move will enable the firm to extend its US options and ETF [exchange-traded fund] market-making business into the continent, complementing its current European equities and futures franchise, as well as its growing FICC [fixed income, currencies and commodities] business,” Citadel said in a blog on its website.

“Dublin’s combination of a strong base in experienced talent and world class universities make it a natural choice for long-term growth. Efforts to hire traders, programmers, quants and analysts are under way.”

Iput’s office block at 1 Grand Canal Square is located beside the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and overlooks the harbour in Dublin’s south docklands.

The building is a Grade A, six-storey property extending to 120,017sq ft. Other tenants there include HSBC, Accenture and Bank of Ireland.

CBRE handled the letting for Iput while Citadel were advised by Colliers International.