Landmark AIB bank branch on Upper Baggot Street for €3.2m

While much has been written on the monies the late Charles Haughey owed to the AIB in the 1970s, and the lengths to which the bank had to go in an effort to recover them, relations between the parties would appear to have been on a far more friendly footing in 1961 when as minister for justice he played a starring role in the opening of Ireland's first drive-in bank at 52-54 Upper Baggot Street. In a gesture typical of his largesse and taste for the finer things in life, Mr Haughey provided the bank with its first lodgement in the form of a gold sovereign.

AIB’s famous drive-through operation continued to trade for the next several decades before being converted back into a traditional bank premises in the 1990s. In keeping with the AIB’s current strategy of moving its retail banking operations online, the Upper Baggot Street branch has now been closed for almost a year and the bank has surrendered its leasehold interest.

Given those circumstances, the owner of the building, a private Irish investor, has instructed agent Turley Property Advisors to offer it to the market with full vacant possession for €3.2 million.

Nick O’Loughlin, who is handling the sale, expects to see interest from a range of developers, investors and owner occupiers given the building’s potential to facilitate a number of uses including a boutique hotel, supermarket or even a pub. Neighbouring occupiers include the landmark Searsons and Waterloo public houses, Tesco, Donnybrook Fair, Spar and Saba restaurant. The building is located just a seven-minute walk from the Aviva stadium and 20 minutes from St Stephen’s Green.