After quietly acquiring a substantial south Dublin residence for €6.5 million last December to house its ambassador, the Saudi Arabian Embassy is making waves in the capital's property market again.
Having based itself at numbers 6 and 7 Fitzwilliam Square for many years, the embassy has decided to downsize and relocate its offices to the adjacent 12 Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin 2.
The Saudis have committed to a new 10-year lease at a rent in the region of €39.50 per sq ft (€425.14 per sq m) per annum together with six on-site car parking spaces at a rent of €3,500 per space per annum.
While the embassy’s move on this occasion might not seem as bold a statement as its purchase of Rathmore, the 441sq m (4,750 sq ft) Victorian residence on Glenageary’s Adelaide Road it acquired to accommodate its ambassador, it does provide a timely boost to the city’s Georgian office market.
Costs
The agent representing the landlord, John Cannon of BNP Paribas Real Estate, believes the letting is indicative of the continued demand for fully-fitted offices as occupiers seek to avoid high capital-expenditure costs for new office fit-outs.
12 Fitzwilliam Square is a high-profile four-storey over-basement Georgian office building extending to 416sq m (4,477sq ft). It has been fully refurbished throughout and comprises a mix of open-plan spaces and meeting rooms/executive offices. The property also includes a two-storey mews extending to 92sq m (990sq ft) and six secure car-parking spaces located to the rear of the main building on Lad Lane.
