SW3 expands Dublin portfolio with two new office buildings

The London-based SW3 Capital has added two more Dublin office investments to its portfolio. It has bought Dublin Business School (DBS) on Aungier Street, South Great George's Street, for €10 million and another office investment, J5 Plaza at North Park on the North Road in Dublin 11, for €5.6 million. Dessie Kilkenny of Savills handled the two off-market transactions.

The acquisitions will bring to more than €50 million the total spend by SW3 which was formed two years ago by Adam P Rooney, Edward BJ Truman and Thomas O'Mahony. Its most notable purchase has been the period headquarters of the Department of Justice & Equality on St Stephen's Green which was bought for €16.5 million.

Last July it paid €4.15 million for Twilfit House, an early 20th century building rented to two commercial tenants at the junction of Jervis Street and Upper Abbey Street. Other purchases included a mixed use block at the corner of Dawson Street and St Stephen's Green, a Tesco Express on College Green and a Georgian house on Merrion Square.

The well located DBS building has been operating since the 1980s and extends to 2,495sq m (26,860sq ft). The tenant, Accountancy and Business College (Ireland) is paying a rent of €675,000 under a lease which has 13 years to run.

The selling price reflects a capital valuation of €3,982 per sq m (€392 per q ft). The Aungier Street block accounts for around half of the overall space used by the college in the city centre. Andrew Watt of Melford Property Consultants advised the vendors.

SW3 will get an initial return of 8.6 per cent on the J5 Plaza office building which extends to 5,834sq m (62,796sq ft). The selling price will reflect a capital value of €1,184 per sq m (€110 per sq ft). The HSE contributes more than three-quarters of the rent which is €520,000 per annum.

The other tenants include the Special Olympics, engineering consultants Fehily Timoney and Kavanagh Accountants.

David Carroll of Bannon Property handled the negotiations for the vendor.