JONES Group has sold its head office complex at Clonskeagh in Dublin to an unidentified buyer for a total of £3.25 million.

Jones has received a deposit of £330,000 and will be paid the balance of £2.93 million when the deal is completed in September. The proceeds will be used to reduce the group's debt - estimated at £10 million - and will sharply reduce its gearing of 34 per cent. The group has a book value of £2 million.

The six acre site in Clonskeagh is zoned industrial, and property sources believe that the buildings on the site will be redeveloped for industrial and office use. The site adjoins the Jefferson Smurfit headquarters complex, the Beech Hill office campus, Ericsson and the Riverview leisure complex.