The chairman of Esat Telecom, Mr Denis O'Brien, is to buy a site in Grand Canal Quay, Dublin from Esat Telecom for £4 million, use it to build a new office block and lease it back to the company.
The 64,000 square feet site, formerly a cats and dogs home and car park, is opposite the current headquarters of Esat Telecom at the Malthouse.
East Telecom is leasing the site as its current headquarters which will soon be unable to accommodate all the company's staff. Mr O'Brien is to sign a 25-year lease with the company, which will mean annual rental income of £1.4 million, subject to five-year reviews.
According to a spokeswoman for Mr O'Brien the transaction is a "simple property deal" and means the company will get new office accommodation without any capital outlay.
Mr O'Brien already owns the 12,000 square feet Malthouse site which he leases to the company, but it has not been decided what will happen with this property.
Mr O'Brien will be financing the building of the new office block himself and this is expected to be costly. The company hopes to move staff into the new office in November next year.
