One of the leading Irish business advisory firms, BDO Simpson Xavier, is to be the principal tenant in a new office block being developed by the College of Surgeons behind the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre.
The company is to occupy 62,000 sq ft of space at a rent of £35 per sq ft (€44.44). The 20-year lease provides for five yearly upwards only rent reviews. It is one of the largest lettings in the city centre over the past year.
BDO Simpson Xavier will occupy the top four floors of Beaux Lane House when it is completed in May 2002. The remaining 45,000 sq ft of space on the three lower floors is available for letting at £40 per sq ft (€50.79) through Finnegan Menton.
The agency says the three floors are likely to be let in one unit, but they will also consider whether to let them on a floor-by-floor basis with units from 10,000 sq ft.
The seven-storey block over a basement car-park will stand on a one-acre island site which was assembled over a seven-year period by Keatinge Investments, a subsidiary company of the college. Architects Brian O'Halloran & Associates designed the building with large open-plan floor plates around a spacious central atrium to avail of natural light. The building contractors are Michael McNamara & Company.
The availability of a huge volume of car-parking in the immediate vicinity is thought to have been an important factor in persuading BDO to relocate to Beaux Lane House. The college and the owners of the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre have more than 1,000 spaces in two combined multi-storey car parks directly opposite the new office block. The agents had been quoting rents of £2,500 (€3,174) for individual spaces in the basement car park.
Nicholas Corson of Finnegan Menton said that the BDO letting, along with the recent decision by Pioneer Investments to take 50,000 sq ft at George's Quay, demonstrated the continuing strength of the city centre office market. It was obvious that tenants were becoming more selective and were insisting on the best locations and the best designed buildings.
Ben Pearson of Douglas Newman Good Commercial, who advised BDO, said Beaux Arts House was chosen because of its superb location from a staff and client perspective. "It is hard to beat that location, next to St Stephen's Green and Grafton Street and right next door to clients in the Dublin 2 central business district."
Anthuan Xavier, managing partner of BDO Simpson Xavier, says their focus was on providing multidisciplined financial, accountancy and business advice to entrepreneurial businesses in Ireland.
The company has experienced exceptional growth since its foundation in 1982. Since then it has doubled in size every four years and now has over 500 staff in offices thoughout the country. It is affiliated to BDO International, a worldwide network of accountants and business advisors.
