The Dublin businessman Mr Michael Maughan has paid in the region of £5 million for Amev House, an eight-year-old office building in Blackrock, Co Dublin, which was sold by tender through Jones Lang Wootton. It is understood that there was intense competition between about half a dozen investors and owner-occupiers for the 14,000 sq ft building. The lowest tender was around £4.25m. Buildings of this size and quality are particularly scarce in the city. It is thought likely that the four-storey building will be occupied by the communications group Ogilvy & Mather, which has been looking for a headquarters building for some time.

Mr Maughan is chairman of the group which is part of WPP plc, the largest communications company in the world. The companies in the Ogilvy & Mather group include Wilson Hartnell, Bell and The Network. Mr Maughan has extensive property interests and is chairman of the Gowan Group, which also has a considerable property portfolio for its motor and kitchen distribution businesses.