NEGOTIATIONS have reached an advanced stage on the sale of a new office block to be occupied by NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin's International Financial Services Centre for close to £11 million. The yield will be around 6 per cent, one of the lowest recorded in the Custom House Docks. Jones Lang Wootton is handling the sale of the investment, which offers significant tax breaks for the new owners. NCB Stockbrokers will be paying a rent of £26 per square foot for the 25,500-square-foot building and £1,500 for 24 car-parking spaces. The building is currently being fitted out and will be ready for occupation in March. Like other tenants in the IFSC, NCB will be able to claim double rent allowances and tax breaks on the overseas element of its business. The company operates as a stand-alone subsidiary of Ulster Bank, which acquired it at the end of 1994 for £25 million. NCB is also Irish gilt market-makers for the bank.
Hamilton Osborne King, which advised NCB on the deal, is to assign its office space at Ferry House in Lower Mount Street. The 17,000 square feet involved is held on three leases at rents of between £10 and £12 per square foot.