Just over four years on from its acquisition of the former headquarter offices of the now-defunct Irish Nationwide Building Society in a forward-funding deal from Hines and its Hong Kong partner, the Petersen Group, German-headquartered Union Investment has secured its first tenant at the newly developed Two Grand Parade in Dublin 6.
Element Fleet Management, a company which describes itself on its website as “the largest pure-play automotive fleet manager in the world”, has agreed to occupy 13,255sq ft of space at the scheme. While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, The Irish Times understands the Canadian-headquartered company has signed a 15-year lease at a rent of €57 per sq ft. Element’s new global office will employ 70 people and be located on the third floor of a newly built block to the rear of the development. Karl Byrne of Cushman & Wakefield acted on behalf of Union Investment while Keith O’Neill of BNP Paribas Real Estate represented Element Fleet Management in the transaction.
Located on the banks of the Grand Canal and immediately adjacent to the Luas green-line stop at Charlemont, Two Grand Parade comprises 106,000sq ft of LEED Platinum office accommodation distributed across two blocks of eight and five storeys respectively. Hines and Petersen acquired the former eight-storey headquarter offices of Irish Nationwide for about €36 million in 2016 with a view to extending and upgrading the property through the addition of the new block. Built originally in the 1960s as the headquarters of the PJ Carroll cigarette company, the property, a protected structure, comprised 39,200sq ft of office accommodation on a 1.7-acre site before its redevelopment. Hines was appointed as development manager for the project following the deal with Union Investment in January 2020.
While the completion of Two Grand Parade was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, it has since been transformed into a modern, sustainable A3 Ber office with flexible floor plates ranging from 3,500sq ft to 15,000sq ft and a range of amenities including terraces, dual pedestrian entrances, a dedicated bike entrance and executive drop-off points. There is direct access from the building’s 1.4-acre campus to the Charlemont Luas stop along with car parking and bike parking spaces. The property has 12 showers in a dedicated club-standard locker room. Currently, some 80,000sq ft of space remains available for lease.
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Commenting on his company’s decision to locate its new office at Two Grand Parade, Element Fleet Management’s executive vice-president of leasing Chris Gittens said: “This is an exciting milestone for Element as we establish our new centralised leasing function in Dublin.”
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Jack Winsley, senior asset manager for Union Investment’s UK and Ireland office, and Gary Corrigan, Hines Real Estate Ireland’s managing director, welcomed Element Fleet Management’s arrival at Two Grand Parade, saying it was a testament to the quality of the development.
