Cumberland House, one of central Dublin’s most well-known office buildings is being offered for sale through Savills, with a guide price in the region of €50 million. 

Built in c. 1977, the property comprises a seven storey over basement office building located in the heart of Dublin 2. The building extends to a total net internal floor area (NIA) of approximately 10,428 sq m (112,000 sq ft), with a gross internal floor area (GIA) of approximately 13,564 sq m (146,000 sq ft), together with 213 car parking spaces on a site of 1.64 acres.

More importantly, the property benefits from existing planning permission - which has recently been extended - for the construction of a new Grade A office building extending to a GIA of approximately 29,265 sq m (315,000 sq ft) and a NIA of 24,805 sq m (267,000 sq ft), together with 73 car parking spaces. 

Mark Reynolds, Director of Development & Consultancy at Savills Ireland said;

“Cumberland House is a unique development opportunity that offers a purchaser the ability to provide a prime Grade A office building in a highly accessible and central location. The benefit of the existing planning permission ensures the certainty of deliverability in a timely fashion that will allow potential occupiers to consider Cumberland House immediately as a future destination.”

There has been no noteworthy office building constructed in Dublin since 2010 and, at present, there are only two new significant office projects under way - the former Canada House on St. Stephens Green and the Former Veterinary College in Ballsbridge. The Burlington House development on Burlington Road in Dublin 4 is expected to commence in the coming months. 

Take-up of office space in the first six months of 2014 was just over 98,000 sq m. Take up for 2014 as a whole will be approximately 200,000 sq.m. – the highest level of activity in six years. Approximately 71% of this space (70,000 sq m) was taken in Central Dublin. While tenants have consistently shown a preference for city centre locations, availability of space will largely dictate where tenants go over the next couple of years as demand grows and supply shrinks.

With occupier demand on the rise, a highly accessible central location is paramount for the majority of employers. With the property location just behind Merrion Square, and therefore extremely well served by public transport, Cumberland House satisfies that criteria. Pearse Street DART and Train Station are within a 5 minute walk, which also provides a one stop DART trip to Connolly Station and the LUAS Red Line. St. Stephen’s Green is also a short 10 minute walk, providing access to the south east of the city via the LUAS Green Line. Government Buildings and the amenities of Trinity College Dublin, Merrion Square, St. Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street, Dublin’s premier shopping street, are also within the immediate vicinity.

The combination of strong occupier demand and tight supply is a recipe for rental growth, and prime office rents have increased by 30% or so, in the last 12 months. As a result, many investors, including REITS, have turned to development opportunities to generate a better return on their capital given the recent compression of investor yields. Very few development opportunities of this quality have been offered to the market but the strength of interest in those that have been offered, indicate clearly level of demand for this product type. Indeed, the office development market has been slow to react to the increased job creation and occupier demand, and Cumberland House presents developers with a chance to get involved at the beginning of the current development cycle.

Cumberland House is being sold with vacant possession by way of private treaty and Savills say that they have already received considerable interest from both local and international investors and developers.