City Development Fund,(the Fund), a sub-fund of Targeted Investment Opportunities ICAV (“TIO ICAV”) has signed a lease with leading business advisory firm Grant Thornton, brokered by Savills, to deliver a new headquarters building of 10,960sq.m. (118,000sq.ft.) at 13-18 City Quay, Dublin 2.

Grant Thornton is currently based at 24-26 City Quay and has experienced significant expansion with a 46% growth in revenue in the past three years alone. The firm currently employs over 1,000 people across its eight office locations in Ireland and will create 250 additional jobs in the next 18 months.

The office building is scheduled for completion in 2018 with work is underway on site and the building contract has been awarded to Bennett Construction. Up to 350 workers will be employed in the building’s delivery.

The €65m project is being promoted by the Fund which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. The Fund’s shareholders are Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”), Irish-based property and construction organization Bennett Group and NAMA, Oaktree is the Fund’s Investment Manager and Bennett Property Limited is the Fund’s Asset Advisor.

The project was marketed by Savills and CBRE as part of The Reveal Developments which aim to highlight Dublin’s creativity, confidence, intelligence and connections to global business.

Earlier this year the Fund completed the construction of a new building at 6-8 Hanover Quay comprising 4,600 sq. m. of office space. The building is the flagship European headquarters of AirBnB. This was the first major pre-letting completed in the South Docks during the current development cycle, with this Grant Thornton pre-letting on City Quay being the second.

Since the City Quay site is outside the Dublin SDZ full planning permission was obtained through the usual process with Dublin City Council.

This deal is notable as it is the second major pre-letting completed in the South Docks area during the current development cycle, both have been by TIO plc. The building is not located within the Docklands SDZ but full planning permission was obtained through the conventional route.

Paul McCann, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton, said:

“We are moving to facilitate the exceptional growth of the firm over the past number of years. Since we merged with RSM Farrell Grant Sparks last year, we have been operating from two separate locations in Dublin.”

“In order for us to continue to grow at the rate we are doing now, it’s strategically important that we future proof the practice and come together in a flagship headquarters. A key selling point of this building is that it enables us to stay in City Quay, it’s where we grew up and we’re very excited about our future here in our new home.”

Justin Bickle, Chairman of TIO ICAV and Managing Director of Oaktree commented:

“In 2013 we partnered with NAMA and Bennett Group to provide the capital necessary to facilitate the creation of world class office developments in the heart of Dublin’s South Docks. We are delighted that Grant Thornton have committed to this major development and that we continue to set the pace by achieving a pre-letting of another building within our portfolio.

While the construction team now turn their attention to delivering this modern and state of the art building, we are already on site and preparing to commence construction of 5 Hanover Quay, another major office building in the South Docks of almost 18,000sq.m. The marketing of it and our landmark office and residential scheme at 76 Sir John Rogersons Quay will get underway in the autumn”

Brendan McDonagh, CEO NAMA commented:

“We are delighted, as partners in the City Development Fund, to be involved with this project which will deliver a really high quality, attractive new building on this important strategic site opposite the IFSC on the south side of the River Liffey”