Over €10m knocked off asking price of Sandyford office block
Colony was led by Tom Barrack, a close confidante of American president Donald Trump, and was one of the first US companies to enter the Irish property market after the financial crash when it teamed up with Irish developer Johnny Ronan.
Colony helped finance the Ronan family's property interests out of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), including Connaught House on Burlington Road in Dublin and Bewley's coffee house on Grafton Street.
It also was a partner with Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) on the development of Facebook's planned headquarters at Fibonacci Square in Ballsbridge.
However, Colony decided to exit the Irish market and wrap its share of Irish joint ventures into a sale of $2.7bn of international real-estate assets to New York-based Fortress Investment Group.
Colony had been also been involved with U+I in four of its Irish properties through a firm called Spectre whose properties included The Hive, Carrisbrook House, Ballsbridge, and Donnybrook House.
In 2022 Colony sought €34.4m for The Hive but failed to secure it. Subsequently Grant Thornton was appointed receiver to the building, and it has now put the property on the market at the reduced price.
Extending to 6,785 sq m across four floors, The Hive was comprehensively refurbished by U+I in 2019.
Agent HWBC says that its €24.2m guide price would deliver a net initial yield of 7pc, with the potential to exceed 8pc through upcoming lease events and income growth.
The building generates annual rental income of €1.95m, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 8.2 years to expiry, underpinned by what is described as a high-calibre tenant line-up.
Existing tenants include Grafton Group, the owner of Woodies and Chadwicks; NTR plc, a quoted infrastructure investment company managing over €3bn in sustainable assets; and Cubic Telecom, a software firm valued at over €900m. The building is 86pc let and the agents are quoting €28 per sq ft for the remaining vacant space. It also comes with 114 car parking spaces, 96 cycle spaces and 12 EV charging stations.
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