Less than a year after it moved into its new Dublin base, Facebook’s headquarters is up for sale with an asking price of €163.8m (£131m) — making it the republic’s most expensive single office building since the Celtic Tiger years.
The block, at No 4 Grand Canal Square, is being sold on by Chartered Land, which developed the business district several years ago. Founded in 2003 it is now working with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to reduce its debts to Ireland’s bad bank.
In July Chartered Land named Andrew Gunne, the former managing director of Key Capital Real Estate, as its new chief executive and who is known to be actively seeking development opportunities with international investors. And there is no question that joint agents, CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), will be targeting heavyweight overseas investors and fund managers for the sale.
One possibility is that Facebook, which is unaffected by the disposal, will bid for its own European headquarters. “It certainly has the money and owning a prime Dublin site you no longer have to pay rent on is a screwed down investment,” one analyst suggested.
Containing 120,000 sq ft, the building is recognised as one of the most energy efficient in the country. If the €163.8m price is realised, the square footage price would equate to €1,345 (£1,077) — far in excess of the €845 (£676) per square foot achieved last December with the €93m (£74.4m) sale of a neighbouring block at One Grand Canal Square.
If achieved the price would also make the Facebook building the priciest single office block in Dublin since the pre-recession Celtic Tiger years and the arrival of the first American technology companies.
The disposal also fits neatly into NAMA’s recent strategy of selling off at least €250m worth of assets every quarter as it reduces its portfolio and takes advantage of the recovering commercial property market.
Other NAMA-held assets about to be offered to the market include: Alexandra House, in the heart of Dublin’ Commercial District and close to a number of banking, financial institutions and embassies; 86-88 Lower Leeson Street in Dublin 2, and One Grand Parade, a 26,996 sq ft office property in Dublin 6.
Both CBRE and JLL have also be retained to handle the sale of the adjoining No 5 Grand Canal Square, rented by Facebook under a separate lease. The two buildings house the tech company’s headquarters for Europe, Africa and the Middle East and is Facebook’s biggest operation outside of the United States.
