French investor in €18m deal for HSE offices at Dublin’s North Park

Investment is fully to health service on new 15-year lease from May 2023 with no break options

French investor Iroko Zen has made its eighth acquisition in the Irish investment market following the completion of a deal for a fully let office investment at North Park Business Park in Dublin 11.

The company has acquired J5 Plaza in an off-market transaction from Irish property investor and operator, Fine Grain Property. While the value of the transaction has not been disclosed, The Irish Times understands that Iroko Zen paid about €18 million to secure ownership of the investment.

Fine Grain Property purchased J5 Plaza for its part in 2019, at which point the property was multi-let to a number of tenants including the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Following active asset management, the building has been upgraded, and is now let in its entirety to the HSE under a new 15-year lease from May 2023, with no break options. The lease incorporates five-yearly rent reviews in accordance with the consumer price index (CPI).

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J5 Plaza comprises a large, high-profile office building of 62,211sq ft along with 140 car-parking spaces.

The property enjoys a prominent position within North Park, an established business park located off the M50 motorway. There are a number of amenities in the immediate area, including Charlestown Shopping Centre, which is within a short walk of the scheme. Dublin Airport is situated within 7km of the property.

News of the deal comes just one month on from Iroko Zen’s purchase for €9.8 million of the premises of DIY retail giant Woodie’s on Cork Road in Waterford city.

Earlier this year, it paid €4,970,840 for Westland House (Block A), a fully let three-storey office block at Westland Park in Dublin 12, while in March it paid €4.965 million for units 5A and 6 at Galway Retail Park. In January, Iroko ZEN secured ownership of South Quarter Airside near Swords in north Dublin following the agreement of an €18 million deal with the Michael J Wright Group.

Commenting on its latest deal, Michele McGarry of Colliers said: “We are delighted to have concluded the acquisition on behalf of Iroko Zen. The long, unexpired term, indexation at rent review coupled with the blue-chip covenant underpinned the investment proposition.”

Fergal Burke of Avison Young advised Fine Grain Property on its asset strategy for J5 Plaza and negotiated both the lease to HSE and the property’s sale to Iroko Zen.

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan is Property Editor of The Irish Times