Deka Completes €37M Molesworth Street Deal That Shows Market Where Pricing Is
German investment giant Deka Immobilien confirmed it has acquired the Grade A office building at 40 Molesworth Street in Dublin from State Street for around €37M.
The 30K SF property will become part of WestInvest InterSelect's real estate assets and is located on the south side of Molesworth Street, at the junction with Dawson Street.
The building is also understood to have attracted bids from Macquarie Asset Management, HIH Real Estate and MEAG, reflecting renewed interest in the Dublin commercial real estate sector.
Deka Immobilien said in a statement that the acquisition “strengthens our presence in one of Europe's most vibrant economic centres and reflects our commitment to high-quality and sustainable real estate developments.”
BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Director and Head of Research John McCartney previously told Bisnow that the sale of 40 Molesworth Street could act as a catalyst for Dublin’s moribund offices market, “which has been starved of comparable evidence.”
The fully let building houses the Irish headquarters of international law firm DLA Piper and a branch of optical and hearing aid service retailer Specsavers, and 40 Molesworth Street has also attained LEED Gold and Building Energy Rating A3 certification.
The news comes as the headline seasonally adjusted BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland Construction Total Activity Index rose to 53.2 in April from 51.6 in March. This was above the 50 mark, which indicates no change, for the second month running, representing the first back-to-back increase in activity for close to two years.
“The April PMI also showed strong expansion in commercial building,” BNP's McCartney said in a statement. “This reflects the fact that a large pipeline of office buildings are now getting to the finishing-out stage which is laborious and involves a wide variety of trades.
“However, with oversupply in the market, the flow of speculative office starts tailed-off some time ago. Therefore, refurbishments and retrofits, rather than new-builds, will account for an increasing share of commercial activity over the medium-term.”
