BCP Asset Management seeking €25m for Fumbally Estate in Dublin 8

Having paid €33.5 million to acquire the Fumbally Estate in an off-market transaction from M7 Real Estate in 2018, BCP Capital has instructed agent CBRE to find a buyer for the Dublin 8 complex at a significantly lower guide price of €25 million. Should a sale proceed at that level, it would represent a 29 per cent discount on the price BCP paid to secure ownership of the property on behalf of its BCP International Property Fund (IPF) for it six years ago.

Located approximately 750m (half a mile) from St Stephen’s Green on Fumbally Lane, off New Street in Dublin 8, the Fumbally Estate comprises four buildings, one of which is a purpose-built third-generation office block. Fumbally Square, and three former distillery buildings – Fumbally Studio, Mews, and Court – have all been repurposed as office accommodation. The purpose-built block dates from 2007 and was developed by a company controlled by Sean Mulryan. It comprises 4,105sq m (44,186sq ft) of grade A office space.

The sale also includes four two-bedroom apartments and a 0.37-acre development site to the rear of the complex. The site has full planning permission in place for a six-storey enterprise centre, extending to approximately 5,326sq m (57,329sq ft).

The Fumbally Estate is currently generating annual rental income of €1.7 million from its existing tenant line-up which includes Irish Art Review Ltd , Dita Eyewear Europe Ltd, Disability Federation of Ireland, Larian Studios Games Limited, SquareUp International Ltd and School Thing Ltd. There is scope, however, according to the selling agent, to increase that revenue through a combination of asset management initiatives, asset improvement plans, the leasing of vacant accommodation and the development of the complex’s 0.37-acre site.

While the scheme is situated within close proximity to St Stephen’s Green and Dublin’s wider, traditional central business district, it is located in the heart of the now-thriving Dublin 8, an area which has undergone significant commercial and residential development over recent years. The nearby Newmarket Square has, for instance, seen the arrival of Newmarket Yards, a scheme comprising 413 apartments and a 151-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, the 202-bed Aloft Hotel, and the Mill and Tannery student accommodation schemes which comprise 400 and 300 bed spaces respectively.

Commenting on the sale of Fumbally Square, Dessie Kilkenny, executive director with CBRE’s investment properties division said: “We anticipate a strong level of interest from a multitude of capital sources. The robust, in-place rental income offers an investor optionality and importantly time to improve the asset and income profile in line with the significant development focus in the general area.”