AIB’S SUCCESS in selling its most valuable bank branch on Dublin’s Grafton Street has prompted another vendor to test the strength of the investment market by offering for sale an Ericsson-occupied office building at Clonskeagh in Dublin 4.

The €10.05 million asking price will provide an initial yield of 8 per cent, according to Duncan Lyster of selling agent Lisney.

Colm Luddy of CB Richard Ellis found a UK buyer at close to €28 million for the AIB bank premises which has dual frontage on to both Grafton Street and Wicklow Street.

The investment will give the purchaser a yield of almost 6 per cent.

A different British investor made a somewhat similar offer last January but the sale was blocked by the bank.

Lisney is to begin marketing Boole House in Beech Hill Park with a new-20 year lease signed by Ericsson.

There will be a break option in year 10.

The 3,941sq m (42,425sq ft) block was built in the late 1990s to a modern specification including raised floors, suspended ceilings and double glazed windows.

Ericsson has just completed an extensive upgrading of the upper floors, providing new ceilings, lighting, wall finishes, floors and cabling.

The initial rent roll of €870,000 reflects a rate of €180 per sq m (€16.80 per sq ft).

The lease will incorporate a fixed rental increase in five years time of €1 million per annum, increasing the overall return to 9.2 per cent.

Lyster said that the strength of Ericsson as a tenant, the 10-year minimum income stream, the fixed rental increase in 2015 and the realistic pricing should combine to generate good interest. “This is one of the few rack-rented investment opportunities on offer in Ireland.”