OfficeLettings:It looks like HSBC will pay an annual rent of around €3.8 million for 6,457sq m (69,500sq ft) of space at 1 Grand Canal Square and, in the process, take up a good deal more space than it occupies elsewhere in the city, writes Gretchen Friemann

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, is close to signing a deal for three floors of the landmark office development at Grand Canal Square in Dublin's docklands.

The move is likely to prompt speculation about the bank's expansion plans for the Republic as the new headquarters at developer Roy Strudwick's building is significantly larger than the bank's current premises in the city centre.

According to informed sources, HSBC will pay an annual rent of around €3.8 million for 6,457sq m (69,500sq ft) of space at 1 Grand Canal Square.

At present, the bank holds a variety of leases on a total of 3,437sq m (37,000sq ft) at the Harcourt Centre, where the Clancourt Group, which is controlled by the property developer Charlie Kenny, is landlord.

It's understood HSBC has decided to sub-lease this space when it moves to the docklands.

However, the bank denies any deal is on the table. According to Joe Dirvis, deputy chief executive officer at HSBC's Irish division, 1 Grand Canal Square was "among a number of properties" the organisation had looked at and he said it would be a "few months yet" before any deal was concluded. He added that it would be incorrect to assume an "increase in space would lead to a higher headcount".

In the UK, HSBC is pursuing a radical plan aimed at halving the number of people working out of its international offices in Canary Wharf. The bank's chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, announced earlier this month that he had "challenged staff in seven years to have 50 per cent of that building empty, sub-let to somebody else".

He said: "I don't think we're a really progressive, perceptive company if 8,000 people have to get up at some unearthly hour to come into the office and go again. Technology should change our thought processes."

The bank's work-from-home drive follows the €1.6 billion sale of its headquarters in April to the Spanish property group Metrovacesa - the UK's largest ever property transaction.

In the past year HSBC has added 170 people to its Irish workforce through the opening of its €2 million staff training centre in Sandyford. The bank, which has been in business in the Republic for almost 30 years, currently employs around 550 people here.

HSBC's proposed move to 1 Grand Canal Square, a tinted glass office building on the west side of the €8 million public space, means it will be co-tenants with the international consultancy firm, Accenture. The company agreed to lease the fourth floor last March and is thought to be paying between €624 and €646 per sq m (€58 and €60 per sq ft) for 2,323sq m (25,000sq ft) of space.

Only the fifth floor remains unaccounted for at the Duffy Mitchell O'Donoghue-designed property, which is widely regarded as one of the best developments in the burgeoning docklands area.

Florence Stanley of agent CB Richard Ellis is representing HSBC in its negotiations but she declined to comment or speculate about any deal.

Pat McCormack of agent Palmer McCormack, who is representing the veteran developer, Mr Strudwick, was also unavailable for comment.