Real estate investor Mel Sutcliffe of Quanta Capital has acquired No 43/44 on O'Connell Street in Dublin city centre from Irish Life for about €5 million.
Located on a prominent corner of O’Connell Street, at the intersection with Middle Abbey Street, the property which was formerly occupied by Clarks Shoes, sits immediately next door to Easons’ flagship store and just 30m from the GPO.
Developed in 1926, the building is a mid-terrace, five-storey over-basement property noted for its “Portland stone” facade and extending to 948.3sq m (10,250sq ft). It is laid out as retail accommodation at ground level and basement, with four floors of office space overhead.
Bernadine Hogan acted for the vendor, Irish Life.
Prime retailer
It is understood that Quanta Capital has already secured a prime international retailer to occupy the ground floor and basement of the property and will be offering the office space on the upper floors to let in the coming weeks.
The O’Connell Street building represents the latest in a number of acquisitions to have been completed by Quanta Capital in and around Dublin city centre over recent months.
Only two weeks ago, The Irish Times reported on the company’s purchase for €4 million of No 10 St Stephen’s Green, a high-profile Georgian building located immediately adjacent to the Hibernian Club.
Last December, the company completed the €40 million off-market purchase of the landmark Shelbourne House in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The property previously formed part of the portfolio of O’Malley Homes and Development, and has for years served as the location for its headquarters.
All told, Quanta Capital is understood to have invested over €500 million in the Irish market to date, with the backing of US financial giants Fairfield Real Estate Finance and Oaktree Capital Management.
