The McCann family of Fyffes has shown yet again that it is a dab hand when it comes to property investments. Seven months after buying a pair of Georgian houses at 42/43 St Stephen's Green for £3.5 million, it has just sold them on at a handsome profit of around £500,000 to the famous US university, Boston College, which was founded by the Jesuits in 1863. The Co Louth businessmen bought the former Arthur Cox buildings with the intention of moving Fyffes's HQ in there, but then changed their minds, apparently when they realised that they would need to spend a small fortune on refurbishments. It's not the first time they have changed their minds on the location of their corporate HQ. Last Christmas, they also dropped plans to move to a 26-year-old office building at 6 Burlington Road, in Ballsbridge, when they were offered - and accepted - a profit of around £4.5 million on the former Bank of Ireland Finance block.

Beats selling bananas. Happily, it looks as though Boston College will be spending quite a bit of money on the St Stephen's Green houses, which are to be used as an administrative office. Top-rank architect Austin Dunphy has been engaged to oversee the upgrading of the early 18th century houses, which were originally gabled. The buildings still have their original staircases and timber wall panelling.