An investor is understood to have paid in excess of £3 million for two adjoining Georgian office buildings which have been occupied by solicitors Arthur Cox at 42/43 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. It is thought to be a record price for Georgian buildings in the city. However, their superb location close to the Shelbourne Hotel added considerable value to them. The new owner is expected to refurbish the two houses before offering them for letting. Agents McNally Handy originally quoted a guideline price of £1.8 million for the buildings but later raised it to £2.5 million because of the high level of interest. There were six tenders for the two interconnecting buildings which have 7,640 sq ft, including a particularly fine reception area and a wood-panelled boardroom. There are 11-car parking spaces, which are reached from Merrion Court. The buildings were owned by three partners of Arthur Cox, one of the city's best-known firms of solicitors which recently moved to Earlsfort Terrace where it took over 55,000 sq ft vacated by Lifetime Assurance, a subsidiary of Bank of Ireland.