Northbrook Clinic offers investors defensive opportunity at €5m

Private investors looking for a defensive play to lessen the impact of the current wave of economic volatility on their portfolios may be interested in the opportunity presented by the sale of the well-known Northbrook Clinic in Ranelagh, Dublin 6. The facility, which is fully let and producing rental income of about €330,000 per annum, is being offered to the market by joint agents Knight Frank and North’s Property for €5 million. The guide price reflects a net initial yield of 6 per cent after standard purchaser’s costs of 9.96 per cent. It is understood that VAT is not applicable to the freehold sale of the asset.

Located on Northbrook Road in Ranelagh, the Northbrook Clinic comprises a striking three-storey detached Gothic Revival-style building. Designed by the architect WG Murray, the property extends to 929.39sq m (10,005sq ft), and is built of granite with dressings of Drogheda limestone. The building sits under a traditional timber-cut, slate pitched roof with a variety of ornamental ironwork on and around its roof and façade. The most striking attribute is its tower feature with copper-clad (now part) spire.

Specialist facility

Having accommodated successive generations of men aged between 65 and 90 faced with destitution over the course of a century, the building was converted into a specialist dental facility in 1993. Today, it continues to evolve with its 12 suites occupied by a range of dental, medical and cosmetic consultants.

The clinic’s site offers scope for the addition of an extension to the rear of the existing building, subject to planning permission. A feasibility study prepared by a conservation architect suggests that a further five consultant suites extending to a total area of 343sq m (3,692sq ft) could be accommodated here.