ACQUISITION
BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland represented Union Investment on the acquisition of Ballast House, a mixed use property combining offices and retail over 2,700 sq.m of rental space in Dublin city centre. The property occupies a striking corner location on Aston Quay/Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 and is one of Ireland’s best-known buildings due to featuring prominently in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The façade dates from 1866 and was retained when the historic building was demolished and rebuilt in 1981. The property was extensively upgraded in 2018. Occupiers include Pembroke Hall, Toast, Circle K and Carrolls Irish Gifts. The vendor was Zetland Goodbody ICAV. The purchase price was c. €27 million, 5.2% investment return and the property was added to the holdings of institutional open-ended real estate fund UniInstitutional European Real Estate. This was the first acquisition for the fund in Ireland.
