Google buys Montevetro building in Dublin
Google has acquired the Montevetro office building on Barrow Street from Real Estate Opportunities plc (REO). Treasury Holdings is the investment manager for REO and a majority shareholder in the company.
NAMA, which acquired the Montevetro building as security for a loan that transferred from a participating institution in April 2010, have advanced the necessary working capital to complete the development.
Treasury Holdings, NAMA and CIE worked together to deliver the building to schedule.
John Bruder, Managing Director at Treasury Holdings Ireland said; “REO’s development of this landmark 15-storey commercial building is part of our stated strategy of developing high quality, commercial real estate in well located areas. Google is an iconic name globally and its decision to buy Montevetro is good news for Ireland and we wish them every success in their new home.”
Frank Daly, Chairman of NAMA, said: "NAMA provided extensive resources including working capital and expertise to ensure the development was completed on time. Based on the sale price achieved, all NAMA’s outlay – acquisition price and further investment – has been recovered.
"The successful completion of the Montevetro development and its sale again reflect the positive potential of NAMA to support the commercial property market in Ireland without compromising its objective of recovering monies owed to the taxpayer. NAMA played an intrinsic part in brokering the deal between purchaser and seller and in putting this deal together. It is an excellent example of NAMA’s ability to enhance the value of its assets for the benefit of taxpayers.
"I believe the sale of a building of the size of 210,000 sq feet will be seen as a very positive sign for the future of the Irish Commercial property market. I also believe that having such an internationally renowned purchaser demonstrates continuing confidence in Ireland and particularly in our attractiveness to major global businesses.”
John Herlihy, Vice President of Ad Operations, and head of Google in Ireland said: "We are at capacity in our EMEA headquarters on Barrow Street and the additional space will allow us to relocate some teams to Montevetro and to create an even more spacious working environment for Googlers in our existing buildings. Acquiring Montevetro also means we have the space and flexibility to support our future operations.
"Here in Dublin we are constantly seeking the best and brightest talent and at any one time we have a number of exciting opportunities available for the right people to come work with us. The majority of the team in Dublin help businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to take advantage of the internet. It’s already a big part of the way Europe does business but there’s still a long way to go. For example, Forrester reported that online retail sales in Western Europe (EU-17) reached €68 bn in 2009, and are expected to reach €114 bn in 2014. Our teams in Dublin will be helping to drive that growth. It’s a very exciting time in our company and it’s great to be a part of it."
The 15-storey building developed by Real Estate Opportunities plc is the tallest commercial building in Dublin and comprises 210,000 sq ft of prime office space in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2.
The building reaches 67 metres high.
