IRISH COMMERCIAL PROPERTY player Hibernia REIT has snapped up the Gateway site at Newlands cross in Dublin for less than ten per cent of what it was sold for in 2006.

The investor paid €10 million for the site, which was sold by An Post to two Dublin brothers in 2006 for €107 million.

Hibernia said that it would finance the purchase from existing cash resources.

The site, which covers 14 acres and offers 178,000 square feet of warehouse accommodation is 46 per cent occupied and will net the new owners an annual rental income of €517,000.

46 per cent of the property is currently occupied, meaning that the new owner will have plenty of scope to increase the yield on the property by attracting new clients.

Hibernia has now made three major acquisitions since listing on the Dublin and London markets in December 2013, and has an investment portfolio of €128 million spread across a variety of assets.

Hibernia chief executive Kevin Nowlan said:

We are pleased to have acquired an income producing asset with enormous development potential in the medium to long term. The site occupies a strategic location adjacent to the intersection of Ireland’s two busiest roads and Dublin’s light rail system.

The site is near the M50 and the Luas Red Line stop at the Red Cow. A document distributed by real estate agent CBRE outlines zoning for the site covering a wide variety of services, including manufacturing, R&D, light industry and enterprise areas.

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