French investor in €24m deal for MetLife’s Dublin headquarters

French investor Atland Voisin has made its first investment in Ireland’s commercial real estate market, paying about €24 million for “20 on Hatch”, a prime office building on Lower Hatch Street in Dublin city centre.
While the price paid by Atland represents a 9 per cent discount on the €26.5 million price the property had been guiding when it was offered to the market on behalf of Davy Real Estate in April of this year, it’s a full 40 per cent below the valuation ascribed to it by its outgoing owners in 2018. Davy paid €27.5 million to secure ownership of 20 on Hatch in 2014. BNP Paribas advised Atland on its acquisition of the property while Savills handled the sale on behalf of Davy Real Estate.
The subject property comprises a six-storey-over-basement office building of 44,735sq ft (4,156sq m), with the majority of the space leased to the global financial services provider MetLife. The medical-device specialist Medtronic had occupied a floor in the building up until recently but has since relocated its principal executive office to its operations at Parkmore Business Park in Galway as part of a cost-saving exercise.
MetLife occupies five floors at 20 on Hatch. In 2018, the company extended its existing lease term for 10 years, at an agreed rent in excess of €50 per square foot. 20 on Hatch serves as Metlife’s operational office headquarters for western and central Europe. The company expanded its Irish presence further in 2017 when it opened a global technology campus in Galway.
20 on Hatch has a C3 BER rating at present, and as such, is expected to see investment from its new owners to bring its sustainability credentials up to the standards typically found in the latest generation of office buildings.
The building occupies a much sought-after location in the heart of Dublin’s central business district. Employers in the immediate area include blue-chip law firms Arthur Cox and Eversheds Sutherland, and Big Four accountants and consultants Deloitte.