It is reported that another heavily discounted modern office block in Dublin has been snapped up by an overseas buyer after intense bidding between Irish and foreign investors. The successful bidder has reportedly agreed to pay €15.5 million, €1.5 million above the guide price, for the recently refurbished office building opposite the former Jury’s Hotel in Dublin 4. The investment will reportedly give a return of over 7%.

It is reported that a 2.04-acre site in the centre of Ballsbridge in Dublin 4, which was bought at the height of the property boom for €171.5 million is to be offered for sale again at over €15 million. The former UCD Veterinary College site comes to the market, through agents Jones Lang La Salle, with planning permission for 15,600sq m (167,917sq ft.) of retail and restaurant space, 87 apartments and penthouses and a leisure centre extending to 1,908sq m (20,536sq ft.). The projected 91 per cent fall will be the largest slippage so far for a site in Dublin since the collapse of the property market.

It is reported that CHQ, a shopping centre in Dublin’s docklands, is for sale for in the region of €10 million, a fraction of the reported €50 million cost of remodelling and redeveloping it in 2007. It is reported that several prominent investors have shown interest in the forthcoming sale in the belief that they can possibly pick up a bargain and turn CHQ into a successful venue. Approximately 80 per cent of the overall space in CHQ is vacant after what was once marketed as Dublin’s most exclusive shopping centre failed to attract the top luxury retailers.

It is reported that Beneco Privatstiftung, the Austrian hotel company owned by Russian business woman Elena Baturina, is looking to invest up to €200 million in upmarket hotels in Ireland. The company acquired one of Dublin’s best-know hotels, the Morrison Hotel for a reported €22 million last year.