Deka to expand Irish portfolio with €41.5m purchase of Airbnb’s European headquarters – The Irish Times

Deka Immobilien is closing in on the purchase of Airbnb’s European headquarters in Dublin‘s South Docklands.

While the sale of 8 Hanover Quay is yet to be finalized, it is understood that Deka has agreed to pay more than 41.5 million euros which the joint agents that BNP Paribas Real Estate and Savills had guided when they placed on the market last September. The property is being sold on behalf of a fund managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Managers (BNP Paribas REIM).

News of Deka’s decision to buy the Benson Street building comes just days after The Irish Times reported on its bid to secure ownership of Penneys’ new distribution center in Newbridge, Co Kildare and a significant stake in Facebook’s new European campus in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. While he lost out to fellow German investor Union Investment in the first place and US private equity giant Blackstone in the latest round, Deka continues to expand its Irish property portfolio.

Earlier this year it agreed to pay €22m and €164m respectively to acquire the Grafton Street premises of fashion retailer & Other Stories and the law firm Matheson’s Riverside headquarters IV in the Dublin docklands.

Clayton Hotel

Last year it acquired the Baggot Plaza property, which Bank of Ireland has leased since 2015, from Kennedy Wilson for 165 million euros, and bought the Clayton Hotel Charlemont from Dalata Hotel Group in a deal of sale-leaseback for 65 million euros. .

In 2019 Deka bought the Marker Hotel in Dublin for 134 million euros, adding to its collection of other Irish hotel assets, which includes the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road and the Gibson Hotel. The Germany-based investor entered the Dublin office market at the end of 2019 with the purchase of the Reflector office building on Hanover Quay for around €155 million.

Deka’s determination to secure Airbnb’s European headquarters premises for its portfolio comes as no surprise. Apart from its strong rental commitment and its attractive yield, the property adjoins the Réflecteur and is linked to it on the basis of the agreement given by BNP Paribas REIM to break down the surrounding wall of the ground floor in order to allow a seamless work environment for Airbnb employees. The company operates from 3,715 m² (40,000 sq ft) over 2½ floors in the six-storey basement Reflector building, while its headquarters in Europe, the Middle East and Africa occupies the 3,747 m² (40,343 square feet) of office space at 8 Hanover Quay.

bicycle factory

The original warehouse at 8 Hanover Quay served for many years as Raleigh’s former bicycle factory before being redeveloped by Targeted Investment Opportunities, a joint venture involving Nama, Oaktree and Bennett Construction.

Practical completion was reached in 2016 and today the building boasts a full-height central atrium featuring a natural auditorium which has made it one of Dublin’s most photographed office interiors.

Number 8 is leased in its entirety to Airbnb Ireland Limited under a full repair and insurance lease, with full warranty from Airbnb Inc’s incumbent parent company, which has been subject to an initial public offering in December 2020 and has a market cap of over $100 billion. .

Airbnb’s next option to terminate the lease is in March 2030, giving 8 Hanover Quay an attractive certain term of 8½ years and a weighted average unexpired lease term of 14½ years expiring in 2036.