NAMA sell Ireland’s tallest office building to Google for €99.9 million

Google have agreed a fee with Real Estate Opportunities worth just under €100 million for the Montevetro building in Barrow Street, Dublin.

The 15-storey building is the tallest commercial building in the country, and consists of 210,000 square feet of office space.

“The transaction is one of the largest sales of commercial property in Ireland in several years and the company believes it has achieved a very good price in the current market environment,” REO Chairman Ray Horney said.

“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.”

John Herlihy of Google Ireland was equally happy with the deal, saying “We are at capacity in our EMEA headquarters in 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 building.

“Acquiring Montevetro also means we have the space and flexibility to support our future operations.”

Frank Daly, Chairman of NAMA, was also in high spirits, and declared that “based on the sale price achieved, all NAMA's outlay - acquisition price and further investment - has been recovered.”

He added, “It is an excellent example of NAMA's ability to enhance the value of its assets and will be seen as a positive sign for the Irish commercial property market.”