Firm linked to the Kennedys snaps up 'Gasworks' building for €40m

Alliance Building 'Gasworks' apartment block in Ringsend, Dublin

Alliance Building 'Gasworks' apartment block in Ringsend, Dublin

thumbnail: Alliance Building 'Gasworks' apartment block in Ringsend, Dublin
thumbnail: Alliance Building 'Gasworks' apartment block in Ringsend, Dublin
Donal O'Donovan

APARTMENTS in one of Dublin's most high profile developments have been sold for around €190,000 each to an investment fund linked to the Kennedy political dynasty.

California-based Kennedy Wilson yesterday closed a €40m deal to buy the landmark 'Gasworks' apartment block close to Dublin city.

The firm is understood to manage part of the Kennedy family fortune and Bobby Shriver, a nephew of John F Kennedy, is a senior adviser to the firm.

It's the latest investment in Ireland by Kennedy Wilson, after it bought a stake in Bank of Ireland last year.

Kennedy Wilson teamed up with Canadian partners Fairfax Financial to buy the 210- unit block in Dublin 4 from receivers Grant Thornton, acting for Ulster Bank.

The deal is close to the asking price of €43m when the property was put up for sale last year, it means the average value of apartments in the block, including parking spaces, is a little over €190,000.

The Alliance Building is at the centre of the 'Gasworks' development in Ringsend in Dublin.

The property sold yesterday is a glass-and-steel barrel built inside an old gasometer.

It is one of the most unusual buildings built in Dublin during the boom, and is popular with workers at Google's nearby European headquarters, as well as other new media ventures in the area.

Rental income is understood to be €3.25m per year.

The building was built by developer Liam Carroll, with backing from Ulster Bank.

The bank seized the property in 2010 following the collapse of the Liam Carroll property empire with debts of €1.2bn.

Kennedy Wilson owns and manages 14,000 apartments and houses in blocks in the US and Japan.

First-class

"We are pleased to add this first-class property to our apartment portfolio," said Mary Ricks, president and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Europe.

"We are seeing significant opportunities in the residential space, particularly in Ireland, and this transaction is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to building our business there as well as other parts of Europe," she said.

Grant Thornton put it up for sale in a single lot in November, after a more traditional sale of individual properties elsewhere in the same development.