MORE THAN FIVE years on from the end of the property boom, a number of Irish financial institutions are continuing the sell-off of their offices and branch networks as they bid to restructure in the wake of the downturn.
Several landmark former NIB properties were sold off in just the last six months, while just before Christmas it emerged that a well known coffee chain is to move into Anglo’s former headquarters on Stephen’s Green.
TheJournal.ie takes a look at what’s happening now with five of the banking sector’s prime real estate sites in Dublin:
Coffee giant Starbucks has been given permission to move into the former Anglo HQ at Stephen Court, on the north side of Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
The offices became a symbol of the downturn in the wake of the various controversies surrounding the disgraced lender. The infamous ‘Anglo’ sign was removed from the facade in 2011 as the institution was renamed.
[Image: Photocall Ireland]
Planning permission for the change of use was granted by Dublin City Council back in July but the development only came to public attention last month.
The application, on behalf of Tom Philips & Associates, proposed a that part of the building be converted “from banking use to coffee shop, with associated internal works and external signage”.
Work on a new multi-storey headquarters for Anglo Irish Bank was halted as the recession took hold, and the site at Dublin’s North Wall Quay has lain unfinished ever since.
It was purchased by the Central Bank of Ireland in November 2012, and it’s planned building works will recommence at the site next year.
A tender to have the facade completed was put out late last year, and once the work is finished, it’s planned the Central Bank will move its staff and set up the premises as its new HQ.
[Image: Photocall Ireland]
The Central Bank currently employs around 1,400 staff, many of whom are based in the bank’s Dame Street offices. The remaining staff are spread across six other premises used by the bank.
The imposing facade of the former National Irish Bank on College Green will soon be home to a new H&M store.
The sale was closed on the landmark building for an amount in excess of €4 million, and works are currently taking place on its interior before the fashion retailer moves in later this year.
National Irish Bank is now run by Danske Bank, which announced last year it would be pulling out of the personal banking market here, with the loss of 150 jobs.
The bank had previously announced that it was to close its branches across the country in favour of nine ‘advisory centres’ to deal with customer queries.
Its properties are being sold off by Savills Ireland in two tranches, the second of which got under way around 12 months ago.
An investor purchased number 66 O’Connell Street late last year at a price of around €1 million euro.
[Image: Savills Ireland]
On sale at an asking price of €13 million, the former headquarters of Irish Nationwide comprise a seven-storey modern office block, along with other buildings on a 1.7 acre site on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin 6.
The zoning of the site means it could be used for anything from retail units to a hotel or conference centre.
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