Credit Suisse cashes in on former Bank of Ireland HQ

AXA Investment Managers has completed its acquisition of the 92,000 sq ft La Touche House in Dublin from Credit Suisse. The asset, acquired as part of the fund manager’s value-add strategy, was bought with BCP Capital, which will act as the local operating partner. It is understood to have paid around €84m (£70m) for the property. Credit Suisse Asset Management put the former Bank of Ireland HQ up for sale late last year for €95m. It bought La Touche House in 2013 for €35m in one of the first big commercial deals after the collapse of the property market. Tenants in the building include Zurich Bank, Prometric Ireland and Unicredit Bank. AXA said it planned to “comprehensively reposition” the property to maximise its performance through the delivery of a high-spec core office property that capitalises upon its central location. Head of UK & Ireland transactions at AXA IM – Real Assets, Stuart Carr-Jones, said:  “La Touche House presents an exciting opportunity to reposition and modernise an office building that benefits from a fantastic central location served by excellent transport links in an incredibly dynamic market that has low vacancy and strong demand from leading global corporate occupiers.” JLL and Cushman & Wakefield advised Credit Suisse; CBRE acted for AXA. To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette