Fine Grain Property is to buy the Westpark business campus in Shannon for a price in excess of €50m.

Westpark Shannon struck the deal to sell the campus, home to 50 companies and 2,000 employees. Singapore-based Fine Grain, which says it is Irish-owned, has invested c.€175m in commercial property acquisitions in Ireland in the last three years.

Fine Grain Property, founded in Singapore in 2007, has acquired 15 properties in Galway, Athlone, Limerick, Dublin and Cork, all of which it operates directly.

The Westpark campus is located beside Shannon Airport, and houses global names in aircraft leasing, financial services, and logistics, including GECAS, Aercap, Arista, Enterprise Ireland, Pepper, and DHL. It has planning permission for a further 300,000 sq ft of office space. 

Fine Grain chief executive Colin MacDonald said: “This deal is Fine Grain’s largest to date and it demonstrates the value that the Mid-West offers both employers and business park operators. The acquisition of Westpark adds to our existing portfolio of 200,000 sq ft of office space across four buildings in the National Technology Park in Plassey, Limerick.

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“The fact that planning permission is already in place and that the site is ‘shovel ready’ for another sizeable tranche of office space, which we will develop in line with our clients’ needs, means that it also presents a considerable long-term opportunity for us.”

Westpark Shannon co-founder Brian O’Connell  commented: “Our vision was to build a world class business park at this pivotal location in the Mid-West to attract high calibre global and Irish businesses across a range of sectors.

“I am delighted that an owner of the calibre of Fine Grain Property is acquiring the Westpark business campus, because I know they will build on existing achievements and sustain and evolve the standards expected by current and prospective tenants.”

Fixed assets were valued at €68m in the December 2017 balance sheet for Westpark Shannon Ltd. There was a revaluation reserve of €18m and total year-end liabilities of €49m, resulting in net worth of €20m.

Ulster Bank provided debt financing to Fine Grain Property to part finance the acquisition of Westpark.