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REIT share drops follow collapse of Google lease deal

Tech giant Google has pulled out of a planned office lease in Dublin’s Docklands, leading to the collapse one of the capital’s biggest property deals in recent years.

The 202,000 sq ft premises, called The Sorting Office, is a seven-storey office block on Cardiff Lane, opposite the Bórd Gáis Energy Theatre at Grand Canal Docks in Dublin 4.

It is a former An Post building – the refurb includes a roof garden, a gym and over 300 bike parking spaces.

The deal had been under negotiation with Singapore-based property firm Mapletree, which controls the building.

Shift

The decision is likely to be a reflection of the shift towards working from home, as a result of the global pandemic.

“After much deliberation, Google has decided not to proceed,” a company spokeswoman said in an email response to questions from Bloomberg News.

The company didn’t say why it chose not to go ahead with the deal for the building.

Google employs 8,000 people in Ireland. In July, the tech giant said its employees will continue to work from home until July 2021.

Vast footprint

Google already has a vast footprint in the Docklands, with workers spread across several buildings on Barrow Street in Dublin 4, which house giant servers, and where staff facilities include a gym and swimming pool.

Bloomberg reports that property shares in Hibernia REIT PLC, whose clients including Twitter, dropped 2%.

Irish Residential Properties REIT plc dropped 1.4%.

Other Dublin-based firms such as BNY Mellon and Core Media Group are also believed to be reducing their property footprint in the capital.