Legendary Windmill Lane studios part of French investment fund’s €30m property play
The French Transitions Europe fund has bought two high-profile Irish properties in Dublin and Galway
The French-based Transitions Europe fund has completed the acquisition for Plantation House in Dublin city centre, where the studio has been located since 2009.
The French fund also completed a second Irish deal, buying the landmark Citypoint building close to Eyre Square in Galway which includes a 3716 sq m TK Maxx store among its tenants
The two properties are very different, but Transitions Europe is an SCPI fund that, similar to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), allows investors to make indirect investments in property. It specialises in diverse property investments in “dynamic economic areas” around Europe.
The business of sole tenant Windmill Lane is not impacted by the property deal
Previous investments by the fund, which was set up two years ago by French financial firm Crédit Mutuel-Arkea, include properties in the Netherlands and Spain.
The 1,247 sq m Plantation House building was owned by Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland and had been on the market with estate agent Savills since last September with a guide price of €7.6m.
The sole tenant of the building, Windmill Lane, whose business is not impacted by the property deal, is one of Ireland’s best-known film and TV production and content creation studios.
In 2009, the studios relocated from their original docklands site, which was made famous by U2 and a host of other big music acts, to Plantation House on Dublin’s Herbert Street.
Windmill Lane, which was previously reported to be paying an annual rent of €546,000 as the sole tenant in the building, carried out a major upgrade of Plantation House when it moved there in 2009, with a further refurbishment in 2022.
The state-of-the-art studio has seen production work on everything from major TV shows such as ‘The Young Offenders’ and ‘Love/Hate’ to big movies by Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and Margot Robbie
The state-of-the-art studio has seen production work on everything from major TV shows such as comedy The Young Offenders, gangland drama Love/Hate to big movies by Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and Margot Robbie.
The second Irish deal undertaken by the fund sees it take ownership of the modern, purpose-built Citypoint development in Galway city centre.
The high-profile 7,608 sq m building was also listed by Savills and had a guide price of €21.5m.
The building is 100pc occupied by a mix of tenants which, as well as TK Maxx, includes an aparthotel with 17 high-end one- and two-bed units run by the nearby Western Hotel, offices for multinational firm Mathworks and a Snap Fitness gym at basement level.
Arkéa Real Estate Investment Management, which runs the Transitions Europe fund, is the real estate management company of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa.
