KPMG’s search for new headquarters set to spark clash of property titans
THE revival of a plan by KPMG to relocate its 2,500-strong Dublin workforce is expected to become the subject of intense competition.
Many of Ireland’s biggest developers will be vying for the deal to deliver the 350,000 sq ft (32,500 sq m) headquarters that the accounting giant requires.
Developer Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), Pat Crean’s Marlet Property Group, beef baron Larry Goodman’s family firm Ternary, Hibernia Reit and the Kenny family’s Clancourt Group are just some of the names already being mooted by industry sources in relation to meeting KPMG’s potential requirements.
The firm currently occupies two buildings in Dublin city centre, one at Stokes Place on Harcourt Street, and another in the IFSC.
While KPMG signalled its intention in 2012 to secure a new headquarters in the capital, in 2014 its managing partner, Shaun Murphy, said the company would continue to operate from Stokes Place until 2026.
The decision followed what Murphy described at the time as a comprehensive analysis of KPMG’s future needs and feedback from clients indicating their preference for the firm’s existing location. Speaking to The Irish
Times last week, the KPMG chief said it was now “time to look to the future and plan accordingly” in relation to the firm’s accommodation requirements.
The €180m acquisition last September by developer Johnny Ronan’s RGRE and partners Colony Capital of ‘Project Waterfront’, the last remaining waterfront site in Dublin’s north Docklands, could prove to be especially timely in the light of KPMG’s commencement of its search for a new headquarters.
Located within the Dublin Docklands Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) next to the 3Arena and Point Village, RGRE’s 4.6 acre holding comprises two adjacent sites.
It comes with planning permission for 300,216 sq ft (17,891 sq m) of offices distributed across four blocks, alongside 420 apartments.
The commercial element of the scheme was granted a 10-year planning permission in December 2017, while the residential scheme has a fiveyear permission, also granted in December 2017. Developer Pat Crean’s Marlet Property Group is also expected to be a strong contender when it comes to securing KPMG’s business.
Taken together, Marlet’s developments on the site of the former Apollo House and the adjoining College House give it the capacity to deliver a massive 404,960 sq ft (37,622 sq m) of office space immediately next to Trinity College Dublin, and at the heart of the city centre.
The Apollo House site has full planning permission for an 11-storey over-basement office building extending to 12,622 sq m (135,863 sq ft), while the College House site has planning permission for a 25,000 sq m (269,097 sq ft) Grade A office scheme.
The family of beef baron Larry Goodman could also be in the running when it comes to meeting KPMG’s need for a new HQ.
The €100m plan by Goodman family firm, Ternary Ltd, to redevelop the Setanta Centre on Nassau Street, will however have to make it through An Bord Pleanala following an appeal of its planning permission by retailers, the Kilkenny Group and three other parties.
Should An Bord Pleanala uphold Dublin City Council’s approval of the scheme, the Goodman family would be in a position to build out some 406,036 sq ft (37,722 sq m) of space, or some 56,036 sq ft (5,206 sq m) more than KPMG believes it will require for its staff.
Hibernia Reit’s plan for the development of Harcourt Square, a 315,000 sq ft (29,264 sq m) office scheme at the current Dublin regional Garda headquarters on Harcourt Street, also puts it in a strong position to secure KPMG as its tenant.
A specialist in the delivery of city centre office space, the developer is expected to begin construction of the Harcourt Square scheme in January 2023 following the relocation of about 500 Garda staff to a new command and control centre, which is being built on Military Road near Heuston Station.
And Clancourt Holdings, the property group owned by the Kenny family, could well be in the mix should it secure permission for its latest plan for a 371,355 sq ft (34,500 sq m) office scheme on a partly-derelict site it owns at the junction of Charlemont Street and Harcourt Road.
Should Dublin City Council approve the project, it would involve conservation works being carried out on four protected buildings at Nos 5 - 8 Charlemont Street, and see the construction of a new office block ranging in height from seven to nine storeys.