Multi-million euro deal for Shannon business park

THE Westpark business park in Shannon has new owners following the completion of a multi-million euro deal this Wednesday.

Fine Grain Property, the Irish-owned business park operator and investor, has announced an agreement to buy the 40-acre business park for more than €50m. It’s one of the biggest purchases in the Irish business park sector to date, and compliments the firm’s four sites in the National Technology Park at Plassey.

Established in 2005, the Westpark business campus is home to some 50 companies and 2,000 staff. Planning permission is in place for a further 300,000 square foot of tailored office space.

Fine Grain already owns a portfolio of properties locally, including the premises in Shannon for Gecas, Enterprise Ireland, Pepper Financing and DHL.

It brings to €175m the total investment by Fine Grain Property over the past three years to acquire 15 properties in Galway, Athlone, Limerick, Dublin and Cork.

Colin MacDonald, the chief executive and founder of Fine Grain Property, sees the acquisition of Westpark business campus as an extension of its focus on creating workspaces tailored to client needs.

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

“Our business is all about people – creating good workplace communities which help companies with recruitment, retention and employee satisfaction. Around 70 percent of new foreign direct investment in Ireland comes from foreign multinationals already located here – and Fine Grain Property meets the needs of both international and domestic companies by providing the right mix of excellent facilities, access to trained people, and close proximity to educational institutions, critical infrastructure, and like-minded employers. 

“Westpark Shannon business campus has been designed and managed by a dedicated team, with the needs of businesses and their employees in mind, and that makes it a great addition to our offering to growing businesses across Ireland. 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 business campus was established and developed by Westpark Shannon Limited’s principals, Brian and Bridget O’Connell.

Announcing the agreement of the sale Mr O’Connell – who was a member of the Denis Brosnan-chaired Mid-West Jobs Task Force – said: “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. The fact that we realised this vision, and built a sustainable profitable business, is a testament to our customers, our management and staff and more importantly, the flexible facilitation of our product offering.

“I am delighted that an owner, the calibre of Fine Grain Property, is acquiring the Westpark business campus because I know that they will build on existing achievements and sustain and evolve the standards expected by current and prospective tenants. I have no doubt that, under their ownership, the campus will continue to attract serious international and domestic investment into the region.”