€2M sale of Liberty building

POTENTIAL HSE could use site to develop new ambulance base on N3

The HSE has agreed to purchase the second former Quinn Direct building, now a Liberty Mutual property, at Killygarry.

Contracts have yet to be exchanged on the planned sale, which signals a promising start for the commercial real estate market in Cavan in 2024.

The deal for the property on the Dublin Road outside Cavan Town is believed to be in excess of €2 million. It was struck as far back as October last year, the Celt can reveal.

The HSE Estates Department is now in the process of finalising documentation ahead of a transfer of ownership.

This newspaper understands the HSE intends to use the property as a new administration hub; while Liberty offloads a costly and increasingly under utilised asset following the company’s migration to remote and hybrid working arrangements.

Long-term plans for the site include the possible development of a new ambulance base with easy access to the N3.

Cavan Hospital redevelopment

The acquisition of the property facilitates a wider plan to relocate and centralise existing administration units at Cavan General to make way for the extensive redevelopment of the local acute hospital facility.

Early last year staff at several HSE divisions including Primary Care, Mental Health Services and Services for Older Persons, including Home Support, moved to new rented offices behind nearby Blackstone Motors on the Dublin Road.

Elsewhere the HSE signed a 10-year deal with Labelbrook to rent the former Jackson’s Garage as a new Women & Children’s Service Outpatients Department (OPD). More recently, the Dublin-registered developer reached a 10-year agreement with the HSE for additional clinical accommodation once Cavan Town’s former Melbourne Bakery is redeveloped as a new healthcare centre.

Enabling works are already underway at CGH on plans to build a new Emergency Department (ED), Endoscopy Unit (EU) and 16-bed ward. Tenders are expected to be issued shortly with a view to construction getting underway later in the year.

Documents lodged as part of the planning process described the current Emergency Department as “undersized” and its Endoscopy Unit “subpar” in standard. The location of the ED was also referred to as “poor” in terms of access for patients and ambulances, leading to “traffic congestion” on site.

Once the last remaining Liberty owned building is sold, it will bring to an end the location’s association with insurance sales stretching back to when local businessman Seán Quinn and his family established a new headquarters for their insurance empire on the outskirts of Cavan Town. The site was purchased from Cavan County Council for development in 1997 for £65,000.

In December 2017, Lakeland Dairies purchased the furthest forward of the two former Quinn Direct buildings.

The bluechip agri-food business is understood to have expressed an initial interest in purchasing the second former Quinn Direct building also, but a deal never materialised.

Six years ago when Lakeland did buy their property, which now houses corporate central functions including Finance, IT and Human Resources, a spokesperson told the Celt the move represented “extremely good value” compared to a new build price.

A similar consideration has been applied by the HSE in securing its own property foothold in the area.

Boston-based Liberty completed the planned acquisition of the former Quinn Irish insurance businesses as well as its HQ in Cavan and other offices in Dublin and Enniskillen in November 2011 for just €1.

In October 2019, Liberty announced an expansion of its operations in Cavan, promising up to 120 new roles over the subsequent three-year period. The effort was supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. However, Covid hit, and it is uncertain how many of these positions were actually filled.

In 2021, mid pandemic, Liberty introduced a new flexible working model for all staff, including those in Cavan, meaning they could choose to work either remotely from home or at the office.

Last year (June) it was announced that Italian insurance giant Generali had agreed to buy Liberty’s businesses in Ireland, Spain and Portugal for around €2.3 billion, subject to regulatory approval.

Liberty’s Irish operation, which reportedly has more than 400 employees, was subsumed into Madrid-based Liberty Seguros in 2018, effectively making it a branch of the larger Spanish entity.

When asked about the possible sale of property assets in Cavan, a spokesperson for Liberty informed the Celt that the business “continues to commit to positive relations with government bodies, and the use of our buildings is continuously reviewed to ensure they continue to meet the needs of our business, our people, and our customers.”

The spokesperson added: “Liberty remains a committed employer in Cavan and our Cavan-based employees continue to play an integral role within the Liberty business.”

Commercial deals

There are a number of other commercial transactions at various stages of completion in and around the county.

As was the case with the former Quinn Direct property, a lot of deals are being struck off market.

Last year Assura, which develops, invests in and manages a portfolio of healthcare buildings across the UK and Ireland, completed a deal for the three-block Loughtee Business Park at Drumalee for sum of more than €5 million.

The 3.75-acre mixed-use development has Cavan Primary Care Centre, Centra Supermarket and Haven Pharmacy as tenants, and the Celt understands there are plans to develop the property as a multi-disciplinary healthcare centre.

Meanwhile, a number of businesses have shown interest in taking over the former Argos property in Cavan Town, however the unit is managed by Davy Target Investments, and any deal could require a major write-down on the outstanding lease arrangement.

Pre-Christmas the EuroGiant Express store unit in Cavan Town, with an annual rental income of €80,000, was sold by Crotty Auctioneers via the BIDx1 Auction platform for €440,000.