Facebook’s former HQ in Dublin is set to become the new headquarters of fellow internet success story AirBnB.
The shared accommodation website is understood to have chosen the 65,000 sq ft Hanover Reach block in Dublin’s Silicon Dock area for its European customer experience and hospitality teams.
Social networking giant Facebook moved from the building to a 120,000 sq ft, Frank Gehry-designed campus at 4 Grand Canal Square in June.
AirBnB presently has 25,000 sq ft at the Watermarque building in Ringsend, an inner suburb of Dublin.
The company has been in its offices, which were refitted by local architect Heneghan Peng to resemble the interior of an Irish pub, for just under a year. However, it announced plans in April to double its Ireland-based workforce from to 200 by the end of 2014 and launched a search for new premises.
Irish property pension fund IPUT bought Hanover Reach from local investor-developer Ellier in May for €50m (£39.8m), just weeks before Facebook moved out.
Facebook is understood to have been paying around €35 per sq ft at Hannover Reach, although IPUT is likely to seek considerably more.
Prime Dublin office rents broke through the €40 per sq ft barrier in the second quarter of this year, according to CBRE.
AirBnB declined to confirm a move, but a spokesman said: “As our European business continues to grow we are continually evaluating our real estate options. So far, we have no confirmed plans for any particular site.”
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
