Savills has been appointed to sell the Nama-owned former Player Wills cigarette factory in Dublin.
The firm has been appointed by receivers Grant Thornton to find a buyer for the 10.67 acre site, located on South Circular Road. A sale price of €90m (£79.4m) had previously been reported but it is understood that the asking price is likely to be below this figure.
The former factory fell into Nama’s hands in 2010 after the former owner, property company Players Square, shelved development plans during Ireland’s property market crash in 2008.
Players Square – a joint venture between Bee Bee Developments Ireland and the Walls Group – had secured planning permission in 2008 to build a 1m sq ft scheme including 754 homes, retail space, a school and a medical centre.
However, Players Square failed to start development as it came under heavy financial strain and the sites have remained idle. In 2010, the loans on the factory site were transferred to Nama.
More recently, it is understood that Nama had attempted to enter into a joint venture agreement with developers to build hundreds of new homes on the site. However, it has struggled to attract a partner amid the ongoing lack of planning permission for the site.
Savills and Nama declined to comment. Grant Thornton has been approached for comment.
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