RTÈ is set to spend up to an estimated €200,000 over the next five years on property advisory services as it weighs up what to do with its extensive property portfolio at Donnybrook and sites around the country.
In new tender documentation, it states that RTÈ expects to buy and sell property in the coming years and it is seeking bidders to advise across commercial markets, to maximise value and to advise on the transaction process.
A spokesman for RTÈ said today that the expectation outlined in the tender that RTE will buy and sell property in the coming years is related to the property portfolio plans outlined in RTE’s five-year strategy, RTÉ: A New Direction, which was published in June.
The New Direction document talked about reducing the size of the footprint needed for RTÉ’s production and broadcast facilities at its Donnybrook HQ site.
The RTE spokesman said that the timeline for the property consultancy tender covers the duration of the strategy, and beyond.
According to the tender, the property consultants are to also provide reliable, proactive, value-enhancing advice on all aspects of acquisitions, development, ownership, occupation and disposal of property assets in Ireland and internationally.
The tender states that RTÈ is seeking companies who can assist RTÉ with managing its portfolio of sites managing activities and this includes site valuation, site sourcing, site development advice, planning permission advice, site purchasing services, site sales services, site leasing advice, consultancy services and real estate negotiation services.
The tender says RTÉ owns six studio sites – Donnybrook HQ, Cork, Sligo, Casla, County Galway, Derrybeg, County Donegal and Ballydavid, County Kerry.
It states that RTÉ further leases six studio sites in Galway, Limerick, Athlone, Dundalk, Waterford and Belfast.
On the new tender, the RTÉ spokesman said: “This is a renewal and development – of the existing contract which will soon expire and, as outlined in Section 9 includes a range of services relating to the management of RTÉ’s sites, both owned and leased.
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In 2017, RTE received €107.5m from the sale of lands at its Donnybrook HQ to builders Cairn.
Cairn has been trying to develop the lands since 2019 and revealed in a recent submission to An Bord Pleanala that it intends to lodge new plans for the former RTE site in the first quarter of 2025.
Cairn told the appeals board “there is a high risk of litigation against a future grant of permission, having regard to the history of litigation against a previous permission”.
The deadline for tenders is December 12th and RTE anticipates that the contract will be awarded in January.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
