Irish bank joins mass of finance firms now flocking to Stamford.

W&M has added another blue-chip, financial services company to its impressive roster of tenants coming out of Manhattan and Greenwich to open new offices at First Stamford Place, its Class A campus-style property, announces Jeffrey H. Newman, executive vice president of W&M Properties, the marketing and management agent for the building.

The Wholesale Financial Services Group of the Bank of Ireland, now located at 75 Holly Hill Lane, is the latest of financial services firms to move from Greenwich to First Stamford Place.

The First Stamford Place offices will also house the bank's Global Markets Group, which will include positions for several global securities traders now working in Manhattan.

The firm signed a 20,359 s/f lease on the third floor of 300 First Stamford Place, for a term scheduled to run through 2017.

"Bank of Ireland is establishing wholesale financial services and global markets branches for its expanding corporate banking and global markets relationships in the United States, and, for this reason, wanted to relocate to Stamford where the concentration of large international financial institutions is growing," says Cushman & Wakefield director Peter J. Sweetser, who represented the tenant along with senior director Christopher B. O'Callaghan--both of whom were with Albert B. Ashforth Company, Inc. when negotiations for the leasing transaction commenced.

"The combination of First Stamford Place's proximity to a major transportation hub and highway, inclusion of a first class hotel, flexibility in providing for future growth, and quality management made this W&M property the first choice for my client who wanted an office that reflected its international banking stature," Mr. Sweetser adds.

Recently, Mason Capital Management, Air Castle Advisor LLC, Morgan & Finnegan, LLP, Artha Capital Management, Inc., Ziff Brothers Investment LLC, Altrinsic Global Advisors, LLC, and Greenwich Prime Trading Group, LLC, among many others, also opted to sign leases in First Stamford Place rather than maintaining all of their operations in Manhattan or Greenwich, where rental prices are considerably higher for properties of similar or lesser quality.

"This lease underscores the fact that such high-profile companies as Bank of Ireland have recognized and embraced the value and quality of our Class A buildings in Stamford as an attractive, viable alternative or supplement to space in Greenwich and Manhattan," says Mr. Newman.

Mr. Newman and leasing associate Kimberly Zaccagnino represented the building in lease negotiations.

C&W's Sweetser commented, "First Stamford Place was the ideal location for Bank of Ireland who wanted a high-end office location that reflected their international banking stature," said Mr. Sweetser. "In addition, the property is located in close proximity to the Metro North station-and 1-95."