The Starbucks franchisee has bought a landmark Dublin coffee shop – the kiosk at the centre of Ballsbridge.

Brothers Colum and Ciarán Butler, who run the Starbucks operation in Ireland, are the new owners of the hexagon-shaped kiosk that has traded for decades at the junction of Lansdowne, Pembroke and Northumberland roads.

The island site was originally used as a store by the Pembroke Fire Brigade from 1920 onwards.

The Butlers outbid several other investors for the tiny premises, paying €330,000 for what is possibly one of the most expensive commercial properties in the city.

The tiny floor area, a mere 37sq ft, works out to €8,918/sq ft even before purchasing costs are taken into consideration. But the kiosk’s key location was seen as a unique opportunity to promote the Starbucks operation in Ireland.

Declan Bagnall of agents Bagnall Doyle MacMahon handled the sale for a private investor, who bought the kiosk for €235,000 in 2015 and let it on a short-term basis at an annual €15,000 rent. Stephen McCarthy of Savills declined to name the new owner, saying he bought it for a “private client”.

The Starbucks operation has grown rapidly under the control of the Butler brothers, with the number of coffee outlets in the greater Dublin area now understood to be more than 60.