DEVELOPER Sean Dunne has finally closed the deal to pay 200m for part of AIB's headquarters in Ballsbridge, one-and-a-half months after the initial deadline.

It is understood that Dunne closed the deal with AIB on Friday evening. At close of business on Friday, a spokesman for the developer said Dunne was "in the process" of closing the transaction. A spokeswoman for AIB declined to comment.

Dunne agreed in April to buy four blocks of AIB plus an adjoining 2.5 acres of vacant land for 200m. It is understood he paid a deposit of 20m, and that AIB served a completion notice when the deal was not closed by the end of May. The next deadline of the end of June also passed without the remaining 180m owed being paid over to AIB.

The closure of the deal came a week after Dunne finally closed the sale of his 50% interest in Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, County Kildare, to Warren Private Clients for just under 200m.

Dunne had wanted to back out of that transaction, and took Warren to court claiming that an agreement to sell the site for 37.5m was conditional on a separate development agreement that was never signed.

Dunne tried to walk away from the Whitewater site sale last September when he failed to agree terms with Warren on the development agreement, but he missed the contractual deadline to do so.

The court case was settled, with Warren agreeing to pay 197m for the site and development works, plus up to 20m in 18 months, depending on rental increases. Closing was then delayed by a wrangle over whether parking rental should be taken into account, but the deal eventually closed on 6 July.

The AIB property was sold in two lots in a sale and leaseback deal to Hibernian Life & Pensions and to Dunne for nearly 378m.

Dunne's deal includes a break clause that will allow him to part company with AIB after four years and 11 months.

The developer, who paid 380m last year to buy seven acres of land from Jurys Doyle, has said he believes Ballsbridge could become the "Knightsbridge" of Dublin.