An Irish investor has pocketed £8m before fees after selling on an office building in London's West End that he bought just 18 months ago.

The Etoile Building was sold last week for over £31m to DTZ Investment Management, according to Property Week. The investor bought the building last year for around £23m from the Hermes Property Unit Trust.

The mixed-use building has a Tesco on the ground floor and an Apollo cinema in the basement, while the upper floors are in office use and are let to two oil companies.

Several Irish investors have put property in London on the market in recent months to take advantage of surging prices. Property developers Derek Quinlan, Paddy McKillen, Joe O'Reilly and Cosgrave Property Group have either sold properties or put them up for sale. Businesspeople Ray and Eileen Monahan recently sold their Louis Vuitton shop at Bond Street to the retailer for €60m.