The site of a housing protest in Dublin city has been placed on the market.

The former Apollo House saw 'Home Sweet Home' activists occupy the building for over a month from December 2016.

The group was ordered by a judge to leave the building in January 2017.

Now the site that housed Apollo House has been placed on the market for sale on the instruction of Simon Coyle and Tom O'Brien of Mazars - who have appointed Savills to handle the sale.

Industry sources believe it could be sold for up to €40m.

Planning permission has already been granted for the site | Image: Savills

The 0.72 acre has planning permission for a 10-storey, over basement 12,622 sq m (135,863 sq ft) office block.

The planning permission also allows for ground floor retail, café, bar and restaurant units.

Designed by architects Henry J Lyons, the new building will feature a double basement providing 40 car parking spaces and 166 bicycle spaces.

A wrap-around terrace on the eighth floor will give panoramic views of the Dublin Docklands, with additional outdoor space available.

The Apollo House itself has already been demolished.

What the new Apollo House building could look like | Image: Savills

Mark Reynolds is director of development and consultancy at Savills Ireland.

He says: "There are very few sites with development potential remaining in Dublin's CBD (Central Business District), so this truly is one of the last opportunities to acquire a site of scale in a location where demand for office space is strong.

"We expect there to be interest from a variety of buyers, including developers, REITs, pension funds and investors."

In the last two years office-based employment in Dublin has risen by 8.2%, with an additional 18,800 office-based jobs created in that time.

As a result, Savills says, demand for office space is at its highest level.