In Short

Other commercial property stories in brief.

Site of 0.16 acres on Fenian Street sells for €7m

Hotelier Noel O'Callaghan has paid an exceptionally strong price of €7 million for a tiny site beside his Alexander Hotel on Fenian Street, Dublin 2. Lisney handled the sale of the corner site of 0.16 of an acre which had been expected to make over €3 million. The €7 million tendered by O'Callaghan for what is very much a secondary location equates to around €43 million an acre. However, the site at the junction of Fenian Street and Bass Place has full planning permission for a seven-storey over basement hostel with ground floor restaurant and office facilities.

Drury Street retail building makes close to €2.2m

Further evidence of the high prices available for well located retail buildings in Dublin city centre was provided this week with the sale of the Lipsy Clothing premises at 24 Drury Street for a figure believed to be close to €2.2 million.

Hamilton Osborne King had been seeking offers over €1.6 million for the two-storey over basement terraced building which has a floor area of 107sq m (1,154sq ft) including 38sq m (410sq ft) at street level. The building is being sold with vacant possession.

John Kirwan of HOK said he was not yet in a position to confirm the price paid for the Victorian building. Last year HOK sold a considerably smaller building two doors away - the shop had a floor area of only 13.9sq m (150sq ft) - for €975,000. The tiny shop and basement has since been let at €30,000 per annum. Drury Street has benefited from the increasing number of tenants wanting to cash in on the business generated by nearby Grafton Street and South Great George's Street.

Industrial building at Fonthill Business Park makes €5.15m

Atisreal Harrington Bannon has completed a second sale of an industrial investment building at Fonthill Business Park in Dublin 20. The agency has secured €5.15 million for a detached building of 2,345sq m (25,241sq ft) rented to Avery Dennison under a 25-year lease from 2000 at a rent of €282,500. The sale will show a net initial yield of 4.92 per cent. The purchaser also paid €9.125 million last year for another industrial investment in Fonthill. The park, developed by Green Property Co, is one of the most successful in the Dublin area and has occupiers like Musgraves, Dunlop, Glanbia, Whirlpool and Philips.

€550,000 each for six shops at Aldi retail complex in Finglas

German discounter Aldi is to sell six shop units which form part of its retail complex in Finglas, Dublin 11.

Cormac Kennedy of CBRE is quoting a price of €550,000 for each of the units which has a floor area of 101sq m (1,092sq ft). The Aldi store is trading exceptionally well, just like Lidl which is located a short distance away.

Clondalkin residential site of 1.13 acres to make €3.5m

A residential site of 1.13 acres off Monastery Road in Clondalkin, Co Dublin is expected to make at least €3.5 million when it is sold at tender through Turley & Associates. The land is likely to accommodate up to 35 apartments. It is within a few minutes' walk of Clondalkin village.

Naas redevelopment site near planned shopping centre

An interesting redevelopment opportunity will arise shortly at Monread Road in Naas, Co Kildare, when a semi-derelict cottage on a site of 0.4 of an acre goes for auction on April 13th.

John O'Reilly of Sherry FitzGerald O'Reilly is quoting a guide of €400,000 to €500,000 for Grove Villa and site which is zoned for industrial and warehousing facilities but which adjoins retail zoned land where Tesco plans to build a shopping centre.

Over €1.5m for 10-bed B&B with views over Carlingford Lough

The Dundalk agent Sherry FitzGerald Carroll is seeking offers over €1.5 million for a thriving bed and breakfast motel at Carlingford, Co Louth, which is for sale by private treaty. The 10-bedroom Viewpoint Motel operates at full capacity from the end of April until September and is full most weekends throughout the year. It has uninterrupted views over Carlingford Lough and the Mourne Mountains. The motel has been extensively modernised in recent years.

Prem Group to invest €350m

The Prem Group, which specialises in the management of hotels, apartments and offices, is to invest a further €350 million to double the company's portfolio by 2007. The first phase of the expansion will include a 50 per cent increase in the number of Days Hotels with new hotels due to open this year at Dublin Airport, Kilkenny, Park West and Castlebar. The Prem Group will operate the hotels as a franchisee under a licence agreement with Cendant International, the world's largest hotel franchiser. Prem also plans to open three new serviced apartment developments at Dublin Airport, Galway and Sandyford.

Health food firm for Drogheda

Health food specialists Holland and Barrett is to open a new store at Scotch Hall shopping centre in Drogheda. The main tenants are Dunnes Stores, Next, River Island and Dixons.