Lidl may beat Aldi to southside with plan for shop in Dun Laoghaire

Discount Supermarkets: German discounter Lidl is involved in negotiations to purchase the Dún Laoghaire outlet of the Broderick Grass Machinery company, located next to the Deerhunter pub on Glenageary Avenue.

If the deal is secured and planning permission granted by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Lidl may be the first discount supermarket to open on Dublin's southside.

Competition between the German retailers to establish market share in the capital is intense but their efforts to roll out a store network, particularly on the southside, have been consistently stymied by planning restrictions. According to sources close to the deal, Lidl and Broderick's, a family-run grass machinery business with outlets throughout the country, are likely to take another four to six weeks to go through the legal process.

It's understood rival Aldi also expressed interest in the site but backed out of a sale because of legal complications. Broderick's Dublin depot on Glenageary Avenue closely matches the requirements Lidl specifies in its property advertisements. The site spans just over an acre, offers "easy access" to a main road and is close to a town centre.

It is understood Lidl will secure the freehold on the site, with Broderick's opting to relocate its outlet. The source could not give any indication of a possible sale price but property experts claim the competition for well-located, smaller plots of land is driving up prices.

According to Mr Michael Conroy, associate director of retail with CB Richard Ellis Gunne, Aldi and Lidl will typically pay between €1 million to €1.25 million for a site. However, Lidl's race to roll out its store network means it often forks out as much as €5 million for a suitable property. Currently, both Aldi and Lidl have a number of planning applications lodged for sites in south Dublin but all are at various stages of the planning process. Lidl in fact won planning permission for a former Bank of Ireland property in Deansgrange from An Bord Pleanála last Februay but has decided to lodge a separate application for the same site, which has once more been appealed to the planning and development body.