Square shopping centre operator sees losses mount

The company that runs the Square shopping centre in Tallaght, Dublin, saw losses widen in 2015, a year in which its ongoing dispute with anchor tenant Dunnes Stores worsened.

Square Management Ltd, which owns the freehold interest in the property, recorded a pre-tax loss of €1.18 million for the 12 months ending September 2015, as against a €939,834 loss a year earlier.

Turnover for the company, whose debts were previously transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), totalled €6.34 million, down from €6.39 million in the preceding year. Service charge revenues amounted to €5.5 million, broadly unchanged from 2014 with car park turnover falling slightly from €810,840 to €790,013.

Accounts filed at the Companies Registration Office (CRO) recently show the group reported an operating loss from continuing operations of €441,273, up from €158,628 in 2014.

The company said its liabilities exceeded its total assets by €16.3 million, as against €14.9 million a year earlier. At the end of September, it had current liabilities of €18.3 million, up from €16.8 million in the prior year.

A note attached to the accounts stated that an outstanding bank loan of €15.6 million was due to be repaid at the end of September last.

The owners of the Square, which was the largest shopping centre in Ireland when it opened its doors in late 1990, were given the green light for a €40 million extension in September 2014.

The plan to add about 200,000 sq ft of additional retail space was due to be completed by early 2017 but has been derailed due to a series of disputes with Dunnes.

Square Management, along with Nama and Indego, the shopping centre's majority owner, filed court proceedings against the retailer late last year over allegations that the retailer was employing blocking tactics over the proposed redevelopment.