Cantillon: Nama has dubbed portfolio sale of shopping centres that includes Dundrum Town centre as Project Jewel

It seems appropriate that the National Asset Management Agency has dubbed an upcoming portfolio sale of shopping centres that includes the Dundrum Town centre as Project Jewel.

Dundrum is unquestionably the prize asset currently held by Nama as it continues to accelerate the pace of its asset disposals on behalf of taxpayers. Reports suggest Dundrum will be packaged with other retail interests held by developer Joe O’Reilly (right) and placed on the market in the second quarter of this year. The other shopping centres are expected to be the Pavilions in Swords, Co Dublin, and the Ilac Centre off Dublin’s Henry Street.

O’Reilly has a 50 per cent interest in both centres but the main focus will be on Dundrum. It opened in 2005, covers about 1.34 million square feet and has more than 100 shops, 40-plus restaurants, a cinema and theatre, and 3,400 car park spaces.

It considers itself to be the number one retail centre in the country and is said to be worth €1 billion or more. Nama has full control of the €775 million worth of loans held by O’Reilly in relation to Dundrum through Crossridge Developments.

A price tag of €1 billion suggests a healthy surplus from the sale process but O’Reilly is unlikely to benefit from any of this money. The developer was reportedly Nama’s largest debtor, owing the agency €2.8 billion at one point. The cross collateralisation of his debts means that Nama will most likely bag any profit from the sale of Dundrum. Kerching.