Donnybrook Mall makes €6.6m

A private investor has bought the Donnybrook Mall shopping complex in the centre of Donnybrook village in Dublin 4 for €6.6 million in a deal that will show a net return of 5.9 per cent.

The complex – previously sold during the boom to developer Sean Dunne for €17 million – is fully occupied and was sold on the instructions of William O'Riordan of PwC who was appointed receiver by the Ulster Bank.

Natalie Brennan of CBRE handed the sale of the investment which will be seen as a trophy asset with undoubted potential to enhance its value.

This has been made possible by Dublin City Council's decision in 2008 – and recently extended to 2019 – to allow one of Mr Dunne's companies, Padholme, to demolish the row of seven shops and replace them with a four-storey over basement mixed-use development more than double the size of the present scheme and extending to 34,492sq m (48,350sq ft).

The planning decision provides for six larger retail stores, a restaurant/takeaway, bank, three office units and four two-bedroom apartments.

In the meantime the seven shops currently trading from the mall are producing a combined rental income of €392,805.

The mall is anchored by a double fronted Tesco Express which is paying a rent of €80,000 for a shop with a floor area of 468sq m (5,038sq ft).

The 25-year lease from 2012 provides for five yearly rent reviews linked to the Consumer Price Index. The UK multiple has a break option in 2020.

Lloyds Pharmacy, with 76 stores in Dublin, is paying an even higher rent of €107,000 for a two-storey unit extending to 441sq m (4,756sq ft).

The pharmacy chain recently completed its rebranding from Doc Morris. It holds a 35-year lease which expired in 2011.

The Natural Bakery moved into the Mall in 2013 and is paying a rent of €30,000 under a 15-year lease with a break option in the tenth year. It also has bakeries in Rathmines and South Circular Road.

Another tenant, Expert Hardware, is paying a rent of €22,000 for a unit of 66sq m (716sq ft); Lyk Nu Cleaners is paying €37,500 while fashion trader Marian Gale contributes €71,105 for a store extending to 149sq m (1,609sq ft).