Tesco on Parnell Street for €8m

A substantial retail building let to Tesco and a bookstore at Parnell Street, Dublin 1, goes on the market today with a guide price of €8 million and a guaranteed return of 8 per cent.

The sale is expected to be of interest to local investors as well as overseas funds looking to rebalance portfolios with a heavy-weighting in offices.

Jacqueline Fitzpatrick of JLL is handling the sale of the two retail premises which form part of Ivy Exchange, a retail and residential development completed in 2006 by the Cosgrave Property Group. The seven-storey scheme includes about 200 apartments which were sold off at the top of the market.

The retail element extends to 5,053sq m (54,399sq ft) and is occupied by Chapters Bookstore as well as Tesco.

The investment is producing an annual income of €675,000 on two long-term leases with five yearly upwards-only rent reviews.

Almost 60 per cent of the rental income is payable by Tesco, whose lease has an unexpired term of 8.6 years.

The overall weighted average unexpired lease term for both stores is 12.25 years.

The full height glazed façade on to Parnell Street extends to over 50m, making it the most prominent retail premises on the street.

The block is located on the north side of Parnell Street, immediately opposite its intersection with Moore Street.

Other large occupiers in the area include Dublin Institute of Technology, Jurys Inn, the Rotunda Hospital and Cineworld, while neighbouring retailers include Lidl, Aldi and Euro 2.

The retail element of Ivy Exchange qualified for capital allowances following its development and, according to JLL, a new owner at this stage may also be entitled to tax concessions on the purchase price.

Tesco currently trades out of 142 stores in Ireland, and has the highest turnover of any supermarket group with sales of €3.15 billion in the year to February 2013.

Chapters Bookstore was previously based on Middle Abbey Street and relocated to Parnell Street in 2006.

Chapters Bookstore is one of the largest independent book stores in Ireland.