In Short

A round-up of today's other commercial property stories in brief

Harvey Norman chases ESB stores

The Australian furniture and electrical multiple Harvey Norman is chasing four of the retail outlets being vacated by ESB Electrical.The company has apparently offered an overall premium for units at Blanchardstown Retail Park, Nutgrove, Lake Point in Mullingar and Manor West in Tralee. If it succeeds in acquiring the leases, it is thought likely that Harvey Norman will use them for the sale of mainly electrical goods.

Two of the stores, Blanchardstown and Tralee, have 1,393sq m (15,000sq ft) while Nutgrove has 8,913sq m (9,600sq ft) and Mullingar has 743sq m (8,000sq ft). Blanchardstown's rent is €380,000 per annum while Nutgrove's is shortly to move to €229,000. Tralee has a rent of €188,000 while Mullingar is rented at €134,000.

Lush for Henry Street, O'Brien's lowers its Grafton premium

Shoppers on Dublin's Henry Street will shortly have to cope with a new range of smells with the arrival of cosmetics firm Lush. The UK soap chain has been trading near the bottom of Grafton Street for the past four years. It has agreed terms to take a sub-letting of the former O2 store at 33 Henry Street. The 25-year lease runs from 1995 and the current rent is €192,000 per annum. O2 apparently settled for a "nominal premium" on the lease.

Harrington and Co is handling the assignment of the lease and Lisney is acting for Lush.

Over in Grafton Street, O'Brien's Sandwich Bar has had to look again at its asking price for the lease of a tiny outlet at 34B. The original premium being quoted, €600,000, has now been adjusted down to €500,000-plus by the company's agent, CBRE Gunne. The 27sq m (290sq ft) unit is rented at €99,000 per annum.

Green light for retail centre at Stepaside pitch and putt course

The former Mountain View pitch and putt course at Enniskerry Road in Stepaside, Co Dublin, is to be used for a neighbourhood centre. The planners have granted permission for eight retail units totalling 979sq m (10,538sq ft), including an anchor store, a bar and a restaurant, all to be located over three floors. There will also be 26 residential units and 71 on-site car-parking spaces.

Investments in Templeogue and Leitrim make €1.6m and €1.4m

A private investor has paid €1.6 million for a retail and office building at 1 Ballyroan Road in Templeogue, Dublin 6W. The ground floor retail unit of 71sq m (764sq ft) is let to Sherry FitzGerald on a 25-year lease from 1998 at a rent of €45,000 per annum. The first floor and attic (68sq m - 732sq ft) are also let to the same agency on a three-year lease from 2000 at €15,236. A signboard on the property is let short term at €5,000 per annum.

Hamilton Osborne King, which handled the sale, also secured around €1.4 million for a high yielding industrial investment in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim. The 2,744sq m (29,536sq ft) warehouse and office facility is let to Eaton Automotive Ltd on a two-year lease from 2005 at an initial rent of €120,000. The new owner will also be able to avail of capital allowances of €330,000.

Over €1m for Ballybrack shop or €60,000 to rent

Lisney is to either sell or lease a shop at 19 Church Road in Ballybrack, Co Dublin. A price of over €1 million is being sought for the unit which has a floor area of 256sq m (2,756sq ft). Alternatively it can be leased at €60,000 per year.

Retail units at Irishtown in Dublin 4 to buy or rent

New retail facilities built by McInerney Homes at The Bottleworks at Irishtown, Dublin 4, are for sale or to let through Hamilton Osborne King. The building has a floor area of 1,157sq m (12,454sq ft) and is available in one, two or three lots with individual units ranging from 122-569sq m (1,313-6,125sq ft). The selling price will be €6,500 per sq m (€604 per sq ft) while the rent will work out at €400 per sq m (€37 per sq ft). The agent says that the units would suit opticians, pharmacists, fashion traders, convenience outlets or specialist traders.

Council's listings leads surveyors to start special course

With Dublin City Council hell bent on listing ever more buildings, it was only a matter of time before one of the professional bodies would provide special training for its members. Accordingly, the Society of Chartered Surveyors is running a special one-day-a-week course for 30 chartered surveyors involved in conservation work and heritage buildings.

Deansgrange restaurant for sale as €2.75m investment

The Rickshaw restaurant in Deansgrange in south County Dublin is for sale through Jones Lang LaSalle as an investment for €2.75 million. The 319sq m(3,433sq ft) single-storey building on Kill Lane, beside the junction with Deansgrange Road and Clonkeen Road, opposite Deansgrange Business Park, can seat approximately 80 diners.

The restaurant is operated by David Chong who also runs the Ivy Leaf restaurant in Tallaght and the Red Berry restaurant on South Great George's Street in Dublin city centre. The building is held under a 35-year lease dating from 1988. The current rent is €126,974 per annum and is due to be reviewed in October next year as part of the five-yearly reviews provided by the lease.

€9.35m paid for office park investments in Grenoble, France

Dublin agent Ganly Walters has paid €9.35 million for two investments in an office park at Grenoble in France. The agency says that the estimated initial yield is "expected to be slightly in excess of 8 per cent, allowing for costs".

One of the buildings with a floor area of 2,929sq m (31,527sq ft) is 75 per cent let to Adidas, Ernst & Young, Stemcell Technologies and LTX. A developers' 12 months rental guarantee agreed on the vacant space brings the rental income to €389,000. The second building of 3,200sq m (34,444sq ft) is due to be completed in October, 2006. It will have an 18 months rental guarantee at an estimated rent of €406,000 per annum.