A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Green award for Dundrum
Dundrum Town Centre has been awarded the first Ecocert certification in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area. New projects to be undertaken at the shopping centre include a waste minimisation pilot study, a water conservation programme investigating the viability of rainwater harvesting or spring water for toilet and washdown uses. The centre also plans to reduce energy costs using solar panels to heat water and generate electricity.
New retailer in Athlone
Independent Homestores opened a new outlet last weekend at Arcadia Retail Park and Neighbourhood Centre in Athlone. The trader is paying a rent of €107 per sq m (€10 per sq ft) for a unit of 782sq m (8,417sq ft) which carries a range of homewares and includes a cookery store. Other traders in the park include BQ, Laura Ashley, Cost Plus Sofas and Carpetright.
Bernadine Hogan of Savills, who handled the letting, also reports that Classic Furniture is moving to larger premises – a two-storey building of over 742sq m (8,000sq ft) – at Westend Retail Park in Blanchardstown.
Meanwhile, joint agent Caren Leon of CB Richard Ellis reports that she has leased another unit of 929sq m (10,000sq ft) in the same park to discount retailer Poundland, which trades as Dealz.
Webster joins Green Property
One of the best known figures in the Irish property industry, Ronan Webster of CB Richard Ellis, is to leave the agency to join the Green Property company as a director.
Green is expanding its operations after being appointed by UK bank Lloyd to help manage Irish commercial properties which have been put into receivership by the bank. Green is to provide property management services to receivers on assets in the €13 billion property book at what was formerly Bank of Scotland (Ireland). Earlier Green, which owns Blanchardstown Town Centre, set up a new joint venture company with €900 million in debt and equity to invest in distressed property assets. Its partner is the US-based TPG Capital, one of the largest private equity firms globally.
Webster, who joins his former colleague Pat Gunne in Green, has been involved in the estate agency business for 21 years, during which he was involved in some of the largest property deals in the country. These included the sale of the Jurys and Berkeley Court hotels in Ballsbridge in 2005, the Woodbrook housing site in 2006 and the Monte Vetro office block to Google earlier this year.
Tipperary industrial for €2m
Joint agents BNP Paribas Real Estate and Moynihan Curran are quoting €2 million for the former industrial premises of Pall Europe in Tipperary town. The building extends to 15,965sq m (171,848sq ft) and stands on a site of 4.2 hectares (10.4 acres). It includes significant warehousing, clean room and offices of 522sq m (5,619sq ft). Peter Flanagan of BNP said the selling price for the freehold property works out at €12 per sq ft – the rate that some industrial occupiers pay in rent per year.
€625,000 for Shankill shop
Lisney is seeking offers around €625,000 for a retail investment at Rathsallagh Drive in Shankill, Co Dublin, which will provide a net return of 8.11 per cent.
The ground floor shop is let on a 30-year lease from 2006 to a company trading as Centra convenience store. The rent is €55,000 per annum. The shop extends to 230sq m (2,468sq ft) and is being sold on the instructions of a receiver-manager for the landlord’s company which is in receivership. Overhead residential apartments are not included in the sale.
Lena Clarke of Lisney said the attractive lot size should appeal to a wide spectrum of investors given the excellent trading location adjacent to Shankill Dart station and Scoil Mhuire primary school.
Port facility for €700,000
Shannon Foynes Port Company is to sell extensive warehousing along with a development site opposite the port. DTZ Sherry FitzGerald is handling the sale by public tender on September 28th. It is likely to make in excess of €700,000. Five separate warehouses extending to 5,297sq m (57,024sq ft) are included, including 0.989 hectares (2.44 acres).
