More than €500,000 key money for shop on Henry Street

 Retail: Henry Street is increasingly challenging Grafton Street following the opening of the Zara outlet. Now fashion shop Question is offering its lease for sale. Jack Fagan, Property Editor, reports

Key money of over €500,000 is being sought for a high profile shop next to Arnotts on Henry Street in Dublin 1.

The size of the premium underlines the improved trading prospects for the street since Roches Stores redeveloped its store with Zara as its anchor tenant.

Number 6 Henry Street currently trades as Question, a ladies fashion store, and is operated by businessman Paul McGlade.

The five-storey over basement building is currently rented at €253,947 per annum with the next rent review due in September, 2004.

The rent equates to a Zone A rate of €2,400 per sq m (€225 per sq ft), well short of the going rate of €4,305 (€400 per sq ft) set for the Clinton Cards shop near the O'Connell Street end of Henry Street.

Robert Corrigan of Davin estate agents says the Question store should have broad appeal not only because it is opposite the Zara outlet and adjoins Arnotts but also because of the excellent configuration of the various retail floors.

The ground floor has retail space of 148.72 sq m (1,600 sq ft) while the the first floor has an even larger retail area and there is the option of restoring the basement to retail use.

The entire building has a floor area of 520.39 sq m (5,565 sq ft). The 24-years-and-six-months lease dates from 1995 and provides for five-yearly upwards- only rent reviews.

Mr Corrigan said that interest in Henry Street had grown as the street now appeared to be attracting more shoppers than Grafton Street.

Key money of any significance has been rare enough on either Henry Street or Mary Street in recent years, largely because of the availability of a steady stream of new trading opportunities on the high streets as leases ran out as well as in the ILAC Centre and the Jervis Centre.

The highest premium agreed to date was the €1.2 million paid by Lifestyle Sports for the lease of the Bewleys Café opposite the Jervis Centre. Lifestyle amalgamated Bewleys with its existing shop next door.

Henry Street is due to be strengthened further next year when a much delayed redevelopment of the ILAC centre gets under way.

Irish Life first announced its plans for the centre about seven years ago but when it ran into a series of problems, it swopped a 50 per cent stake in the centre with British Land for a 73 per cent equity holding in the St Stephen's Green shopping centre.

Around €40 million is to be spent on the project, which will include new street frontages, double height malls and shopfronts and a major upgrade of customer facilities.

The other major change will see the present Dunnes Stores on Henry Street redeveloped and linked across Sampsons Lane directly into the centre, where it will become another anchor.