North city centre flagships for sale

Two prime retail investments – one at the Ilac Centre and the other on nearby Parnell Street – hit the market this week through Savills.

Unit 1 at the Dublin 1 centre, which is being offered for sale on behalf of receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG, has a guide price of €3.25 million. Should it sell at that price, the purchaser will secure a net initial yield of 7.48 per cent. Argos has seven years remaining on its lease at Unit 1. The rent is currently set at €253,948 and is reviewed every five years on an upwards-only basis.

The shop is on the centre's Western Mall with easy access to Parnell Street. Surrounding retailers include McDonald's, Meteor, Burger King and Holland & Barrett, ensuring a high footfall.

One of the larger units in the Ilac, the Argos store extends to 885sq m (9,526sq ft) with rear access to a shared loading area. It is laid out in retail use to the front with storage, offices and staff facilities to the rear.

"This is a rare opportunity to acquire a large unit within a central Dublin shopping centre which is secured under a long-term lease to an excellent multinational covenant," says Brendan Delaney of Savills.

Argos opened its Ilac Centre outlet in 1996 and now has 35 stores in the Republic of Ireland. It has another 255 stores in the UK, with total sales of £4.3 billion in the last financial year.

Meanwhile, Linda Forsyth of the same agency is seeking €2.25 million for the Burger King outlet at 35-41 Parnell Street. The 372sq m (4,000sq ft) unit is producing an annual rent of €170,000 with about 7½ years remaining on the lease and, should it make its guide price, the net initial yield will be 7.23 per cent.

Located between the entrances to the Ilac Centre and Penneys on Parnell Street, the Burger King outlet has access to the Ilac Centre through a small unit which is not forming part of this sale.

The Ilac Centre underwent a €60 million refurbishment in recent years and has some 26,942sq m (290,000sq ft) of retail accommodation in over 80 stores, while an interconnecting multistorey car park accommodates over 1,000 cars.