Tesco to close store in Dun Laoghaire centre

TESCO is to close its supermarket in Dún Laoghaire shopping centre where the store has been in operation since 1977. The supermarket giant will be hoping that its customers will transfer to its other store at the nearby Bloomfield shopping centre.

Reports that Tesco will be replaced by either Aldi or Lidl were discounted yesterday by Donal Madigan, asset manager at the centre.

He said they were currently in negotiations with a trader and would be announcing the name in due course.

Tesco has been paying an annual rent of €525,000 for the 1,858sq m (20,000sq ft) supermarket which is located in the basement of the centre. The lease expired at the end of last year.

A spokesman said one of the disadvantages for shoppers was that they had to use a lift to reach the car park on the various upper floors.

All 50 staff at the store are to be offered alternative employment at other outlets. Madigan said Tesco seemed to have been in two minds about pulling out of the centre.

Last March they had indicated that they wanted to stay on; however this could have been “a blocking move to keep out a competitor”.

Tesco is to spend €4 million on upgrading its more spacious store at the Bloomfield centre which is owned by Dunloe Ewart, the property company controlled by property developer Liam Carroll, which is now in receivership.

The Dún Laoghaire shopping centre was built in 1977 by UK developers MEPC. The original supermarket was run by Quinnsworth.

The shopping centre was sold to a group of Irish investors in 1998 for around €27 million. The complex has about 90 stores, 350 car parking spaces and 3,437sq m (37,000 sq ft) of offices which are rented by Tesco for its Irish headquarters.