BUSINESSWOMAN PIA Bang said yesterday that landlords need to come to “feasible arrangements” with retailers in order to accommodate the economic downturn.

She was speaking after Eamonn Leahy of Leahy and Associates was appointed as liquidator to Bancastle Ltd, the company that ran her clothing and home furnishings outlets in Dublin.

Mr Leahy would not comment about the appointment.

Ms Bang ran a clothing outlet up to 2005 on Grafton Street, after which she moved to a new premises on nearby South Anne Street and began to sell home furnishings. "We were forced into this because of the downturn and because of rent," Ms Bang told The Irish Times.

“We tried to negotiate the rent down and we tried to see if they would take [the lease] back and we are trying to sell [the lease] but the value has dropped to zero.”

Ms Bang said the downturn that hit the retail trade made the rent her company was paying no longer feasible. The building on South Anne Street is owned by Irish Life Asset Managers.

“We went to review but they only wanted to talk about the rent going up.”

The November 2008 review led to the rent being increased to €165,000 a year from €118,000, she said. Now the building is unoccupied.

Ms Bang said she was the main creditor of the company, arising from the purchase of the lease for €300,000. She said the second largest creditor was the landlord, Irish Life.

Suppliers and staff have been paid off, she said. “We are not letting anybody down.” She said landlords should talk to their tenants and come to an arrangement that is feasible “or else you will end up with empty shops everywhere”.

People were unable to start up new businesses because they couldn’t get credit from the banks, and the rents landlords are seeking “are crazy money”.