In a welcome change from the large number of office and hotel investments dominating the Dublin market, agent CBRE is to seek a buyer for seven shops in Donnybrook Mall in the centre of the Donnybrook village in Dublin 4.
Natalie Brennan of the selling agents is quoting €6 million for the two-storey retail investment which was acquired during the boom by the high profile developer Sean Dunne for €17 million.
The property is now to be sold on the instructions of PwC’s William O’Riordan who was appointed receiver to Mr Dunne’s Padholme company by the Ulster Bank.
For private investors and new property investment companies attempting to make a name for themselves, the parade of shops will be seen as a trophy asset with undoubted potential to greatly enhance its value.
This has been made possible by Dublin City Council’s decision in 2008 to allow Padholme to demolish the row of shops and replace them with a four-storey over basement mixed use development more than double the size of the present scheme and extending to 4,492sq m (48,350sq ft). The original planning decision, recently extended to January 2019, provides for six larger retail stores, a restaurant/takeaway, bank, three office units and four two-bedroom apartments.
Rent roll
In the meantime, the seven shops currently trading from the mall are producing a rent roll of €392,805.
The shopping complex is currently anchored by a double fronted Tesco Express which is paying a rent of €80,000 for a shop extending to 468sq m (5,038sq ft).
The 25-year lease from 2012 provides for five yearly rent reviews linked to the Consumer Price Index.
The company has a break option in 2020.
Another multiple trader, Lloyds Pharmacy – which has some 76 outlets in Dublin – is currently paying a rent of €107,000 for a two-storey unit extending to 441sq m (4,756sq ft). The chain recently completed its rebranding from DocMorris to Lloyds Pharmacy, and is part of the Celisio Group. The company's 35-year lease in Donnybrook Mall ran out in 2011.
The Natural Bakery moved into Donnybrook Mall in 2013 and is paying a rent of €30,000 under a 15-year lease with a break option in year 10.
It also operates stores in Rathmines and South Circular Road.
The tenants also include Expert Hardware, which is paying a rent of €22,200 for a 66sq m (716sq ft) unit from 2012 with a break at year five. The trader has 45 stores throughout Ireland.
Another tenant, Lyk Nu Dry Cleaners, is paying a rent of €37,500 on a 20-year lease from 2012. It has a tenant break option in year 10. The company has three outlets in the Dublin area.
The seventh tenant, fashion retailer Marian Gale, is paying a rent of €71,105 for a shop extending to 149sq m (1,609 sq ft).
Donnybrook Mall has always traded well despite the fact that it has only 15 designated car parking spaces and relies heavily on further parking at the front of the complex.
