Charleville Town Centre in Cork, developed in 2007 at a cost of €20 million and sold by receivers to the current owners, Solas Financial, for €2.1 million in 2018, is back on the market, seeking €3.5 million through agent Sherry FitzGerald Commercial.
While the increase in the retail-led development’s price is substantial, the last seven years have seen it benefit from a significant refurbishment and asset-management programme. While just two of its 17 retail units were occupied in 2018, today just three of the scheme’s newly consolidated 15 units remain vacant.
Charleville Town Centre extends to 4,197sq m (45,177sq ft) and comprises 15 retail units, nine office units and a two-bed duplex apartment. The anchor tenant, Dunnes Stores, along with Elverys Sports, own their own stores and are not included in the sale. The development has a multistorey car park with 450 car-parking spaces, which serves as the primary off-street car park for the entire town and generates footfall through the centre. The centre, which is fully managed, has an annual average footfall of more than 750,000, according to the selling agent.
Charleville Town Centre is 80 per cent occupied under various leases, and the total passing income is €520,000 per annum. Existing tenants, which are not affected by the sale, include Insomnia, 5th Avenue Hair Salon, St Gabriel’s Foundation, RDF Architects, DNCF Civil Engineers, Go Pluz and DV8. The weighted average unexpired lease term to expiry is 10.8 years. There are three vacant retail units and two vacant office units. The vacant restaurant unit extends to about 279sq m (3,000sq ft) and is located between Elverys Sports and Dunnes Stores.
RM Block
Charleville, on the main Cork/Limerick N20 Road and about 60km north of Cork city and 40km south of Limerick city, has a population of about 3,970 (CSO 2022). The town has a primary care centre while SuperValu, Aldi and Lidl each have an outlet in the town. Kerry Foods is a significant employer in the area with a food-production facility on about 40 acres on the edge of the town.
Should a sale of Charleville Town Centre proceed at the €3.5 million guide price, the purchaser would be in line for a net initial yield of 12.2 per cent, assuming standard acquisition costs of 9.96 per cent.
David McCarthy of Sherry FitzGerald Commercial says: “This is a substantial mixed-use investment with extensive asset management opportunities. We estimate the scheme’s rental value to be in the region of €610,000 per annum upon full occupancy.”
