Industry figures expect a car park close to Dublin Airport to go back on the market quickly after State company DAA’s decision not to challenge a ruling blocking it from buying the facility.
Competition regulators this month barred DAA from buying the former Quick Park complex on the Swords Road, Santry, saying it would give the State airports’ company a near-monopoly on car parking there.
DAA said on Friday that it would not appeal the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (CCPC) ruling, prompting questions about the future of the facility, regarded as badly needed as it has 6,200 car parking spaces.
Industry sources expect its owner, developer Gerry Gannon, to put the car park back on the market within weeks and say that it is likely to lure offers from previous and new bidders.
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Brokers acting for buyers including investment funds have asked about a possible sale of the property since the commission ruled late last week, say figures close to the previous process.
Last week previous bidder Innovest confirmed that it had raised the cash needed to re-enter any race to buy the car park, and said that it could reopen the Swords Road property on time for summer.
Demand for car parking is high at Dublin Airport as large numbers of its passengers are outside the reach of the various bus routes serving what is Ireland’s biggest gateway. DAA expects the 23,000 parking spaces it already controls to sell out this weekend, which marks the beginning of the build up to the summer, the airport’s busiest period.
Airlines and passengers criticised the airport’s operator last summer when parking was fully booked, making the issue a flashpoint for the State company.
Depending on the timing a deal could be done on time to get the extra spaces open as summer travel picks up in coming months, sources say. Agents who oversaw the auction that resulted in DAA winning the race took around two weeks to prepare the information needed for likely buyers.
Any successful bidder is likely to be keen to open the facility as quickly as possible to cash in on demand for space at the airport.
DAA said it decided to not appeal following “careful review” of the CCPC’s judgment and “in the interests of getting the facility’s 6,200 spaces back on the market for passengers in time for summer”.
The development comes amid mounting pressure on parking at the country’s main airport. Those intending on flying abroad for this Easter Bank Holiday weekend had already been warned that available space was expected to be sold out.
Stressing the importance of parking on Friday, DAA said: “There is an urgent need for more parking spaces at Dublin Airport and DAA now calls on the owners of the QuickPark site and any other potential bidders to act speedily to get the facility back open for consumers and to alleviate the significant strain that’s on Dublin Airport’s car parks – all of which are fully sold out this Easter weekend.”
The company added that while it “sees merit in an appeal” of the CCPC decision, “the expectation is that any appeals process would take years, and our passengers cannot wait that long for these spaces to come on the market”.
Dublin Airport expected to handle half a million passengers this weekend, with holidaymakers travelling for everything from religious trips to skiing holidays.
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