The fast-growing DIY market in the Dublin area is to get another shake-up with the decision by the giant trader B & Q to open a major store in Airside Retail Park near Dublin Airport.
It will be the third outlet in Dublin for the multiple which is understood to be planning to roll-out about 10 further stores in the greater Dublin area and some principal towns and cities.
B & Q's decision to anchor the second phase of Airside Retail Park at Swords will be a major boost for the park which is set to become the largest in the country independent of a shopping centre. The company will trade in the park alongside Atlantic Homecare and a short distance from Woodies, which successfully persuaded An Bord Pleanála about four years ago to block moves by B & Q to open a 10,219 sq m (110,000 sq ft) "superstore" in the first phase of Airside.
With B & Q now content to comply with the restricted store size of 6,000 sq m (64,583 sq ft) - including garden centre - it will be selecting other strategic locations both in Dublin and elsewhere for further outlets. These are likely to include The Park in Carrickmines, Mahon in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Drogheda. Its first two stores at Liffey Valley and Belgard are trading exceptionally well.
Opposition to B & Q from individual traders has largely dissipated since the multiple opened in Dublin and, with the Government coming under increasing pressure because of fast-rising retail prices, it will be no surprise if the retail guidelines are changed or scrapped altogether to allow IKEA open a superstore here. Otherwise this trader is likely to set up its single Irish store in a convenient location, such as Newry, where it would attract a huge number of shoppers from the Republic.
In the meantime, B & Q is due to push ahead with its expansion programme despite opposition from the Irish Hardware Association. B & Q will be paying a rent of €1.26 million for the Airside unit, equating to €239 per sq m (€22.22 per sq ft) once the garden centre space is discounted.
There will be no break clause in the 20-year lease and the rent will be reviewed at the usual five-year intervals.
Stephen Murray of Jones Lang LaSalle says B & Q's decision to locate at Airside "delivers critical mass and complements the already strong line-up of traders there". Chris Bogle of Fisher Wilson advised B & Q.
David Daly's Albany Group has already begun development of the second phase of Airside Park, which will have a floor area of 31,500 sq m (340,000 sq ft) when it opens for business next autumn.
Two institutions, Irish Pension Fund Property Unit Trust and Irish Life, pre-funded the first phase of the 17,000 sq m (182,986 sq ft) park at a cost of about €63 million in September 2000. Albany is expected to retain ownership of the second phase but if it decides to offload all or part of it, IPFPUT and Irish Life will have first option to buy it.
All 11 units in the first phase are now let following the recent letting of the final store of 1,073 sq m (11,550 sq ft) to Diamond Furniture, which is also trading out of the EP Mooney Retail Park on the Longmile Road in west Dublin.
Rents in the park vary between €199 and €247 per sq m (€18.50 and €23 per sq ft) depending on the size of units.
Other traders include Harvey Norman, Atlantic, Harry Corry, Smyths Toy Store, DID Electric and Party Warehouse.
Stephen Murray is already in negotiations to lease the five remaining units in the second phase which will range in size from 892 to 1,353 sq m (9,601-145,636 sq ft).
The location of the Airside Park has been greatly helped by the opening of the new section of the M1 that takes most of the Dublin-Belfast traffic away from the airport. The park will get a further boost when a planned interchange on the motorway links up with a new road through the retail park.
Retail warehousing has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the property market in recent years. Airside has become a busy centre because of its superb location off the MI but otherwise retail warehousing parks have tended to trade considerably better if they are located beside established shopping centres.
A large retail warehousing park in Dundalk has had a slow start despite the high quality of the development. Other provincial developers will be keeping a close eye on it.
