High level of interest expected as four bars and a hotel go under the hammer

THE BANK BAR located in the former AIB bank building at O'Connell Street in Limerick will have a reserve price of only €395,000 when it is auctioned by Allsop Space on May 3rd.

The bar will be one of four licensed premises along with a Killarney hotel to go under the hammer along with other distressed properties at an auction in Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel.

The Bank Bar occupies the ground floor of a three-storey over lower ground floor of a Victorian building at the junction of O'Connell Street and Lr Glentworth Street. The lower ground floor has been used as bathrooms, while the ground floor has dining facilities and a kitchen as well as the customary bar. The first floor has been fitted out as a restaurant and nightclub and the top floor has storage facilities. The sale comes at a time when there is an unusually large number of period buildings being advertised for letting on O'Connell Street.

Robert Hoban, director of auctions with Allsop Space, said they had managed to sell all six bars which had come up for auction so far because they were realistically priced. Bars located in cities generally attracted an international audience and they frequently got telephone bids on the day.

Another high-profile bar going to auction is Weirs at Lr Georges Street in Dun Laoghaire which has a reserve price of €450,000. The bar operates on ground and first floor levels, while the lower ground area is used as storage.

Allsop Space is also quoting €220,000 for a pub investment and two-bed apartment known as the Coolgreaney Inn at Gorey, Co Wexford. The business is current- ly rented at €48,000 per annum.

The fourth pub going to auction is Shortts Bar and Crystal Nightclub at 10/11/12 John Street in Waterford. The reserve in this case is €495,000. The building is currently leased at a rent of €60,000 rising up to €90,000 over the next five years.

Also for auction is Darby O'Gill's Hotel in Killarney with a reserve price of €515,000. It has 43 en-suite bedrooms, a restaurant and three function rooms.

In Dublin, Allsop Space has set a maximum reserve price of €500,000 for a detached former Ford motor showrooms at Cookstown Industrial Estate in Tallaght, Dublin 24. The building extends to 2,489sq m (26,792sq ft) and stands on a site of two acres.

Separately, a reserve of €590,000 has been set for an industrial building at JFK Industrial Estate on the Naas Road in Dublin. The building has a floor area of 2,322sq m (25,000sq ft).