More commercial property news in brief

Irish firm sells London shop

Another sign of the improving investment market in the UK came last weekend with the sale by New Ireland Assurance Company of a retail property on London’s Oxford Street for £10.5 million (€12.13 million).

The initial yield will be 4.68 per cent. Dublin commercial property adviser HWBC and Allsop LLP of London acted as joint agents on the building which was bought by a private overseas investor. Bank of Ireland Asset Management managed the property for New Ireland.

The building at 285 Oxford Street is let to Boots the Chemists until 2019 and has an outstanding rent review. Boots has relocated elsewhere on the street and has sub-let the building to another trader.

The selling agents initially invited offers over £10 million and, after a vigorous marketing campaign, a formal offer was made and accepted within three weeks.

Jonathan Hillyer of HWBC said that well let buildings in good central London locations are still keenly sought by investors. The level of interest in this asset reinforced the market’s appetite for prime assets.

The UK recently emerged as one of the brighter parts of the global commercial property market amid hopes that the worst of Britain’s property downturn is over.

The UK was one of the first markets to peak in the summer of 2007. A substantial fall in prices of more than 40 per cent has resulted in surveyors beginning to report greater optimism about future capital value growth. Even so, the short term outlook remains depressed, according to the global property survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Alessi for Brown Thomas

The Italian design company Alessi opens its first concession outlet in Ireland tomorrow at Brown Thomas in Dublin.

The 25-metre space on the third floor will showcase cooking, serving and tableware ranges, and decorative and giftware items from the Alessi collections. Over 200 designers have worked with the company.

New shop for Musgrave

Cash and carry specialist Musgrave has opened a new store of 10,219sq m (110,000sq ft) at Robinhood Industrial Estate, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. The new outlet also marks the unveiling of Musgrave’s new cash and carry offering Musgrave MarketPlace.