A round-up of other commercial property news in brief
Premium drops €350,000
The downturn in the retail market has forced one of the traders on Grafton Street to drastically reduce the asking price for its lease. Zerep shoe store at the upper end of the street sought €500,000 key money for its lease when it went on the market last March. There were were no takers and this week agent Douglas Newman Good Commercial dropped the asking price to €150,000. The three-storey over basement building has 202.18sq m (2,176sq ft) and is rented at €336,500 per annum. Zerep and the adjoining Richard Allen store were offered for sale earlier this year by developer Bernard McNamara at €42 million but when they failed to attract a satisfactory offer they were withdrawn from the market.
Footfall up in Dundrum
Footfall in Dundrum Town Centre has grown rapidly in recent weeks to coincide with a spate of new openings. Toy shop Hamleys has generated considerable interest while other significant openings include Snow Rock which specialises in cycle, ski and snowboard equipment. Newsagents Hughes Hughes has opened a new outlet while Elverys is due to fit-out a 2,136sq m (23,000sq ft) shop. Magee Clothing also recently opened a flagship store next to Hamleys. The firm is paying a rent of just under €200,000 for 183sq m (1,963sq ft) and not a rent of €400,000 as reported in this column recently.
High rent on New bond St
Dolce & Gabbana has agreed to pay one of the highest rents on record for a West End store in a move that could start a rental negotiating war on London's New Bond Street between existing retailers and landlords. The Italian fashion giant has agreed to pay £820 per sq ft (€1,015 per sq ft) for Zone A and a £1.4 million (€1.734 million) premium to secure the lease on a new jewellery and accessories outlet in the luxury shopping street. Lalique will vacate the 304sq m (3,267sq ft) shop in January. CBRE advised the landlord on the deal.
Cosmetic clinic for Baggot St
River Medical Group, provider of cosmetic surgery, has taken a 20-year lease on a Georgian office building at 114 Lwr Baggot St, D2, at a rent of €127,000. Knight Frank, which handled the letting, said "attractive concessions" were granted as part of the lease of the four-storey over basement building with 290sq m (3,121sq ft). There is one rear car-parking space. River Medical Group is spending over €2m setting up the Baggot Street clinic which will have treatment rooms (each with a changing room), consultation rooms and a reception area. Atisreal advised the group.
Irish family buys London shops
An Irish family has paid £10 million (€12.444m) for a portfolio of small shops in Islington, south London. Penny Lane Investments will get a blended yield of 3.7 per cent on 34 of the 85 shops sold by Islington council. The remainder were bought by traders given first right of refusal to buy their own stores if they matched the preferred bidder's price. A council spokesman said: "All the money has been reinvested by law but we are now making 5.7 per cent on the cash, up from a 3 per cent yield on the assets."
Tony O'Loughlin joins HWBC
Tony O'Loughlin, former head of the office division and a European director of Jones Lang LaSalle, has joined Dublin commercial agents HWBC as a director. He is a former president of the IAVI. O'Loughlin has advised developers on some of the largest office projects in the city. Michael Coyle, managing director of HWBC, said O'Loughlin's role will not be confined to the office market where he is an expert, but will extend across all areas of commercial property. The appointment is an important part of HWBC's strategy to improve and extend the range and quality of services offered to clients.
Office rents stable in Q3
Prime office rents were stable in the majority of European markets over Q3 but there were decreases in London, Dublin and Barcelona, according to Jones Lang LaSalle's European office clock. Dr Claire Ericsson, head of research with the agency, said that due to global economic uncertainty, many occupiers were reluctant to pay higher rents. The study shows rental growth slowing in almost all cities and falling in London City and West End, Brussels and Dublin. Top office rents in Dublin are the seventh most expensive in Europe.
Investment up in UK/France
Foreign investment activity in the UK, especially London City, and France is rising as yields look more attractive, says DTZ's European quarterly report. Middle-East and German investors bought almost €2bn of property in the UK in Q2 compared to €0.55bn in Q1. Lancer Asset Management, backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family, bought two former Thistle hotels in Knightsbridge in London for €400 million from UK-based CandyCandy. In France, investment volumes reached €3.6bn in Q2 compared to €3bn in Q1.
€45,000 rent for shop
A 51sq m (549sq ft) shop is available to let beside the newly opened Primrose Gate Medical Centre and crèche at Primrose Gate, Celbridge, opposite St Wolsten's Abbey. Jones Lang LaSalle is quoting a rent of €45,000 for the unit and says that this is the first neighbourhood scheme built to cater for developments on the Newcastle and Lucan side of Celbridge. It will be anchored by Centra.
