A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Swarovski pays over €500,000 for two Dublin leases
Leading crystal retailer Swarovski is to open two new stores in Dublin's Grafton Street and Henry Street. The Austrian company has paid over €500,000 for two leases held by franchisee Jack & Jones. It will be paying a rent of €187,250 for 5 Grafton Street and €206,000 for 3 GPO Buildings in Henry Street.
Swarovski is one of the world's leading manufacturers of cut crystal. It has 550 stores worldwide, including 94 opened in 2004. It sells a wide range of gift items, collectables, jewellery and designer objects. Emma Coffey of Lisney, who advised Swarovski, said the trader would "enhance the character of both streets with their quality fit-out".
Top Limerick industrial site for over €650,000 per acre
Limerick estate agent O'Connor Murphy Gubbins is expecting strong interest in a top class industrial development site at Westlink Business Park at Clondrinagh, Limerick, which is for sale by tender on October 12th. The 6.22-acre plot, which has a guide price of €650,000 to €700,000 per acre, has industrial zoning and is reached from the Limerick-Galway dual carriageway. It is also close to the site proposed for the Cloonagh shopping centre. Uses likely to be considered include agricultural machiners, car repairs and sales, general and light industry, warehousing and petrol station.
Distributor agrees to rent of €231.45 per sq m in Sandyford
Gerry Images, the distributor of visual material, has opened an Irish branch at Bracken Business Park in Sandyford, Co Dublin. The company is paying a rent of €146,148 for 574sq m (6,178sq ft) - the equivalent of €231.45 per sq m (€21.5 per sq ft) - for its office accommodation and 14 car-parking spaces. However, the landlord allowed a rent-free period of about six months.
Barry Cunningham of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, who advised the tenant, said Sandyford was a perfect location for the company because of its strong transport infrastructure and demographic profile.
Over €2.25m for 2.89-acre retail park site in Wexford
Wexford estate agent Kehoe & Associates is likely to get over €2.25 million when it sells a retail park site of 2.89 acres at auction on September 20th.
The site adjoins the Atlantic Homecare outlet at Wexford Retail Park and the second phase of Clonard Retail Park which is being developed by KFC. About 140,000 people live within 30 minutes' drive of the site.
€409 per sq m rent for period office on Pembroke Street
DTZ Sherry FitzGerald is quoting a rent of €409 per sq m (€38 per sq ft) for a newly refurbished period office building at 15 Pembroke Street, Dublin 2, which has just become available. The floor area extends to 361.46sq m (3,891sq ft) and there is a large yard at the rear.
The agent says the house would make an ideal head office for a small to medium-sized business. Its three-bay extended frontage adds significantly to the room proportions. The basement is also particularly attractive.
Irish buy €6.2bn of European property in first half of 2006
Irish investors now account for almost 10 per cent of European property investments, a new study has claimed. The Irish spend reached a staggering €6.2 billion in Europe during the first half of 2006.
The figures are reported in the latest European Capital Markets Bulletin from Jones Lang LaSalle. It highlights record transaction volumes within Europe, with the first two quarters reaching €95 billion. Ireland had a large share of cross border purchase volumes at about 10 per cent, the report notes. All global sources accounted for 30 per cent with the US at 14 per cent and the UK at 13 per cent.
Almost three-quarters of volumes were concentrated in the "big three" - the UK, Germany and France. British investors led both selling and buying during the first two quarters and more than half the volume in offices and a quarter in retail. Hotels rose to 12 per cent of total volume.
Over €1.35m for small mixed-use site with sea views in Skerries
DTZ Sherry FitzGerald expects to secure over €1.35 million for a mixed-use site of 0.04 hectares (0.09 of an acre) overlooking the coastline in Skerries, Co Dublin. The corner site is occupied by a two-storey home, a two-storey office building of 110sq m (1,184sq ft), as well as ancillary sheds and a yard. The zoning allows for a mixed-use development.
Alan Taylor joins Lisney
Alan Taylor, above left, the former Dublin city valuer, has joined the Lisney agency as head of property development services. He has also been chief property adviser to Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council for many years and played a central role in the rejuvenation of the city and Tallaght. He also had responsibility for the acquisition of land for the M50. Taylor is seen here with Peter Stapleton, managing director of Lisney.
