A round-up of today's other stories in brief

€350,000 rent on Grafton Street after Jessops leaves in a flash

Less than two years after opening on Grafton Street, digital camera multiple Jessops has suddenly closed down its first outlet in the city and part of its retail operation in the UK.

Savills HOK is seeking a replacement tenant for 111 Grafton Street which is available on a new 25-year lease at a rent of €350,000 per annum.

The five-storey building of 372sq m (4,004sq ft) has retail use at ground and first floor levels.

The shop has the advantage of an extremely high footfall because of its location at the bottom of the street near Trinity College.

Carpet Right for Tullamore

UK multiple Carpet Right is still expanding its operation in Ireland with the latest outlet due to open at Tullamore Retail Park.

The rent there for a shop unit of 5,000sq m (53,819sq ft) will be €193 per sq m (€18 per sq ft).

The other traders in the park include Tesco and Atlantic.

Bogle Estates acted for Carpet Right who plan to roll out more stores in the Republic.

Harcourt in Bahamas plan

Pat Doherty's Dublin-based Harcourt Developments is to join with the US casino operator Foxwoods to redevelop the Royal Oasis Resort at Freeport in the Bahamas which was severly damaged by hurricanes in the area almost four years ago.

The resort will have 650 hotel rooms, a casino and convention centre.

Two on-site golf courses are also to be restored.

Dublin drops to ninth in survey of most expensive office locations

A survey of 203 office locations across the world finds that Dublin has dropped from sixth to ninth in the league table of most expensive facilities. This reflects the fact that prime office rents in Dublin were static during 2007 while average global rents grew by 14 per cent.

The study, carried out by Cushman & Wakefield, of which Lisney is Irish partner, found that the total cost of occupying prime Dublin office space is €823 per sq m (€76.5 per sq ft) with 79 per cent of this attributable to rent.

However, prime rents remained static at €646 per sq m (€60 per sq ft), allowing Dublin to be overtaken by Moscow, Singapore and Dubai where rents increased by 73, 78 and 68 per cent, respectively.

London's East End retains its position as the most costly office location in the world with annual rents of €1,897 per sq m (€176 per sq ft). This represented a growth rate of 30 per cent during the year.

Own-door units sold in D1

Lisney has sold four own-door commercial units and a crèche at James Joyce Street which runs between Amiens Street and Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin 1. The units are on the ground floor of a mixed-use scheme housing The Lab Arts and Dance House dance centre.

Three remaining commercial units - ranging in size from 50-70sq m (538-753sq ft) - are available at prices from €200,000 to €350,000, according to agent Lisney. Each unit comes with a car-parking space at a cost of €40,000.

€2.9m for house in Ballsbridge

A three-storey over garden level office building at 12 Pembroke Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, has come on the market through Sherry Fitz-Gerald with an asking price of €2.9 million.

The 270sq m (2,915sq ft) house is ideal for a variety of uses, including a corporate headquarters or a commercial or residential investment.

Because of its convenient location - between Wellington Road and Waterloo Road - it will obviously appeal to families looking for a prestigious home in Dublin 4.

Laura Ashley to open its second Irish shop in Athlone Retail Park

Laura Ashley, trading out of a store in Dublin's Grafton Street for many years, has finally opted to enlarge its representation here by opening a second outlet in Athlone.

The UK company will be paying €215 per sq m (€20 per sq ft) for 1,068sq m (11,500sq ft) at the Arcadia Retail Park in Athlone.

The other tenants in the park include B&Q, Carpet Right and Land of Leather. Adrian Leahy of Savills HOK handled the letting.

€1.3 million for creche in Kill

Colm McEvoy Commercial is seeking over €1.3m for a crèche at Embassy Manor, Kill, Co Kildare. The creche can also be rented at €28 per sq m.

Off-licence lease for €700,000

Douglas Newman Good is looking for €700,000 for the lease of the Uncorked off-licence at Marian Road, Rathfarnham. The rent is €25,008.