Furniture and accessories group Meadows & Byrne is the first major retailer to locate in the IFSC, according to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA). The group has been confirmed as the anchor tenant in the chq centre on Custom House Quay. Caroline Madden reports.
Speaking at the launch of the DDDA's 2005 annual report, chief executive Paul Maloney said that Meadows & Byrne, which is part of the Blarney Woollen Mills Group, intends to open its IFSC store in spring 2007.
He added that the arrival of the homewares outlet will be "particularly welcome here in an area which currently has a deficit [ of retailers]".
Meadows & Byrne has stores in Dun Laoghaire and in five regional locations, and is opening an outlet on the Malahide Road in north Dublin city later this year, but the IFSC store will be its first city centre location.
"The Docklands has undergone a huge regenerative effort, including commercial and residential developments, both of which would attract us in terms of customer bases," Robert Reardon of Meadows & Byrne said yesterday. "Also it is in the heart of the IFSC, so there should be day-to-day trade from the businesses there."
Meadows & Byrne will be joining existing tenants Ely Restaurant and Wine Bar in the chq centre, which is a redeveloped 19th century warehouse.
The DDDA is currently negotiating with a number of other retailers in relation to leasing the remaining units in the centre.
Mr Maloney expects work to commence on the Luas Docklands extension by early 2007. He said that the DDDA has "allayed concerns" of companies in the area that the construction work may disrupt communication systems, by putting "back up systems on alternative routes" in place.
The DDDA's 2005 annual report showed that Grand Canal Harbour, which will be the biggest development on the southside of the Docklands, generated the majority of the DDDA's annual turnover of €37.1 million.
The authority's operating profit after interest for the year was €8.9 million, and its net worth at the end of 2005 was €106.9 million with Grand Canal Harbour and chq being the two main assets.
Speaking at the launch, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche praised the progress made in the area over the last decade, emphasising that the area had been developed with "sensitivity to the community".
Chairman Lar Bradshaw explained that while the "six indigenous communities [ in the Docklands] were bypassed by the original IFSC", the DDDA has ensured that members of these communities have been involved in the Docklands regeneration projects.
