A Co Offaly businessman, Mr Tom McNamara, has bought Athlone Shopping Centre for slightly over £4 million. The complex was owned since 1996 by Wanze Properties (Ireland), a company associated with Robert Neill's Duke House Properties. It also bought Janelle Shopping Centre at Finglas in Dublin and Dundalk Shopping Centre, but has since disposed of Janelle to Tesco.

Wanze spent around £1.5 million refurbishing the 75,000 sq ft Athlone Centre which is producing over £300,000 per year. The company took a High Court action forcing Tesco to continue trading from the centre after it opened a new supermarket at the rival Golden Island shopping centre in the town. Tesco is paying a rent of £92,000 per year while Lifestyle pays a rent of £30,000. Both leases have another nine years to run. Wanze is shortly to seek planning permission to double the size of Dundalk shopping centre to 200,000 sq ft. Mr McNamara operates Texas department stores in Tullamore and Mullingar and will shortly open a similar operation at the Athlone centre.