The new owners of Shannon Town Centre are planning to embark on a redevelopment of the complex to strengthen its appeal. A joint venture company led by Barry Boland of Beauxwalk Property and Cafferty Builders has paid £7.1 million for the centre in a deal that will give them an initial yield of 8.5 per cent.

The 85,000 sq ft of retail space is producing a rental income of £665,000 and, according to William Fennelly of Lisney, the rent will rise to around £750,000 in three years, giving the owners a return of almost 10 per cent.

An additional 60,000 sq ft of retail space around a new town square is planned along with a food court, multiplex cinema, civic offices and a multi-storey car park. The proposed extension, which will attract tax breaks, will be in line with a master plan prepared by the SFADCO, the development authority. The availability of capital allowances in the short term will encourage the owners to proceed with the extension as soon as is feasible.

Tesco is the anchor tenant with a 22,000 sq ft supermarket for which they pay a rent of £5 per sq ft - one of the lowest in the country. Their lease has another seven years to run. Although there are almost 60 other retail units, the centre has been struggling for years, largely because the previous owners allocated what should be prime retail units to financial institutions and professional firms. Two of the most successful units, the bar and Supermacs, are virtually freehold along with a new store developed by the German discount supermarket chain Lidl. SFADCO has said that the number of retail outlets per head of population in Shannon is one-sixth of that of comparative towns.