One of the main stores in the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in Dublin 2 is available to let after the landlords purchased the leasehold from the current tenants, Roches Stores. Roches has been trading there since the centre opened over a decade ago. It is planning to concentrate in future on larger department store-sized outlets with at least 40,000 sq ft.

Agents Jones Lang LaSalle are seeking rental offers in excess of £285,000 for the unit, which is to be let on a new 25-year lease with five-yearly rent reviews. The electrical multiple, Dixons, is likely to be among the companies pitching for the store after failing to acquire the lease from Roches. British Land, the owner of the centre, is believed to have paid around £300,000 for the lease.

The company has bought in several leases in recent times including that of Champion Sports, a 600 sq ft shop rented at £39,000 per annum. It is shortly to be relet at £52,500 to an Irish multiple. Stephen Murray of Jones Lang LaSalle said the centre is trading extremely well. Recent letting had seen kiosks making between £175 and £190 per sq ft, while ground floor shops were renting at £115 per sq ft and £25 at mezzanine level.

The Roches Stores unit is prominently situated on the first floor beside escalators from the ground floor and directly adjacent to Boots and Dunnes Stores. It has a ground floor area of 10,155 sq ft with a mezzanine of 3,580 sq ft and basement storage of 500 sq ft with a dedicated goods lift.

"This is a rare opportunity to acquire a large unit in one of the country's best retail locations," Mr Murray said. "Not surprisingly, there are already preliminary expressions of interest in the property as it is virtually impossible to acquire large floor area space in the Grafton Street/south city area."