€120m Seven-Property Retail Portfolio Launched

A retail investment portfolio described as "one of the largest ever to be offered to the market in Ireland" has been launched by property consultants Savills and chartered surveyors Bannon.

The €120m 'Spectrum Portfolio' comprises seven assets spanning all four retail sectors, namely Retail Warehouse, Grocery Retail Centres, Town Centre Retail and a Suburban Shopping Centre.

The retail schemes include:

• Douglas Court Shopping Centre, South of Cork City

• Dundalk Retail Park, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

• Quayside Shopping Centre, Sligo Town

• Bloomfields Shopping Centre, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

• The Mill Shopping Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

• Kilbarrack Shopping Centre, Dublin 5

Also included in the sale is a state-let office block opposite The Mill Shopping Centre on Ninth Lock Road in Dublin.

All properties are funded by Lloyds Bank, who appointed receivers. Savills says the combined assets provide approximately 569,000 sq ft of commercial accommodation and over 31 acres of development land. The portfolio offers a net initial yield of 9% (based on the guide price), and provides a current passing rent of approximately €11m per annum.

Tenants within the schemes include Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Woodie’s, TK Maxx and Boots. In total the portfolio includes over 170 tenants and 3,600 car parking spaces in the seven locations.

Fergus O’Farrell, Director of Investments at Savills Ireland and Roderick Nowlan, Director of Investments at Bannon said: "The retail sector is clearly reaching a turning point. Retail sales are steadily increasing, there is a dramatically improved labour market and the prospect of more neutral budgets are now feeding through to the retail economy. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by investors, who are now beginning to seek opportunities in this space. Therefore we expect interest in The Spectrum Portfolio to be strong due to the diverse collection of assets on offer and its exposure to all sectors of the Irish retail market.

(IT/CD)