Designer outlet plans €15 million investment to double retail area

THE developers of an out-of-town discount retail outlet on the main route linking Dublin with Cork and Limerick have announced plans for a €15 million investment programme that will double the size of the centre.

AWG Property, the owner of the Rathdowney Designer Outlet in Co Laois, said the investment reflected the success of the centre, which opened three years ago and attracted more than 600,000 shoppers who spent over €60m last year.

The company, which is a subsidiary of publicly- quoted British property and utility group AWG, bought a 15-acre site next door to its existing location and expects the extension to be open for business before the summer of 2006.

AWG Property chief executive Tony Donnelly said the development would make the centre more attractive for shoppers.

The outlet targets the 250,000 people who live in nine major towns in the midlands, but also aims to benefit from improvements in the national road network to attract visitors from Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Rathdowney is located within 5km of the Dublin-Cork road.

Mr Donnelly said AWG planned to spend 1m on a children’s entertainment area, to open next month in time for the pre-Christmas trading period.

Mr Donnelly also said an agreement had been reached with retail chain Dunnes Stores to open a 22,000-square-foot stand-alone outlet near the existing centre next summer.

The centre contains discount retailers that benefit from cheaper rents and overheads to sell high-street brands at lower prices.