Half Ilac Centre sold for €121m

PROPERTY developer Joe O’Reilly has paid €121 million for a 50% stake in the Ilac shopping centre in Dublin.

Mr O’Reilly, the developer of the massive Dundrum shopping centre which opened earlier this year, bought the stake from the British Land company.

The other shareholder in the Ilac Centre, which is on Henry Street, is Irish Life. It had an option to buy the shares from British Land.

The centre, which had been run down for some years, is undergoing a major renovation. The first part of the redevelopment saw a complete refurbishment of the Roches Stores outlet and the opening of Spanish fashion retailer Zara.

The current building works will result in the opening of a 14,000 sq ft flagship store for discount fashion chain H&M, a new Dunnes Stores outlet and 120 apartments. The development is expected to be completed early next year.

Separately, construction of the €700m Point Village in the Dublin docklands is due to get under way early next year.

The developers of The Point Village plan to build a 100 metre skyscraper, 100,000 sq ft of retail space, a 12-screen cinema and an upgrade of the Point Depot.