Retail park moves for multinationals

A new survey paints a bright picture for the future of Ireland’s retail parks , suggesting a number of well-known multinationals are looking to expand through this avenue in the coming 12 months.

According to Savills Ireland, a number of high-profile retailers — among them Next, DFS, Boots, EZ Living, and Halfpenny Golf — are looking to expand their Irish presence over the course of the next year and will do this via units among the 84 retail parks dotted across Leinster, Munster, and Connacht.

According to Savills, 25 (30%) of these parks are classed as prime retail spaces, with seven based around the Dublin area.

According to Berandine Hogan of Savills Ireland: “There is, and continues to be, a strong trend that any new entrants to the Irish retail park market are seeking and occupying space in predominantly prime retail parks. Demand is currently led by the quality of the retail park, its location availability, details of specific units, and rental deal available.”

The report suggests city-centre locations are now less appealing to big-name retailers, with more companies finding that space in prime retail parks is more affordable, with a stronger tenant mix and an established footfall level.

“Prime retail parks are expected to remain stable. They’re expected to continue to attract demand from quality occupiers and continue achieving the highest rents available in the current market,” the survey states.

However, one negative from the findings is the outlook for secondary or tertiary retail parks.

“Tertiary retail parks would be the real concern over the coming months. By tertiary, we’re referring to retail parks in poor locations — for example, not close to main transport networks and not in densely populated areas,” Ms Hogan added.