Legacy boom-time rents such as those which Bewley’s Café on Grafton Street in Dublin is locked into are a huge drain on retailers and remain a massive concern for the sector, according to a retail representative body.

Bewley’s Cafe yesterday said that it was "immensely disappointed" at a Supreme Court decision which means it must continue to pay annual rent of €1.46m on its Grafton Street cafe until the next review in three years’ time.