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.

A legal battle over a rent review between coffee group Bewley’s and its landlord has come before the Supreme Court.

Bewley’s victory in the High Court is unlikely to help tenants struggling with upward-only rent reviews, says NUI Galway lecturer in land law, Padraic Kenna.