Bargain price for shopping centre

Cork’s North Main Street Shopping Centre — minus anchor unit Dunnes Stores, and all developed by Owen O’Callaghan in the 1980s with a multi-storey car-park — is to be sold off by public auction later this month, with a guide price of €750,000-850,000.

It is one of the larger of 70 commercial lots in the forthcoming Allsop Space auction February 25. The mix also includes retail investments in Galway, with a number of associated units at Mainguard Street there guided at a combined €2.3m, and with an annual income of €250,000.

Combined reserves for all 190 lots, including residential, is €27m, set to be its biggest clearance ever.

Among the larger investment lots, and also for sale in Cork City’s suburbs, is an investment of eight modern houses, Nos 1-8 Woodbrook Place, Looneys Cross, in the heart of Bishopstown. This completed development has a rent of €84,600 pa, with a reserve of €750,000, showing a gross yield of 11.3%.

Allsops auction will have a mix of 81 houses (the largest number to date) 17 apartments, 18 land lots, 30 retail/shops, ten offices, just one pub, and 18 industrial lots, plus two housing developments.

The North Main Street Shopping Centre lot sees 14 shop units totalling 9,000 sq ft going for sale, five of which are vacant and the current rent roll is €119,000 pa. A number of units are on short four-year, nine month leases, and it’s understood the vendors are CarVal, who acquired the investment last year as part of a larger investment mix.

Allsop director Robert Hoban repeated the company pledge that their latest auction would not include any repossessed homes and noted that “apart from the new commercial opportunities this sale will also see many more Irish families find new homes and others bring new life to businesses throughout Ireland. Employment will inevitably follow and this will continue the process of rejuvenation of communities.”

The previous December auction had 140 lots, and netted €24m in sales, and Mr Hoban predicted a record tally from the 190 lots this time.

Also to be sold are two investments let to Irish bookies: a Sandyford Main Street Dublin unit let to Paddy Powers, at €45,000 pa with overhead apartment netting €11,400 bringing total rent to €56k pa. Guide is €530,000 — €560,000. The second bookie investment is the HQ of Boylesports, at Finnabair Business & Technology Park, in Dundalk on a 15 year lease from 2003, rented at €250,000 and with a reserve of €1.4m-€1.5m.

* Details: www.allsopspace.ie