Rent roll at 53 William Street in Limerick

THE possibility of a rent roll of €120,000 a year, after some building upgrades, is being touted in the sale of a Limerick city investment, at no 53 William Street.

The Georgian, mid-terraced, three-storey building stretches to 3,775 sq ft and has the bulk of its income from Lloyds Pharmacy, who are paying €99,564 pa in rent for the ground-floor retail space, on a lease running to 2019, plus basement storage and first-floor ancillary accommodation for staff.

No 53 has three one-bed flats in need of upgrading and currently vacant.

If refurbished, these could bring the income to €120-125,000 pa, says estate agent, Anthony Quinlan, of Downing Commercial.

Mr Quinlan prices this investment at €1.1m, and is selling for the landlord, a private owner.

He describes No 53 William Street as a high-profile, mixed-use retail and residential investment property, with excellent covenant in the heart of Limerick city.

Main tenant Lloyd’s Pharmacy is a division of the German multinational, Celesio AG, which is one of the largest pharmacy chains in Europe.

The chain holds No 53 on a 21-year lease, from 1998: “the retail tenant offers potential purchasers a quality of covenant, which is unrivalled,” say the agents, adding that with apartments in Limerick city centre currently achieving rents of €650/€750 per month, there’s scope to grow the renal income.

Meanwhile, John Downing reports a broad range of interest in Irish Life’s CLIC portfolio of eight properties, in Limerick and Cork cities, primarily retail and with one office investment, at the University Technology Park, Curraheen, Cork.

Interest is from a range of Irish investors, and it’s most likely that the CLIC rebalancing, by Irish Life, will see the investments selling in lots, rather than as an entity.

At an overall €9.5m, the investment offers a return of 9.1%, once some vacancies at the UTC park are filled.

Among the lots are two shops on Patrick Street, Cork (nos 77 and 78), let to Coast and Meteor, and buildings on Limerick’s Cruises Street (nos 3, 6a, and 8a, and nos 2 and 3 William Street).

DETAILS: Downing Commercial, 021-4271000