€1m Bandon Shopping Centre put on the market for first time since it was built

Developed in the 1980s, it's the first time the shopping centre has come to market

Bandon Shopping Centre is on the market for €1m

West Cork's Bandon Shopping Centre, an established income-producing asset, has been put on the market for €1m.

It’s the first time it’s been on the market since it was built in the 1980s.

The town centre premises is fully tenanted and is generating an annual rental income of €102,000. Existing leases have, on average, approximately 5.8 years to run, weighted by rental income.

Tenants include Horgan’s Pharmacy, Barter’s Travel, Jake’s Cakes (bakery/restaurant), a hair salon, a garment repair service, and a recovery coach.

Horgan's Pharmacy has multiple units

Two of the tenants — Horgan’s Pharmacy and Jake’s restaurant — occupy multiple units.

Individual units vary in size from 300sq ft to 600sq ft (28sq m to 56sq m).

The shopping centre is on the site of the original market in Bandon and links the Main St with an HSE Primary Care Centre, developed at a cost of €10m and completed in 2021.

The 40,000sq ft three-storey building also houses Bandon library, which relocated there from a county Council-owned premises next to the shopping centre. The council-owned premises is due to become the new home for Access Credit Union, currently based at No 26 South Main St.

The site Bandon Shopping Centre is on has a centuries-old trading history and was once occupied by South Market House, erected in 1620, according to Irish Historic Towns Atlas.

South Market House was a two-storey building with a ground-floor colonnade and external steps leading to the upper floor.

The original building was demolished in 1720 and rebuilt on the same site in 1723.

It was also known as the Saturday market house, reflecting the day the market took place.

The building was subsequently rebuilt again around 1820.

An important part of Bandon’s commercial and civic life, it also accommodated municipal offices, a court-house and jury room, and was used for church services on various occasions. There was also an adjoining potato market, making the site an important centre of trade in the town.

In the early 20th century, the site became synonymous with Slattery’s auto business before being redeveloped by businessman Joe McCarthy in 1988.

Mr McCarthy named his own business (Jake’s Cakes) after Jake Sweeney, a well-known character in the town and the last market keeper. The Sweeney family had served as market keepers for roughly a century, up to 1950.

Bandon Shopping Centre

The McCarthy family themselves have now exited Jake’s Cakes but retained their interest in the shopping centre until now.

It’s for sale via commercial agent Trevor McCarthy, of Irish & European.

He describes it as “a nice, tidy investment” with a good tenant mix, which is already generating “reasonable interest”.

The agent adds that the centre has a positive letting history, with flexibility of unit sizes also available if needs be.

The shopping centre’s common areas have been upgraded recently, with new tiling, painting, etc.

The centre provides a pedestrian link with the main street and the primary care centre as well as the associated car park.

The gross internal area is circa 543sq m (5850sq ft), while the energy ratings are B1-C3.

Bandon town centre itself has also undergone substantial upgrades, both to public realm and to flood defences. 

Bandon in 2020, before the upgrades. Picture: Andy Gibson

Bandon after upgrades, 2025 Picture: Larry Cummins

The town centre regeneration project has delivered upgraded streets, new footpaths, landscaping, trees, seating, bicycle parking, and improved lighting and pedestrian crossings.

Separately, a long-awaited €30.5m flood relief scheme has been completed, shoring up approximately 400 properties from flood risk. The town centre was previously prone to major flood events, although Bandon Shopping Centre escaped.

DETAILS: Contact Trevor McCarthy, of Irish and European; email trevor@ irishandeuropean.ie or phone [phone].

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