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FEATURE: IRELAND

fallen sufficiently to tempt international brands into the market.

In the Jervis Centre, on the prime Henry Street pitch north of

the Liffey, the space vacated by Arnotts was snapped up by two powerhouses in the value fashion world. US fashion giant Forever 21 has taken 70,000 sq ft over the ground, upper ground and first floor levels and New Look 40,000 sq ft at ground and basement levels. Darragh Cronin of letting agent Savills says the lettings are “the

culmination of significant and active property management by Jervis Centre’s owners which included negotiating with Arnotts on the surrender of its 108,000-sq ft store. “These deals not only improve the consumer offer and tenant

mix but have added significantly to the overall rent and hence capital value of the scheme,” he says. “This will boost footfall further in the Jervis and Henry Street areas and confirms the resilience of Dublin’s city centre retail market ” And in a parallel move Republic, the UK’s leading men’s and

women’s multi-brand fashion retailer, is entering the Irish market with three stores in Dublin. Republic is set to unveil its first Irish store in Dublin’s

Blanchardstown shopping centre at the beginning of June. Designed in Republic’s ‘industrial chic’ style, the 4,000-sq ft store will feature recycled architecture superimposed with an eclectic mix of finishes to give different areas of personality to the store’s interior. And it will be quickly followed by two further stores at Liffey Valley and The Square, Tallaght opening around August. These new stores will be the brand’s first outside of the UK

explains Mark Bruce, regional manager. “After a good year of like for like growth in 2009 we’re taking the Republic fascia and experience to the Republic of Ireland with plans to open further stores this year,” he says. “This is a really exciting opportunity for the brand.” Savills chairman and head of retail Larry Brennan says the deals

come at the same time as an upturn in retail sales in the Republic, after two years of decline. He points out that March 2010 saw a 3.6 per cent like-for-like increase in sales. “That includes motor sales,” he admits, “but even stripping them out we can at least say that sales are bumping along the bottom, rather than the spectacular falls we had been seeing.” At the same time Brennan notes that the leakage of spend

across the border appears to have been stemmed. “That gives a little more confidence for retailers to get out there in the leasing market,” he says.

But so far it’s the big urban centres that are doing better than the smaller locations in the regions. “When shoppers have only got limited spend, they’re going to spend it in a more planned manner,” he says. That means places like Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown, Dundrum and Dublin city centre are likely to be the first to see the upturn.

Green SHOOTS

T

A string of retail lettings in Dublin is bringing new hope to the beleaguered Irish market.

he deals drought that has gripped the Dublin retail market for two years finally broke this month, with two significant moves highlighting the fact that rental values have now

“This will boost footfall and confirms the resilience of Dublin’s city centre retail market”

But one change that does give Brennan cause for concern is the

abolition of upwards-only rent reviews. So far there is little market evidence of firm deals, but Brennan detects a shift in sentiment in the leasing market. “It’s changed our focus onto cashflow,” he says. “Landlords are

no longer offering packages, they’re simply asking: ‘How much rent can I get over the first five years before my rent could potentially go down?’ It’s not going to be possible to provide landlord support for things like fitting-out with only five years’ certainty. “That’s not necessarily good from a tenant’s point of view. But that’s the bed we’re lying in,” he concludes.

Find out more:

For more information, please contact the author or visit the website:

www.shopping-centre.co.uk/Ireland graham.parker@jldmedia.com

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