€8m for Grafton Street corner shop

A SECOND retail investment property going for sale today on Dublin’s Grafton Street – the Boodles jewellery store at the junction with Harry Street – is expected to sell for around €8 million. At that price it will show an income yield of 6.11 per cent.

The attractive corner four-storey over basement building has a floor area of 394sq m (4,250sq ft) including more than 139sq m (1,500sq ft) of retail space over the ground, mezzanine and first floors. The basement is sub-let to the adjoining Bruxelles bar.

The current rent of €530,000 per annum reflects a Zone A rate of €7,825 per sq m (€727 per sq ft). This compares favourably with the recent Monsoon rent review settlement close by on Grafton Street at a Zone A rate of €8,611 per sq m (€800 per sq ft). The next rent review at Boodles is due in June. The 25-year lease runs from 2005 and does not provide for any break clauses.

Joe Bohan of selling agent HWBC said they expected strong interest from private investors given the prominent location on the street, the long lease without breaks and the calibre of the covenant.

Boodles is one of the UK’s top jewellers, having been founded in 1798. It has London stores in New Bond Street, Sloan Street, Royal Exchange and Harrods, and is to open another outlet shortly in the Savoy Hotel. The global risk experts Dun Bradstreet has given Boodles a very healthy “4A1” credit rating.

Des Dennehy of FC Reit, which manages the Grafton Street building for Friends First, said that after receiving numerous unsolicited offers for the property at an attractive level, a decision was made to dispose of the asset so as to allow for further strategic reallocation within the fund.

Meanwhile, DTZ Sherry FitzGerald is understood to have agreed sale terms on four of six investment properties brought to the market at the request of Royal Liver. The centrepiece of the portfolio is the McDonald’s fast food outlet near the bottom of Grafton Street. A private investor has apparently offered over €20 million for the building and, should the deal be completed, it will show a return of around 6 per cent.