A round-up of today's other commercial property news in brief ...
100,000 rent for D2 shop
Lisney is quoting a rent of €100,000 for the former Victor Chandler bookmakers shop at Merrion Row in Dublin 2. The unit is fitted out as a betting shop with ancillary office accommodation at basement level. The ground floor extends to 106sq m (1,141sq ft).
TK Maxx for Portlaoise
In spite of the slowdown in consumer spending, the international discount trader TK Maxx is to continue to roll out new branches around Ireland. It is to fill the third anchor slot at the Kyle Centre in Portlaoise and will also be opening a branch in Galway.
The two-level store in Portlaoise will extend to 2,255sq m (24,273sq ft) and will open for business in October, according to agent Jones Lang LaSalle. Dunnes Stores and Argos Extra already trade there.
Investment down 89%
A mid-year report from estate agent CB Richard Ellis says that €41 million was spent on commercial property investments in the past three months. Only €600,000 was invested in the first quarter. The combined total compares to €392 million in the first half of 2008 or a drop of 89 per cent. Most of the transactions in the past three months have involved the sale and leaseback of bank branches.
The agency says that while there are signs of improvement starting to emerge in the investment sector in Ireland and the UK, conditions in the occupier markets are challenging with significant pressure on rents and capital values. Tenants are in a strong bargaining position in the current climate and were seeking out very competitive terms and conditions.
Office take-up to drop 30%
BNP Paribas Real Estate has predicted that European office take-up will decline by 30 per cent and investment turnover will drop by 48 per cent in 2009. Office vacancy rates across Europe vary from 6.2 per cent in central Paris to 12.9 per cent in Frankfurt.
