Portfolio of Dublin city retail units for €21.5m

A substantial portfolio of investment properties including 17 shops along Lower Liffey Street and the adjoining section of Bachelor’s Walk in Dublin city centre go for sale today guiding €21.5 million.

QRE Real Estate Advisers is handling the sale of the investments which originally formed part of the 25-strong mixed-use Ulysses property empire assembled by Liam Carroll's Zoe and Danninger companies before they were put into receivership in 2013 by Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

The €152.5 million portfolio was acquired by Pimco and Brehon Capital, now trading as Tetrach Capital, who have since managed to find buyers for several office buildings.

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River Portfolio: Panti Bar, Capel St

Michael McElligott, managing director of Tetrach Capital, said the current sale formed part of their continuing strategy to unlock value from their 2013 acquisition of the Ulysses portfolio. “We are confident this mixed-use portfolio will attract strong interest from both domestic and international buyers.”

The latest sale, dubbed River Portfolio, is expected to attract an even keener response given that more than 80 per cent of the €1.83 million rental income comes from the fast recovering retail sector. The high profile Panti Bar on Capel Street, rented at €120,000 per annum, is also included in the sale along with The Tannery office block on Cork Street and other offices on Francis Street rented by the Department of Justice and An Taisce.

Conor Whelan of QRE said they planned to sell the 29 individual properties in the portfolio in a single lot at a yield of 8.2 per cent once standard purchasing costs of 4.46 had been taken into account. The agency would listen to offers for individual lots but it was their client's preference to sell the entire portfolio as a single transaction.

Geographically the majority of the properties are concentrated around Dublin 1 and 2 with the remainder in Dublin 7 and 8. The entire floor space extending to 7,432sq m (80,000sq ft) is fully let.

The highlight of the portfolio are the 17 shops on the ground floor of the Liffey Street and Bachelor's Walk apartment development completed by Liam Carroll over 15 years go and now renting at €553,000 per annum.

With one exception, the shops cover one full side of Lower Liffey Street with the balance of the 17 units running along Bachelor's Walk. The traders include Spar, Butlers Chocolates, Nourish Health Foods, Games Workshop, Decobake, La Terra and Bach 16.

Other retail properties included in the sale are the 1,850sq m (20,000sq ft) Lidl store and The Tannery offices on Cork Street rented at €552,000. The portfolio also includes a Spar shop and a chemist in Chapelizod Village and another Spar outlet in the Tramyard in Inchicore.

Conor Whelan, who is handling the sale along with Bryan Garry of QRE, said the recovery throughout the retail industry would continue to drive rents. With rental values continuing to accelerate upwards, investments of this kind were an attractive proposition.