UK FASHION GIANT Next is continuing to take advantage of the weak retail market to lease additional Irish stores at discounted rents. The multiple has just agreed letting terms on a large outlet at the Pavilions shopping centre in Swords, north county Dublin, where several other vacant units have been promptly leased by owners Chartered Land.

Next is shortly to begin fitting out a store of 1,197sq m (12,895sq ft) on the upper level, which was previously occupied by Jean Scene and Sasha. Next is understood to have agreed a base rent of about €250,000 and a turnover top-up of 10 per cent. It is one of the strongest performing UK fashion chains at the moment and recently reported a trading profit of £505 million.

Bestseller, the ladies fashion retailer that recently emerged from examinership with the support of its Dutch parent company, has just completed a refit of its Swords store on the upper level where it will trade in future as Jack & Jones and Vera Moda. It will be paying a base rent of about €150,000 and a 10 per cent turnover top-up for the retail space which extends to 614sq m (6,620sq ft).

The Early Learning Centre has followed its sister company, Mothercare, into Swords, taking a ground-floor shop of 120sq m (1,300sq ft). The rental structure will be similar to the arrangement with Next and Bestsellers. The basic rent will be around €95,000.

Also new in Swords is Meteor which has replaced Budget Travel in a unit of 69sq m (750sq ft) on the ground floor. It will pay a fixed rent of about €40,000, subject to five-yearly rent reviews. Meanwhile, Perfume will open in the run-up to Christmas, replacing LB Jewellers in a ground-level shop of 71sq m (765sq ft). The rent will be about €38,000.

Other changes include Nandos Peri-Peri Chicken restaurant replacing Diesel in a ground-level shop of 285sq m (3,078sq ft) and KFC moving into a new unit of 241sq m (2,600sq ft) opposite Penneys. Nandos is likely to be paying about €120,000 per year while KFC will pay €140,000.

The owners of the Pavilions claim that the number of shoppers and car park visitors has continued to grow through the recession and now exceeds 200,000 per week. Dominic Deeney of Chartered Land says that, while many traders experienced a drop in turnover of about 20 per cent in 2008 and 2009, trading figures showed that this had stabilised and companies were now seeing positive year-on-year growth.