Tower Records to relocate to Dawson Street

Tower Records is to relocate early in the new year from its current base on Dublin's Wicklow Street to the former Waterstones' book shop at the bottom of Dawson Street.

The move follows the decision of the owners of the Wicklow Street premises, Clarendon, a company controlled by Paddy McKillen and Tony Leonard, to make way for the COS fashion brand, which is likely to have agreed a rent of over €500,000 per annum.

Clarendon has also recently completed contracts to rent the former National Irish Bank on College Green to H&M, which is owned by the same Swedish group as COS.

Tower Records, which has experienced a sharp pick-up in customer numbers since the closure of HMV on Grafton Street, will be paying a rent of €280,000 per annum for the old Waterstones store, which has an overall floor area 908sq m (9,773sq ft) including 641sq m (6,6900sq ft) of retail space on the ground floor and at mezzanine level.

Shane Cahir of CBRE handled the letting for the owner of the building, Royal London.