Owner to reassure unions on future of Arnotts

The businessman Noel Smyth, whose Fitzwilliam Finance Partners got control of the Arnotts department store earlier this year, is to meet union leaders next week to reassure them about his commitment to the retail business.

The meeting comes in the wake of concerns raised in the Dáil on Wednesday by the leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, that Arnotts could suffer the same fate as Clerys.

It is understood that Mr Smyth will tell officials from Mandate and Siptu that Fitzwilliam’s plans for Arnotts include the continued operation of the department store as an independent retailer.

At the time Fitzwilliam won the battle for control of the landmark business earlier this year, it issued a press statement saying it would continue to develop both Arnotts and the surrounding properties as market conditions improved.

Portfolio

The former owners of Arnotts accumulated a huge property portfolio surrounding the department store in the period before the crash. It is understood that Mr Smyth envisages the development of the Abbey Street/Henry Street/ Liffey Street area, in tandem with the development of the Henry Street-fronted store.

John Douglas, general secretary of Mandate, said he will be seeking assurances from the Dublin property investor about the future of the store, and employment there, when he meets him next week. Mr Smyth did not want to comment.

It is understood that Mr Smyth’s plans are smaller in scale than the project drafted by the owners of Arnotts during the boom years. He believes, too, that the planned development of the massive Chartered Land site between O’Connell Street and Moore Street will also be smaller in scale than originally envisaged, thereby strengthening the business case for Arnotts.

Percentages

Until earlier this year, Fitzwilliam and US group Apollo each had 50 per cent of Arnotts, having bought the associated debt from, respectively, the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (€230 million), and Ulster Bank (€140 million).

In the Dáil, Mr Adams asked what was to stop Mr Smyth, having secured full control, “doing at Arnotts what was done at Clerys”.

Two weeks ago, Irish company Natrium Ltd, owned by Dublin property investor Deirdre Foley and London-based Cheyne Capital Management, bought Clerys from US owners Gordon Brothers as part of a transaction that led to the department store being placed in liquidation and its staff losing their jobs.

Mr Adams said in the Dáil that the workers in Arnotts were understandably concerned. He made his comments while arguing that sales of assets by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) should be suspended pending a review of its books aimed at ensuring that the best interests of citizens were being served. Queried as to why he was naming Mr Smyth, Mr Adams said it was in the public interest that he do so.