Two Blakes restaurants could make record price for leases

TWO of Dublin's busiest suburban restaurants, Blakes of Stillorgan and Blakes of Whitehall, may well set a record price for lease-hold restaurants when they are sold at auction on June 5th. Both are large restaurants with a combined turnover of over £3.5 million.

Agents Davin and Co are not quoting a guideline price for either restaurant but it will be no surprise if they fetch close to their turnover figures. The Stillorgan business had a turnover last year of almost £2 million and the other restaurant exceeded £1.5 million.

Blakes, like other large suburban restaurants, have had rapid growth in their business in recent years because of the increased spending power of many people. Blakes have the advantage of being located along busy roads, the N11 and the N1.

The Stillorgan complex includes three restaurants and about 150 car-parking spaces. Blakes has a floor area of 10,300 square feet, which can accommodate 275 diners. Blakes has sublet two adjoining restaurants to Pizza Parlour and a Chinese restaurant. These two businesses contribute £90,000 towards the overall rent of £209,000. The next rent review under the main 35-year lease is in the year 2000.

The Blakes Regency restaurant is located in the grounds of the Regency Hotel and is a popular stopping off point for travellers to and from Dublin Airport. The 240-seat restaurant has a floor area of 8,150 square feet and the current rent of £90,000 is due to be reviewed later this year.

The restaurant is located a short distance from the proposed entrance to the new port tunnel.

The Whitehall restaurant is owned by the McGettigan family, which owns a number of hotels in Dublin including the Regency.

Blakes of Stillorgan was originally sold seven years ago to the Bank of Ireland Staff Pension Fund, which at that time owned the nearby Stillorgan Shopping Centre. Last year Treasury Holdings acquired the shopping centre, Blakes and a number of other investment properties for £48 million.

The two Blakes restaurants were owned and managed up to a year ago by businessmen Paddy Gallagher and Paddy Shovlin. At that stage, the partnership was amicably dissolved when Mr Shovlin left to develop a hotel in Temple Bar.

Mr Gallagher is planning to concentrate on his remaining restaurant, Thurder Road Cafe in Temple Bar.