French investor acquires Galway retail park units for €4.965m

French investor Iroko Zen has completed its latest acquisition in the Irish investment market, paying €4.965 million for units 5A and 6 at Galway Retail Park.

The properties, which are let to Halfords and Lifestyle Sports, comprise two identical retail warehouses, extending to a total of 23,980sq ft over both units, and benefit from the provision of a 400-space communal surface car park at the scheme.

Unit 5A is let to Lifestyle Sports on a 25-year lease from May 2002 at a passing rent of €190,000 per annum, while unit 6 is let to Halfords on a 20-year lease from November 2010 at a passing rent of €200,000 per annum.

Galway Retail Park is conveniently located on the Headford Road, approximately 1km from Eyre Square in Galway city centre. The retail park comprises a mix of large-scale retail space and office accommodation and is Galway’s most established retail park. Other occupiers at the scheme include Woodies, Aldi and Smyths Toys.

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Michele McGarry, head of capital markets at Colliers, and Kevin McMahon, divisional director at Savills represented Iroko Zen in the negotiations.

Commenting on the deal, they said: “We are pleased to have concluded the acquisition of units 5A and 6 Galway Retail Park on behalf of Iroko Zen. This high-yielding retail investment, with excellent covenants and an attractive weighted average unexpired lease term, is located in arguably the city’s best out-of-town location.”

News of Iroko Zen’s latest acquisition comes just over six weeks on from its purchase from the Michael J Wright Group for just under €18 million of South Quarter Airside near Swords in north Dublin.

Arguably best known up until 2019 as the home of the Wright Venue nightclub, the property has since undergone a comprehensive redevelopment and transformation programme, and now contains a newly-developed remote broadcast and content production centre (RBC) and a mix of six retail/restaurant units.

The RBC, which measures 4,439sq m (47,791sq ft), was created to accommodate the content production requirements of California-headquartered e-gaming firm Riot Games.

South Quarter Airside and the Galway units represent Iroko Zen’s fourth and fifth investments in the Irish market to date. Last September, the company completed two transactions, paying €12.2 million and €8.49 million respectively for Block P1 at Dublin’s Eastpoint Business Park and a portfolio of five buildings let and occupied as branch premises by Bank of Ireland in Counties Wexford, Longford, Tipperary, Cork, and Galway.