As the process of selecting preferred bidders for Debenhams’ former flagship premises in Dublin and Cork edges closer to being finalised, the offers for both properties are understood to have come close to meeting the guide prices of €55 million and €20 million set by agent Cushman & Wakefield when they brought the properties to the market in August.
But while a number of parties remain in the running for the buildings on Henry Street in Dublin and St Patrick’s Street in Cork, it is understood that there is a substantial spread between the offers received. The two properties are being sold on the instruction of Grant Thornton, who were appointed by Bank of Ireland earlier this year to oversee the disposals.
In the case of the Henry Street store, British billionaire Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Swedish furniture giant Ikea are understood to be among several parties in the mix for the property. Guiding at a price of €55 million, the building extends to 19,509sq m (209,993sq ft) distributed across four storeys above basement level directly opposite Arnotts department store. As part of this sale there is an existing licence with Zara which has traded on the site since 2003. It occupies about 1,858sq m (19,999sq ft) at ground and second floor level with additional storage on the third floor.
Should the Frasers Group prevail, the former Debenhams store would give it a significant presence on the northside of Dublin city centre. While the company already has a Sports Direct outlet on North Earl Street, in January the group’s premium fashion brand Flannels signed a deal to occupy 2,787sq m (30,000sq ft) of the 5,574sq m (60,000sq ft) retail space that will be available at the redeveloped Clerys store on O’Connell Street. The Swedish fashion retailer H&M, meanwhile, has agreed a deal to occupy the remainder of the retail space at the newly named Clerys Quarter.
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And while Ikea’s interest in the former Henry Street premises will come as a surprise to many, the company did previously explore the possibility of buying the former Clerys department store from businesswoman Deirdre Foley’s Natrium Consortium in 2018. The landmark building was acquired ultimately by Europa Capital and its local partners — Derek McGrath’s Core Capital and Paddy McKillen jnr’s Oakmount.
The sale of Debenhams’ former site in Cork city, meanwhile, still has at least five parties in the mix. Guiding at a price of €20 million, the St Patrick’s Street property has long been acknowledged as one of the city’s foremost landmarks, thanks to its impressive facade and copper dome. Designed by Chillingworth & Levie, the building, which extends to almost 14,214sq m (152,998sq ft), operated as Roches Stores for almost a century before the Roche family leased it to Debenhams in 2006.
A number of parties ran the rule over the property, including Michael O’Flynn’s O’Flynn Group; JCD Group; O’Callaghan Properties; and Clarendon Properties, the company controlled by Tony Leonard and Paddy McKillen. While their interest in the building was to be expected given their long track record of development in the city, the bid by Dublin-based investment firm Ballybunion Capital has come as more of a surprise.
The company, which was founded by Patrick O’Sullivan and acquired by Jersey-headquartered JTC Group in 2021, hit the headlines earlier this year when it paid €85 million for the mixed-use Point Square scheme in Dublin’s north docklands. The price paid represented a premium of 13 per cent on the €75 million agent Savills had been guiding when it offered the property to the market on behalf of joint statutory receivers Stephen Tennant and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton.
