The commercial property developers, Duignan & McCarthy, have instructed joint selling agents, Savills and Cushman & Wakefield to seek a buyer for the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Mullingar, and according to the selling agents, it is expected to achieve a price in excess of €12.5 million.
The Mullingar retail centre, anchored by Penneys, is one of two regional shopping centres in which Duignan and McCarthy are disposing of their interest. The other is the much larger Navan Town Centre, which has a guide price of €62 million and in which Duignan & McCarthy hold a majority interest.
Constructed in 2005, the Fairgreen shopping complex in Mullingar is described by the vendors as “a modern shopping centre with an exceptional tenant line up”. Extending to a net floor area of 9,754 sq. m. (105,000 sq. ft.), excluding common areas, the centre is laid out around a central linear mall, with 8 large modern retail units. The anchor store is Penneys, who hold a long leasehold interest, and the other tenants are TK Maxx, New Look, Dorothy Perkins, Dealz, and Elverys Sports, with Costa Coffee currently fitting out a new store. Negotiations on the remaining vacant unit are “at an advanced stage with a UK multiple” the selling agents say.
They continue: “Overall the centre provides an incoming purchaser with a net operating income of approximately €1.14m, which will increase immediately on completion of the aforementioned vacant unit letting. The current WAULT (weighted average unexpired lease term) offers investors an unexpired term of approximately 5 years, with opportunities to increase income through the car park and mall area.”
According to the selling agents, the Mullingar Centre will produce a return of 8.7 per cent on the net operating income.
The main article in the Commercial Property section of the Irish Times on 21 September states that the net operating income of the buoyant Fairgreen shopping centre in Mullingar is due to rise shortly, with a UK multiple about to rent the last remaining shop.
It also states that New Look pays a rent of €230,000, Dorothy Perkins €180,000, Dealz €140,000 and Elverys Sports €120,000. The rent of TK Maxx is based on the turnover and Costa Coffee will pay a rent of €55,000 a year.
They quote spokesman Dessie Kilkenny of Savills as saying that the Fairgreen centre will attract investor interest because of its strong tenant line-up and attractive yield profile. “Recent lettings certainly demonstrate expanding retailer’s commitment to the centre,” he added.
The Irish Times writer says the loans underpinning both shopping centres in Navan and Mullingar were bought by CarVal Investors, the US-based investment company, when the property market crashed.
