FAT FACE, the active lifestyle fashion brand, is to open a new store on Dublin’s Henry Street. Although the shop has been vacant since the closure of Oasis more than a year ago, Fat Face had in the end to compete against three other multinational retailers for the well-located unit.

The rent of €350,000 agreed for the 197sq m (2,120sq ft) shop is more than 18 per cent lower than when it was occupied by Oasis. The rent had been expected to rise to over €600,000 before the property market took a severe hit.

On the opposite side of Henry Street, Lisney has also apparently found a tenant for the former Envy store at 4 Henry Street, which has been on the market since last September. Reports that the American shoe company Skechers is about to take a lease of the shop could not be confirmed this week. However, Lisney is unlikely to get anything close to the original asking rent of €525,000 for the shop, which is owned by the Irish Life Investment Managers.

Another pension fund, IPUT, owns the Fat Face building. Niall Ringrose from IPUT said the competition between Fat Face and the other international retailers for the shop proves their belief in the strength of Henry Street as the leading fashion destination in the city.

Simon Cooper of Savills, who handled the letting, said the arrival of Fat Face after the recent signings of Forever 21 and New Look in the nearby Jervis Centre would be a major boost for the Henry Street area.

This will be the fourth Fat Face outlet in Dublin – the others are in Exchequer Street, Dundrum and Dublin Airport. The UK brand was founded in 1988 and has over 170 stores in the UK, Ireland, France, the Middle East, Singapore and Asia.