The Jones Lang Wootton agency is understood to be seeking £14 million for The Swan Shopping Centre, Rathmines, Dublin 6, which is to be sold by private treaty.
It is currently producing a rent roll of £900,000 per annum. The centre has been owned since 1991 by British Land, which also has the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in Dublin.
The company has spent around £3 million on refurbishing the Rathmines centre. The Swan is the first large retail investment to come on the market in the city during 1997 despite a significant rise in values. It is expected to be of interest to both private investors and a number of institutions which have been finding it difficult to strengthen their retail portfolios.
The Swan Centre was developed by Sisk Properties in 1983 and has one anchor, Dunnes Stores, and about 50 unit shops. Dunnes owns its 40,000-squarefoot supermarket. It also pays a rent of £45,000 per annum for a separate unit of 4,500 square feet, which specialises in household goods. Rents in the centre vary between £30 and £35 per square foot.
The main tenants include MacDonalds, which pays a rent of £57,000; Tylers, £36,000; Dublin Bookshop, £36,500; XtraVision, £60,000 for two units; EBS, £26,000; Kylemore, £44,000; Swalk, £16,000.
The Swan Centre is one of the most successful district shopping centres in Dublin, largely because of the dense population in the immediate area.
Ironically, its underground carpark for 350 cars is seldom full because unlike most other city shopping centres, a great number of the shoppers live within walking distance.
