Just over two years after it was launched with all the razzmatazz of a Hollywood film premier, Dublin's Planet Hollywood restaurant, at the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, is to close because it has been trading below expectations.
The US company which runs the themed restaurant chain has agreed in principle to sell the lease for £2.3 million to Capital Bars, the pubs and hotels group that emerged from the effective merger of Break for the Border and the O'Dwyer chain. The premium will be the highest price paid for a retail lease in Dublin.
Capital is expected to convert the 15,000 sq ft building into a bar when it takes it over in May. It already has two other bars in the basement of the same shopping centre, Sinnots and Major Tom's.
Planet Hollywood is paying a rent of £350,000 for the Dublin restaurant, which was opened by film star Arnold Schwarzenegger. It had a turnover of over £4 million in the first year but, according to a company source, business has since declined largely because it does not have a full bar licence.
Planet Hollywood has also been experiencing trading difficulties in the US where it has obtained a Chapter 11 court order which gives debtors and creditors an opportunity to work out their differences.
Hugh O'Regan, of the Thomas Read bar chain in Dublin, was one of the bidders for the Dublin lease which is being sold through Sean Davin, of Davin estate agents, on behalf of Planet Hollywood. Mr Davin was not available for comment.
