Having paid €68 million in 2015 to acquire the Frascati Centre in Blackrock, and a further €80 million on its renovation and extension since then, global property investment manager Invesco Real Estate is quietly seeking a buyer for the south Dublin retail scheme.
The proposed disposal carries a value of €100 million, according to market sources, and is being handled by Eastsdil Secured in a targeted process which has been ascribed the codename Project Bay.
Commenting on the sale in a confidential memorandum circulated recently to prospective purchasers, Eastdil Secured describes the Frascati Centre as a “rare opportunity to invest in a 220,000sq ft radically transformed dominant mixed-use town centre scheme in the affluent area of Blackrock, Dublin, with significant upside potential through additional PRS (private rented sector) development opportunities”.
The Blackrock property currently comprises some 177,000sq ft of retail space and 43,000sq ft of residential accommodation distributed across 42 apartments. The scheme is generating an annual rent roll of €6.9 million, with the retail and residential elements accounting for €5.4 million and €1.5 million of this income respectively.
There is an opportunity according to the selling agent to double the Frascati Centre’s net operating income by year five, with full planning permission already in place for the development of an additional 123 rental apartments across two phases.
More than 60 per cent of the Frascati Centre’s current income is being driven by the scheme’s grocery anchors, Marks & Spencer and Aldi
The first of these phases would see the construction of 41 units above the scheme’s multi-storey car park, while the second phase would see the addition of a further 82 apartments on the south and south-western part of the centre.
More than 60 per cent of the Frascati Centre’s current income is being driven by the scheme’s grocery anchors, Marks & Spencer and Aldi, along with the existing 42 rental apartments, all of which are occupied, and 555 car-parking spaces. The development’s 45 retail units underwent a €30 million extension and refurbishment programme between 2018 and 2019 and are 95 per cent occupied.
The tenant line-up here includes Vodafone, Boots, Bannon Jewellers, Vienna Shoes, Bookstation, Pamela Scott, Serena Boutique, Health Store and Murrays Mobile. Outdoor apparel retailer Trespass recently opened a new 1,200sq ft store in the centre, while Irish homeware retailer Homestore & More is due to open for business in the basement level of the former Debenhams unit in May.
The Frascati Centre’s dedicated restaurant area includes Cafe Nero, Kay’s Kitchen, McDonald’s and Dublin Japanese restaurant chain Musashi Sushi, which is due to open shortly. The scheme’s health and beauty quarter includes a flagship Peter Mark, a gents’ grooming/pampering studio at Sugar Daddy’s sugar coated manicures, Sisu Aesthetics Clinic beauty alongside Shields Dental, GNC health foods and sports supplements, Blackrock Medical Centre, the Yoga Hub and a gym.
