British shopping centre owner Hammerson has recorded a net rental income of £34.8 million (€39.38) from its Irish portfolio in 2017, up 7.4% on the previous 12 months.
The company owns Dundrum Town Centre together with Allianz, the Ilac Centre in Dublin, the Pavilions in Swords and half of Kildare Village shopping centre.
The commercial property owner reported a 7% increase in overall net income to £370.4 million (€419.19 million), with adjusted profit increasing by 6.8% to £246.3 million (€278.74 million).
The rent income from its Irish sites made up 9.4% of its group rental income, with the increase being driven mainly by Dundrum, where it nearly tripled from £12.5 million in 2016 to £34.8 million in 2017.
The developer recently announced that a new Fallon & Byrne flagship food hall, delicatessen and restaurant were set to come to Dundrum Town Centre, which would create “a vibrant new hub for aspirational dining and leisure concepts at Dundrum,” according to Hammerson.
Clerys Sale
The head of the company’s Irish operations, Simon Betty, also told the Irish Independent that if the iconic closed down department store Clerys on O'Connell Street were to come on sale, Hammerson would "have a look at it".
With regards to a potential Clerys sale, Betty said,"I've heard the speculation. We obviously screen our markets carefully. Anything that comes on with a retail angle is interesting to us. We've already had the investment in Dublin 1, so in that respect it would be strategically consistent, but it's a bit hypothetical at the moment."
"When we think about investment decisions, we always prioritise investment in our own portfolio through refurbishments, reconfigurations, and all of those opportunities to deploy capital come ahead of new acquisitions. But if it [Clerys] were to come to the market obviously, given its location, we would have a look at it."
Moore Street Site
The company talked also to stakeholders about its intentions for its Dublin Central cite, which is situated between O’Connell Street and Moore Street, in light of the Court of Appeal’s recent overturning of a decision to designate a large chunk of the area as a protected 1916 Rising memorial site.
When asked by the Irish Independent about the Court of Appeal’s decision, Betty said that this had got rid of some impediments to Hammerson’s plans for the development of its Dublin Central portfolio.
He added that the process would be "unlocked by collaboration and involvement with the various relatives' associations in trying to find a negotiated settlement rather than going at each other in the courts".
© 2018 - Checkout Magazine by Kevin Duggan
