Wildflowers in full bloom at Thurles Shopping Centre ahead of the centre celebrating it’s 25th Anniversary this weekend, Saturday 25th June.
Thurles Shopping Centre have a Family Fun day planned, with Beat FM broadcasting on site for the afternoon along with Willy Wonka, magic shows and fun and games for all the family.
Managing 25% of Ireland’s Shopping Centres, our Property Management team is very proud of the scale and reach of our growing portfolio. On an ongoing basis, Bannon engages with various contractors to optimise user experience and maintain the appearance and accessibility across our retail portfolio. One such example is Gorey Shopping Centre.
A big thank you to everyone involved in recent projects, namely Arkomax (Refurbishment of Public Toilets & Installation of Parent & Child Facilities) and Breffni Group (Car Park Works). Also, a big thank you to the ever committed Niamh O’Byrne (Gorey Shopping Centre – Centre Manager).
TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More!
The challenges faced by retail and the effects on performance metrics against the various Covid trading restrictions, have triggered the need to reconsider how retail assets should be categorised and considered. ‘Retail asset’ is a broad, all-encompassing term used to capture Shopping Centres, Retail Parks and High Street/Main Street Shopping. At Bannon, we have extensive data and performance metrics across these retail asset types. This information demands a rethink on how we talk about the sector. While property is inherently heterogenous, with each asset having its own idiosyncrasies, we can refine asset types based on shared and similar characteristics, which overall, relate to the role and function these assets play in their local catchment and community.
How various retail assets have reacted to and been affected by the restricted retail trading conditions that began in early 2020, have driven the need to re-categorise these assets. Areas considered include their ability to perform their function, the extent to which they remain functional against changes in market conditions and the characteristics of each scheme. This has provided a more focused approach that can be used to better inform sustainable tenant mixes and pricing analysis. It is through our ability to combine analysis with Bannon’s unique data insights, that we endeavour to display thought leadership in the commercial property market. Based on this, Bannon will release articles on Community Shopping Centres, Retail Parks and Shopping Parks and High Streets that discuss the drivers that shape and influence key areas. They include their footfall, the opportunities and challenges their occupier mix face against emerging market trends and the role and function of these asset types within the market.
Watch out for this series of articles over the summer.
Author: George Colyer, Surveyor, Bannon
Date: 20th June 2022
Date 31st May 2022: Retail property market leader, Bannon, has been appointed by Ardstone to manage Citywest Shopping Centre. This is the latest in a series of new wins for the firm.
The Citywest area was launched in the 1990s with the building of the business campus and hotel, the largest in the country. The development, was followed by an explosion of residential property, with planning in place for additional houses and apartments. In 2007 Citywest Shopping Centre was opened with retail units varying in size from 816 to 7,502 square feet.
Bannon is Ireland’s largest, domestically owned commercial property consultancy firm. It manages over 50 retail shopping centres and retail parks across the country, covering seven million sq.ft. of commercial real estate worth c. €2 billion. As market leaders, Bannon has advised and managed the country’s most notable retail spaces in the last thirty years such as Stephen’s Green S.C., Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown S.C., Swords Pavilions. and The Square Tallaght.
Commenting on the new addition to their portfolio, Director of the Bannon Property Management team, Ray Geraghty said “Bannon are delighted to be working with Ardstone on what is another very significant shopping centre instruction. This instruction is further validation of the unrivalled expertise which the Bannon property management team possess. We are looking forward to bringing this experience to bear over the coming months which will be particularly relevant given the proposed residential development which Ardstone have planned for the site adjacent to the shopping centre.’’
For further information contact: Ray Geraghty Email: rgeraghty@bannon.ie Tel: 01 6477900.
Bannon is delighted to welcome Tipperary Crystal to Stephens Green Shopping Centre.
We wish the team the very best of luck with the opening.
At Bannon we manage over 75 individual commercial assets including Shopping Centres, Retail Parks, Neighbourhood Schemes, Multi Let and Single Let Offices. This represents over 7 million sq.ft of commercial real estate in Ireland, with an estimated value of €2 billion.
Given our involvement and exposure within this industry, we are regularly engaged to assist purchasers with the property management due diligence process associated with large scale property transactions. This process is particularly complex when it comes to the purchase of multi let retail assets.
When concerns are presented, an investor can only then appreciate the importance and benefits of a pre – sale due diligence. It highlights the perils associated with buying an asset and ultimately determines the price they will pay for the asset on closing.
A typical due diligence process will involve several specific fields of expertise, namely: Legal, Tax, Building Surveying, Planning, Sustainability, Property Investment and Management.
Once engaged, Bannon will work closely with the relevant advisors to ensure a thorough review of all property management related topics are analysed. As part of a due diligence process for a commercial property we would typically provide advice concerning the following items;
The list above is dependent on the complexity of the asset in question and can be amended to take account of asset specific variables.
Ordinarily the above information would be readily available from a data room which would be set up by the vendors agent. Once the information is received it takes some time to comprehend and consolidate such a vast quantity of information into a format which is easily understood by both our client and legal representative when negotiating the finer detail on closing of a sale.
In advance of such negotiations, we will equip our client with the findings from the due diligence process, paying particular attention to areas of concern. Common concerns which can arise from a due diligence process include;
If you are considering an investment in a commercial property, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the Bannon Property Management team.
Author: Eugene Burns, Associate Director, Bannon
Date: 27th April 2022
Looking back over the past decade the retail property market has experienced a tumultuous time. Recession following a boom, followed by a resurgence, then the impact of Brexit, Covid, the move to more on-line shopping, and more recently the war in Ukraine. Retailers and the retail property market have been the hardest hit during this period, and it may be some time before the market stabilises. However, one sector within the retail property market has outperformed in the last 3 years.
Retail Parks have come through the past two years’ experience in an even a better position that before. The sector has been the beneficiary of multiple factors.
The closure of other retail outlets funnelled consumer spend into retail warehousing parks as the only outlet for frustrated shoppers. This was helped by the nature of retail warehouse parks versus enclosed shopping centres. As large boxes with plenty of space for social distancing, they offer surface outdoor parking and ease of access for click and collect purchases.
What also helped was the focus on the products that are typically sold in retail parks. There was a perfect storm of an increase in home improvements and outdoor activities being a major focus for Covid bound customers acquiring items such as:
This all led customers to their local retail park.
The Bannon Retail Team has seen this resurgence across our extensive portfolio of Retail Parks that we lease and manage. Car numbers in retail parks are up considerably when compared to 2019 numbers, which is a different story when compared to the reduction in footfall that is being experienced in enclosed shopping centre and city centre environments.
Vacancy rates in retail parks were already low in Q1, 2020. The acceleration of transactions during and after the third Covid lockdown has pushed vacancy rates to a very low percentage. Schemes such as Limerick One Shopping Park and The Retail Park Liffey Valley currently have vacancy rates at a long-term low.
New to market retailers and those slow to expand pre-Covid are now seeking increased representation in the better parks in Dublin and provincial locations. This supply and demand dynamic may encourage owners of retail warehouse parks to start considering expanding their schemes to cater for this renewed demand.
Retailers keen for further expansion include Dutch furniture retailer JYSK, global sports brand Decathlon, Next Home, Homesense, Home Store + More, Party City and EZ Living Furniture/Interiors to name a few. This sector of the retail market will be keeping us busy for the foreseeable future.
Author: James Quinlan, Director, Bannon
Date: 6th April 2022
Premium fashion group Flannels has signed a deal for its second Dublin store.
Having committed earlier this year to occupy half the retail space at the Clerys Quarter on O’Connell Street, the luxury retailer is to open for business at the Blanchardstown Centre.
Flannels, which is part of Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, will occupy the ground floor of the former Debenhams unit. At 45,000sq ft, the space will be the larger of the two outlets committed to by the retailer in the Irish market to date. Flannels’ premises at the redeveloped Clerys store will extend to 30,000sq ft.
Commenting on the opening of the latest store, a spokesperson for Frasers Group said: “We’re excited to open Flannels in Blanchardstown and bring a world-class shopping experience to a new destination. Our ambitious expansion plans mark a pivotal moment for the business, and we’re pleased to be opening in Blanchardstown as part of our next cohort of store openings in Ireland.”
Pat Nash, managing director at the west Dublin retail scheme’s asset manager Falcon AM, added: “Flannels’ commitment to a new lease in Blanchardstown Centre is a huge endorsement of the scheme and follows the completion of a major €17 million mall refurbishment. This is in line with our ongoing strategy to strengthen and reposition the asset . We are excited to be welcoming new retailers to the centre and indeed the Irish market during these unpredictable times.”
Falcon AM made the decision to split the Debenhams’ unit, which comprises more than 100,000sq ft in its entirety, to meet with current retailer demand according to the firm’s leasing director, Sharon Walsh. Ms Walsh said that a further announcement will be made in relation to the upper level of Debenhams’ former premises in the coming weeks.
BNP Paribas Real Estate and Bannon are the joint leasing agents for the Blanchardstown Centre.
Best of luck to the Square management team, security, facilities and all the store staff with the “Cycle for Ukraine” fundraiser. The fundraiser will run today and tomorrow in the Centre Mall, from 11.00am – 6.00pm.
All funds raised will go to the Irish Red Cross to help those affected get food, medicine, shelter and water. Donations will also help those displaced by the conflict.
Cash donations are welcome, however if you cannot make it in person, you can donate online here or by scanning the QR Code in the image attached.
Happy International Women’s Day.
To mark the day and The Square’s Club Together initiative, please watch the video below that celebrates amazing “Strong Women” in the local community.
Tallaght is blessed to have so many influential role models in the community. Their amazing achievements inspire the younger generations and help create a thriving society where equality duly prevails.
We are very fortunate to work with some amazing women in Bannon and across our wider portfolio. Thank you for all your help and support.
