MORE THAN five candidates are vying to buy the former Debenhams flagship store in Cork city centre, with the preferred bidder due to be selected before the weekend.
Whether the interest came from owners/occupiers or developers is unclear, but names that have been suggested as part of a shortlist of bidders include the Fraser Group, which bought the Eason premises from the other across the street in 2019, and Irish Life, which has several properties. on St. Patrick Street.
Other potential interested parties include local developers with a proven track record in Cork City such as John Cleary Developments (JCD, behind The Capital cinema redevelopment), O’Callaghan Properties (OCP, developers of Merchants Quay) and the O’Flynn band. , who worked with fast fashion retailer Penneys to consolidate ownership of an entire block on the high street.
Clarendon Properties, owners of the adjacent Merchants Quay shopping centre, may see this as a natural expansion opportunity, although it is understood they consider the €20m price tag too high.
The Bank of Ireland is due to select the preferred bidder on Friday following a process involving receivers Grant Thornton, which appointed estate agents Cushman & Wakefield to oversee the sale. The iconic 151,000 square foot property, which once housed the Roches Stores, went on the market in August with an indicative price of 20 million euros.
Cushman & Wakefield is also managing the sale of the former Debenhams store on Henry Street in Dublin, which has an indicative price of 50 million euros.
Interest in both properties is considered substantial and the bidding process very competitive.
If the Fraser Group materializes as the preferred bidder, it will add significantly to its growing Cork portfolio. As well as owning the former 22,000 square foot Eason property at 113-115 St Patrick Street, they also own Debenham’s former premises at the Mahon Point Shopping Center where they have filled the upper section of the mall with a Sports store Direct (Sports Direct is part of the Fraser Group), with plans well advanced to set up a House of Fraser store in the lower shopping centre. A high-end Flannels fashion store (also part of the Fraser Group) is planned at 113-115 St Patrick Street, due to open by Easter next year.
A number of other retailers are also set to open on St Patrick’s Street soon, including outdoor clothing specialists North Face and British footwear brand Dune, while moves are underway to fill long-vacant premises like Quills and Dorothy Perkins/Evans. However, Debenhams, on a 1.32 acre site, is by far the most prominent vacancy on the high street, in a property that functioned as a department store for the bones of a century. It closed in April 2020 with the loss of hundreds of jobs when Debenhams Ireland went into liquidation.
Suggestions put forward for its future use include keeping retail in the front part of the building, and possibly an upstairs entertainment and dining area, while using the rear for accommodation. An architect-developed concept proposal for a mixed-use scheme includes a proposal for a 220-room hotel and 47 residential units along Maylor Street.
There may also be options for an accredited housing body to come or student accommodation operators.
The revitalization of the flagship building is considered essential to the revitalization of St Patrick’s Street which has been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cushman & Wakefield agent Peter O’Flynn previously said the flagship store’s importance to the town’s high street “could not be underestimated”. Reopening the front section for retail would have a double benefit for shoppers as it would also restore the pedestrian link to Merchants Quay.
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