B&Q’s flagship Liffey Valley store comes to market with €26m guide price

Joint agents Savills and JLL are guiding €26m

Donal Buckley

With retail warehousing now the star performer in the retail market, two financial institutions who own a B&Q retail warehouse at Liffey Valley, Dublin 22 have decided to sell it and joint agents Savills and JLL are guiding €26m. Currently generating €2.02m per annum in rent, or €18.80 per sqft, this suggests a keen price at the attractive net initial yield of 7.07pc.

The store extends to approximately 119,213 sqft, equating to a competitive price per sqft of €218.

Its vendors are Aviva and Iput. The former’s previous Irish subsidiary Hibernian Insurance was one of those involved in its development.

This sale represents a rare opportunity as very few retail warehouse investments have come on the market in Dublin in recent times. Furthermore it is one of the largest retail warehouses in the country and due to current planning restrictions, retail warehouses of this size are no longer permitted. Under retail planning guidelines there is a restriction on large-scale single retail warehouse units in excess of 64,583 sqft (6,000 sqm).

This therefore places substantial limitations on the future development of competing retail warehouse units of this size in the Dublin market.

DIY is also one of the star retail performers due to Ireland’s demographics and increased house building and also looks set to benefit from the increased government grants for refurbishment of old homes and retrofits. Consequently, B&Q is expected to extend its presence in Liffey Valley when its current lease expires in 2027.

The property is on a standalone site with profile directly onto the M50 orbital ring road to the east. It adjoins Liffey Valley Retail Park to the west and Tesco Extra to the north.

Commenting on the sale, Fergus O’Farrell, director of investment in Savills and Max Reilly, senior director of Investments in JLL, point out that it also has an ancillary garden centre of about 29,000 sqft, as well as builder’s stores and a service yard, all on a site area of about 9.26 acres. The unit benefits from a large surface car park to the front of the building, providing for approximately 552 spaces.

As well as being B&Q’s flagship store in Ireland, it is positioned on a standalone site within the overall Liffey Valley retail complex.