Drogheda’s Southgate Shopping Centre on the market for €31.5m

Southgate Shopping Centre, which has Dunnes Stores as an anchor tenant, is being offered to the market by agent Colliers at a guide price of €31.5m.

The complex was developed for €120m in the early 2000s, and is a mixed-use scheme comprising 57,350sq ft of retail space, 93,600 sq ft of office and retail accommodation, 64 apartments and 730 car spaces.

“We expect strong interest in the sale of Southgate, which is an exceptional mixed-use investment opportunity,” Michele McGarry, head of capital markets at Colliers, told Ronald Quinlan of the Irish Times.

“With a guide price which equates to €152 per sq ft, a figure which is substantially below current build costs, the quality of office tenants, multinational companies and government, together with the exceptional quality of the residential units, makes SouthGate an excellent investment opportunity. The vacancy on the retail units will allow the purchaser to add to the tenant mix and ultimately drive the income.”

SouthGate Shopping Centre is located at the Colpe Road roundabout and has a mix of retail, leisure, cafés, and restaurants, as well as office space occupied  by Coca Cola and the HSE, and 64 residential units.

This generates approx. €2.47m in annual income, with the retail side only accounting for 17% of that total.

The apartments are considered under-rented with average rent for 1 beds of €1,025 per month, 2 beds at €1,224 per month and 3 beds €1,423 per month.

The HSE hold two leases for 15 years from June 2022 and December 2017 respectively at a combined rent of €360,592 per annum from where they operate their Environmental Health Services offices. Tulsa, the state-backed child, and family agency have a 10-year lease from July 2019 at a rent of €172,000 annually. Coca-Cola employs around 200 people in Drogheda. Southgate is home to their integrated services organisation, which provides a broad range of support services globally, including finance, procurement, human resources, and several other areas. They hold a lease for 20 years from January 2011 at a rent of €438,508 per annum, subject to a break option in June 2026 subject to 9 months written notice.