British pub giant Wetherspoons is selling up in Ireland, and experts predict its Galway property to be the major asset.
The former GPO and Carbon nightclub on 19 to 21 Eglinton Street is owned by Wetherspoons, and although not trading, the property has planning permission for pub and restaurant use.
The beer expert Wetherspoons is selling its property portfolio of licensed premises in Galway, Cork, Waterford and Carlow for a reported €10 package deal.
A property agent for the Watford-based giant said “it would consider” offers for buying its Galway city property alone, or as part of its wider portfolio. At present, the sale is being handled by CBRE in Dublin, but it is expected a local agent will be appointed next week.
Asked by the Advertiser to estimate the current value of the Eglinton Street boozer, Galway estate agents offered a range of between €1.2m to up to €3m for the large, four-storey property. A median estimate of €2m “fits in with the current reality of commercial investment property in Galway” says one auctioneer.
CBRE agent Savills is marketing Wetherspoons pubs across Ireland as ‘going concerns’, whereas Carbon in Galway is being pitched as “a unique opportunity to develop a landmark licensed premises or alternative uses, in the heart of the city”.
Owned by arch-Brexiteer businessman Tim Martin, his Galway pub was to be called The Three Red Sails as a tribute to the iconic Galway Hooker sailcraft. Wetherspoons have a tradition in acknowledging local histories in its superchain, but the Galway operation never got its doors open after a string of planning delays based largely on noise pollution concerns.
Wetherspoons first opened in Ireland in 2013, and said it will continue to operate three pubs in Dublin after four remaining properties across the Republic are sold.
Wetherspoons PLC reported profits before taxes of £43m (almost €50m ) this year, after crushing losses of just over £30m in 2022. Property sales are thought to make up a large proportion of reported profits.
