The hugely successful Golden Island shopping centre in Athlone is up for sale, and is expected to sell for around €40 million, according to reports this week.
The Irish Times reports that the centre will be sold by its UK owners Tesco. However the sale of the shopping centre does not include the Tesco store, which is 41,000 square feet. Bidders will be given the option of purchasing the centre with or without the Tesco store.
The newspaper quoted an auctioneer in Dublin who believes that the centre will fetch more than €40 million; its rental income is €3.1 million.
The announcement was made after Tesco decided to close a number of its stores in the UK, in an attempt to reverse a reduction in sales and profits.
The main anchors in Golden Island are Tesco and Penneys, while some of the other attractive stores include Argos, Specsavers, Dooley’s florists, Swamp, Diesel, Elverys Sports, Life Style Sports, Specsavers, and Carraig Donn.
There is demand for investments like Golden Island among overseas investors, while retail capital values have risen over the past year.
Golden Island, a single mall, was developed in 1996.
