Re: Wilton S.C. sold to Howard Holdings & Joe O’Donovan

😮 Tesco have successfully sold Wilton Shopping Centre for a massive 126m euro to developers Howard Holdings and Joe O’Donovan – only 2 years after Tesco purchased the centre for 83m from the Irish Property Trust Unit. Although Tesco have invested an est’d 11m euros in extending and redeveloping the centre, incl. their own new 52,000sq ft 24-hour grocery store (which was not part of the sale) – the retailler has made in and around 32m profit, more likely 20 to 25m real. DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald handled the deal.

The purchased shows a continuing trend by developers Howard Holdings in their new, ‘more aggressive’ approach to the Cork property market. As previously mentioned – Greg Coughlan, CEO of Howard Holdings, has made the move back to living in Cork after a number of years in the UK. He has continually mentioned that the company now intends to focus its operations predominantly on the Cork and Cape Town markets (through subsidary Eurocape Investments). Since that time, Howard Holdings have initated a number of major deals – incl. the purchase of Wilton S.C. (which may yet see a joint redevelopment & extension favoured by Roches Stores – see prev. post regarding their expansion at the centre), attaining a deal w/ Thomas Crosbie Holdings to house the Irish Examiner’s new offices over 32,000sq ft at HH’s City Quarter development, the acquisition of 16 Lavitts Quay for development of a 120-bedroom budget hotel over a 2-storey retail centre (due to be lodged with CCC this month – designed by Reddy O’Riordan Staehli Architects), the development of a 5-storey IT/Office development at Albert Quay (due to be lodged mid-2005), the development of a 5-star hotel in Kinsale and a number of substantial city docklands property purchases in line for substantial commercial redevelopment.

Wilton Shopping Centre currently has an est’d rental income of 6.5m euro p.a.