IRISH EUROMILLIONS WINNER Dolores McNamara is in the running to buy up a massive retail park in her native Limerick.
Her company, Blue Haven, which has bid more than the €44 million guide price for the Childers Road Retail Park, is being advised on the potential deal by Eddie Hobbs.
Insurance firm, Irish Life, has also bid for the 257,000-square-foot park, located close to the Parkway Shopping Centre.
McNamara who scooped €115 million in the draw in 2005 purchased a 16-bedroom Victorian mansion on the shores of Lough Derg for €3.5 million in 2012.
At the time, the mother of six beat off stiff competition from bidders across Europe, with a local firm of solicitors buying the estate in trust.
Her original home, a modest bungalow on St Patrick’s Road, Garryowen, is currently available to rent for €1,000 a month.
Childers Road Retail Park comprises 12 retail warehouse units together with two restaurant units in a traditional open mall with front car parking.
The park is anchored by Dunnes Stores and is considered one of the most productive in the country.
According to CBRE’s Paul McCoy, exceptional footfall levels are the primary reason for the park’s top rating.
“We set out to identify Ireland’s best retail parks and a key determinant of this was the current footfall levels being generated by the parks versus current market rent,” McCoy said in a statement posted on the park’s website.
A final round of bidding for the park is expected to take place in the coming days.
While McNamara has no other known commercial property investments, Irish Life is hoping to add the Childers Road retail park to its Irish portfolio valued at more than €2.5 billion.
Joint agents HWBC and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald are handling the sale of the Limerick Park for Harcourt Life, which previously acquired the entire share capital of IBRC Assurance Company.
Childers Road Retail Park was developed more than 10 years ago by Alan and Brian McCormack of Alanis Capital with funding from Anglo Irish Bank.
It has a healthy rent roll of €3.22m from 14 traders which also include, Boots, Dorothy Perkins, Heatons, Next, Lifestyle, Argos, Harry Corry, Smyths Toys,Costa Coffee, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
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