Wilton Shopping Centre now on the market for €86m

Wilton Shopping Centre has been put up for sale at a price of €86 million, just a week after it was granted planning permission for a major extension.

Savills has launched the shopping centre to the market on behalf of York Capital, with a guide price of more than €86m which comprises €76m for the Shopping Centre and €10m for a mixed-use development site.

A redevelopment of the site was granted permission by Cork City Council last week.

Under the planning permission, it will feature new buildings reaching seven storeys in height, a 190-bedroom hotel, 14-screen cinema and 4,400 sqm of office space.

The plans, which also include an 874-space multi-level carpark among other additional parking provisions, were submitted in February and got the green light last week.

It involves the demolition of the Penneys anchor store at one end and extending the footprint into the car park near the Wilton roundabout.

This will accommodate a replacement, larger Penneys store and another 1,300 square metres for retail space by new occupants.

The shopping centre currently boasts a footfall of 5.5 million per annum with a net operating income (NOI) of around €5.54m.

Constructed in 1979, it was extended in the early 2000s and includes 11,277 sqm of retail space, excluding the Tesco store and stands on a site of around 11 acres.

The current car park boasts more than 1,000 spaces.

“Wilton Shopping Centre is a dominant retail location with unrivalled foot footfall of over 5.5 million each year,” said Fergus O’Farrell of Savills.

“The unique combination of accessibility from across the city and suburbs, proximity to the two largest third level institutes and Cork University Hospital, and home to Penney’s only suburban Cork store ensure that Wilton is a sustainably strong retail location with a diverse consumer base supporting the range of retailers within the scheme.

“In addition, the opportunity offers future development potential to create a dominant district centre in an area of proven demand, which will ultimately improve the centre and enhance investors total returns.