Prime Cork city block, once earmarked for Penneys expansion plan, on market for €5.2m

An entire block of Cork city centre properties, once earmarked as part of leading high street retailer Penneys' expansion plans, has come to market with a €5.2m price tag.

The prime investment and asset management portfolio, comprising Nos 2-7 Cook St and Nos 97-98 Oliver Plunkett St, ranks among the largest offerings of its kind in Cork city this year, topped only by The Loft furniture store which came to market in April for €6m via Sherry FitzGerald. The Loft agents said there is “good interest, but no offers yet”.

The Cook St/Oliver Plunkett St block is being offered for sale by private treaty via Savills, and is available in one or more lots, with potential for investors to acquire a substantial footprint within the city’s retail core.

The eight properties had originally been assembled by Penneys for incorporation into its existing Patrick St flagship store as part of a proposed 17,000sq ft €60m expansion submitted for planning approval in 2021.

The retailer, supported by the O’Flynn Group, had spent a decade on site assembly, including the acquisition of the Cook St and Oliver Plunkett St units.

Plan approved on appeal

The plan was approved, on appeal, in 2023, but Penneys later placed the project on hold, citing planning delays and rising construction costs. In the meantime, the retailer invested €4m in its Wilton store.

A new scaled-back application was lodged in February and approved in April, clearing Penneys for a smaller 6,000sq ft expansion.

The revised proposal includes the Flying Tiger premises on  Patrick St, and will also bring two long-vacant units back into use — the former Jack & Jones store, and a vacant unit at No 1 Cook St.

However, No 2-7 Cook St and Nos 97-98 Oliver Plunkett St no longer form part of the expansion plan and have been released back to market.

A spokesperson for Penneys said: “We can’t wait to bring a bigger and better Penneys to the heart of Cork city centre. Plans are well under way to bring our customers the store makeover they’ve been waiting for and our colleagues an incredible workplace. 

"We’ll be sharing more information around when we’re hoping to bring this all to life in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.

The revamp will include a “full refresh and modernisation” of the existing store, which will offer 40,500sq ft of retail space.