Cavan portfolio offers up prime retail opportunities

The holding comprises 10 separate buildings totalling about 55,000 sq.ft. on a site area of approximately 2.42 acres. Located on Main Street with assets also on Thomas Ashe Street and Farnham Street, the tenanted properties have a current total contracted annual rent roll of about €357,000 per annum suggesting a net initial yield of about 10.5pc.

Ross Fogarty of agents Knight Frank says that there is a considerable amount of additional asset management opportunities through the refurbishment and letting of vacant portions of the portfolio. Current tenants include: CCVEC for a Gaelscoil; HSE which has car parking licences; Cavan County Council which has tenanted apartments; and Boots pharmacy which combined make up about 50pc of the passing rent roll.

The predominant use within the portfolio is commercial, with residential elements on the upper floors. The properties include eight retail units, eight apartments, two public houses, offices, a school, a former B&B, a car park, a house and a development site.

Five of the properties adjoin each other between 89 and 97 Main St and include a number of retail units including a former bank branch, some of which have vacant space in their upper floors and others have rear and side access including one with 36 parking spaces.

On Ashe St the portfolio includes the former Thomas Ashe residential public house; a three storey end of terrace building that was formerly in use as a B&B but is now vacant and in need of complete refurbishment; Gaelscoil Thomas Ashe, a modern three storey building with 42 car parking spaces on a high profile site with a large adjoining playground. This building is finished to a very high standard currently in use as a school.

On Farnham St a four bedroom detached house, which is currently let, has a relatively large rear garden backing onto the rear of other properties in the portfolio to provide a cohesion to the site.

Mr Fogarty says the purchase price level of €59 per sq.ft. is significantly below the cost of construction of what is in existence.

Located between Dunnes Stores and the Town Hall, the site area is Zoned "Town Core" and a "Master Plan Area" under the Cavan Development Plan 2014 to 2020. The zoning is to encourage and consolidate new buildings to establish a vibrant town core. Uses compatible with a town centre are actively encouraged in these areas and there is a Specific Objective to facilitate back-land development to form a civic space.

Cavan Town is a pivotal point on the east-west route to be developed between Dundalk and Sligo and is only about 100 minutes from Dublin and 90 minutes from Dublin Airport.

The county population has seen a population increase of over 14pc to 70,183 over the period 2006 to 2011. Businesses in Cavan include Cavan Crystal, Glanbia, Kingspan, Gypsum, Kingscourt Bricks, Cavan Aluminium and Cavan Institute.