Sale of Cavan’s town centre enters final stages

Thomas Lyons

The sale of the 2.42 acres block in the Cavan town centre “barring any major disruption†could be finalised within the next month. It is understood that the prospective owner of the properties on Main Street, Thomas Ashe Street and Farnham Street has been in contact with the current lease holders to discuss the future of the tract of land.

One of the tenants of a commercial property that is part of the sale, who did not wish to be named, spoke to The Anglo-Celt about the meeting: “All that has happened is that they approached us last week with a view to seeing how business was, what our short and long term views were on renewing leases. There were no terms discussed, that was basically it. 

'They were just trying to test the water, to see what the various tenants' plans were. It was a very general conversation.â€
The portfolio is to be sold in one lot by private treaty and negotiations between the vendor, Urban Renewal Enterprises, and the prospective purchaser are believed to be in the final stages.
Ross Fogarty the director of capital markets with Knight Frank, the agent handling the sale, said the deal “is progressingâ€, but the scale of the portfolio is dictating the pace: “Given the number of properties involved it is likely to take time. There is stuff happening in the background, it is advancing. We are not contracted as yet, but all the legal due diligence is done.â€
Mr Fogarty said that it is at the final stages of the sale and that it could be concluded by “the end of summerâ€.
Regarding the contact between the prospective buyer and the existing tenants the agent said: “I am not overly aware of that, to be honest. We are in exclusive negotiations and there is progress being made. I can't give any indication beyond that.â€
Eddie Coleman of Cavan Gifts is the Chairman of Cavan Chamber of Commerce. Mr Coleman is also a tenant of the one of the properties under the hammer, but said that as such he would not like to speak on the topic until the matter was concluded.
However speaking in his capacity as the Chairman of the Chamber Mr Coleman said: “From the Chamber's point of view we would hope to see the overall property developed. We would like the centre of town developed to its full potential.â€
The guide price for the 0.97 hectare block of property when it went to the market was €3,250,000. It is predominantly commercial, but has a number of residential elements. The portfolio 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. The total rent roll is estimated at €357,000 per annum and tenants include Boots, CCVEC, Cavan County Council and the HSE.
The vendor, Urban Renewal Enterprises (Cavan) Limited, was set up in 2004 by directors Mark Elliott, Darragh Elliott, Noel Elliott (Snr), David MacKey and Noel Elliott (Jnr).