Cosgrave Group - Retail Letting - Blanchardstown, Ireland

Date: 28 Mar 2008

Cosgrave, the owners of WestEnd, Blanchardstown, Ireland's first shopping park, have now completed a programme of lettings designed to give it more of a fashion focus.

And they have been rewarded with a 29.5% average increase in shopper footfall.

WestEnd, which is Ireland's first shopping park, is now home to a formidable line-up of fashion and lifestyle retailers including Next with a 40,000 sq ft anchor store, along with Borders, Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Laura Ashley, Jean Scene and Pavers Shoes, Champion Sports and Ladybird, among others joining the line-up. The shopping park's large units with their distinctive curved-roofs were underwrote the success, which has resulted in the year-on-year footfall increase.

Leading global Lifestyle fashion retailer Esprit completed the current fashion lettings programme when it opened of its first stores to be situated in a retail park last December. Esprit, in partnership with Ark Retail Group, took a new 25-year lease on a 650.3 sq m (7,000 sq ft) unit. The new has opened adjacent to Laura Ashley.

WestEnd's large unit size and ease of access have also made it home to Classic Furniture, Heatons, Argos Extra and Costa Coffee. For the latter, Cosgrave has also created 'jewel box unit' for Costa Coffee set in a new plaza area created in the apex of the 'L'-shaped retail park which is located opposite the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

Mobile phone operator 3G has also just joined the tenant line-up with a 33.3 sq m (358 sq ft) unit taken on a 20-year lease. Site works have just started and the unit should be handed over for fitting out at the end of April with an opening by summer. Fergus Slattery & Associates acted for 3G.

Rents at the shopping park, which also has 650-space free car park, are running in excess of €45 per sq ft. Letting agents at WestEnd are Savills Hamilton Osborne King.

Kamran Khan, CEO of Ark Retail Group commented:

"We are delighted to have opened our new Esprit store at WestEnd, Blanchardstown. We have closely monitored this development scheme over the past few years and can see the growing potential of this scheme. This store is considered one of the Esprit's largest stores in Europe and most definitely the first of its kind located in a retail park / shopping park environment. The store offers both Esprit Men's and Women's clothing including our Esprit Casual ranges and the Esprit EDC range."

Ronan Rooney of WestEnd owners Cosgrave Group said:

"The deal with Esprit marked the completion of a phased programme of fashion-retail focused lettings designed to meet customer desires and aspirations - all of which has resulted in a 29.5% average year-on-year increase in footfall. Esprit is a leading international fashion brand and the decision to come to WestEnd is recognition of the shopping park's growing powerful customer appeal. WestEnd's recent focus on fashion and lifestyle offers, combined with spacious store formats and a 650-space free car park, means that it has become the destination of choice for an increasing number of shoppers in and around Dublin."