They might have some of the best bargains around but Dealz would have to sell more than 73,000 products just to meet the rent bill for its Dundalk store.
The Irish version of British chain Poundland, Dealz opened in the area last December. Best known for selling most items for just €1.49, Talk of the Town can reveal that the company are paying a whopping €109,136 rent annually for their store at Earl House on Earl Street.
That means that if the average product for sale in store is taken as €1.49 then they would need to sell 73,246 items per year just to meet the rent bill – and that’s before commercial rates, water rates, staff costs, electricity, security and insurance are taken into account, as well as the cost of buying stock in the first place.
The 10 year lease was agreed last December but Dealz are not the only local business paying a high rent for their premises.
A look at the commercial lease register by Talk of the Town revealed that many other local businesses are paying high rates.
In November 2013 the Property Services Regulatory Authority released the Commercial Lease Register, allowing people to evaluate commercial leases in their area. The register includes details of all terms of years of leases and rent payable that were agreed since January 1st 2010 and can be found at www.psr.ie
One business paying more than Dealz is Home Store and More in Dundalk Retail Park, who have an annual rent bill of €160,000.
Meanwhile, Life Pharmacy at 42/43 Seatown Place pay a lease of €100,000, while McCabe’s Pharmacy at Adelphi Court pay €34,000.
Tiger, who opened last month in the Marshes Shopping Centre, are paying €50,000 a year in rent according to the register. That’s €5,000 a year less than Starbucks are paying for their lease in the centre and €10,000 less than DV8 and Peter Mark pay.
Vodafone are also paying €37,500 for their unit in the Marshes, while CEX pay €40,000.
The largest rent in the Marshes we came across was the €150,000 a year paid by the Euro 2 shop in 2011. Anchor tenants Dunnes and Penneys would no doubt pay more but their agreements came into force before the lease register came into existence.
Unit 5 of the centre, once occupied by A Wear, was taking in €100,000 in rent back in 2012 according to the register.
Indeed, the cheapest rent in the Marshes we could come across on the register was the €20,000 a year paid by River Café. In comparison, the largest rent listed for the Long Walk Shopping Centre was the €33,000 a year paid by Photospeed.ie.
You’d also want to sell a lot of stamps to cover the €40,000 rent for the post office at the Tesco Extra store at the old Dundalk Shopping Centre – a sum also being charged to Leaf Restaurant opposite it and Costa Coffee upstairs.
Meanwhile, Gourmet Palace – the recently opened Chinese and Thai Restaurant at 43/44 Park Street – has a rent bill of €31,200.
On the pub front, McManus’s Pub in Seatown pays €54,000 a year in rent, The Avenue Inn pays €52,262, The Castle Bar in Seatown has a lease of €42,000, The Fane on Park Street has a rent bill of €30,000, while the lease of Toale’s on Crowe Street is €28,600. Martin’s in Riverstown, meanwhile, is €37,440 while The Punter’s pay €42,000 and The Phoenix €36,400.
From a food perspective, Abrakebabra pay €31,200 in rent while next door neighbours The Golden Chopstick pay €15,600.
Meanwhile, the rent for the Avenue Stores on the Avenue Road is a massive €120,000 a year while the XL Shop in Jocelyn Street has a rent of €42,000.
Rents can be cheaper on the likes of Clanbrassil Street where the likes of Costcutter have an annual rent bill of €15,000 and Elmay Boutique pay €25,000.
Earl Street would appear to have something of a premium though with Riva Brasserie paying €54,000 a year in rent although Opening Minds pay just €16,500.
National Pen, at €522,000 per year, had the largest rent bill we came across though, closely followed by PayPal at €400,000 a year. AIB, meanwhile, paid the largest lease on Clanbrassil Street at €239,000 a year.
It’s easy to see why some ventures don’t work though. The Fairways had a rent bill of €338,000 a year while the Cali Burrito shop on Park Street were paying €40,000 a year.
Despite some of the high prices paid recently for rents, by far the biggest lease in the area this year though was the €190,000 paid for an allocated space at Dundalk IT back in March.
What do you make of the rent figures listed? Are they over the top or about right and do they encourage people to get into business or to expand?
Let us know your thoughts.
Talk of the Town 