Government bans upward only rent reviews

426pc rent hike for shop was mistake, says agent

Funny case from Cork. Not quite sure how 53,000 gets mis-typed as 205,000.

Meanwhile, retailers body Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) said other tenants at the Wilton Shopping Centre had received demands for increases of between 30pc and 58pc.
David Fitzsimons. of REI, said that the exorbitant rent demand is just the latest bid by one of a number of developers to try to bump up the value of their properties. He cited demands for increases of 100pc at The Pavilions Shopping centre, Swords, and an increase of over 40pc in Monaghan.
"Landlords who are being lined up for NAMA are seeking to boost their yields and thus boost the valuation of their properties At the same time that some landlords are quoting high headline rents they are also doing deals with some retailers which include rent free periods," he added.

Click to expand...

Howitzer said:

"Landlords who are being lined up for NAMA are seeking to boost their yields and thus boost the valuation of their properties

Click to expand...

Bingo.

REI seems to be doing us all a favour by laying bare the realpolitik of the situation.

Keep the balls in the air. Keep dodging, keep jumping. Fake numbers here, vitual contracts there. Don't ask questions. Accept the status quo.

The only saving grace has been when cases eventually make it to the Commercial Court that there is sufficient competence there to see these for what they are.

Howitzer said:

REI seems to be doing us all a favour by laying bare the realpolitik of the situation.

Click to expand...

Some i offer respect and pity to some of the tenants of the points you have made yourself command respect. The points that Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) command nothing but for landlords of Commercial Property to put the boot in. REI make volumes of noise to try and make a point.

Whilst this is not a communist state the REI sound like a group that want us to turn that way. They would be better turning on the wholesalers and telling them to reduce their prices. And what about the chemists that are publically overcharging ?? Yet again nobody wishes to make a stand for the Public in this regard.

And in the case of some of the previous posts I made the Board of REI had better come out and show their hand on some of their Board members who have conducted their affairs in a very peculiar manner. And some that have had their franchisees not pay any rent because the business just didn't happen. But I forgot landlords should let people like these in rent free to see if the project works.

So before you all cast aspersions about landlords and before an opinion is cast, judge the matters from both sides.

mercman said:

And in the case of some of the previous posts I made the Board of REI had better come out and show their hand on some of their Board members who have conducted their affairs in a very peculiar manner. And some that have had their franchisees not pay any rent because the business just didn't happen. But I forgot landlords should let people like these in rent free to see if the project works.

So before you all cast aspersions about landlords and before an opinion is cast, judge the matters from both sides.

Click to expand...

Odd post. Can you post a link to back up any of these points?

I have no affiliation to REI and know nothing of it's board members.

[broken link removed]

Bestseller Retail (Ireland) Limited, the fashion chain that owns the Vero Moda, Jack and Jones, Only and Name It outlets employing 270 staff, has been granted interim examinership status by the High court today.

....

Along with the rest of the retail sector, we have experienced a very challenging trading environment in the last two years. Our trading position has been further undermined by the steady increase in rents across all of our stores, which has seen property costs rise to unsustainable levels. During the Examinership, we will be negotiating with all of our landlords to secure more realistic rental levels," said Ms. O'Mahoney.

Click to expand...

This appears to be the only route available for rent renegotiation. This is no way to do business.

For those interested, next Tuesday and Wednesday, the Dail will debate a Labour Party bill to allow for downward review of commercial rents for existing leases.

And I wonder what odds are been given that he will not go through,

Very good article here:

[broken link removed]

Seven days on Grafton Street

Thought that this part had a few observations relevant to the thread:

WEDNESDAY MORNING

There are around 10 empty premises along Grafton Street. West jewellers is one of the more recent casualties. Dunnes Stores’s double-fronted premises has been vacant for a year and a half. So has the old Mortgage Store premises at the junction of Nassau Street.

For John Corcoran, owner of Korky’s footwear shop, it’s a depressing sight.

“This should be our Bond Street, but the place feels utterly degraded,” he says. “You have too many convenience stores, fast-food outlets, mobile phone shops. This is in the middle of Georgian Dublin. It should be our most elegant street, but its lost its lustre,” he says. “With the rent, its very hard to make money. Virtually everyone is on an upwards-only rent review, We pay €445,000 in rent. It’s crazy rent. And we’ve another €50,000 in rates on top of that. This street is an example of how the economy went bust. We got so disconnected from the real world. We thought the street was up there with Fifth Avenue. We believed the hype.”

Click to expand...

Most important was that Korkys themselves obviously believed the Hype and simply requires a change in the law to bail them out.

Discussed on the The Frontline last night, should be on the RTE Player by now.

Nothing different to what's been highlighted on this thread over the last couple of years. However it does now appear to be accepted that these side deals are real. That the arbitration process is a sham and that legislation will be required as the system has failed to regulate itself.