Cork’s Douglas Court shopping centre bought for €21m by local family

The new owners said they are “delighted” to take on the 59-unit centre as the family “has deep business roots in Cork”. As Anthony O’Leary’s family home was on the nearby Rochestown Road, you could say he bought in his own back yard.

The sale of 160,000 sq ft (14,865 sq m) Douglas Court to a well-known local family marks a departure from a wider trend of foreign funds buying up landmark retail properties. In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the O’Leary family said they saw their acquisition as “an opportunity to contribute to the community we hold dear” and that they were looking forward to a “new chapter for the shopping centre”.

“Our vision is to make Douglas Court Shopping Centre a destination that not only meets the needs of contemporary shoppers, but also serves as a catalyst for local business growth,” Anthony O’Leary said.

“We are committed to enhancing the shopping experience, attracting new businesses, and ultimately creating a dynamic and thriving local retail destination,” he added.

Mr O’Leary sold the family’s successful insurance business in December 2020 to B
rown & Brown, the sixth largest independent broker in the US. Industry experts estimated the deal to be worth c€100 million. Douglas Court, where the anchor tenant is Dunnes Stores, is an acquisition valued at €25m, according to its new owners. Industry sources indicated that it transacted (via agents Cushman & Wakefield) for in the order of €21.5m. Accounts filed by the vendors, Chandos Investments, valued it at €22.86m as of June 30, 2021. Chandos also own Blackpool Shopping Centre. Key tenants at Douglas Court include
New Look, Kilkenny Design, Carraig Donn, Costa Coffee, O’Brien’s Wines and Boots pharmacy. Tenants are unaffected by the sale.

Both Douglas Court, which is trading for more than 25 years, and Blackpool shopping centre, are former Love family/Shipton group assets, and it’s understood Clayton Love Jnr was involved in an advisory capacity in the latest deal. T
he Love family has a retail development history in Cork dating back to the mid-1970s, when the original open mall Douglas Village Shopping Centre opened as Ireland’s second-ever shopping centre. It was bought last year in a c€23m deal by the Tom Coughlan-led property investment firm Urban Green Private.

 Mr Coughlan is also behind the Marina Market.

The O’Leary family has enjoyed considerable business success over the decades, starting with Mr O’Leary’s father, Archie, who founded O’Leary Insurances in 1961. He was a colourful character who owned a number of racehorses, including Hennessy Gold Cup winner Florida Pearl, and he was also capped three times for Ireland at rugby. Archie’s father was the first to scale the flagpole at UCC, then Queen’s College, where he replaced the flag with a tricolour, while wearing an Irish kilt.