Figures issued today by business information services company Experian shows that the retail vacancy rate for County Offaly is currently 27.1% which is 12.4% per cent higher than the all Ireland county average of 14.7%.
Ireland's county average vacancy rate of 14.7% is two per cent higher than the UK average rate which stands at 12.5% and is over one per cent higher than the Northern Irish figure which is 13.5%.
Jonathan De Mello, Director of Retail and Property at Experian explains, "Indications are we will see a better Christmas this year although we are unlikely to see a return to pre-recession expenditure levels for some time. At the same time vacancy rates are expected to improve and return to a more sustainable level. Stand-alone shopping centres, with their greater potential for asset management, will perform better than town centres in this respect. From a retailer perspective, at least for those that are doing well, such as supermarkets and value retailers, it has never been a better time to expand in order to grab market share, given the wealth of lucrative property deals that are now available as a result of the increased number of vacant stores on Ireland’s high streets."
"Performance differs at a county level, with some counties clearly performing better than others, due to the relative resilience of the retailers trading in the retail centres that make up the county’s overall retail offer. Those counties that are currently suffering from particularly high vacancy rates however need to take co-ordinated action to address this issue, to avoid a spiral of decline."
|
Northern Ireland |
Sep-09 |
Feb-10 |
|
County Down |
18.2% |
19.0% |
|
County Armagh |
13.9% |
14.5% |
|
County Antrim |
13.3% |
13.9% |
|
County Londonderry |
12.9% |
13.5% |
|
County Fermanagh |
11.9% |
12.5% |
|
County Tyrone |
11.0% |
11.5% |
|
Total |
13.5% |
14.1% |
|
|
|
|
|
Republic of Ireland |
Sep-09 |
Feb-10 |
|
Offaly |
27.1% |
28.6% |
|
Longford |
23.4% |
24.7% |
|
Mayo |
21.6% |
22.7% |
|
Donegal |
17.7% |
18.7% |
|
Meath |
17.4% |
18.4% |
|
Sligo |
17.4% |
18.3% |
|
Wexford |
17.3% |
18.2% |
|
Cork |
16.4% |
17.3% |
|
Louth |
16.2% |
17.1% |
|
Waterford |
15.8% |
16.7% |
|
Limerick |
15.6% |
16.5% |
|
Kerry |
14.5% |
15.3% |
|
Westmeath |
14.1% |
14.9% |
|
Roscommon |
14.1% |
14.7% |
|
Laois |
13.8% |
14.5% |
|
Tipperary |
13.4% |
14.1% |
|
Kilkenny |
13.3% |
14.1% |
|
Carlow |
13.2% |
13.9% |
|
Clare |
13.1% |
13.8% |
|
Dublin |
12.1% |
12.8% |
|
Galway |
11.5% |
12.1% |
|
Kildare |
11.1% |
11.7% |
|
Cavan |
8.7% |
9.1% |
|
Leitrim |
8.6% |
9.1% |
|
Monaghan |
8.6% |
9.1% |
|
Wicklow |
7.8% |
8.2% |
|
Total |
14.7% |
15.5% |
Experian calculates current and projected vacancy rates using its Goad database and team of surveyors.
