Goldman Sachs in talks to take over Blanchardstown shopping centre

Owners Blackstone paid close to €1bn for the northwest Dublin facility in 2016

about 6 hours ago Updated: about 5 hours ago

Blanchardstown shopping centre suffered a blow earlier this year when one of its key tenants Debenhams closed its doors and left IrelandShare to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to Email AppShare to LinkedIn

Goldman Sachs is in advanced talks to take over the Blanchardstown Centre from owner Blackstone, according to sources, as the pandemic prompted retailers to close their doors and sent rent collection plunging.

The facility is the largest shopping centre in the country.

Blackstone bought the Blanchardstown Centre in northwest Dublin for close to €1 billion in 2016, with lenders including Goldman providing financing.

Rent collection dropped to 25 per cent during the pandemic, according to the sources. Representatives for Blackstone and Goldman declined to comment.

Shopping centres throughout Europe are struggling during the pandemic. They took a fresh hit in Ireland this week when the Government imposed a new national lockdown, closing all non-essential stores.

Blanchardstown suffered a blow earlier this year when one of its key tenants, Debenhams, among the UK’s biggest department stores, closed its doors and left the country.

Ireland’s retail property market is “largely paralysed”, with vacancies rising and an increase in negotiations between landlords and tenants, many of whom are struggling to pay the rent, the Irish unit of brokerage CBRE said in a note last month.

It was reported in August that Blackstone was prepared to surrender control of Blanchardstown if lenders, which also include AIB, did not agree to a negotiate a debt deal. AIB declined to co