Clothes retailer Penneys is set to pay €6m for the disused Independent House on Middle Abbey Street in Dublin.
According to the Irish Times, Primark - the parent of Penneys - is understood to have agreed purchase terms at around €6m for the 1920s building, which sold in an off-market deal in 2003 for €26m.
There is already a Penneys store on O’Connell Street, which adjoins the rear of Independent House on Princes Street. A large Penneys outlet is also located nearby on Mary Street.
Jonathan Preston of Savills, appointed asset manager of Independent House by receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG, told The Irish Times that he had no comment to make about any sale.
The five-storey building served as the headquarters and printing works for Independent News & Media up to 2003 when it was sold to a company headed by property developer Paddy Kelly and businessman Niall McFadden, a shareholder in Arnotts.
Source: Jack Fagan/The Irish Times