A report in UK property magazine Property Week says that a €350m deal to sell the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin has fallen through.
The magazine said the owners of the centre - Aviva Investors and Grosvenor - had agreed early last year to sell it to a consortium involving F&C Reit Asset Management and Area Property Partners.
But the report said completion had been delayed because of continuing problems in the Irish property market. The magazine said pledges from Fine Gael and Labour to retrospectively ban upward-only rent reviews has caused further uncertainty, and the banks which agreed to fund the deal had been unwilling to approve a loan.
Irish retailers have been complaining that they are still paying rents set at the height of the property boom, and have been campaigning against upward-only rent reviews. But earlier this week, the Irish Association of Pension Funds warned that: banning upward-only rent reviews in existing leases would damage funds, leading to reduced pay-outs for retired people. The Society of Chartered Surveyors says the move could drive investment from Ireland.
