23 pubs were sold in Dublin last year valued at €51.5m, according to a new report from estate agent Lisney.
When compared to 2021, the data shows that activity was down.
But it states that 2021 was an "exceptionally strong" year, with 30 transactions returning a combined value of excess €124m.
The report also points out that 2021 saw a relatively high proportion of high value sales including premises such as The Brazen Head in Dublin 8, The TP Smith Group and The Camden on Camden Street which made up a large percentage of both volume and value.
According to Lisney, activity last year was more in line with the ten-year average.
The report states that the most significant change in the Dublin market last year was the reduction in activity of Private Equity purchasers (PE).
Having accounted for 37% of volume and 73% of value in 2021, PE only factored in one Dublin transaction in 2022.
Publican purchasers re-emerged as the forerunners of the 2022 market accounting for 48% of volume and 37% of value. This compares to 37% of volume and 15% of value in 2021 and the report states points to increased operator confidence in the sector.
The Investor category also had a significant uplift with percentage of volume increasing from 10% to 39% and percentage of value rising from 5% to 36% in 2022.
Today's data shows that demand for city premises remained strong last year.
"This was illustrated through the recent sales of O'Donoghue’s Suffolk Street, Nancy Hand’s Parkgate Street and The Flowing Tide Middle Abbey Street, all acquired by established publican purchasers," the report states.
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Outside of Dublin, Lisney said 2022 remained another quiet year for activity within the provincial market with limited transactions occurring in the cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny.
It said activity outside of the regional cities within the provincial rural market remained depressed and was again characterised by closures of non-viable businesses within sparsely populated rural areas.
Lisney predicts that this sector of the provincial market will continue to struggle with limited appetite expressed from outside of the local community.
Overall, the report states that the licensed premises industry remained resilient last year, with the reopening of a number of pubs post refurbishment and rebranding.
Moving into 2023, Lisney said it expects the initial months to remain consistent in terms of assets being made available for sale.
