Gorey Business Park units sold for €1.55m
NEW OWNER HAS YET TO MAKE CONTACT WITH AFFECTED TENANTS
GOREY Business Park sold for €1.55 million through an online auction which was held on Wednesday through selling agent BidX1.
The new owner of Gorey Business Park has yet to get in contact with the tenants, who are all hoping that whoever bought the portfolio will pledge their support to the businesses currently trading there.
The Business Park, which had a guide price of €1.5 million, did not receive a lot of interest. The online auction was between two anonymous bidders and the buyer remains unknown.
Anton Clancy of MyFitt Gorey said he has had no contact so far from the new owner and did not know it had been sold.
Owner of East Coast Hunting and Shooting Paul Walsh said he has not heard from the new owner and does not know who it is.
‘I just hope they have the same interest and time for us business owners as Jim Osborne did,’ said Paul. ‘If they follow on from Jim’s idea then we should be fine.’
Joe Kinsella of Kinsella Sign and Print Manufacturers has a ‘ huge amount of concern’. ‘ The biggest problem is I don’t know where we stand,’ said Joe. ‘ The buildings are not in a great state and there is a huge amount of issues here.’
Business were notified last month that a large portion of the units will be put up for sale at an online auction. Tenants will not be affected by the sale.
A large section of the park went into receivership three years ago when KBC Bank were seeking a €6.2m summary judgement against business park owner Jim Osborne over loans secured on the park.
The industrial profile compromises of 34 industrial units and 10 office units, with 31 of the units tenanted and generating €242,980 annually. The tenants are concerned at the situation of the park as their businesses are trying to operate as normal, despite some uncertainty.
A receiver was sent into Gorey Business Park in early De- cember 2015, when it emerged that KBC Bank were seeking a €6.2 million summary judgement against Mr Osborne over loans secured on the park.
Mr Osborne claimed at the time the park was extremely viable with an occupancy rate of almost 100 per cent.
Mr Osborne also claimed at a previous hearing that the bank and its project managers failed to do their work professionally, which led to a fire officer coming in. Some of the buildings in the park were closed by order in 2013, and Mr Osborne had to pay €1.2m to put matters right.
The bank claimed that despite a rental income of just over €600,000 a year, just €25,500 was paid to the them in 2014. Mr Osborne maintained that the application by the bank was part of an enforcement strategy and that the value of the asset was being maintained, as long as the park remained open.