AN Post to sell GPO Arcade for EUR 5M
AN Post has embarked on a programme of disposal of non-core assets starting with the sale of the GPO Arcade – the shopping mall of small stores which linksHenry Street and Princes St in Central Dublin – for over 5m.
An Post would not comment on the development last night, but the State postal companyis understood to have requested permission from the Minister for Communications,Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern, in the last few days to put the arcade on the market.
Sources close to An Post indicated that the arcade, which was built as part of the GPO rebuilding programme in the late 1920s, may require capital investment to bring its appearance and facilities up to modern standards.
“An Post is committed to investing heavily in modernisation of mail centres and does not have the spare funds to invest in assets such as the GPO Arcade,” the source said.
The board of An Post, which is due to have a new chief executive Donal Curtin within weeks, is looking at other non-core assets and activities to assess whether they couldraise funds from disposals.
This is in contrast to An Post’s policy in recent years of expanding its revenues throughthe acquisition of courier companies in Ireland and the purchase of a Spanish electronicpayments company.
The GPO Arcade, rebuilt between 1925 and 1929, is located in the best retail space inthe country which will be accessible by the Luas from late 2004.
Jim Aughney
Copyright 2003 Irish Independent. Source: Financial Times Information Limited – Europe Intelligence Wire.
