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Euromillions winner Dolores McNamara bids over €44 million for Limerick shopping park

The Limerick native won €115 million more than 10 years ago.

IRISH EUROMILLIONS WINNER Dolores McNamara is in the running to buy up a massive retail park in her native Limerick.

Her company, Blue Haven, which has bid more than the €44 million guide price for the Childers Road Retail Park, is being advised on the potential deal by Eddie Hobbs.

Insurance firm, Irish Life, has also bid for the 257,000-square-foot park, located close to the Parkway Shopping Centre.

McNamara who scooped €115 million in the draw in 2005 purchased a 16-bedroom Victorian mansion on the shores of Lough Derg for €3.5 million in 2012.

At the time, the mother of six beat off stiff competition from bidders across Europe, with a local firm of solicitors buying the estate in trust.

Her original home, a modest bungalow on St Patrick’s Road, Garryowen, is currently available to rent for €1,000 a month.

Childers Road Retail Park comprises 12 retail warehouse units together with two restaurant units in a traditional open mall with front car parking.

The park is anchored by Dunnes Stores and is considered one of the most productive in the country.

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According to CBRE’s Paul McCoy, exceptional footfall levels are the primary reason for the park’s top rating.

“We set out to identify Ireland’s best retail parks and a key determinant of this was the current footfall levels being generated by the parks versus current market rent,” McCoy said in a statement posted on the park’s website.

A final round of bidding for the park is expected to take place in the coming days.

While McNamara has no other known commercial property investments, Irish Life is hoping to add the Childers Road retail park to its Irish portfolio valued at more than €2.5 billion.

Joint agents HWBC and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald are handling the sale of the Limerick Park for Harcourt Life, which previously acquired the entire share capital of IBRC Assurance Company.

Childers Road Retail Park was developed more than 10 years ago by Alan and Brian McCormack of Alanis Capital with funding from Anglo Irish Bank.

It has a healthy rent roll of €3.22m from 14 traders which also include, Boots, Dorothy Perkins, Heatons, Next, Lifestyle, Argos, Harry Corry, Smyths Toys,Costa Coffee, KFC, and Pizza Hut.

More: From £6.4 billion in losses to £450 million in profits: Tesco is back in the black

Read: Returning emigrants are filling jobs in a buoyant Irish engineering sector 

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    Mute Christopher murray
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:58 AM

    Would have been better advised by eddie rockets

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    Mute Richard Cynical
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:40 AM

    fair play to her most lotto winners would be flat broke by now, she seems to be a smart lady.

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    Mute Dave O'Shaughnessy
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:45 AM

    As soon as I saw her name in the headline, my automatic first thought, unfortunately, was that she’s filled for bankruptcy, so this was a nice story to read – well done to her, hope the business-venture is a success.

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    Mute Sinead
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:48 AM

    She was use to a life budgeting everything and doing her best to stretch every penny for her family. Plenty of experience with handling money more than people born into money

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    Mute Random Flautist
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    Apr 13th 2016, 12:19 PM

    I thought she was a member of a well known Limerick criminal family??

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    Mute stefanovich
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    Apr 13th 2016, 1:27 PM

    I think her son ran with a bad crowd but she was fine.

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    Mute Figo murphy
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:10 PM

    Christopher Murray, take a bow.

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    Mute Donnchadh
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:25 PM

    How could u blow 100 odd million?

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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 3:00 PM

    Most lotto winners don’t blow it or anything like it. The only time you ever hear about it is because it’s rare and usually some idiot trying to sign on the dole.

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    Mute Ger Buckley
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    Apr 13th 2016, 4:48 PM

    Initially after her win she was advised by a guy i know. He would have been a calming influence and would be a major reason why she still has loads left. Best of luck to her i say.

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    Mute Martin Critten
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    Apr 13th 2016, 7:16 PM

    First thing she’d best do is sort the entrance to it – I avoid it like the plague ! Just one way in and out its often grid lock on a weekend. Can’t imagine a development of this size having only one access, but then again, built in the days of brown envelopes.

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    Mute Shane Doherty
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:42 PM

    Not to be pedantic but there are two ways in. The problem is getting back out. Only one exit.

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    Mute James Delaney
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    Apr 14th 2016, 1:58 AM

    @ r.cynical – She won great than €100m f f s.

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    Mute Tensing Norgay
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    Apr 14th 2016, 8:32 AM

    Lets she doesn’t raise rents and drive them all out like I believe they have form doing elsewhere , pity she couldn’t do anything fir the community she came from which I believe has been zip

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    Mute james comiskey
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:49 AM

    Advised by Eddie Hobbs ? She should have done a background check .

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    Mute Pascal Coleman
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:07 AM

    Excuse my ignorance but I thought Eddie Hobbs was regarded as a financial guru in this country???? What did I miss?

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    Mute Elma Phudd
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:17 AM

    Bulgaria

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    Mute Kevin O'Sullivan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 12:12 PM

    Renua.

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:52 PM

    You missed the bit where he lost his shirt.

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    Mute John Cusack
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    Apr 14th 2016, 12:19 AM

    Check out Tony Taylor, Eddie Hobbs’ old business partner. skeletons in the closet.

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    Mute Kieran Stafford
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:59 AM

    This woman fairly held her cool. Many a person would have went off the rails

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    Mute James Delaney
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    Apr 14th 2016, 2:04 AM

    I hope she has not gone off the rails & hope she has done her homework & not allowed herself be surrounded by vulgers who are normally associated with property esp. Commercial property. Eddie Hobbs advising – Is he renuaing himself – after his recent business venture flopped.

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:46 AM

    Weirdest bucket-list ever.

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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:10 AM

    She should ask Lucinda Creighton how taking advice from Hobbs worked for her.

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    Mute Phil Blanc
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:33 PM

    Hey, Lucinda has plenty of time to spend in her lovely Cape Verde (remember there?) villa now.

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    Mute Ann-Marie Wallis
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:37 AM

    Fair play to her, kept her head down and invested wisely. That retail park is a goldmine, the Dunnes is always chockablock in there.

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    Mute Fred Astare Astare
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    Apr 13th 2016, 9:46 AM

    She is only buying this centre to get discounts on her shopping…….

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    Mute howisthat
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:05 AM

    Eddie Hobbs God keep away

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    Mute Elaynehb
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:29 AM

    Jaysas a grand a month rent for a modest bungalow is a tad steep is it not?

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    Mute stefanovich
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    Apr 13th 2016, 1:28 PM

    Garryowen is fine and all but it’s pretty rough in places too.

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    Mute AN other
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    Apr 13th 2016, 8:04 PM

    St Patrick’s Road is grand be wary of walking home at night

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    Mute Rashers Tierney
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:46 AM

    Shocking news, Irish person bids to acquire irish property. Whatever next?

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    Mute GameOverMan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:29 AM

    And the award for ‘Most dull millionaire’ goes to… So jealous!!!!

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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:50 AM

    The traffic delays at that shopping centre are notorious. There’s two ways in (sometimes) and one way out. The halting site adjacent to it doesn’t allow for anymore.

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    Mute Sinead Hanley
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:16 AM

    Beachmaster. I go there twice a week and i have never been delayed. Not even at Christmas. Its a fabulous retail park. Only thing missing is a Woodys or a B&Q.

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    Mute Fin Stack
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:51 AM

    Think he meant the parkway shopping centre, and not the one nearby. The article is a little unclear, as it mentions both.

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    Mute Dan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 6:25 PM

    You must be the only one Sinead. Its a nightmare for traffic and whoever planned it is a clown.

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    Mute Cal McLaughlin
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:42 AM

    She still has €44 million left?

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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:52 AM

    From what I hear she’s worth a lot more than she actually won.

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    Mute Del Haven
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:28 AM

    That’s cool.

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    Mute Shane Fearon
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:53 AM

    Fair play to her. Many would have uprooted.

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Apr 13th 2016, 1:57 PM

    Thats brilliant im delighted for her, & best of luck with her investment!

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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 3:05 PM

    A modest woman who I’d say had modest dreams. The press weren’t exactly fair to her over the years publishing rubbish on her supposed mental health etc. It would be lovely to see her hit this out of the park. Sure it would take most people ten years to get over the shock of winning that much.

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    Mute Jho Harris
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:10 AM

    € 115 million not enough then Dolores?

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    Mute Uncle Denise
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    Apr 13th 2016, 10:24 AM

    Nothing wrong with investing Jho.

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    Mute Del Haven
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    Apr 13th 2016, 11:27 AM

    Jho, you’re saying it’s not cool to make any money if you have a large amount already?

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    Mute Ken Pepper
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    Apr 13th 2016, 12:02 PM

    With that amount why bother investing…..enough for several lifetimes…..spend the rest of your life just enjoying it…

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    Mute Ted Logan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 12:31 PM

    Securing the future of your children, their children and their children’s children is a valid thing to do.

    But I’m sure she is also enjoying a nice lifestyle also.

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    Mute Inanimate Carbon Rod
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    Apr 13th 2016, 1:15 PM

    You invest because if you don’t inflation will eat away at your money. With saving interest rates rock bottom leaving it in a bank is going to cost you money. This is a good deal for Dolores, a rent roll of €3.22m gives her a rental yield of 7.3% which means she will more that double her investment in the space of 10 years. By 2026 land values and rents will have gone up too if she wants to sell.she will make even more money.

    All that said she has to beat Irish Life to get this. No Irish Life won’t want to get outbid like they did a few weeks back at auction when Weatherspoons bought a building on Abbey Street, right opposite the Irish Life HQ and right under their noses.

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    Mute Veronica
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:53 PM

    Fair play to her, nice to see she didn’t blow the money foolishly & she kept her cool. I wish her every continued success.

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    Mute Motherofdivinejebus
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    Apr 13th 2016, 12:01 PM

    Because a woman can never have enough shoes……..

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    Mute Jho Harris
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    Apr 13th 2016, 1:41 PM

    The money was won, my question was tongue in cheek, what she does with it is her own business but I’m sure Eddie and more are charging a tidy sum to advise her.

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    Mute Andrew Matheson
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    Apr 13th 2016, 6:05 PM

    Eddie Hobbs advising people to buy property again?

    Sounds like a bubble about to burst!!

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    Mute gus sheridan
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    Apr 13th 2016, 2:25 PM

    Waste of €44 million!

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    Mute Fearghal
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    Apr 14th 2016, 10:25 AM

    Must check me numbers

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    Mute Billy Flynn
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    Apr 14th 2016, 7:00 AM

    Thought she had more brains than get in tow with Eddie Hobbs.He has already sent the PDa to the History books.

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    Mute AN other
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    Apr 13th 2016, 8:08 PM

    Quick fact check there… I think she has some interest in the Castletroy Shopping center (where superquinn is) raised the rents for all and doesn’t care about empty lots… So that’s what we have to look forward to at childers road now…

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