Almost a quarter of commercial premises vacant in Limerick town
Study reveals Shannon to be town in Ireland with most empty shops
ALMOST a quarter of commercial premises in Newcastle West are vacant, a new study has revealed.
According to the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates report, 24.3% of these units in the Limerick county town were lying idle.
In Abbeyfeale, the assessment revealed that the vacancy rate is 18.3%, and in the city that the figure was 20.6%.
Shannon Town had the country’s highest commercial vacancy rate, with 34.9% of outlets vacant, the survey showed.
Despite this, it is Limerick which is the worst-performing county in Munster in terms of retail vacancy, with an average of 18.1% of its units shuttered.
Prepared by EY, the analysis found the vacancy rate in Limerick had marginally increased, by 0.2%, year-on-year. Nationally, the commercial vacancy rate dropped marginally by 0.1%, the first time the commercial vacancy rate has experienced an annual decline since GeoDirectory began reporting this data in 2013.
Meath recorded the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country at 9.9%, the only county under the 10% mark.
In Dublin, the commercial vacancy rate stood at 13.3%.
“While the decline in the national commercial vacancy rates is modest, it is significant as it marks a break from a long period of steadily rising commercial vacancies since 2013,” said Simon McAllister, EY.