Pan-European real estate investor Europa Capital, plus local partners Core Capital and Oakmount, have signed French sports retailer Decathlon in a major new letting for Clerys Quarter.

Decathlon will occupy 30K SF on a 30-year lease. The space was originally earmarked for a Flannels department store in a proposed deal that ended with the parties set to go to court in October before an adjournment for mediation.

The new store will be Decathlon’s flagship city centre store, with the doors expected to open in mid-2024. Its current Dublin store is among the top 15 performers globally, the retailer said.

The deal completes the retail lettings at Clerys Quarter. Decathlon joins H&M, which is fitting out its 30K SF unit, its largest store in the city, for a spring opening, as well as sushi chain Rolled, which is also due to open in the spring. Pret a Manger opened its ground-floor retail unit in December.

The Earl Building, representing approximately a third of the office space at the converted department store, sold to the Health Service Executive, according to a November announcement.

The HSE plans to transform the 31K SF building into a new healthcare facility catering to over 100,000 outpatient visitors annually across services including maternity, pediatric, colposcopy, perinatal, mental health and allied health, or social work, dietetics and physiotherapy.

The restoration of the historic Clerys building, which has achieved LEED Gold certification and WiredScore Platinum certification, reached practical completion in June, and the developer has retained its historic features, including the colonnaded facade, internal staircases, columns, ceilings and the famous refurbished Clerys clock on Dublin's O'Connell Street.

Europa Asset Management Director James Keast in a statement described the deal as a “major coup” for Clerys Quarter.

“Our commitment goes beyond offering sports products; it extends to creating a community hub,” Decathlon Ireland CEO Elena Pecos said.

Kevin Sweeney of Savills acted for the landlord, and Michael Turley of Turley Property Advisors acted for Decathlon.

The agreement with Decathlon may also help with the legal action issued by Oces Property Holdings over the termination of a lease by Heatons, which trades as fashion retailer Flannels. The case was admitted to the high court’s fast-track commercial division in October.

Although Justice Denis McDonald admitted Oces’ case, he adjourned it until December to allow mediation to resolve the dispute. Oces, the joint venture between Core Capital and Europa Capital, was understood at the time to be seeking compensation for the store fit-out and other costs or to have Flannels occupy the site.

Oces told Bisnow it is not making any comment on the status of mediation.