Irish Bar Values Plunge 40% as Pub Culture Mirrors Economy Bust

October 23, 2009 by Infowars Ireland

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — Dublin’s Thomas Read Group grew into a chain of more than 20 pubs as Ireland’s economy boomed in the mid 1990s. After real estate prices collapsed and drinkers stayed at home, the bars are being sold off.

A receiver, who has the power to sell assets to recover debt, is seeking buyers for nine of the city’s most fashionable hostelries. The bars on the block include Ron Black’s, home to the Champagne Bar during the boom, and the Harbourmaster in Dublin’s financial district, minutes walk from Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. offices.

“The sale of the Thomas Read pubs will be an acid test for the market,” said John Ryan, director of hotels and licensed premises sales at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. in Dublin.

In a country famed for its pub culture, the industry is mirroring the rise and fall of Irish fortunes.

Pubs surged in value as Ireland transformed into one of Europe’s richest countries from among its poorest, with developers snapping up buildings to refurbish and cater to free- spending Irish drinkers or convert into apartments.

Property brokers now estimate prices for pubs have sunk as much as 40 percent as Ireland suffered the worst collapse in its modern history. The benchmark ISEQ stock index has lost 48 percent over the past 18 months, with pub supplier C&C Group Plc, the maker of Magners cider, dropping 37 percent.

“At the height of the Celtic Tiger, it was a different process entirely — there would be full auction rooms with any sort of a decent pub,” said Aidan Heffernan, an auctioneer at Dublin-based Sherry Fitzgerald Group. “The day is fast coming to an end when we would have 15 or 16 pubs in a town.” Read full article…