Claims have emerged today that Clerys’ former owners turned down a €20m bid, which would have kept it trading.
Eoin McGettigan, ex-chairman of the now closed department store, had put the offer forward.
He said, however, that the bid was rejected by former owners the Gordon Brothers.
As it turned out, Clerys was eventually sold to a consortium called Natrium, for a reported price tag of €29m. Once the iconic store was in the consortium’s hands, they closed it down with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
The new owners reportedly have plans to build a hotel at the site, with retail units located in the ground floor.