Cartamundi site in Waterford back on sale at significantly reduced price

The former Cartamundi production facility on the Cork Road in Waterford City is going back to market at a discounted price of €11 million after the property failed to sell last year.

For more than 40 years, the Waterford plant had produced various games including Monopoly, Twister, Connect 4 and Scrabble. Now, however, property agents Lisney and CBRE are attempting to sell the property.

Cartamundi Ireland closed the factory in Waterford in March 2023, putting the blame on the impact of the pandemic, which the company said had negatively impacted the supply side of the business, which had been “aggravated by the increase in raw material and energy costs, which has impacted manufacturers globally”.

Cartamundi looked to sell the property later that year, aiming for a sale price of €18 million. With no buyers on the horizon the property has now been significantly reduced in price.

The 23,000 square metre factory is based in the IDA Industrial Estate on the Cork Road, with an additional 14 acres of fenced open space and more than three acres of undeveloped land.

This comes soon after news that Cartamundi has paid out more than €14 million in redundancy payments to staff following the closure of the company’s production plant in Waterford.

The most recently published accounts for Cartamundi Ireland show that it paid out €409,000 in redundancy costs in 2022 followed by a further €13.5 million in payments last year as staff numbers dropped from 314 to 81.

At the time, SIPTU, the main union at the factory, said the closure of the factory would be “devastating” for those affected.

They said the layoffs would be a “major blow to the workers, their families and the wider Waterford community” and warned that if the jobs were lost it would “undoubtedly have significant economic consequences for the South East.”