The Dublin Airport Authority has grossed €265m (£180m) from the sale of seven of its eight Great Southern hotels (GSH) to three different purchasers.
The price is more than double the original expectations for all eight hotels.
Developer Gerry Barrett, who recently bought Bow St Magistrates Court in London, has bought three freehold hotels in the west of Ireland for about £88m. These are the two hotels in his native Galway and the third in Killarney.
All three hotels have development potential.
Meanwhile the three GSH airport hotels in Dublin, Cork and Shannon have been bought by a consortium of property investors: Ronan McArdle, Frank McArdle, Alan McIntosh and the Walsh brothers for a sum believed to be about £60m.
These are leasehold properties on 125 year leases.
In addition, the Parknasilla hotel near the scenic tourist town of Kenmare, Co Kerry has been acquired by Spentor Limited, a company controlled by one of Dublin’s largest developers, Bernard McNamara who is already involved in a consortium refurbishing the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin for the Marriott Group.
The hotel is on a 300-acre site. Plans are already well advanced for new facilities and the addition of 119 apartments.
No acceptable tender was received for the eighth hotel in the portfolio, the harbourside Rosslare hotel as an individual lot.
But the company is expecting it will achieve the successful sale of this hotel in the near future.
The hotel overlooks Rosslare harbour which is the main Irish ferryport for the Continent and also has ferry services to Britain.
A subsidiary of the Dublin Airport Authority, the GSH group is understood to have seen its losses almost double to over €5m (£3.5m) last year on turnover of around €45m (£31m).
Turnover was static in 2005 as a result of falling room prices due to increasing competition, especially in the west of Ireland.
The hotels vary considerably in style and include three Victorian hotels, two 1960’s three/four star hotels as well as the three airport hotels at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.
GSH has also completed the sale of its 25% interest in the City of Derry Hotel to the existing local shareholders.
The agents for all eight hotels are CBRE.
References: EGi News 24/08/06
