Battle on for future of nation’s biggest private landlord

The battle for the future of Ires Reit, the country’s biggest private landlord, hangs in the balance, as the Business Post reports that its largest shareholder would consider proposals to break up and sell off the company.

Mark Kenney, chief executive of Capreit, the Canadian property fund which holds almost 20 per cent in the embattled firm, told the paper that proposals being tabled by Vision Capital “merit careful consideration” by all investors.

Vision Capital, a separate Canadian fund which has been deeply critical of the management of Ires, has tabled a series of motions for an egm in February, asking shareholders to vote to replace five existing directors – including the chief executive, chief financial officer and chair – with five nominees it is putting forward. Investors will also vote on Vision’s push to have Ires taken private, broken up or sold in its entirety.

Kenney said his board is considering the plan to break up Ires in advance of the egm, but that “Capreit has not reached any final decision in relation to its voting intentions at this time”.

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Stillorgan Radisson on the market

The Business Post also reports that the luxury five-star Stillorgan Radisson Blu hotel has been put up for sale, and could fetch €45 million.

The historic property, located in Booterstown, is ultimately owned by the Cosgrave family of property developers. The paper reports that the potential sale is being conducted privately and handled by real estate company JLL Ireland, with a number of investors in Irish hotels having been contacted in recent weeks.

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Dublin builders Cosgrave Property Group carried out a €6 million refurbishment in 2018, and the hotel currently has 125 bedrooms and 11 event spaces which can hold up to 350 guests.

Shelbourne Hotel nears sale

News of another Dublin hotel sale is in the Sunday Times, as the paper reports that European investment group Archer Hotel Capital is closing on a deal to buy the landmark five-star Shelbourne hotel in Dublin.

The paper reported in December that Kennedy Wilson, the Shelbourne’s current owner, was mulling over a sale of the hotel for €260 million or a disposal of a 50 per cent share in the property.

It is understood that Archer, which owns the nearby five-star Conrad hotel, has agreed to buy the Shelbourne outright, with property sources confirming a deal was being finalised.

Tesco gambles on recycling scheme

Meanwhile, the Sunday Independent reports that Tesco has invested some €15 million in installing reverse vending machines and retrofitting its 170 stores to accommodate them, in a gamble to grab market share from consumers returning empty drinks containers when the deposit return scheme (DRS) starts on February 1st.

The DRS is aimed at incentivising consumers to return plastic bottles and aluminium cans to retailers. A 15-25 cent deposit charged when purchasing containers can be redeemed when shoppers return their empties to a reverse vending machine at a retailer in the form of a store voucher, which can then be redeemed for cash.

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