Inua buys Radisson Blu hotel in Athlone for €9.5m

Irish investment company Inua Hospitality has acquired the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Athlone for €9.5 million.

The four-star hotel sits on the edge of the Shannon and is opposite Athlone Castle. Purpose-built in 2004, it was previously managed by the Galway-based Earls Holdings until Ulster Bank appointed Kieran Wallace of KPMG as receiver in 2012.

The hotel was put up for sale last September with market sources expecting it to sell for about €6.5 million.

It is not known yet whether Inua, which previously acquired the Radisson Blu Hotel at Little Island in Cork for €8 million and the Radisson Blu in Limerick for €3.5 million, will rebrand.

Banqueting suites

The hotel has 128 bedrooms and suites, a bar, restaurant and conference and banqueting suites. There is a health and leisure centre including a swimming pool, an outdoor terrace overlooking the Shannon with direct access to Athlone Marina and parking for 169 cars.

"This latest transaction in the provincial Ireland hotel market shows again that there is very strong demand for well located, modern and profitable hotel operations in the larger provincial centres and especially those regional centres like Athlone, that are within easy reach of Dublin and Ireland's other major cities," said Dermot Curtin of selling agents CBRE.