Total of 18 hotels worth €75m sold so far this year

A total of 18 hotels totalling almost €75 million between them were sold in the Republic during the first six months of 2017.

Commercial property consultants CBRE Ireland released statistics on Monday in relation to the volume and value of hotel sales in the Irish market in the first half of 2017.

The figures compare with 29 hotel sales totalling €136 million in the same period last year. Hotels sold as investments in the period were specifically excluded.

The CBRE could not provide a full list of hotel sales and prices as a number of the deals were confidential.

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However, the top transaction was the Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, Tullow, Co Carlow, which went to the market with a guide price of €14.25 million.

Other major deals included the Hillgrove Hotel, Co Monaghan, although the value was not disclosed.

Elsewhere, the Camden de Luxe Hotel, Dublin 2, was sold for in excess of €8 million, while Lynams Hotel, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 went for a reported €6 million.

Lisa Keogh of CBRE Hotels Ireland said it had been a "slow start" to the year due to a scarcity of large-scale assets being released for sale.

“Transactional activity in the hotel sector in the first half of 2017, at €75 million, is down year-on-year although momentum is now building after what was a slow start to the year,” said Ms Keogh.

“The relatively low volume of transactions signed in the first half of the year is largely attributable to a slow start and the scarcity of large-scale assets being released for sale compared to last year.”

She said there were a number of assets that were offered for sale over recent months at an “advanced stage of negotiation” and expected to reach conclusion imminently.

These included the Connemara Coast Hotel in Galway; the Knightsbrook Hotel in Trim, Co Meath, and the Athlone Springs Hotel in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

“In total, there is currently up to €60 million of transactions under active negotiation,” she said.

“When combined with transaction volumes in the first half of the year and hotels that are due to be launched for sale over the coming months, it now looks likely that up to €250 million will be transacted in the Irish hotel sector during 2017.”