An interim examiner has been appointed by the High Court to the luxury Ritz Carlton Hotel in the Powerscourt Estate in Co Wicklow.
Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan said she was satisfied to appoint Declan Taite as interim examiner in circumstances including an accountant’s opinion that the hotel has a reasonable prospect of survival once certain conditions are met. The case will come before the court again next week.
Carrylane Ltd, owner of the 200-room hotel, owes Nama €47 million but the international Ritz Carlton Hotel Company BV, current operator of the hotel, has indicated it is prepared to invest in it, the court heard.
Rossa Fanning, for Carrylane, said the hotel’s ownership structure is complex and involves five different types of investors. The hotel had the misfortune to open in 2007 and has been trading at a loss since it opened its doors, he said.
Mr Fanning said the Ritz Carlton Group was willing to fund losses until 2015 when the hotel is expected to break even.
The application for an interim examiner was supported by all interested parties including Nama and the Powerscourt Estate, which gets some €400,000 a year annual rent as the freehold owner of the land on which the hotel is built.
Treasury Holdings, in liquidation, is the ultimate controlling shareholder in Carrylane Ltd. The petition for examinership was brought by the directors of Carrylane, Treasury co-founder John Ronan and businessman Dermod Dwyer, who is also chairman of the Convention Centre at Spencer Dock.