U2’s Bono and The Edge sell Clarence hotel to group owned by Paddy McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan

U2′s Bono and The Edge and their business partner Paddy McKillen snr have sold The Clarence, the landmark Dublin hotel, to the Dean Hotel Group, owned by Paddy McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan, in a multimillion-euro transaction.

While Mr McKillen jnr and Mr Ryan, two of Dublin’s most prominent hospitality entrepreneurs, have held the leasehold for the Wellington Quay hotel since 2019 and had been managing its operations for a number of years before that, they have now taken full ownership of the property.

The deal ends Bono and The Edge’s connection with the four-star hotel after more than three decades of ownership. It is not clear how much the pair have made from the sale.

The U2 musicians, along with Mr McKillen snr, the Belfast-born property investor, have owned the hotel since 1992. It famously featured on BBC’s Top of the Pops in 2000 when U2 delivered a live performance from its rooftop of their song Beautiful Day.

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The purchase of The Clarence by the Dean Hotel Group was completed with the assistance of a €43 million loan facility from Leumi UK*. The funds are being used to acquire the hotel’s freehold interest and to fund the expansion of the hotel with the addition of 43 new rooms.

[ Clarence Hotel returns to the black with €457,000 profit ]

[ Press Up: Paddy McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan’s hospitality leviathan not immune to economic headwinds ]

The Dean Hotel Group’s decision to acquire the freehold further consolidates Mr McKillen jnr and Mr Ryan’s position within Dublin city centre and on Wellington Quay particularly.

Their main business, the Press Up Hospitality Group already owned the adjoining Dollard & Co Food Hall & Deli, Roberta’s Restaurant, Tomahawk and The Workman’s Club.

The planned refurbishment of The Clarence will see it being extended into a next-door building, which the company is also purchasing. The addition of 43 rooms will bring the Clarence’s room count to 102.

Mr McKillen jnr said the group had “exciting refurbishment and growth plans” for the hotel.

Liam Mullans, a director at Leumi UK, said the lender had reached a deal with the Dean Hotel Group that would enable “this iconic property reach new heights”.

This article was amended on Friday, October 20th, 2023 to change a reference to ‘UK lender Leumi’ to Leumi UK