€8m for Radisson Blu Hotel in Cork

The profitable Radisson Blu Hotel at Little Island in Cork is to be offered for sale at €8 million through Savills.

The 126-bedroom hotel, which made a profit of over €500,000 in 2012, was developed eight years ago by Cork dentist Rick Fitzgerald, whose Oran Group has been heavily involved in the property industry at home and abroad. Funding for the hotel was provided by the Ulster Bank.

After selling four high profile hotels in the Cork/Kerry region since last November, a fifth business, Kingsley Hotel, is currently attracting considerable interest.

Tom Barrett of Savills hotels and leisure division expects both Irish and overseas interest in the Radisson Blu which is located in one of the largest employment hubs in the Cork area.

Public amenity
It is also adjacent to the 120-acre East Gate Business Park where a number of leading companies are based including Eli Lilly, Gilead Sciences, Laya Healthcare, Tyco and Pepsi. It is also close to the Fota Wildlife Park and Cork Golf Club.

The four-star hotel was developed in the nine-acre grounds of Ditchley House, a 19th-century mansion which has been incorporated into the hotel. There is a function room to cater for up to 600 guests and nine additional meeting rooms located in Ditchley House.

The hotel also has an extensive leisure centre and spa along with a gym and 18m swimming pool with a paid-up membership of about 1,000. There is on-site parking for 300 cars.

Of the 126 bedrooms, 92 of them offer standard accommodation, 27 are described as business class while the remaining seven are suites.

Savills say that the hotel has achieved “particularly strong profit growth” over the past three years. It had an overall occupancy rate of 65 per cent in 2012 when average room rates in Cork rose from €66 to €69. That is still well below the peak of €90 during the 2007 economic boom.

The Cork hotel is one of 13 Irish hotels managed by the Rezidor company. Its management agreement is renewable annually.