THE FOUR-STAR Morrison Hotel is to be the first major property in Dublin city centre to be offered for sale by Nama.
The move follows the appointment of receivers to the business and property empire of one of its owners, Hugh O’Regan.
CBRE Hotels is quoting a price of €25 million for the 141-bedroom hotel – exactly half the valuation put on it in 2006 by one of its bankers, Anglo Irish Bank. It will be sold by private treaty. The hotel overlooks the River Liffey from Merchant’s Quay and was built in 1999 to a design by John Rocca.
Paul Collins of the selling agency describes the hotel as a “trophy asset” with the important advantage of being unbranded, allowing new owners to trade under the existing name or to link up with a top international brand.
Collins says there has been a strong recovery in the Dublin hotel market over the past year with researchers STR Global reporting that bedroom occupancy in the city has been in positive territory for 15 straight months.
He said the Morrison was poised to capture this growth over the next few years. Its prime location in the heart of the city and its “very strong profits” should appeal to many international hotel investors. In addition to the 141 bedrooms and suites, there is a 400sq m (4,306sq ft) banqueting and meeting hall, a cafe bar and restaurant, fitness centre, art gallery and courtyard garden. There is also a considerable volume of space at basement level which could be used as meeting rooms or as a leisure centre.
Shortly after its opening, the Morrison hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards aftershow party headlined by Whitney Houston. Since then it has become one of Dublin’s trendiest boutique hotels, attracting international artists and bands performing at Dublin venues.
