Lally firm to invest €250m in Wicklow resort

The John Lally-controlled property development firm Lalco is set to create 500 building jobs with a €250 million investment in a new tourism resort.

Lalco plans to spend at least €250 million on redeveloping Humewood Castle and its 450-acre estate near the village of Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, into an integrated tourist destination.

Lalco bought Humewood from Renata Coleman last year for €25 million. The current proposals will bring to €275 million its total investment in the Co Wicklow property.

The company believes that the three-year project will create 500 building jobs, and the business itself will create another 200 jobs when it is up and running.

The work is due to be finished in three years.

Lalco has applied to Wicklow County Council for permission to restore the 19th-century castle and to build a new 120-bed five-star hotel next to it.

Alongside this, Lalco also intends building tourist lodges close to the hotel and around the estate.

The company hired golf architect Kyle Philips to design an 18-hole course for the estate, which will also have an indoor golf clinic, driving range and clubhouse facilities.

However, Lalco says the resort will not be limited to golf. Humewood will also offer a luxury spa, fishing on two lakes on the estate, shooting, claypigeon shooting, and horse riding, which will be based in an equestrian centre there.

It will also offer tennis, outdoor pursuits, biking and trails.

Lalco group operations director for hotels, Ian Wynne, said at the weekend that the resort will be fully integrated.

"A lot of resorts are primarily about golf, or they're primarily a spa destination, but we'll be offering a full range of activities, with none of them taking precedence over the other," he said. "And it will all be contained within the estate."

Mr Wynne added that the local authority and community both viewed the plans positively.

"We believe this development would be a major boon to tourist facilities in Wicklow," he said.

The company will keep ownership of the estate, but is in talks with a number of international hotel chains that are seeking to manage the property.

It has already done similar deals with Hilton, which is managing hotels for the company in Limerick and Kilmainham in Dublin.

Lalco has been actively developing its commercial and leisure businesses recently. Along with the hotels, it has also invested in office and industrial properties.

Lalco has interests in Dublin, the midlands, the west and midwest.

John Lally is originally from Galway. He trained as a quantity surveyor and set up Lalco in 1992 when he returned to Galway after spending five years in the UK.

He began his own property development business at a small level and has been expanding it steadily over the last 15 years.