Sean Dunne to buy Berkeley Court Hotel site for €119m

Property developer Sean Dunne has agreed to pay €119 million for the site of the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin, Jurys Doyle confirmed last night.

In a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange, Jurys said the deal would result in net proceeds of about €118 million and a profit on book value of about €71.5 million.

The €119 million valuation, which comes after the assumption of tax liabilities, is well ahead of forecasts for the property. It values the Berkeley Court site at between €57-€58 million per acre, surpassing the €57 million per acre Mr Dunne paid for the adjoining Jurys Ballsbridge site last month.

The deal will leave Mr Dunne in control of seven acres in Ballsbridge. He is also seen as the likely buyer for the former UCD veterinary college site, which spans two acres beside the Berkeley Court. Tenders for this site close on November 30th.

The developer competed against six other bidders for the Berkeley Court site. Mr Dunne has outlined plans to develop a high-class apartment project on the Jurys Ballsbridge site and is now expected to extend this.

Jurys, which is in the process of being taken over by a consortium led by the Doyle family, said it expected to use the net proceeds of the sale to pay down group debt. They will be added to the net proceeds of €258 million gained on the Jurys Ballsbridge site, significantly easing the burden of acquisition costs for the Doyle-led consortium, JDH.

Under the terms of the sale, Jurys should remain on the Berkeley Court site until late 2007. The firm is also expected to remain on the Jurys Ballsbridge site until this date.

Yesterday was the closing date for JDH's offer and it is understood the consortium had achieved a 98 per cent acceptance rate by close of business. The consortium will move to compulsorily acquire the remainder of the company.