Dalata to acquire two Dublin city centre hotels

Dalata Hotel Group, which floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in March, has agreed to acquire two Dublin city centre hotels, the first since its €265 million flotation.

It will pay € 15.3 million in cash to acquire a freehold interest in the Maldron Hotel, Parnell Square, Dublin 1, with the transaction expected to complete in August of this year. The hotel is a three-star hotel with 126 rooms and two conference rooms. It has been operated by the group since August 2007 under the terms of a 25 year leasehold agreement with an annual rent of € 1.1 million a year, subject to upward only rent reviews at five year intervals. The next rent review is due in March 2017.

The group is also set to pay €14.4 million in cash for the freehold interest in the Pearse Hotel, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, including adjoining retail and office properties. The deal is expected to close within three months. Facilities at the hotel include 101 en-suite bedrooms, bar/restaurant, and five conference rooms. The adjoining retail and office properties extend to 392.7 square metres. Profits attributable to the Pearse Hotel in 2013 were € 0.7 million.

According to Dalata, it plans to carry out an extensive refurbishment programme and restore the property to a high quality four-star hotel. The hotel will be re branded as Maldron Hotel Pearse Street, and will bring the company’s number of Maldron properties in Dublin up to six (Cardiff Lane, Parnell Square, Smithfield, Tallaght, Citywest and Dublin Airport).