Receiver appointed to two hotels in Lynch group

A RECEIVER has been appointed to two hotels in the Ennis-based Lynch Hotel Group, by Bank of Scotland (Ireland), putting around 100 jobs at risk.

The group — headed by Michael B Lynch — saw a large number of cancellations across its portfolio of seven hotels in the west of the country in the run-up to Christmas, due to the overly harsh weather conditions in November and December. This resulted in nearly 900 bednights lost.

The Lynch Group operates seven hotels — the Clare Inn, Breaffy House, Breaffy Woods, Ocean Cove, The George, the West County and the South Court — across the three counties of Clare, Limerick and Mayo. However, only two of these properties — the Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar and the Clare Inn Hotel in Dromoland — are going into receivership.

In a statement, the Lynch Group said the decision of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to withdraw from the Irish market “has had a serious impact on the group’s ability to source working capital over the winter months, as has been standard practice in the hotel industry over the last number of years”.

“We had a duty to move to protect the 500 employees’ jobs in our seven properties and do right by their families in these harsh economic times. It is with great regret that we have had to make this decision but I am happy that in our discussions with the bank and receiver we have secured a position where the properties will remain open and continue to trade,” Mr Lynch said.

While the identity of the receiver has not been revealed, it is believed to be Grant Thornton.

“When one sees five-star properties offering €55 bed and breakfast rates it is a sure sign of how the hotel industry is really hurting. With average room rates down 15% this year, it has made it much harder to trade in the family and corporate markets and to command any sort of rate to cover costs and meet our expenses,” Mr Lynch added last night.