Pre-tax profits at the family-owned hotel group that owns a number of hotels, including the Europa Hotel in Belfast, the Culloden in Co Down, and also co-owns Dublin’s Merrion Hotel increased 21% to £4.9m (€5.5m).

The firm that operates the Regency Hotel in Dublin plunged into the red in 2013 to record losses of €15.5m.

The €20m sale of Limerick city’s four-star Strand Hotel has gone through to US billionaire John Malone: he adds it to his other Irish hotel investments, such as Dublin’s Hilton Hotel, the Westin and the Trinity City Hotel.