Hanrattys spread hotel wings in Britain

DUBLIN hotel family the Hanrattys, vendors of the Howth Lodge Hotel back in 2000, and owners of the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff, have strengthened their UK portfolio.

They have acquired Edinburgh’s four-star Royal Terrace from the Meridien Group (owners of Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel) for €11 million, jointly with their UK business partners Liam and Sylvia Walsh.

The Hanratty family sold the Howth Lodge in Dublin several years ago, to Cosgrove Brothers for an unconfirmed £8 million, and a scheme of over 50 very upmarket apartments is close to going to market, some individually in the multi-million euro category.

The family headed by father Bernard, but now driven by brothers Gerard and Carl Hanratty, have since built up an impressive Irish and UK hotel portfolio.

They have now spent an estimated €8 million on the Eccles in West Cork (including purchase,) with 66 bedrooms and a constantly growing turnover with a strong UK and wedding business under manager Tos O’Brien.

The latest acquisition, the four star hotel in Edinburgh 5 minutes from Princes Street, is a joint venture with Liam and Sylvia Walsh. It is housed in a row of seven Georgian buildings, with 108 bedrooms.

This Scottish buy brings to five the number of hotels in the group, which now has hotels in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, the Helleby Hall House growing from 50 to 90 rooms with a new leisure centre and function rooms, The Stanneylands Wilmslow, Manchester and Quorn Hotel in Leicestershire.

The Glengarriff Eccles hotel was purchased in 2000, and with a three-star rating has since undergone a total restoration and refurbishment programme.