Sales of hotels continue

New owners of Cork city’s Metropole Hotel are the Philips Hotel Group, who acquired the Cork International Airport Hotel, for c €5m, back in 2012.

The Metropole purchase precedes another strong Cork hotel sale, of the Carlton Hotel in Kinsale, understood to be making just over €6m via agents Savills. It is being sold to a new entrant to the busy Irish hotel transaction market, believed to be from Scotland.

The Carlton Hotel sale is advanced, but no announcement is imminent, according to Savills’ Denis O’Donoghue. The 70-bed Carlton Hotel, on 89 acres and with 14 lodges, attracted widespread inquiries, and the strength of the price paid, at almost 50% over the €4.25m guide, will raise comment, although it is now trading profitably. It was developed at a reported cost of €35m, and opened almost a decade ago.