The spirited €250m investment next door (or other varied accommodation?)  could boost sale hopes of Midleton guest business

Hospitable accommodation An Stór has many optional uses

An Stór at Drury's Avenue Midleton has 11 en suite Fáilte Ireland  bedrooms and a studio apartment. Guide price is €850,0000

INITIAL interest in a Midleton town centre Fáilte Ireland guest accommodation business up for sale as a going concern may also be  expected to come from investors looking to accommodate refugees, as well as hosting construction workers if planning comes through for a new €250m extension to the East Cork town’s famous distillery.

Irish Distillers seeks approval for a €250 million investment plan for new distillery in Midleton The

Listed with a with a €850,000 AMV is An Stór, a long-established 11-room guest accommodation townhouse in a part stone-faced three-storey building on Drury’s Avenue:it's just east of Main Street and within a five-minute stroll of the Jameson Distillery Visitor Centre.

Irish Distillers is planning a major expansion on 55 acres next to its existing distillery, with a public meeting due in the town tomorrow to outline the €250m investment and construction schedule over the next three years.

The company, due to celebrate a 200th anniversary in 2025 in Midleton, says the vast expansion will provide 800 construction jobs, and 100 more full-time jobs, as well as increase demand for grain crops for distilling by 50% to allow of a number of its brands growth, including Jameson, Midleton, and Powers.

Design of the new facility, announced last September and due to be submitted for planning shortly (set to be carbon neutral) is by Arup, with Harry Walsh Associates.

Great store in An Stor

The adjacent accommodation business An Stór, has been run for over two decades by Maria and Frank Murphy, who has run a family-owned  butchers on Main Street, now in next generation hands.

The couple is retiring from the accommodation business, says agent David McCarthy of Lisney, selling jointly with local agent Martin O’Farrell.

An Stór has 11 en suite bedrooms (some able to  take several beds for families) and one studio apartment, with a full range of facilities including a commercial kitchen and guest kitchen at ground level.

The guest rooms are on the upper two floors with two staircases, and older portions of the building were in previous historical use as workshops and stores.

The selling agents expect buyer interest from guesthouse operators as a going concernt (room rates showing online are c €95.50  per double room, or €65 per single rooms)  as well as from a wider spectrum, including those making accommodation available to refugees and asylum seekers and other niche markets.

The property spans over 4,700 sq ft, over three levels and include 11 off-street car parking spaces, with key selling points being existing profitable trade, central location as well as the B3 BER.

DETAILS: Lisney, 021 4275079 and John O’Farrell & Sons, 021 4631194.