Brennan brothers seek €20.5m for Kenmare hotels as sale of Cork's €25m Imperial progresses

The Park Kenmare is guided at €17m and the Lansdowne Kenmare at €3.5m
Brennan brothers seek €20.5m for Kenmare hotels as sale of Cork's €25m Imperial progresses

Hallowed setting for Project Halo's two  Kenmare hotels for sale, The Park Kenmare and The Lansdowne Kenmare, via CBRE for a combined €20.5 million

A second iconic Munster hotel, the Park Hotel Kenmare, is set to change hands, along with the offer of the adjacent sister hotel also owned by hospitality gurus Francis and John Brennan, following the off-market sale currently in hand of Cork City’s Imperial Hotel, being picked up by hotelier Louis Fitzgerald.

The Park Kenmare dates to 1897.
The Park Kenmare dates to 1897.

The €17m sale offer of the 46-bed, five-star Park Hotel Kenmare was confirmed this week by brothers Francis and John Brennan, along with the proposed sale of their recently acquired four-star Lansdowne Hotel Kenmare, which has a separate price guide of €3.5m.

 John and Francis Brennan at The Park Kenmare. Picture: Domnick Walsh 
John and Francis Brennan at The Park Kenmare. Picture: Domnick Walsh 

The two historic Ring of Kerry town centre hotels, dating to the late 18th century in the case of the 28-bed Lansdowne, and the late 19th century in the case of 41-bed the Park Kenmare are offered by agents John Ryan and Paul Collins of CBRE, with a combined €20.5m guide, or as separate trading entities.

Imperial Hotel Cork City is due to change hands in an off-market deal said to be worth c €25m.
Imperial Hotel Cork City is due to change hands in an off-market deal said to be worth c €25m.

The CBRE sale of the Brennan’s duo, dubbed Project Halo, follows on reports of the intended advanced sale of the Flynn Group-owned Imperial Hotel on Cork’s South Mall, exclusively reported in the Irish Examiner last Friday and with the Imperial’s proposed sale proposal sent to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on Monday of this week.

The purchase price isn’t yet known, but property sources say it may be in the region of €25m for the 200 year old, 100-bedroomed Imperial Hotel.

The CCPC identifies the suitor buyers as a company Belbyford, owned and controlled by Louis Fitzgerald and Helen Fitzgerald, who are listed as the majority shareholders and controllers of the Fitzgerald Group which owns two Dublin hotels.

Imperial owner John Flynn and Louis Fitzgerald last week declined to comment on the sale of Cork’s oldest ‘Grande Dame’ hotel on South Mall.

Meanwhile, heritage town Kenmare’s leading hotel duo are now publicly on the market, intrinsically linked to hotelier Francis Brennan.

The Park was bought out of receivership in the 1980s, managed by Francis Brennan,  when it was associated with a Dutch speculator Ernst Weeland who bought it for £147,000 after CIE put the one-time Great Southern Railway (GSR) hotel  up for sale in 1977.

The Brennan brothers in the spa area of the Park hotel Kenmare. Picture: Dominick Walsh
The Brennan brothers in the spa area of the Park hotel Kenmare. Picture: Dominick Walsh

Aged 70 this year, Francis Brennan will end a 41 year link with The Park, once sold, and now lives in a luxury apartment, one of 18 developed in the hotel grounds in the 2000s known as The Retreats, which he bought last year after selling his rural home off the Ring of Kerry.

The bar area of the Park Hotel was also recently renovated, engaging with London-based BOS studios. Picture: Domnick Walsh
The bar area of the Park Hotel was also recently renovated, engaging with London-based BOS studios. Picture: Domnick Walsh

The iconic Park is currently owned in a three-way partnership with his brother John, and investor Fergal Naughton, chair of Glen Dimplex who bought in after The Retreats sales’ timing in 2008 hit hard times for the Brennans.

The brothers, co-presenters of RTÉ’s At Your Service which advises struggling hospitality ventures and is now in its 13th season, bought the Lansdowne in 2020 after it went into receivership. They then embarked on a €3m plus upgrade of both their Kenmare town hotels.

The entry way to the Lansdowne Hotel.
The entry way to the Lansdowne Hotel.

John Brennan will continue to separately own and run the Kenmare river-fronting Dromquinna Manor as a hotel/function venue and glamping business with his wife Gwen.

Live on the Pier at Dromquinna Manor in 2018.
Live on the Pier at Dromquinna Manor in 2018.

CBRE’s Paul Collins said “we are honoured to be appointed to sell these two hotel gems. The sale offers purchasers the opportunity to acquire the two hotels as a single lot, and benefit from the economies of scale, or they can be purchased individually.

“The hotels are trading exceptionally well and there is the potential for further development adjacent to both properties, subject to obtaining planning permission,” he added.

Vendors and brothers John and Francis Brennan said that after Francis’s 43 years at the helm of the Park Hotel Kenmare “we have taken the decision to exit on a high and place the hotel together with its sister property, the Lansdowne Kenmare, on the market”.

They spent Tuesday afternoon contacting regular guests of the Park to tell them of their decision, they told Today with Claire Byrne on RTÉ radio yesterday.

“As you can imagine it was not an easy or quick decision to make. The Park has enjoyed a wonderful life making many peoples’ stay with us memorable and while only in its infancy, The Lansdowne Kenmare, is following in its footsteps. Nothing is forever and while we have invested heavily in recent years to ensure both properties are pristine, we feel the time is right to take some time to ourselves, pursue other interests and business opportunities."

DETAILS: CBRE, 01 6185500

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