Estate agent JLL is seeking upwards of €4.8 million for the freehold of Clonmel Park Hotel in Co Tipperary, which is currently leased by Irish investors Tetrarch Capital.
Tetrarch leased the 99-bed four-star hotel outside the Tipperary town two years ago for a sum that its chief executive, Michael McElligott, said was not significant.
JLL in Dublin has put the property's freehold on the market on behalf of the Poppyfield Hotel Consortium and is seeking bids of more than €4.8 million from prospective buyers.
The freehold was originally owned by businessman Jack Ronan, whose debts were transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which subsequently sold them on to investment fund Oaktree Capital.
Project Ruby
California-based Oaktree bought the debt as part of the Project Ruby and Emerald deals that it concluded with Nama last year.
Sources have speculated that Tetrarch could bid for the hotel, as it is already leasing the property. However, the investment firm itself has not commented.
In a brochure inviting bids, Dan O’Connor, JLL’s senior vice president hotels and hospitality, says that the Clonmel Park is due a rent review in 2018.
He points out that revenues at Irish provincial hotels grew about 11 per cent last year.
Along with its 99 rooms, the hotel has a bar and restaurant, meeting and function rooms, gym, swimming pool and other facilities. It is on the edge of Clonmel, which is Co Tipperary’s biggest town, and is close to the main Dublin-Cork road.
Tetrarch's other hotels include the Mount Juliet Estate in Co Kilkenny, Powerscourt in Co Wicklow, Killashee in Co Kildare, and the Market in Dublin city centre.
