The property developer Jerry O’Reilly has sold the Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa in Killarney, Co Kerry, to a fund controlled by the rapidly expanding asset managers Davy.
The off-market sale comes after O'Reilly also disposed of a number of other property investments including his shareholding in the Hilton Hotel at Charlemont Place in Dublin at the request of Nama.
Davy Strategic Capital Investments paid just over €6 million for the five-star hotel which is understood to have avoided any losses in 2012 and 2013 and showed signs of doing even better this year in line with many other leading tourist hotels.
Room rates
Average room rates in Killarney are the highest in the country, according to a recent survey by hotels.com, with the charges rising by 5 per cent in the first half of 2013 compared to a national average rise of 2 per cent.
The Aghadoe has 74 bedrooms, 30 of them suites, two bars, a restaurant, a modern gym and a swimming pool that boasts panoramic views over the famous Killarney lakes.
Although the hotel has been inundated with enquiries about the feasibility of holding wedding receptions there it is not in a position yet to cater for this business because one of its function rooms seats no more than 12 guests while the other can accommodate only 80 people.
The new owners are expected to quickly remedy that situation.
The hotel was sold as a going concern by Kirsty Rothwell of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald without any management contract in place.
