THE ADMINISTRATORS of Quinn Insurance Ltd are poised to agree the sale of the former Seán Quinn-owned Crowne Plaza hotel in Cambridge, England, for just under £38 million.
The Irish Timeshas learned that Grant Thornton, the administrator of Quinn Insurance Ltd, has agreed to sell the 198-bedroom property to the Livingstone brothers, Ian and Richard, who acquired the Four Seasons hotel in Dublin last year.
The deal is expected to close by the end of this month. The sale forms part of the administrator’s plans to dispose of various Quinn Insurance business assets. The administrators also plan to sell Quinn hotels in Krakow, Poland and Sofia, Bulgaria, later this year.
The hotel was put on the market last August for £35 million and marketed by estate agent Christie + Co. The administrators – Michael McAteer and Paul McCann – were appointed by the financial regulator in March 2010.
They recently concluded the sale of Quinn Insurance to a group comprising Boston-based Liberty Mutual and Irish Bank Reconciliation Corporation, which is administering the Anglo Irish Bank wind-down. The two parties put €200 million of fresh capital into the business. This did not include Quinn Insurance’s operations in the UK, which are being managed by Liberty for the Administrator.
The US insurer has the option to acquire the UK business this year. Quinn Insurance’s business in the Republic was recently rebranded as Liberty Insurance.
Situated about 30 miles from Stansted Airport, the Crowne Plaza includes the Bloomsbury’s restaurant, a gym, meeting space and is thought to require some modernisation. The hotel is owned by Quinn Property Holding’s subsidiary company Shamrock Public Houses Limited. Quinn Property Holdings is a subsidiary of Quinn Insurance.
