A group of Irish investors are in pole position to buy a €165 million hotel in Florida with connections to the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) tour.
RQB, led by property investors Paul Pardy, Niall McFadden and Paddy Kelly, is the preferred of two bidders for the Marriott resort hotel at Sawgrass, Jacksonville, Florida. The hotel is next to the Sawgrass golf course, home of golf's "fifth" major competition, the Players' Championship.
The hotel does not own Sawgrass, but controls the booking for tee times there, and most of those who play there stay at the hotel. It has more than 500 rooms.
It is also the official hotel for the Players' Championship and the Tournament Players' Club.
Its current owner, Sigma investment fund, is selling the property, and RQB, headed by chief executive, Mr Pardy, is one of the last two bidders for the hotel.
Mr Pardy confirmed this to The Irish Times at the weekend. "We are the preferred bidder for the property," he said. He was not able to reveal the other party's name.
The hotel is likely to be sold for over $200 million (€165 million). RQB intends funding the purchase through bank debt and private equity contributed by Irish investors.
Sawgrass, the headquarters of the PGA Tour, is well known to golf players and fans of the sport.
It has two courses, the stadium course and the valley course. The stadium is used in the Players' Championship, and is well known for its 17 hole, which is on a distinctive island green.
Architect Pete Dye designed both courses, which were cut from 415 acres of woodland.
The stadium is set to undergo a $25 million renovation that will include a Mediterranean style clubhouse.
Last year's Players' Championship featured the best field in any professional golf tournament in 2005, and also had the richest prize money purse, at $8 million.
Fred Funk won it in 2005, beating the top 125 players on the PGA tour, and, at 48, becoming the oldest winner in the competition's history.
In 2004, Adam Scott became the youngest winner in the championship's history when he pipped Irishman Pádraig Harrington by just one stroke.
RQB's principals are already well known in Irish business. Both Mr Kelly and Mr McFadden have been involved in a number of high profile property deals. Mr Pardy is a former Anglo Irish Bank executive.
The Sawgrass Marriott will be RQB's first foray outside the Republic, if the company is successful in bidding for the property.
The company has raised €50 million since May, and has invested in a number of properties.
Its investments include an office block in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, a mixed residential and commercial holding off Clanbrassil Street in Dublin's city centre, and a site in Castleknock, Dublin.
It has also embarked on a joint venture with Pierse Construction to build a 300-unit residential development at Carrickmines, Dublin.
