DEVELOPER PADDY Kelly is winding up a property management company whose business has been eliminated by the fall in demand for office space.
Premier Hotel Management Ltd – so called because it is an offshoot of the Prem Group hotel chain – is holding a creditors’ meeting next month to appoint a liquidator.
The company, 81 per cent controlled by Mr Kelly and his family through Vara Investments, leased and managed offices in Dublin’s city centre, but the decline in this business has forced its board to begin winding up the company.
Its main creditors are the Revenue Commissioners, the local authority and its shareholders, who, along with Mr Kelly, include Prem Group chief executive Jim Murphy, and past and present employees of the company.
While Premier Hotel Management Ltd has both a shareholder and directors in common with Prem Group, a spokeswoman for the hotels business said yesterday that there was no legal connection between the two companies. Mr Kelly recently sold his stake in the hotel company. Premier Hotel Management began operations in 1996 managing both hotels and offices. It originally owned the Prem Group name.
In 2005, Prem’s owners, including Mr Kelly and Mr Murphy, decided to split the two businesses. A new entity, Premier Hotels, took over the hotels business, while the original company continued with the office management. Mr Kelly kept control of Premier Hotel Management through Vara Investments, which he and his family own outright through another vehicle, Gracelyn.
Premier Hotel Management leased offices in areas such as Fitzwilliam Street, Baggot Street and Dawson Street in Dublin, and provided managed services and offices to businesses. It has since surrendered the leases to the properties’ landlords. Mr Kelly was one of the property boom’s most active developers. However, his empire has collapsed over the last two years. National Irish Bank recently won an €8.5 million judgment against him.
Prem Group runs the Days and Premier hotel chains in Ireland and Europe. The company employs 1,400 people.
