THE PRESTIGIOUS Belfry hotel and golf course near Birmingham, where Dublin golfer Paul McGinley sank the winning putt for Europe in the 2002 Ryder Cup, is set to become the latest part of the business empire controlled by Seán Quinn’s family to be sold from under them.
It is understood that the consortium of banks – Bank of Ireland, Barclays and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) – that funded the purchase of the facility in 2005 for £186 million have decided to sell the resort, which is heavily indebted.
Real estate group Jones Lang LaSalle is believed to have been appointed to handle the sale although the resort has not yet been listed on its website.
Reports have suggested that one Malaysian investor has already put an offer of £90 million on the table.
The Belfry in valued at just £88 million in the latest accounts filed for Quinn Property Investments Ltd, which controlled The Belfry.
While The Belfry has been servicing its debts, the sharp decline in its value in the recession prompted the banks to appoint Ernst Young to conduct a review of the business to help them to consider their options.
The Belfry is controlled by Mr Quinn’s son Seán jnr. It was purchased six years ago and the Quinns planned a large £150 million development that would have seen the hotel demolished and a new five-star facility built in its place.
The project was bunkered by the property crash.
Seán Quinn snr declared himself bankrupt in Belfast last month, a move that Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, is seeking to have annulled, while his family is in dispute with IBRC about certain overseas assets that they still control.
Quinn Group, the main holding company for the family’s business assets, is now in effect controlled by IBRC, while Quinn Insurance was sold to US group Liberty Mutual.
Situated about 11 miles from Birmingham, The Belfry comprises three golf courses and a 324-room hotel on 550 acres. It has hosted four Ryder Cups since 1985.
No comment was available from The Belfry yesterday. A recorded message stated that the hotel was closed for the Christmas break and would not reopen until today.
A spokesman for the Quinn family declined to comment.
