The hotel & leisure team in Ireland, which has been instructed to sell hotel properties valued at a total of approximately €95 million so far in 2012, and provided advice and valuations for 20% of all Irish hotel stock over the last 12 months.
Tom Barrett, who heads the team, says the market is ripe for investors to snap up quality assets at a good price.
So far in 2012 the team has won 10 key Ireland hotel instructions including mandates to sell five-star hotel resort Ashford Castle in County Mayo at a guide price of €25 million, River Lee Hotel in Cork for €24.5m, Dublin’s Jurys Inn for €23m and four-star Parknasilla Resort and Spa in County Kerry for €10 million.
In addition, the team has successfully advised on the sale of Cork International Airport Hotel for €5 million and The Clare Inn Hotel, near Limerick, for €2.1 million. Three further properties are currently under offer and the team has also been appointed as sole letting agent of The Clyde Court Hotel and The Ballsbridge Hotel, both in Dublin.
Tom Barrett, head of hotels & leisure at Savills Ireland, says: “After three challenging years with few transactions, in 2012 we have seen the Irish hotel market return to life with the majority of sales controlled by the banks.
While the country’s economy is picking up, hotel properties are still coming onto the market at prices below what it would cost to build in some priceless locations. With a stagnant development pipeline, particularly in Dublin, we expect hotel values to rise steadily making them a more stable investment.
In particular we have seen international buyers starting to take note of this potential and in recent months we have seen interest from investors from the US, Asia, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux and the UK.”
The Dublin hotel market, which benefits from tourist and business trade, has proved particularly attractive to investors. The return of international corporate travel has boosted occupancy rates which average at 80% in three to five-star hotels across the Irish capital.
Tom continues: “Business travellers in Dublin can book quality four-star rooms at €100 per night, which is relatively cheap compared with other European capital cities. With the EMEA headquarters of global businesses such as Google, LinkedIN, Facebook, PayPal, Intel, HP and Microsoft located in the city it is often chosen for hosting international conferences and conventions further boosting occupancy levels.”