Dalata Hotel Group has entered into an agreement to acquire the freehold interest of certain elements of the Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane and the Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley for €62.5 million.
Dalata will acquire the freehold interest of Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane's ground and lower ground floors, 170 bedrooms and vacant ground floor area, bringing the total number of bedrooms owned by Dalata at the Clayton Cardiff Lane to 193. The company holds a lease on these elements until 2040, at an annual rent of €2.524m per annum, subject to upward only rent reviews at five year intervals.
The agreement will also see Dalata acquire the freehold of the core hotel of the Clarion Liffey Valley. The company currently manages this hotel under a short-term management agreement for the receiver, which generated €500k in fee income in 2016. The remaining 194 rooms are owned by individual investors and are not included in this sale.
The transaction for the hotels is subject to approval of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and upon its expected completion in June, the Clarion Liffey Valley will be rebranded as Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley.
Deputy CEO of Business Development and Finance Dermot Crowley said, "We have been seeking to purchase as much of the freehold of Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane as possible since we floated the company in March 2014. I am delighted that we will now own the majority of the hotel and that as a result of this transaction, we will be able to add much needed conference facilities to the hotel in an area of the property that is currently in a shell and core condition."
Crowley added, "We have managed the Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley since March 2016 and are very excited about the potential of this hotel under the Clayton brand.”
This announcement comes accompanied by the news that Dalata has entered into a separate agreement with receivers to acquire the freehold interest of the Maldron Hotel Portlaoise, and adjoining Midway Foodcourt.
Crowley commented that, "This transaction is consistent with our stated strategy of buying out the freehold interests of those leased properties with future unpredictable rent reviews.”
