Ireland's Dalata acquires four hotels for €40m

Dalata Hotel Group, Ireland’s largest hotel operator, has conditionally agreed to acquire the leasehold interest of four hotels for €40 mln in cash.

The hotels are the Gibson Hotel Dublin, the Croydon Park Hotel in Croydon, the Clarion Hotel Cork and the Clarion Hotel Limerick.

The leasehold interest comprises of operating leases with an average term of 18 years. As part of the transaction, Dalata will also take over the management of the Clarion Liffey Valley Hotel, Dublin under a short-term management contract.

The hotels in question are currently operated as part of the Choice Hotel Group.

Dalata plans to invest €14 mln over the next two years in refurbishing the hotels in Cork, Limerick and Croydon. The four leasehold properties will be rebranded to Clayton Hotels, increasing the Clayton portfolio to 18 hotels.

'We are very excited about the opportunity to secure the leasehold interests of these four hotels and the contract to manage Clarion Liffey Valley Hotel,' said deputy CEO Dermot Crowley. 'This transaction gives Dalata a further 960 rooms in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Limerick. All three cities are experiencing strong RevPar growth in the recovering Irish economy. The transaction also allows us to further grow our portfolio in the UK with the addition of 211 rooms in Croydon.’