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IRELAND’S BIGGEST HOTELIER is in talks about buying out a rival chain in a move which would add 10 more properties to its fast-growing portfolio.
The Dalata Hotel Group confirmed today it was in “exclusive discussions” about buying the Moran & Bewley’s Hotel Group, which owns hotels in both the UK and Ireland.
Agents have put an estimated €450 million pricetag on the smaller hotel group, whose venues include the four-star Bewley’s Hotel in Ballsbridge, which fills a huge Victorian-era building near the RDS.
The portfolio also includes, among others:
In a statement today, Dalata said: “There can be no certainty at this time that a transaction will procees and we will update shareholders in due course”.
Two rival bidders, US-based funds Starwood Capital Group and Marathon Asset Management, have previously been earmarked as in the final running to buy the hotel group.
Buyout would be a “coup” for cashed-up Dalata
The Moran & Bewley’s group was formed in 2008 when Limerick businessman Tom Moran bought the Bewley’s chain after starting out in 1988 with his purchase of Dublin’s Red Cow Inn.
Dalata recently bought two four-star hotels in Galway and Wexford for €31.7 million with some of the funds it raised during its €265 million stock market float.
It currently operates 38 hotels with almost 6,000 bedrooms, but the Moran & Bewley’s buyout would mean it had taken over its first properties outside Ireland, except for the Maldron Hotel it already runs in Wales.
Goodbody analyst Colm Foley said if Dalata pulled off the deal it would be a “significant coup” for the hotel company given the strong competition from other bidders for the smaller firm.
“This deal would bring Dalata to full investment, including leverage, and we believe could see the company return to the market to raise further capital,” he said.
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Hotels in economic difficulties are bought up by Multinationals = people give out….Hotels in economic difficulties close down = people give out…. Some people are just never satisfied
because the majority of these hotels should have never left on the market in the first place. 25% were built above demand solely for tax reasons, most never made a single Euro operational profit since their opening – thereby seriously distorting the market, killing off others who could have survived otherwise. Amongst those owned and run in a family for 150years. Keeping them open and running on operational loses to preserve the property value with no regards to what it does to the Irish hotel industry is reckless.
And concentrating large hotel portfolios in a small market like Ireland in a few hands can’t be good either. Except for the ‘few hands’ holding these portfoilios, of course.
That’s the problem with hoarders they can’t stop at one they have to buy at least 20 of everything .
More rooms to triple in price when some gig / event is planned.
Bewley’s Ballsbridge 4 Star! It’s OK but 4 stars no way………………..
Star of Moloch if you look on the top right.
http://www.irishmasonichistory.com/uploads/1/0/3/8/10381775/7377975_orig.jpg
Former Masonic School for Girls. The long.. http://www.irishmasonichistory.com/the-masonic-girls-school-dublin-1792-to-1892.html ..and short of it http://www.bewleyshotels.com/ballsbridge/history
If you walk in the door you trip over Freemason symbols.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U8uRXQ9Wk2s/U0lb7N1A59I/AAAAAAAAavk/BgyTqsWsQaA/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG
Not good for competition
And the rich get richer…..
Here we go again!
Dalata’ll be your lot. The corporations grow like viruses.
Thanks Peter. Any information at all about who the “Dalata Group” might be, or am I obliged to research it myself?
Here’s a bit of background: Dalata was set up by former Jurys Doyle Hotel Group boss Pat McCann in 2007 and it went public in March this year. Since then it has been buying up a bunch of hotels with the €265m it raised on the share market, as mentioned in the story.
There’s plenty more on their investor page if you’re interested, but I won’t bore everyone here with endless details:
http://investors.dalatahotelgroup.com/
Much obliged.
Recently purchased the City West Hotel and Convention centre
Technically, isn’t NAMA still the biggest owner of hotels in Ireland?
I bet you they’re interested… http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/irelands-burgeoning-loan-sales-industry/
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