The Burlington Hotel in Dublin has been sold to US group Blackstone for 67m euros. It was put up for sale in August at a quarter of the price it was bought for five years ago. Property developer Bernard McNamara purchased the hotel at the peak of the property boom in 2007 for 288m euros. In 2010, he admitted he was “broke” and had debts of around 1.5bn euros.
Receiver Grant Thornton put the hotel on the market with a guide price of 65 to 75m euros. The four star hotel has 501 bedrooms and occupies a 3.8 acre site in the prestigious Dublin 4 district. It is the largest hotel in the Irish capital.
Ken Caplan, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: “We are quite excited to be acquiring the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. This acquisition, and the additional 16m euros investment that we have planned for the hotel’s refurbishment, demonstrates our strong confidence in Ireland’s economic recovery.”
“We are hopeful to find additional investment opportunities here as well.”