Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is weighing the sale of more than €400 million ($550 million) of Irish hotel assets, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The lender’s Irish unit, Ulster Bank, would sell loans and lodgings in portions to generate more income, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The bank is also considering selling development land, in tranches, the people said. RBS spokesman Erfan Hussain declined to comment on the matter.
Ulster Bank Chief Executive Officer Jim Brown said in January his division has to wind down €9 billion ($15 million) of assets being put into a bad bank by the end of 2016. The bank hired investment bank Eastdil Secured LLC last month to advise on a separate potential sale of €1 billion of commercial-property assets.
Ulster Bank’s assets include a stake in three lodgings in Dublin’s Ballsbridge embassy district. Irish developer Sean Dunne bought the former Berkeley Court, the Towers and Jurys Hotel for about €380 million and Ulster Bank, Rabobank Groep NV and Kaupthing Bank took control of the hotels in 2009. Dunne was granted bankruptcy protection by Ireland’s High Court last year.
Revenue per available room, an industry measure of occupancies and rates, rose 11% to €71 at Irish hotels last year, according to data compiled by researcher STR Global. More than €200 million of hotels were sold in Ireland in 2013, London-based broker Savills Plc said 3 March.
Bloomberg
