Up to 30 Irish hotels with a combined value of €200 million could be sold this year, according to Tom Barrett, director of hotels and leisure at property agent Savills. This would prove a substantial increase on Irish hotel sales figures for 2012, with 24 hotels at an estimated value of €150 million sold during the year.
Many of the transactions over the last 18 months have been one-off purchases, according to Barrett, but some buyers have also expressed an interest in purchasing further hotels in Ireland.
"All types of people are looking and buying; when you meet foreign investors for the first time, they tend to be focused on Dublin but that changes once they see what's on offer beyond that," he said.
Hotels coming onto the market span the spectrum of establishments, with small 3-star hotels and luxury hotels both equally represented in sales. Irish hotels are now attracting a new mix of buyers too, according to Barrett, with local and foreign investors and hotel franchise operators, as well as those who have no industry experience entering the market. What makes the sales different from those in the past is that acquisitions are now seen by buyers as businesses in their own right, rather than being seen as speculative investments.
"Most of the hotels we are selling are profitable and are making more than they did back in 2007. Today, there is a much greater focus on managing costs while before it was often about making a good impression. Today's hotels have to look smart, but they also have to make money," Barrett said.
"In the past, when hotels were sold, it was invariably for redevelopment of some kind. Today, we are seeing trade in hotels as functioning, profitable businesses," he added. (20 June)
