An overseas investor with links to the Irish hotel sector has acquired the Jurys Inn hotel in Limerick for close to the asking price of €3 million. CBRE Hotels handled the sale.

The 151-bedroom hotel overlooking the river Shannon in the city centre has been trading since 1997 and was offered for sale by the Jurys Inn Hotel Group after receiving expressions of interest.

There are no plans to sell any of the other 32 hotels located in Ireland, the UK and the Czech Republic.

Earlier this year the hotel chain completed a financial restructuring that resulted in its lenders taking a writedown on loans of about €351 million.

Additional investors were also brought on board with new equity of £120 million (€143 million) involved.

The hotel chain is owned by a group of mainly overseas institutional investors led by the Oman Investment Fund.

Business at the Limerick Inn has been affected by the over development of hotels in Limerick and the mid-western region during the property boom.

Bed rates
However, Jurys has remained highly competitive with bed and breakfast room rates of between €44 and €64 per night.

The new owners are expected to look at the option of moving the bar and restaurant from the basement to the ground floor.

John Brennan, chief executive of the hotel group, said the deal was good news for the hotel's existing employees who would be retained by the new owners.

John Hughes of CBRE said the sale had generated strong interest from existing hoteliers and a number of investors.