The 157-bed Moxy Dublin City hotel has been sold for €35 million in what is the first major Dublin hotel sale of the year, and the first since the start of the pandemic.
The hotel on Sackville Place just off O'Connell Street was sold by the Spitzer family's Midwest Holding group to the MHL Hotel Collection, whose properties also include The Westin, The Intercontinental and the Powerscourt Resort in Co Wicklow.
Prior to the pandemic Dublin’s hotel sector was thriving. At the start of 2020, approximately 99 hotels, aparthotels or other forms of guest accommodation were either the subject of a planning application or under development across Dublin’s four local authority areas.
The off-market transaction was announced by property agent CBRE. It said the process attracted strong interest from a significant number of established domestic and international property investors, hotel funds and private equity companies.
“The process highlighted that the level of international interest remains robust for Dublin as an attractive location for hotel investment,” it said.
The addition of the Moxy Dublin City brings MHL's stable of venues to 12. The hotel chain was formed in 2013 by its three partners John Malone, an American billionaire who is a major investor in Virgin Media-owner Liberty Global, and property developers Paul Higgins and John Lally. It is now the second largest hotel group in Dublin city centre with about 1,400 bedrooms across seven hotels.
The Moxy Dublin City will be its third Marriott-branded hotel alongside the five-star Westin Dublin and Powerscourt Hotel Resort Spa.
Commenting on the purchase, Mr Higgins said: “The last 15 months have been very difficult for our staff, customers and everyone in the sector. We are pleased that hotels will be opening from June 2nd, 2021, and hope that the rest of the hospitality sector can follow soon. We are delighted to have purchased the Dublin Moxy.”
CBRE's Alexandra Sheeran said "The Moxy Dublin City is the first major deal to close in just over a year in the Dublin hotel market. The level of interest shown from investors gives us great confidence for future transactions in Dublin, and its new owners MHL will benefit considerably from the major developments planned in the immediate area, including the redevelopment of Clerys department store and the exciting plans Hammerson have for their Dublin central site."
