Hotels Properties, the hospitality and hotel management group headed by Sheila O’Riordan, has acquired the newly developed Wellington Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar for about €14 million*.
The price paid for the boutique venue represents a 22 per cent discount on the €18 million which had been sought for the property when it was first offered to the market by CBRE in May 2022, and a lesser, 5 per cent reduction on the hotel’s most recent asking price of €15 million. The sale of the property was handled by joint agents Colliers and CBRE on behalf of receivers Declan Taite and Sharon Barrett of Kroll Advisory Ltd.
The Wellington briefly comprises a 38-bedroom hotel complemented by bar and restaurant facilities extending to 340sq m (3,660sq ft). The hotel occupies a high-profile corner position in Temple Bar, overlooking the River Liffey and within a short walk of the city’s most popular tourist areas including Trinity College, City Hall, Christchurch, the Guinness Storehouse, the GPO, St Stephen’s Green, and Grafton Street.
The Wellington’s new owner, Hotels Properties, is, according to its website, an independent, family-owned property development, management and hospitality group with operations in Ireland and the UK.
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The group’s CEO, Sheila O’Riordan, is perhaps best known as the co-founder along with Nina Gillett of the Key Collections, a company which prior to the arrival of Covid-19 had been generating €20 million in annual revenues from the operation of seven hotels, three guest houses, and the short-term letting of executive apartments here and in the UK.
Outside of the purchase of the Wellington Hotel, the Hotels Properties group is currently responsible for the operations of five hotels, three short-stay apartment schemes, two pubs, two B&Bs, and two convenience stores. Several of these properties, including the Gate Hotel on Dublin’s Parnell Street and the boutique Exhibitionist and Gainsborough hotels in London’s Kensington previously formed part of the Key Collections portfolio.
Commenting on her company’s purchase of the Wellington Hotel, Hotel Properties CEO, Sheila O’Riordan said she was confident it would be “an excellent addition to our growing portfolio of assets”.
Patrick Ryan of joint selling agent Colliers said: “The potential combination of multiple revenue streams in an unrivalled location within Temple Bar ensured very significant interest from the market. The successful purchaser is a very well-established hotel-operating company and is expected to trade exceptionally well in this new location.”
Alexandra Sheeran of CBRE added: “This a superb opportunity for the Hotel Properties group to operate a landmark newly built 38-bedroom hotel in the heart of Temple Bar. We wish them the very best of luck with this great property.”
*This article was amended to correct an error
