Blackstone has acquired the largest hotel in Dublin at a 77% discount to the price it last traded at in 2007. The US private equity firm paid EUR 67 mln for the four-star Burlington Hotel.
Blackstone has acquired the largest hotel in Dublin at a 77% discount to the price it last traded at in 2007. The US private equity firm paid EUR 67 mln for the four-star Burlington Hotel.
The 501-bedroom hotel was sold by receiver Grant Thornton, acting on behalf of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency (Nama). Property adviser CBRE was in charge of the marketing process.
Ken Caplan, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: 'This acquisition, and the additional EUR 16 mln investment that we have planned for the hotel's refurbishment, demonstrates our strong confidence in Ireland's economic recovery.' 'We hope to find additional investment opportunities here as well,' he added.
Back in 2007 Bernard McNamara, one of Ireland's most high-profile property developers, bought the hotel from Jurys Doyle Hotel for EUR 288 mln.
Like many other Irish real estate investors McNamara has seen his property empire collapse in recent years with massive debts. McNamara owes some EUR 1.5 bn, of which several hundred million is owed to Nama.
Ireland's Sunday Independent newspaper revealed recently that McNamara had himself declared bankrupt by a court in the UK in early November 2012. Nama learned of the decision the following day and it is continuing its efforts to recoup debt owed on various properties acquired by McNamara during the boom years.
Blackstone has also reportedly exchanged contracts to buy the Adelphi office building on London's Embankment from Dubai investment fund Istithmar for around £260 mln (EUR 321 mln). According to UK magazine Property Week, the US real estate fund management giant is acquiring the 27,120 m² building for a yield of around 7.5%.
