TMR Hotel Collection has finalised the purchase the 130-acre Ballymascanlon House Hotel and estate in Dundalk, Co Louth for a reported €15m, its first acquisition since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The four-star, 97-bed hotel and attendant grounds were purchased from the Quinn Family on behalf of the hotel group by Davy Real Estate for an undisclosed sum. Windward Management will manage Ballymascanlon House Hotel for TMR.
The deal brings the size of TMR's portfolio in Ireland to 14 four- and five-star hotels, with further acquisitions planned over the coming years. The group bought three hotels in 2019, prior to the Covid-enforced break in acquisitions.
Ballymascanlon Estate dates back to 883, and past guests at the hotel include George Best, Luciano Pavarotti, Adam Faith and Engelbert Humberdinck as well as football teams Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven. The Beatles also dined at the hotel following their Dublin concert in 1963.
TMR plans to make a multi-million euro investment in the hotel to upgrade bedrooms, food and beverage areas, and infrastructure and increase staff numbers. Following the investment, the TMR Hotel Collection will comprise over 1,625 rooms and 1,500 staff.
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Eimear Fox, director of TMR Hotel Collection and Davy Real Estate, its representative in Ireland, said: “Ballymascanlon House Hotel is synonymous with the social and business life of the north-east region and we are delighted to add it to our growing stable of luxury four and five-star hotels.
"Since acquiring our first hotel in 2014 each purchase has been followed by substantial investment and growth in visitor numbers and local economic impact. We hope to further build on the superb legacy of service and hospitality provided by the Quinn family over the past three-quarters of a century.
“Ballymascanlon will strongly complement our existing regional spread of resort hotels including Harvey’s Point, Aghadoe Heights, Connemara Coast Hotel, Diamond Coast Hotel, Mount Wolseley and Farnham Estate.
"We remain interested in acquisition opportunities likely focused on regional resort destinations with a strong reputation for quality service,” Fox added.
TMR Hotel Collection is owned by Austrian investor Thomas Röggla. The group reopened the Metro Hotel Dublin Airport in early 2020 following a €20m refurbishment necessitated by a damaging fire two years earlier.
TMR also announced a €60m investment programme after acquiring and upgrading three four-star hotels during 2019, including Harvey’s Point in Donegal and The Plaza and Tallaght Cross Hotels in Tallaght.
Photo: The 97-bed, 130-acre four-star Ballymascanlon House Hotel and estate in Dundalk, Co. Louth.
