INua targets more hotel acquisitions
HOTEL group iNua Hospitality, owner of the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney, is targeting further acquisitions after snapping up the Radisson Blu in Sligo for €15m to €16m.
The deal bolsters the company’s portfolio of hotels to seven and the rapidly growing enterprise plans to buy another venue in the Midlands in the autumn on the back of rising tourist numbers from the US and Europe.
The group, part of the iNua Partnership that also owns the Ditchley healthcare investment vehicle, generated record earnings of €7.1m last year.
According to chief operations officer of iNua Hospitality Sean O’Driscoll, the business is “not impacted” by Brexit, with the US and Europe accounting for the rise in visitor numbers.
Last week the Central Statistics Office published figures showing trips to Ireland by UK residents increased by 13.1pc to 263,500 in February compared to the same period last year.
Visits by residents of European countries, apart from the UK, leapt by 18.3pc to 202,100, while trips by residents of the US and Canada rose 5.4pc to 79,600.
Mr O’Driscoll described the purchase of the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Sligo as a “successful and well-performing business and an excellent addition to our existing regional hospitality portfolio”.