Energy investor buys Blarney Golf Resort

Five years after first coming on the market, the Blarney Golf Resort in Blarney, Co. Cork, has been sold.

Northern Ireland businessman Tom O'Gorman, who famously turned a £1 investment in Cove Energy into a holding worth €8.8 million, has gone sale agreed on the property at a price understood to be in the region of the asking price, €2.5 million.

Mr O’Gorman is a 40 year veteran of the oil exploration and mining industries, investing in companies such as Minmet, Glencar, Pan Andean and Minco, but his biggest payday came with the sale of the aforementioned Cove Energy to the Thai Government owned PTTEP for € 1.9 billion in June 2012.

Mr O’Gorman has confirmed that it will be business as usual at the hotel, which he purchased as an investment and will continue to operate it as a hotel and golf resort, with plans for further investment in its facilities.

The property, which was developed at a cost of between €30-€40 million, was first placed on the market in February 2009 at €12.5 million, but its price was later slashed to €2.5 million.

Savills handled the sale on behalf of the receiver, Billy O’Riordan of Pricewaterhouse Coopers.