Nama to place eight more hotels on market

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) is planning to put another eight hotels in Ireland up for sale as part of its ongoing wind-down of loans and assets.

The hotels are Fels Point near Tralee, Co Kerry; the Maldron in Wexford; the Clonmel Park in Co Tipperary; the three-star South Court in Limerick; the Killeshin in Portlaoise, Co Laois; the four-star Osprey and Spa in Naas, Co Kildare; the Glenroyal in Maynooth, Co Kildare; and Johnstown House Hotel and Spa in Enfield, Co Meath.

While the hotels will be marketed as part of a portfolio they would be expected to be sold separately given their different geographic locations and characteristics.

The sale process is expected to begin shortly although it is not clear how much Nama will seek for the hotels.

Projects Nadal and Venue

This is the latest group of hotels to be put on the market by its lenders.

Ulster

Bank is selling eight hotels as part of Project Nadal while Nama has engaged Savills to sell three properties (the 172-bedroom Malton in Killarney, the four-star Kilkenny Ormonde and the three-star Metropole in Cork) under the title Project Venue.

Nama had 115 hotels on its books a year ago but has been gradually reducing its exposure to the sector. There is likely to be strong interest in the hotels, given the frenzied buying that has taken place in the sector this year.

Potential bidders would be expected to include the cash- rich Irish listed company Dalata, which is the biggest hotel operator in the country and is run by Pat McCann. It operates the Maldron brand and runs the Wexford property being marketed by Nama under a lease agreement.

Investment group Brehon Capital, chaired by businessman Paul Connolly, recently acquired the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Co Dublin, its sixth hotel acquisition here. Its other properties include the five- star Marker in Dublin, the Mount Juliet resort in Co Kilkenny and the Powerscourt Hotel in Enniskerry.

Tifco, an Irish company led by Enda O'Meara with 14 hotels across Ireland, would also be expected to run the rule over some of the hotels.

It operates the Johnstown House Hotel & spa in Meath under a management contract. The property opened in 2000 and has 126 rooms.