US businessman snaps up Dublin Hilton hotel for €30m

US businessman John Malone has bought the Hilton Hotel at Charlemont Place in Dublin, less than a year after buying the Trinity Capital Hotel on Pearse Street.

Mr Malone, reputed to be the largest land owner in the US, purchased the hotel in partnership with the Lalco Hotel Group for an undisclosed price - thought to be close to €30 million.

Mr Malone, who is the chairman of US media giant Liberty, also owns Humewood Castle in Co Wicklow.

Located beside the Grand Canal, the 193-bedroom, four-star Hilton made a profit of €2 million for 2012.

The Hilton was upgraded at a cost of €5 million in 2008 by owners Jerry O’Reilly and Bernard McNamara, whose loans were transferred to Nama.

The Lalco Hotel Group also operates the Hilton Kilmainham, the Harbour Hotel and the Glenlo Abbey Hotel in Galway, the Limerick Strand Hotel, and two Barnacles Hostels in Temple Bar and Galway.

"This is an exciting development for the Lalco Hotel Group and its partnership with John Malone," said John Lally, director of Lalco Hotel Group.

“We look forward to continuing this mutually beneficial relationship and focusing on enhancing the experience of guests in all of our properties, through strategic improvements and considered investment.”