Dublin’s Burlington hotel on sale

Dublin: The Burlington Hotel in Dublin was put up for sale with an asking price of as much as 75 million euros ($94 million), about a quarter of what Irish developer Bernard McNamara paid for the property five years ago.

The 501-bedroom hotel is being sold on behalf of Grant Thornton Ltd, the receiver for Burhotel Trading Co, according to a statement by the broker managing the sale, CBRE Group Inc. McNamara’s real estate development business unravelled in the years after he paid 288 million euros for the 3.8 acre site, about a kilometre from the centre of Dublin. Burhotel is one of the companies he used to own.

“There is an opportunity to bring in the support of a world recognised international brand,” Paul Collins, a CBRE director, said in the statement. “That can bring trading at the Burlington to another level altogether and add significantly to the future investment value.”

The Burlington Hotel, known locally as the Burlo, is the city’s second-largest after the Citywest Hotel. Dublin is one of the few areas in the country where hotel occupancy rates are increasing, Tourism Ireland, an agency responsible for attracting visitors to the island of Ireland, said in a July presentation. Revenue per available room in the city’s hotels rose for 23 consecutive months through July, CBRE said, citing STR Global data.