Hotels now under new owners

Two of Galway’s best known hotels are about to change ownership – in a deal reportedly worth more than €40 million.

Alanis Capital, a Dublin-based property investment company, is raising the capital to buy the g and the Meyrick Hotel from Waltzfire, a company controlled by Deutsche Bank – according to reports in last weekend’s Sunday Times.

The iconic hotels have had a troubled recent history and were part of Galway property developer Gerry Barrett’s portfolio.

Deutsche Bank purchased Mr Barrett’s loans from NAMA, which had a face value of close to €700m, in 2015. The Galway man’s interests encompassed hotels, shopping centres and residential property.

Waltzfire, made up of property manager, Alanis Capital, hotelier Choice Hospitality and Kensington Ventures, led by cinema operator Lorcan Ward, reportedly paid €89 million in 2017 for the hotel and property portfolio, which includes the Wellpark Retail Park as well as apartments.

At the time the examiner, Neil Hughes, of Hughes Blake, turned down a proposal from Besomhill, a company controlled by Mr Barrett, to take back charge of the property empire.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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