Tuam businessman set to buy hotel loan back from US fund

The owner of a Tuam hotel has flatly refuted rumours that the property is up for sale . . . in fact he said that he has plans to invest in the business over the coming years.

Rumours had circulated in Tuam that the Ard Ri House Hotel was being sold and that a local business person was interested in acquiring it.

But the owner of the Ard Ri, Tom McHugh, said simply: “The hotel is not for sale.”

The hotel on the Milltown Road in Tuam opened eight years ago and employs 50 staff, between full-time and part-time, and is a very popular venue for weddings and socials.

It was developed on the old Telecom Eireann site on the outskirts of Tuam by the builder and developer who is also a member of Galway County Council.

The construction was a welcome development for the town and provided a venue that could accommodate large weddings and other functions.

Mr McHugh said that the mortgage on the hotel was now owned by a financial institution in America having been sold on from the Ulster Bank and that he was now in the process of buying it back.

“They sold on the debt to a financial institution whose name we know, but apart from that there is very little contact”, he explained.

He told The Connacht Tribune that the hotel would soon be in a position to hopefully repay the mortgage on the property and then carry out a major investment in the business.

“Rumours of my demise in the hotel business have been greatly exaggerated”, he remarked.

“The hotel has been doing very well and, in recent years, a lot better than the building industry. There have been some rumours and I don’t know where they came from but my hotel is not for sale and there is no question about that.

“In fact we are investing in the hotel to upgrade it and that is our intention in the next couple of years. It is a very competitive business but we have established a good customer base and excellent staff.

“It is a tough industry but we are busy marketing the hotel and I can say that business is good. We are delighted to be in a position to employ very good local staff and the feedback from customers has been very positive”, Mr McHugh added.

Tom McHugh is a long serving member of Galway County Council as is currently the Cathaoirleach of Tuam Municipal Council.