Lynam’s Hotel on O’Connell Street in Dublin has been sold to a private investor for a figure believed to be close to €6 million – well more than the €4 million guide price.
It is likely to be revamped and relaunched as a three-star or boutique hotel given its location close to the Spire.
The hotel was sold through agent CBRE on behalf of Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath who was appointed receiver by Nama over certain assets of Martin Flattery and Paul Tiernan.
The hotel was only put on the market in late September and its quick sale suggests that rising room rates and a booming tourism sector are translating into a strong appetite among investors for hotel property.
42 bedrooms
Lynam's is a mid-sized hotel which has been closed for more than three months and was the subject of a High Court case with a previous tenant to get vacant possession. It is located in a former period bank building opposite the Spire and has 42 bedrooms, 1,280sq m (13,800sq ft) of space and a ground floor self-contained cafe/restaurant which has obvious "asset-management opportunities".
The four-storey-over-basement building was redeveloped as a hotel which opened in 2001. It fronts O'Connell Street with rear access for deliveries from Henry Place.
This part of the capital is undergoing considerable redevelopment with the €368 million Luas cross city line to open in 2017 and the 198-bedroom Holiday Inn Express hotel just opened at the corner of O'Connell and Cathal Brugha streets.
Planning application
There is also a planning application before Dublin City Council to convert the former Clerys store into a hotel, shops, offices and bars, and to add a new level to the building on O'Connell Street.
Lynam’s hit the headlines earlier this year when a number of homeless families, who were living in the hotel as emergency accommodation, feared eviction should it be handed over to a receiver.
The council subsequently found accommodation for them and, despite subsequent reports that the hotel could become a dedicated accommodation facility for the homeless, it was ultimately sold on the open market.
The sale excluded a Spar shop, which is separately owned and not involved in or impacted by the hotel receivership process.
