CBRE Hotels Dublin are pleased to announce that an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe III (“Blackstone”), has today agreed the purchase of one of Dublin’s best known and important hotels – the Burlington Hotel Dublin – for €67m. The sale of the Burlington has been negotiated by CBRE Hotels on behalf of Mr Paul McCann of Grant Thornton, Receiver of the Burhotel Trading Company Limited.

Ken Caplan, Head of European Real Estate at Blackstone, said: “We are quite excited to be acquiring the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. This acquisition, and the additional €16 million investment that we have planned for the hotel's refurbishment, demonstrates our strong confidence in Ireland's economic recovery. We are hopeful to find additional investment opportunities here as well."

Paul McCann of Grant Thornton and Receiver of Burhotel Trading Company Limited added ”I am delighted to have been involved in the successful sale of this landmark hotel. I am very proud of the Grant Thornton team and how well we worked with CBRE, our legal advisors Eversheds and Blackstone to ensure an efficient sales process was concluded in a timely manner. I also believe that it is a significant statement on the international investment communities positive outlook on Ireland and wish Blackstone every success with the hotel in the future”.

Commenting on the sale Paul Collins of CBRE Hotels said: “This sale is probably the most important sale of any hotel in Ireland since the banking crisis here in September 2008. Blackstone’s investment represents a huge vote of confidence not just in Ireland’s economic future but in the future of the Irish tourist industry and the country’s vital hotel sector. Blackstone saw a unique opportunity to acquire a substantial, unbranded freehold property enjoying a prime trading location in the heart of Ireland’s capital city. CBRE Hotels would like to congratulate Blackstone for the speedy and efficient manner in which they conducted and completed these negotiations and we wish them and all of the hotel’s highly professional management and staff, the very best for what promises to be a most exciting future”.

The 4 star Burlington Hotel – one of Europe’s biggest city centre hotels - is Dublin’s largest hotel, with 501 bedrooms. The hotel occupies a 3.8 acre / 1.54 ha site in Dublin 4, the city’s most sought after address and boasts the widest range of conference, banqueting and event facilities in Ireland.

Key features of the Burlington Hotel Dublin include:
-501 bedrooms and suites
-3,182 sq m/34,250 sq ft of conference, meeting and banqueting space for 1,998 delegates
-2 bars – Bellini’s and the Mespil - 2 restaurants, the Sussex and the Diplomat
-Executive floor including an Executive Lounge
-Compact and well equipped Fitness Centre
-Nightclub licensed for 600 people for special events including for Horseshow week
-Surface and covered car park with approximately 200 spaces

The Burlington Hotel is one of Dublin’s most popular hotels and is only a short stroll from St Stephen’s Green, Grafton Street, Temple Bar and O’Connell Street. Dublin’s major venues – Convention Centre Dublin (CCD), the O2 Arena, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, National Concert Hall, the RDS, Croke Park and the Aviva Lansdowne Road Stadium – are all easily accessible from the Burlington Hotel.

The strong recovery of the Dublin hotel market has been quite remarkable since late 2010 and the strength of the resurgence is reflected in the performance statistics for Dublin Hotels, which have been amongst the best in Europe for all of two years now. Smith Travel Research (STR Global) who monitor hotel performance in major cities across the world on a daily basis, show that bedroom occupancy in Dublin has consistently been in positive territory since September 2010 and, more impressively, RevPar (Revenue Per available room) has shown positive growth for each of the last 26 consecutive months, up to and including October 2012. The STR monthly stats are the “bible” for most hoteliers, hotel owners and investors across the world and occupancy and RevPar are amongst the most important KPI’s (key performance indicators) hotel owners and purchasers use when assessing their interest in any particular hotel. As these STR statistics clearly demonstrate, Dublin hotels have been amongst the very best performing hotels in Europe this year.

Dublin’s positive and sustained hotel performance is reflected in the Burlington Hotel’s current trading position which now ranks as one of the most profitable hotels in Ireland. The hotel has benefited from substantial capital expenditure since reopening in May 2008 and recently completed a major upgrade of its fire and safety facilities at a cost of approximately €1.5m. With further strategic investment from Blackstone, the Burlington Hotel has the potential to significantly grow its revenues and profitability into the future.