Liberty Media chairman continues buying spree in Ireland

Partnership led by billionaire John Malone pays €150 million for three Dublin hotels

Liberty Media chairman John Malone is increasing his investments in Ireland, and he’s pretty relaxed about it even as the UK’s decision to exit the European Union threatens the country’s recovery.

Worth an estimated $7.9 billion (€7.2 billion), Mr Malone led a partnership that last month paid about €150 million for three hotels in Dublin. In all, Mr Malone reckons he has spent about $500 million (€450 million) in Ireland.

“In all honesty, I’m already pretty wealthy. I don’t really need my investments in Ireland to be home runs,” Malone said. “I think we’ll be fine no matter which way Brexit goes.”

Mr Malone, who traces his Irish roots back to the 1830s, is buying as hotels face their single biggest threat since the financial crisis – a Brexit-fuelled sterling decline. Since the UK vote to leave the EU, Ireland is no longer a cheap getaway for the Brits who have helped make Dublin the busiest hotel market in Europe outside London, by occupancy.

Affordability

While Mr Malone said he’s “very much concerned” about Brexit, it could be that Dublin will benefit from Brexit.

“Brexit may well spur more economic activity in Ireland of an investment nature, while it may detract somewhat from the affordability for British tourists,” he said. “As an investor, you always scratch your head and say: ‘These things cut multiple ways.”’

The hotel sector is a microcosm of the Irish story, running from boom to bust and now boom again. Only London had a higher occupancy rate last year than Dublin, according to PwC, a stark contrast to the so-called zombie hotel era that followed the collapse of Ireland’s real-estate bubble in 2008.

During the nation’s Celtic Tiger boom, at least 200 hotels opened, leaving a glut of rooms and mountain of debt as visitor numbers dwindled.

From Irish Times (14/10/2016)