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The Ascott Limited, CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, has acquired the 136-unit Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin, Ireland for EUR55.1 million (S$83.6 million).
This is Ascott’s first foray into Ireland.
Located within Temple Bar in Dublin’s city centre, the hotel is close to restaurants, museums, boutiques, galleries, cafes and attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery and Dublin Castle.
Ascott chief executive officer Lee Chee Koon noted that Ireland’s pro-business environment has attracted some of the world’s largest companies such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Microsoft to establish their European headquarters in Dublin.
“Ireland is also used as a launch pad to the European Union (EU) by many U.S. companies and U.S. is amongst Ascott’s top source markets globally,” he said.
“Ascott’s entry into Ireland will cater to this rising demand for accommodation by corporate and leisure travellers. The acquisition will boost Ascott’s EUR1.2 billion (over S$1.8 billion) portfolio in Europe and bring us closer to our target of 10,000 units in the region by 2020.”
One of the top three fastest growing economies in Europe, Ireland had a record number of visitors, which increased 12 percent over the first nine months of 2016.
In fact, hotels in Dublin posted the highest revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth rate in Europe last year. As such, the city is expected to top the European cities in RevPAR growth again next year.
With extended stay accommodation supply at just 0.08 unit per 1,000 overseas visitors, the Dublin market presents huge potential for Ascott.
“Acquiring an operating property in Dublin will give us a much faster time-to-market. The property has been achieving over 80 percent occupancy in the last few months and we are confident that we will be able to add value to this prime asset,” said Alfred Ong, Ascott’s Managing Director for Europe.
He also revealed plans to rebrand the property at a later date.
The acquisition brings Ascott’s portfolio in Europe to over 5,400 units in 45 properties across 19 cities in France, Belgium, Germany, Georgia, Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, he added.
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