FBD Hotels & Resorts, which is owned by the investment holding company Farmer Business Developments, has announced plans to purchase the Heritage Hotel and Spa in Co Laois.

A figure in the region of €9m has been agreed for the hotel. FBD Hotels will take control of the Heritage from January 2019.

Five-star hotel

Situated in Killenard, Co Laois, the Heritage will be the first five-star hotel bought by FBD Hotels, which also owns the Castleknock Hotel in Dublin, Faithlegg House Hotel in Co Waterford and two resorts located in the Costa del Sol in Spain.

There are 98 rooms in the hotel, including 13 luxury suites.

The Heritage also comes with a health club and spa, as well as a wedding, conference and banqueting centre.

The hotel employs 38 full-time and 108 part-time staff.

The well-known Seve Ballesteros-designed golf course beside the hotel is not included in the deal.

We will identify areas of improvement and opportunity

The financial performance of the Heritage Hotel has not been made public as part of the sale.

The Heritage Hotel was put on the market for sale in April this year with a guide price of €9m, which was a significant premium on the €5.5m asking price the last time the hotel changed hands in 2014.

Well-performing business

“Located in the heart of Ireland’s midlands just one hour from Dublin, The Heritage Hotel and Spa, Killenard, is a successful and well-performing business,” said FBD Hotels CEO David Kelly.

“Leveraging the expertise of our innovative team of hoteliers, marketing and e-commerce experts, we will identify areas of improvement and opportunity for The Heritage Hotel and Spa and invest in continuously improving the hotel’s future offering.

"It is an excellent addition to our existing portfolio of hotels and property,” he added.

In 2017, FBD Hotels made pre-tax profits of €21.9m, mainly due to a gain of €16.6m in the revaluation of its property portfolio.

The group had an annual turnover of €53.6m for 2017, with the two Irish hotels contributing almost €16m of these sales, while the two Spanish resorts generated sales of €37.8m.