Netherlands-based Archer Hotel Capital has purchased the five star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin city centre for an estimated €260m from US group Kennedy Wilson, with joint managing directors Guy Pasley-Taylor and Dominic Seyrling now named as directors of KW Shelbourne Ops, the company behind the hotel.
The historic Shelbourne Hotel on St Stephen’s Green, established in 1824, has 265 rooms, including 19 suites and accommodated guests such as John F Kennedy, John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor. The acquisition aligns with Archer Hotel Capital’s ownership of 13 hotels around Europe, totaling just under 4,000 rooms and a gross asset value of approximately €2bn.
Kennedy Wilson, the previous owner of the Shelbourne Hotel since acquiring it in 2014 through a debt deal with Bank of Ireland and Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, has sold the property following a surge in its valuation to €236m last year, indicating an upturn in business post-pandemic.
The Shelbourne Hotel was previously purchased for €140m in 2004 by a consortium including developers Bernard McNamara and Jerry O’Reilly. It generated a profit of €6.8m in 2022 on revenue of €45m, making it Kennedy Wilson’s top asset in terms of annual net operating income before the sale to Archer Hotel Capital.
