Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club in Northern Ireland has been sold to a locally born private investor for a reported €30 million.
The four-star resort was put on the market in April on behalf of the liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Company. An Australian-based construction company, Brady Group, owned by Cavan-born Tony Brady, is the new owner of the resort.
The 300-acre property, which first opened in 1990, once formed the showpiece of former billionaire Seán Quinn’s business empire in the Fermanagh and Cavan border region.
Under the control of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation since 2011, it has remained profitable and around €7.5m has been invested in upgrading the resort which boasts a 224-bedroom hotel, spa and leisure facilities, an 18-hole championship golf course, a nine-hole par three course, and a driving range.
Brady, who emigrated from Cavan to Australia in 1973, confirmed the sale had happened in an interview with the Anglo Celt.
He said: “I was in Ireland in July this year and I played golf at Slieve Russell and heard it was up for sale, so I made enquires with the agent in Dublin, and we started the process. It’s a beautiful property with a great golf course – the only one in Ireland with PGA National status – and a great hotel. The local angle was part of the decision.”
Brady, who owns five hotels in Melbourne, has formed a new company, Brady Hotels Ireland, to manage Slieve Russell, with Ollie Brady, one of Brady’s three brothers, being appointed director of the company.
“Slieve Russell is a different type of property to those currently in our portfolio, as it’s a hotel and country club, and all our other hotels are city-based,” said Tony Brady. “There are a lot of great staff at Slieve Russell, there are hundreds of local jobs, full-time and part-time, so it is an important part of the community.”