Ireland’s largest hotel chain is “actively” seeking to expand in the UK.
The disclosure from Dalata Hotel Group came today as the company reported a 55% rise in pre-tax profits last year to €44.1 million as revenue grew by 28.8% to €290.6 million over 2015.
The 41-strong chain already has two hotels being built in Dublin plus properties in Belfast and Newcastle and a fifth planned for Cork.
Up to 500 jobs are being created in Ireland and the UK as a result of the expansion which includes extensions to three hotels in Dublin and one in Galway.
“We are now actively seeking opportunities to expand our presence in the UK,” Dalata said.
“We are encouraged by the reaction of developers and potential investors to the strength of our covenant. Our focus is to build on our existing UK portfolio in 2017,” added the company which operates the Clayton and Maldron brands.
Chief executive, Pat McCann, said: “Given our ambition to grow in the large cities of provincial UK, I was particularly happy to see the extent to which we outperformed the market in terms of revpar [revenue per available room] growth in Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds.
“I am already looking forward with enthusiasm to what we can achieve in 2017. We will continue to focus on improving returns from our current portfolio.
“We also intend to expand our hotel portfolio, particularly in the UK, seeking new or existing hotel opportunities which match our investment criteria.”