Lough Erne Resort sold to US investors

20 July 2015 by Katey Pigden

Lough Erne - Northern Ireland's only five-AA-star hotel outside Belfast - has been sold to a US investment group led by Vine Avenue Advisors and TRU Hotels.

The 120-bedroom resort, which was put up for sale after its parent company went into administration in 2011, was sold for an undisclosed sum, although it is known to have been on the market for around £10m.

Selling agent CBRE Hotels confirmed the sale of the property - set within 345 acres of the Fermanagh Lakelands, near Enniskillen - which will be the venue for the 2017 Irish Open and which hosted the G8 Summit in 2013.

KPMG was appointed administrator of Castle Hume Leisure, the former owner of Lough Erne, and instructed CBRE Hotels to sell the property in May 2013.

Paul Collins, executive director, head of hotels Ireland, CBRE, said: "The sale of this magnificent resort has provided the purchaser with a truly unique opportunity to further establish it as one of the foremost conference, wedding, golfing and leisure destinations in Ireland and Britain.

"There was tremendous interest in Lough Erne, particularly after the resort hosted the G8 Summit. The enquiries we received were truly international with particularly strong interest from Chinese buyers. In the end the hotel was sold to a US-based buyer who recognised Lough Erne's enormous potential."

The sale includes 25 three, four and five-bedroom holiday lodges and planning permission for the development of a further 19 homes.

Lough Erne was originally developed to rival the world-class golf resorts of Scotland, including Gleneagles and Turnberry.

Vine Avenue Advisors is headed by Michael Saliba and TRU Hotels and Resorts, a hotel investment and management company, was founded by American hoteliers Jeff Mahan and Mark Ward. TRU Hotels will now oversee the management of Lough Erne Resort.

Alongside Lough Erne, the only other five-AA-star hotel in Northern Ireland is the 62-bedroom Merchant hotel in Belfast.

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