€20m sale price for Fota Island?

29 May 2012

The Fota Island golf resort near Cork, Ireland, has been put up for sale by the receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers. Agents Colliers International and Cohalan Downing are handling the sale.

Fota was bought from its original owners, the O’Mahony family, by property developer John Fleming in 2004. But the Fleming Group’s debts, believed to total around €1 billion, were transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), the organisation created by the Irish government to deal with the turmoil caused by the crash in the property market, in 2010. Fota itself is believed to be profitable, but Fleming’s firm got into financial difficulties as a result of other investments.

Fota Island incorporates 27 holes of golf, plus clubhouse and academy facilities, a 131 bedroom Sheraton hotel and 59 holiday lodges. Colliers say they expect offers in excess of €20 million for the resort, which turns over more than €10 million a year. Potential purchasers can either bid for the resort as a whole, or for two separate lots, one incorporating the hotel, golf and spa facilities and the other the lodges.

Marcus Magnier of Colliers said: “This is one of the most important and well known resort properties to be offered to the market and will represent a true test of the strength of the quality hotel and leisure market. Fota stands out not just for its pedigree but as it is a well-run trading entity, turning in a healthy profit. We will be marketing the property internationally and are encouraged by initial expressions of interest from major Irish and overseas hotel operators.”