Dalata Hotel Group has stated its intention to become the largest hotel operator in the 4-Star segment in all major cities across Ireland and regional UK by 2030 – and plans to increase its footprint by 12,000 bedrooms to 21,000 bedrooms to make that a reality.
The group is already the largest hotel operator in Ireland, through its ownership of the Clayton and Maldron brands, and has been busy growing aggressively in the UK and has begun its expansion in Continental Europe, through openings in Germany and the Netherlands.
At the group’s capital markets/investor day in London, its management said they remain focused on both growing via the acquisition of existing hotels and through developing new hotels through a mix of leasehold and freehold ownership.
Last week, Dalata announced it had finalised a €600m refinancing to help fuel its continued growth plans. It has now also announced its first share buy-back programme worth €25m, due to commence this week and be funded by the sale of two of its non-core regional Ireland properties.
At the London investor event, Dermot Crowley, CEO, Dalata said: “Since taking over as CEO, investing in our brands and our marketing strategy has been a key strategic focus and our performance is evidence of the positive impacts these initiatives have had across the group. Our recent UK growth has been compelling with 11 hotels added in target cities since 2021, almost doubling our UK footprint. Continental Europe represents an exciting pathway to expand the group’s footprint. I am excited about Dalata’s long-term outlook and this is underscored by our ambition of having 21,000 bedrooms either open, or in development, by 2030.”
