The Dalata Hotel Group – the largest hotel operator in Ireland, through its twin Clayton Hotels and Maldron Hotels brands – has continued its ongoing expansion in the UK, by adding its first property in London under the Maldron name.
The group already has a healthy presence in the English capital under the Clayton brand.
Dalata has bought a new unopened property on the Seven Sisters Road in the Finsbury Park area of North London – which should appeal to both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur fans travelling for home matches.
Dalata has done the deal by acquiring the vacant hotel’s owner Tide Developments for £44.3m (€49.7m).
The deal will be financed from Dalata’s existing cash and banking facilities. The new hotel will open this summer and will be followed by a second London Maldron – which is currently being built in Shoreditch.
The newly finished hotel, which has never traded, consists of 192 bedrooms, ground floor lobby and a restaurant and bar. Prior to opening in summer 2023, Dalata will invest in excess of
£2m to enhance the property and launch under the Maldron brand.
The property was constructed using the Vision Modular System, which can result in as much as a 40% saving in the embodied carbon emissions when compared with traditional methods of construction. The sustainably designed hotel is BER A rated, includes photovoltaic panels, and is expected to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ accreditation.
Dermot Crowley, CEO, Dalata commented on the announcement: “London is a key strategic growth market for Dalata. We are very excited to be opening our first Maldron hotel in the city in advance of our Maldron in Shoreditch which is currently under construction. This acquisition represents an outstanding opportunity to operate a new, sustainably built, hotel in a vibrant and developing area as we continue our ambitious UK expansion plan. The strength of our balance sheet has been a crucial element in enabling us to make this investment as we continue to create value for all of our stakeholders.”
Shane Casserly, Corporate Development Director, Dalata added: “Acquiring a new hotel asset in London, in challenging funding markets, that will be operational in the summer of 2023, is a fantastic achievement by the Group. This transaction highlights our appetite for growth as well as the flexibility of our business model, which enables us to grow through acquisition, development and leasing. We are excited by the excellent sustainability credentials of the property as we continue to make progress on our ambitious targets.”
