WITH reports mounting that a deal has been struck for The Slieve Russell Hotel, the thought of it being sold is not a bittersweet moment for its ex-owner Séan Quinn.
The announcement of the new owner of the popular Ballyconnell hotel is expected soon, but the former billionaire businessman is unconcerned about who the next proprietor will be.
“Whoever buys the Slieve Russell, good luck to them. It’s out of my hands now. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s time to move on and look to the future,” Mr Quinn told the Herald.
Last week Mr Quinn emailed media outlets a ‘briefing document’ summarising the main points of his book, ‘Seán Quinn – In My Own Words’, one year after its release, to further clarify what he’d written.
In the circular, he claimed that the hotel had lost “more than two-thirds” of its business.
“A situation exists in the Slieve Russell Hotel, where local business has reduced by more than two-thirds,” Mr Quinn wrote.
“This is demonstrated by golf membership down from 760 to 240, and with the hotel paying neither interest nor capital for the past 13 years, which at a cost of €25 million, would call a commercial investor more than €2.5 million per year, and with the hotel in need of significant investment.
“Nobody seems to care or be held responsible.”
This has not stopped the hotel from being put on the market for €35 million (£29.5 million) and reportedly attracting one of Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen, J.P. McManus, as a potential buyer.
First opened in 1990, the hotel has 224 bedrooms, as well as banqueting and leisure facilities, and is situated on 300 acres of land. It includes a PGA Championship golf course, a nine-hole par 3 course and driving range.
The property has had around €7.5m invested in it since 2019.
Seán Gallagher, an entrepreneur and property investor from Ballyhaise in Cavan, also had expressed interest in buying the Slieve Russell.
Mr Quinn confirmed to the Anglo-Celt newspaper he had personally backed the bid by the failed presidential candidate after securing “agreement in principle” from “a number of cash-rich individuals”.
However, it’s understood that the bid, entered via Savills, was not accepted.
Former UFC fighter Conor McGregor was another who was in the running to buy the local hotel following a post shared on social media.
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