Stock market-listed Dalata already operates the Madron Hotel Dublin Airport on the airport campus. It also owns the Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport, located off-campus, which is one of the country’s biggest hotels.
The Radisson Hotel at Dublin Airport is controlled by a company called CG Hotels, which is majority-owned by British investor Alan McIntosh. Hotelier Patrick Coyle is also a co-owner of the firm. Mr McIntosh is a co-founder of Cairn Homes.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) confirmed on Thursday that it’s now launching an in-depth investigation into the proposed purchase.
“Following a preliminary examination, the CCPC has decided an in-depth investigation is needed to establish whether or not the proposed transaction will result in a substantial lessening of competition in the State,” it said.
Submissions regarding the planned acquisition can be made to the CCPC until May 2.
Dalata has a portfolio of 32 hotels across the country that operate under the Clayton and Maldron brands. It also has a number of hotels in the UK and a nascent presence on mainland Europe.
In March, Dalata said it had put itself up for sale.
The group said it is undervalued, has a concentrated shareholder base and a constrained capital base relative to its growth ambition.
At an investor day last October, Dalata said it is targeting growing its portfolio from 12,000 rooms to 21,000 – either open or in development – by 2030.
Last year, the company did refinance existing financial facilities, secure new lending lines worth €475m, and undertook a €125m private placement, but it appears even that isn’t sufficient to fund the group’s growth appetite.
Dalata’s €1.7bn freehold hotel portfolio includes about 30 properties. But it also has valuable leaseholds.
It made its first moves into continental Europe in 2022, buying the operating and leasehold interest of a Dusseldorf property that is now branded under Dalata’s Clayton badge. It also now operates a hotel in Amsterdam and has been eyeing opportunities in cities including Madrid and Berlin.
“We are a modern, international, outward-looking and innovative hotel company,” Dalata chief executive Dermot Crowley told investors last month. “Access to capital is essential to achieve our vision.”
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