Profits surge for Dalata hotel group

Irish hotel group, Dalata, which currently owns two hotels in Northern Ireland, saw its revenue jump by 33 per cent to a healthy €130.1m in the six months to the end of June.

Dalata, which owns the Maldron hotel in Londonderry and the Clayton in Belfast, has also seen its pre-tax profit rise by €2.7m to €18.2m.

The biggest hotel group on the island, Dalata’s ceaseless drive to acquire new properties in recent years has set it apart. It now owns a total of 17 hotels across the British Isles, manages another 11 and leases 10.

Currently, it is engaged in a £21m scheme (pictured) to construct a 206-bedroom hotel on Brunswick Street in Belfast on the site of the Belfast College of Business Studies. That venue will also trade under the Maldron banner and will include a 476-bedroom student accommodation block for Queen’s University.

Announcing the results recently, the company said that it had invested €13.2m in hotel development and refurbishment in the first half of 2016 and that it was working to develop new projects in Dublin, Cork and Galway, with extensions to four of its venues in Dublin and Galway also planned.

Admitting that it had been “disappointed” with the outcome of the UK’s Brexit vote, it said that it feared a drop in the value of sterling would make the Republic a more expensive – and less popular – destination for British holidaymakers going forward.

But, chief executive Pat McCann added:

“To date, we have not seen any impact on trading at our hotels, but we are monitoring booking levels closely to ensure that we react quickly to any impact.”

The picture above shows ongoing work at Brunswick Street in Belfast where Dalata is currently building a new £21m hotel.