Adare Manor owner JP McManus in the rough over tax on Ryder Cup lands

Racehorse owner and gambler JP McManus scored a spectacular coup with a deal to run the 2027 Ryder Cup golf tournament at his Adare Manor resort in Co Limerick.

Now the billionaire, who is tax-resident in Switzerland, is seeking exemptions from a new Irish property tax on land in the 842-acre estate because of preparations for the golf contest.

The Government introduced the residential zoned land tax in an attempt to spur house-building on vacant sites. By imposing the annual charge on unused property with residential zoning, it was intended that owners would be encouraged to build homes instead of allowing such land to lie dormant.

However, filings to Limerick City and County Council show Mr McManus’s five-star resort – described on its own website as “lavish” – has objected to proposals to impose the charge on a plot with residential zoning in the estate.

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Four years before the golf tournament, the operator of Adare Manor says the land in question is earmarked for a Ryder Cup bus terminal and should therefore not be taxed.

The submission from Tizzard Holdings Unlimited Company, which runs the resort, is one of dozens from Limerick landowners seeking the removal of property from draft tax maps.

[ Some of the biggest developers in the State seek to escape taxes due on vacant sites ]

There was no reply from Mr McManus when asked by The Irish Times for comment on Adare Manor, which he acquired in 2014 for a reputed €30 million and upgraded at a cost of €50 million. The picturesque golf course, with medieval ruins and ancient trees, was redesigned by American architect Tom Fazio before it was selected to host the biennial contest between Europe and the US.

In its submission to the council arguing the property does not qualify for the tax, Tizzard said the Ryder Cup Europe organisation has “access to all lands” at Adare Manor under a 2019 contract to host the competition.

“We request the planning authority to note that the lands zoned for residential purposes at Adare Manor are identified by Ryder Cup Europe LLP as infrastructural lands required to facilitate the running of the Ryder Cup event at Adare Manor in 2027,” the company said. “At the time of writing, these lands are identified as the location of a bus terminal during the event.”

The submission said “the entirety of the lands” owned by Adare Manor met exclusion criteria under tax law as they were required for sports facilities and were subject to a “relevant” contract.