Mystery Isle of Man firm to take full control of Lough Rynn and Kilronan castles

Bank of Ireland has agreed to lend €11.5 million to fund a corporate restructuring at two luxury midlands castle hotels, Lough Rynn Castle in Co Leitrim and Kilronan Castle in Co Roscommon, which will see full control of the properties shift to a complex web of companies in the Isle of Man.

The two hotels were sold six years ago for a sale price reported to be €14 million by the family of Roscommon property developer, Alan Hanly. The buyers at the time were reported to be a consortium of UK-Irish investors, who had made their money in Britain but now wanted to invest their cash in the two Irish luxury properties.

One member of that consortium, Bradshawgate, is now buying out the rest, with funding from Bank of Ireland.

Waxville Investments

Kilronan, which has 84 bedrooms and 48 holiday homes on 40-acre grounds, and Lough Rynn, which has 44-bedrooms on a 200-acre estate, are owned by Irish company Waxville Investments, which bought them from the Hanlys in 2016.

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Waxville’s outgoing shareholders include Anne Marie Horgan and Michael Horgan, who share an address in London, and Irishman Damien Tiernan, who also has a London address. Those three combined, along with another family investment entity based at a Suffolk farm, currently own 50 per cent of Lough Rynn and Kilronan.

The other 50 per cent is owned by Isle of Man investor Bradshawgate. Company documents filed recently for the hotels show Bradshawgate is now poised to take full control of the assets. The ultimate beneficial owner of Bradshawgate and ultimately, soon, of the two hotels, is unclear as it is obscured behind a web of other Isle of Man companies and trusts.

Estate restoration

Company documents show that the €11.5 million being put up by the bank will be used to take out loan notes and refinance bank loans, with the remainder going towards payments between the shareholders.

Lough Rynn was restored by developer Mr Hanly after he bought it 20 years ago, while he also restored and developed the Kilronan estate. Although the Hanlys are said to have sold the assets six years ago, the family has retained strong links to the properties.

A member of the Hanly family sits on the board of Lough Rynn, while a long-time associate of the Hanly group of companies sits on the board of Waxville.

The hotels jointly had sales of almost €6.2 million in pandemic-hit 2020, down from €13.4 million the previous year. They made a combined loss of more than €1.4 million, yet are still renowned as among the top hotels in their respective areas.