The co-founder of one of the biggest hotel operators in the State said the group expects to complete three big projects this year, including the €25 million redevelopment of the Hilton Hotel in Dublin, as it eyes new acquisition prospects in the capital.
Paul Higgins, partner and co-founder of MHL Hotel Collection, also said the Government’s “flip-flopping” on the question of lowering the VAT rate for the hospitality industry has been unhelpful.
Mr Higgins spoke on Tuesday at a Bank of Ireland-hosted event at Dublin’s College Green Hotel, formerly the Westin. That hotel is part of MHL’s stable of 13 properties, which also includes the Powerscourt Hotel and Resort in Co Wicklow and the InterContinental in Ballsbridge, and is set to grow to 14 by the end of the summer.
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The chain is owned and run by US billionaire and Virgin Media owner John Malone, and his partners, Mr Higgins and John Lally.
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Mr Higgins said the group expects to finish work on three big projects this year: the redevelopment of the Hilton Hotel near the Charlemont Luas stop in Dublin; the refurbishment of Brooks Hotel on Drury Street in Dublin 2; and the opening of a new hotel in Belfast under Marriott’s Moxy brand, MHL’s first property outside the Republic.
Mr Malone acquired the Hilton property in 2014 for a reported €30 million. In 2016, the group was granted permission to add almost 100 beds but revised its application subsequently and was given the green light to add more than 100 beds in 2022, bringing the total number of rooms above 300. Once completed, it will be the largest property in the collection.
Mr Higgins said MHL had faced a “long planning battle” over the extension, “but we will finally get that finished this year”.
“That’s a €25 million construction project. It’s the largest construction project we have done for probably 15 years within the group,” he said.
Brooks Hotel, which MHL acquired in June 2023 and closed for refurbishment last October, reopened with a reduced number of rooms earlier this month.
He said it is booked up for St Patrick’s Day and expects to have all 98 bedrooms operational by then. “We have sold all the bedrooms [for St Patrick’s Day],” Mr Higgins said. But I suppose the benefit we have is that we have a lot of other properties in the city so if the worst comes to the worst [ ...] we’ll find beds [for guests] around the city.”
In Belfast, where MHL added its first property outside the Republic last September with the acquisition of the former Radisson in the city centre, the group is set to open its 14th hotel in the summer.
Mr Higgins said the 175-bedroom hotel, which will operate under Marriott’s Moxy brand, will open “hopefully in July”.
The hotelier said MHL is always on the lookout for new acquisitions. “There’s a lot on the market at the moment,” Mr Higgins said, particularly in Dublin. “I suspect we will continue to see more product coming into the market as the year goes on.”
Separately, Mr Higgins said the Government’s vacillation on the prospect of a VAT cut for the hospitality sector was unhelpful.
The Coalition opted against cutting the lower rate for the sector in Budget 2025 but, yielding to pressure from industry and from Sinn Féin, Fine Gael subsequently promised to reduce the rate from 13.5 per cent to 11 per cent in its election manifesto. Last week, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government will bring back the 9 per cent rate, but only next January and only for the food and catering sectors.
Asked whether the mixed messages from Government had been confusing, Mr Higgins replied: “I think for any business you like certainty. Even if the certainty is bad news, you still like certainty because you can come up with plans. So the flip-flopping is generally unhelpful but that’s like any other variable.”
He said the Coalition’s plan remains “uncertain” and the sooner it comes out with a definite plan, the better for the accommodation sector and wider hospitality industry.
