The Dean Hotel Group paid out €18.07 million in cash for the company that owned the Clarence Hotel building in October 2023.
That is according to accounts for the owner and operator of The Clarence Hotel, Vision Swipe Ltd.
In October 2023, the Paddy McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan-led Dean Hotel Group secured a €43.5 million loan from Leumi UK Group Ltd to finance the purchase of the Clarence Hotel and the adjacent Dollard House from Keywell DAC, the company owned by Bono, The Edge and Paddy McKillen snr, and to finance its expansion.
Vision Swipe accounts show how on October 11th, 2023, Vision Swipe Ltd bought Clarence owner, Keywell, for €18.07 million and paid out an additional €3.98 million to Press Up Group firm and then operator of The Clarence Hotel, Brushfield Ltd, resulting in a combined €22 million being paid for the two firms.
A breakdown of the Keywell purchase shows that the company had a book value of €30 million on fixed assets, offset by creditors being owed €18.3 million, resulting in net assets of €12.44 million.
The purchase price of €18.07 million was arrived at after taking goodwill of €5.63 million into account.
On the same date, a note said, the Vision Swipe group increased its investments in Keywell DAC and the total consideration paid amounted to €6.32 million, resulting in an overall investment of €24.39 million in Keywell DAC.
Expenditure on Keywell DAC and Brushfield Ltd totalled €28.37m.
The Keywell deal ended Bono and The Edge’s connection with the four-star hotel in Wellington Quay, Dublin, after more than three decades of ownership.
Brushfield Ltd, trading as The Clarence Hotel, generated revenues of €6.65m in revenues and profits of €1.66m in 2023.
Revenues were made up of room accommodation of €3.82 million, €2.39 million in food and beverage and other revenue of €428,594.
However, Vision Swipe Ltd recorded group pre-tax losses of €5.27m in the 11 months to the end of 2023, mainly due a loss of €4.06 million on the sale of tangible assets.
Within six months of the Dean Hotel Group purchase of the Clarence, Lifestyle Hospitality Capital (LHC) purchased a majority stake, from owner the Press Up Group, in the Dean Hotel Group in March last year.
The new owners have a planning application before Dublin City Council to almost triple the size of The Clarence Hotel by 104 rooms from 58 to 162.
