Kildare’s Carton House hotel and resort on market for €60m

One of Ireland's most prestigious sporting resorts, Carton House Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, near Maynooth, Co Kildare, goes for sale today on the international market.

Joint selling agents Savills and CBRE are guiding €60 million for the 668 acres for sale, including a newly restored 18th-century Palladian mansion, Carton House, as well as a separate five-star hotel and golf and sports facilities, which have traded since 2006.

The Mallaghan family and the Carton Development Partnership yesterday confirmed that they had "reached consensual agreement with Nama to put Carton House Resort on the market".

Owners of the 1,100-acre estate since 1977, the Mallaghan family set up a separate partnership in 1999 with a group of private investors to embark on the restoration of Carton House and the building of a 140-bedroom hotel, a conference and leisure centre, two golf courses and a golf academy.

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The development company is believed to have spent about €90 million on the substantial changes, transforming Carton into one of the most unique resorts in the country.

Conor Mallaghan, a son of the original owner, Lee, said his family was honoured to have had a 40-year association with Carton House. Together with their development partners, they remained extremely proud of the standard of restoration achieved on what was a wonderful heritage property and estate.

“Carton’s future is now secure and it is very much part of the local community and an enduring and unique legacy for the Irish people,” he said. “It is now time to pass its stewardship to a new owner, whom I trust will continue with its recent revival and will appreciate this amazing place as we have.”

Home of Dukes

Carton House, original home of the Dukes of Leinster, is located within 30 minutes’ drive of Dublin city centre and Dublin Airport. The hotel has 165 bedrooms, including 18 suites in the original house, all with clear views over mature woodland and the golf courses. The extensive food and beverage offering includes the Linden Tree Restaurant, the Kitchen Bar, Lobby Lounge and the Arch BBQ.

The resort has an extensive range of meeting rooms, conference and banqueting facilities. It caters for some 70 weddings annually and can accommodate about 350 guests in the main ballroom.

The estate includes two 18-hole golf courses designed by two-time major winner Mark O'Meara and Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie. Carton has hosted the Irish Open on three occasions, most recently in 2013.

The sports facilities also includes soccer, GAA and rugby training pitches developed to a high specification and used by such famous clubs as Real Madrid and AC Milan, as well as many UK-based teams. Members of the Irish rugby team are also regular visitors, while the British and Irish Lions trained there recently before heading for New Zealand.

The resort is trading strongly with further growth forecast for the coming years. The estate is to be sold free of any management arrangements.

Corporate lodges

New owners may well decide to apply for the renewal of a planning permission for 12 corporate lodges, which were to have been developed close to the hotel. Before the property crash, some 130 houses were built and sold on the Dunboyne side of the estate.

Tom Barrett, head of hotels & leisure at Savills, has described Carton House as “the premier Irish resort” that would appeal to a pool of leading domestic and international buyers.

Dave Murray of CBRE Hotels described the forthcoming sale as a “once in a generation opportunity to acquire an upscale resort comparable to the best Europe has to offer.”