THREE DUBLIN CITY HOTELS TO HIT THE MARKET WITH €130M PRICE TAG - A portfolio of three Dublin hotels has been put up for sale with a price tag of €130m, in the latest sign of improvement in the hotel sector.
The Irish Independent understands that the Spencer Hotel in the IFSC, the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford, and the Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar, have been made available for sale although they are not yet formally "on the market". CBRE is believed to have been retained to manage the process. The three hotels are all managed by Fitzpatrick Lifestyle Hotels. The company declined to comment. The portfolio is among the last of the major hotel sales in the Irish market and come on the back of the Gresham and Burlington Hotels, which are currently on the market for €85m and €180m each. The Spencer Hotel in the IFSC was formally the Clarion Hotel. The four-star property comprises 165 bedrooms, lounge, bar, restaurant and full leisure club with an estimated 1,000 members. There are extensive conference and events facilities which can cater for up to 150 people - with 10 conference rooms of various sizes. The hotel employs 120 staff, according to its most recent accounts.
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US COULD LICENSE NORWEGIAN AIR TO FLY TO BOSTON WITHIN WEEKS - Washington could license Irish-based Norwegian Air International to fly to the US within weeks, paving the way for services connecting Cork and Shannon with Boston.
Norwegian Air wants to launch a low-cost transatlantic service connecting Europe with North America, using its Irish-registered and regulated subsidiary, but faces opposition from US unions and airlines, says the Irish Times. Eamonn Brennan, chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), said yesterday that he believed the US department of transportation would grant Norwegian a foreign carrier's permit within weeks, which would allow the airline to begin planned flights from Cork and Shannon airports to Boston. The department recently announced that it had "tentatively" agreed to give Norwegian its permit, but sought final submissions from interested parties before making a final decision. Claims by US unions and rival airlines that Norwegian is using the Republic as a flag of convenience to hire crew on low wages have delayed a department of transportation decision on the permit by two years.
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NAMA STARTS 'ROOT-AND-BRANCH REVIEW' OF OPERATIONS - The National Asset Management Agency has started a "root-and-branch review" of its operations as part of a planned restructuring.
Documents released following a Freedom of Information request show the Nama board has opted for the review of its budget and costs. The minutes of the agency's 'Strategy Away Day' meeting in March at the Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin reveal that agency's chief financial officer Donal Rooney put forward two downsizing options. He presented a paper, as Nama continues to sell down assets. It plans to reach major milestones by the end of this year, following an accelerated deleveraging or sell-off of debtors' loans in 2014 and 2015. The minutes state the agency estimates the number of debtors remaining in 2017 will be around 40. The note reads: "Accordingly, in light of the anticipated significant reduction in scale of Nama's loan portfolio, while being cognisant of the future requirements of Residential Delivery and the Special Development Zone SDZ Docklands businesses, it was apposite to review Nama's infrastructure and cost base." The minutes record that the reviews had got underway, including a strategic review of Nama's systems and a renegotiation of loan service fees with Capita.
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SAUDI WEALTH FUND TAKES $3.5 BILLION UBER STAKE - Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is investing $3.5 billion in Uber, marking the largest single investment ever made in a private company.
The deal solidifies Uber’s place as the most-funded start-up in the world and brings its war chest to more than $11 billion, at a time when the company is aggressively expanding in nearly 70 countries worldwide, says the Financial Times. The investment also marks a bold step for Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund, which has come under new management as part of a broader reshuffle that put in place the team handpicked by Mohammed bin Salman, deputy crown prince, as he implements an ambitious reform programme. After its investment, the PIF will own approximately 5% of Uber, and its managing director, Yasir Al Rumayyan, will join Uber’s board. The huge sums raised by Uber and others underscore a tectonic shift in the markets for private capital, as private companies are able to raise more from investors than ever before. To put Uber’s fundraising in perspective, Google raised $2 billion during its IPO in 2004, after raising just $25m from investors while it was a private company. The deal marks the closing of Uber’s Series G investment round, which began last year and has raised more than $5 billion from investors including Russia’s LetterOne and China’s Baidu, at a valuation of $62.5 billion.
