Zetland Capital acquires Dublin’s Morrison Hotel

Zetland Capital, a London based Private Equity firm, has announced that funds it manages have agreed to acquire the Morrison Hotel in Dublin.

It added that plans are being developed for modernisation and further investment into the four- star, 145-room hotel, which fronts the River Liffey, in the centre of the city.

The firm said the quay-side location of the Morrison, surrounded by shopping, hospitality and cultural attractions, and its Morrison Grill restaurant and Quay 14 bar make the hotel “very well-positioned” to benefit from the post pandemic recovery in tourism.

Ahmed Hamdani, chief investment officer at Zetland Capital, said: “We have a very active pipeline of leisure and hospitality opportunities across Europe. We understand the importance of the tourism sector to the Irish economy and are delighted to support Patrick and his team. Our investment and collaboration come at an important time and will ensure the hotel can offer an even stronger proposition moving forward.”

Patrick Joyce, GM of the Morrison, adds: “We are excited to work with the Zetland team and their partners. Their confidence and trust in our existing management team is clear, their desire to invest in the hotel is welcome and we are glad that they support our ambitions for the Morrison. We look forward to re-opening our doors to our loyal customers on 2 June 2021.”

Dave Murray of the selling agents CBRE Hotels said: “The Morrison is one of Dublin’s most iconic and well established upper upscale hotels. This transaction demonstrates the confidence from the international investment community in the strong fundamentals of the Dublin city centre hotel market over the long-term.”

Zetland Capital was advised by Savills (commercial advisor), EY (financial and tax advisor), Dentons (legal advisor), Scollard Doyle (technical advisor) and Align Partners (operational advisor).