Ireland's biggest hotel operator Dalata to take over the Moran's two London hotels

Ireland's biggest hotel operator Dalata is set to take over the Chiswick Moran Hotel.

The deal, worth more than £400 million, is part of a plan by Dalata to take over of most of the Moran Bewley hotel group which owns five hotels in Ireland, two in London and one each in Manchester and Leeds.

The other Moran hotel in London is the Crown Moran in Cricklewood which opened in 1996.

It is not known whether the Chiswick Moran, which opened in 2006, will be rebranded under Dalata which currently owns the Maldron chain in Ireland.

The Chiswick Moran hotel has benefited from its proximity to the Chiswick Business Park, and is also popular with rugby teams and supporters.The group had planned a £20 million expansion to create 81 new bedrooms and a 300 capacity conference room in Chiswick and work had started on the delayed project.

The deal, which was approved by shareholders at the AGM in Dublin on Monday, will give Dalata an entry into the UK market-it currently runs a Maldron hotel in Belfast and in Cardiff and operates 37 properties with over 5,700 bedrooms. With the acquisition of nine of the Moran Bewley hotels, it adds another 2,500 rooms to its portfolio. The project will be funded by the issuing of 18.3 million new shares.

We have asked the Chiswick Moran for comment.

Tommy Moran, Business Development and Operations Director for the group, based at the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood, was unable to comment on the sale when contacted by The Irish Post but said it was “business as usual” until the process had“run its course”.

January 10, 2015