THE PROMINENT BUSWELLS hotel in Dublin city centre has been put on the market with a guide price of €22 million.

The famous establishment on Molesworth Street has operated as a hotel since the 19th century.

Sitting across the road from Leinster House, it has been a popular meeting spot for politicians, journalists and lobbyists for decades and is regularly used for press conferences and other events.

The property is being sold by liquidators for the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) which took control of the building, along with a portfolio of assets belonging to the businessman Sean Quinn, following a lengthy legal dispute.

Buswells, along with two other hotels formerly in the Quinn empire, could not be sold until the IBRC and the Quinn family reached a settlement around mutual litigation that had dragged on for several years.

A settlement was finally reached in April 2019 which saw the family drop its claims to the hotels and other assets. There were then further delays as the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission approved the arrangement.

Property advisers Savills Ireland are handling the sale of the 67-bedroom hotel, which is offered for sale free of management agreement and brand.

It said Buswells has extensive food and beverage and conference and meeting facilities and has outstanding transport links.

“Buswells is in the best Dublin location. Prime, but discreet and at the centre of everything an upscale hotel guest requires,” Tom Barrett of Savills said.

“Recent STR data for Dublin shows strong trade, with July occupancy of 86% at an ADR of €188 and RevPAR 21% above July 2019. This hotel presents a very rare opportunity to add value to a trophy Dublin hotel.”