The Dublin-based Dean Group has said it will not be involved in financing the development of a new 88-bedroom hotel next to the Ulster Hall in Belfast.
Planning permission for the project at 33-44 Bedford Street and 4-6 Clarence Street was granted by Belfast City Council’s planning committee on Tuesday evening.
The approval provides for a two-storey rooftop extension to allow for the development of a new restaurant, bar and swimming pool.
The building’s former tenants included chef Michael Deane and Harlem café.
The project was originally announced as an expansion of The Dean Hotel portfolio, established by Paddy McKillen Junior and Matt Ryan’s Dublin-based Press-Up hospitality group.
Majority control of The Dean Hotel group was earlier this year acquired by the London-based Lifestyle Hospitality Capital (LHC) and Elliott Investment Management, the New York-headquartered investment giant founded by billionaire Paul Singer.
In a statement to The Irish News, a spokesperson for The Dean Hotel Group said the company will not be involved in financing the Belfast hotel development.
“The Dean Group does not have ownership interest in the recently approved hotel site on Bedford Street, Belfast, however the hotel will be operated under The Dean brand subject to a long-term hotel management agreement upon completion.”
The spokesperson was unable to identify who the developer will be.
Ownership of the company behind the hotel planning application, Bedford Way Limited, lies with Mr McKillen Jr, who is the son of well-known west Belfast entrepreneur Paddy McKillen senior.
According to Companies House, Bedford Way Ltd is ten months overdue for the deadline to file its first set of company accounts.
A gazette notice to strike it from the Companies House register was discontinued in June 2023.
The original deal with LHC and Elliott saw the Dublin-based Press-Up group continuing to operate and manage the eight hotels in The Dean portfolio, including the Dean Dublin, the Mayson, the Devlin, the Dean Cork and the Dean Galway.
The portfolio also consists of the Leinster Hotel, the Glasson Lakehouse in Co Westmeath and the Clarence Hotel, previously owned by U2′s Bono and The Edge alongside their business partner Paddy McKillen snr.
Last month it was confirmed that Cheyne Capital had taken control of Press-Up.
It followed reports by The Currency business news website that the London investment company was owed in the region of €45m.
The move, reported as a debt-for-equity swap, saw Cheyne take a majority equity stake, with a pledge to invest capital into the group’s extensive hospitality portfolio which employs around 935 people.
