Planning permission has been granted for an 88-bedroom hotel project next to the Ulster Hall in Belfast.
The approval for the site at 33-44 Bedford Street and 4-6 Clarence Street, 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.
Ownership of the company behind the application, Bedford Way Limited, lies with Paddy McKillen junior, the son of well-known west Belfast entrepreneur Paddy McKillen senior.
The project was originally announced as an expansion of The Dean Hotel portfolio, established by Mr McKillen 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.
The Irish Times previously reported the deal included eight hotels and two in development, including the Belfast project on Bedford Street.
It’s understood the deal valued the hotel portfolio at around €355 million, with LHC and Elliott taking a stake of more than 70%.
The Irish Times also reported the ownership of the Belfast buildings involved in the hotel venture would be retained by Mr McKillen jr and Mr Ryan’s property company Oakmount.
According to Companies House, control of Bedford Way Ltd lies solely with Paddy McKillen jr.
A gazette notice to strike it from the Companies House register was discontinued in June 2023.
Bedford Way Ltd, which was incorporated in March 2022, is 10 months overdue for its deadline to file its first set of company accounts.
The company has also missed the March 2024 deadline for filing a confirmation statement.
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.
Neither Press-Up or LHC responded to requests for comment on their plans for the Belfast hotel project.
