A city centre hotel which was put up for sale in April has been acquired by Irish hotelier the Address Collective for about £4.5 million.

The former Pocotel occupies a B-listed corner site in West George Street, Glasgow, and was a victim of cash flow problems during the Covid-19 lockdown. It was formerly occupied by the Park Inn by Radisson.

The one-time Pearl Assurance building was converted to a six-storey hotel with 91 bedrooms, restaurant, bar, meeting and fitness rooms.

Savills has sold the hotel on behalf of Azets, acting as joint administrators of Bracknell Property. The property includes Tony Macaroni and Mozza.

Steven Fyfe, associate director in the hotels agency team at Savills Glasgow, comments: “This sale demonstrates there is appetite from hotel investors to secure representation in Glasgow where there is a robust hotels market driven by tourism and business. 

“The market has been significantly boosted by recent events including COP26 last year that put the city on the global stage.

“Glasgow’s ability to host major events at the OVO Hydro, Scotland’s largest conference centre, has seen the city chosen for 71 conferences in the last year and is expected to see the city remain a preferred events venue. Hotel operators recognise this.”

Derek Forsyth of Azets said: “Not surprisingly the hotel had suffered operationally as a result of lockdown. Our appointment as administrators brought a period of stability providing us the opportunity to take control of the asset and negotiate with the various stakeholders in an orderly fashion, ultimately bringing the deal to completion within a period of seven months.” 

Ciara McGettigan, owner of the Address Collective, which owns hotels in Dublin and Cork, added: “This purchase demonstrates our appetite to grow the Address Collective Brand and we have plans to create a bespoke product that will enhance Glasgow’s hotel offering.

“The building lends itself to a truly boutique hotel and we look forward to the launch of The Address Hotel Glasgow.”