O’Brien completes Algarve hotel deal

Businessman Denis O’Brien has completed the purchase of the Conrad Algarve in Quinta do Lago in Portugal for around €200 million.
The purchase – completed in recent weeks – adds to Mr O’Brien’s business interests in Portugal where he has operated the Quinta do Lago golf resort in the Algarve since 1998.
The Quinta do Lago comprises three golf courses, hotels, a sports campus and residential units.
Now, Mr O’Brien will be able to add the 134-room and 20-suite Conrad Algarve in Quinta do Lago which also includes a luxury spa, a techno gym and various restaurants including Michelin-star Gusto by chef Heinz Beck.
Confirmation of the purchase follows profits at the company that manages Mr O’Brien’s Quinta do Lago golf resort in the Algarve last year increasing to £4.13 million (€4.8 million)
Accounts for UK registered Algarve Golf Courses Ltd, show that a subsidiary that manages the complex in Portugal – Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago SA – made the £4.1 million profit in the year to the end of December 2023.
The profit is a marginal increase on the profit of £3.9 million for 2022.
The profits account for only a portion of Mr O’Brien’s Quinta do Lago resort’s earnings.
The profits of the last two years show that the business has recovered  from the impact of the pandemic when it recorded Covid-19 shutdown related losses of £3.7 million in 2020.
The firm closed the 2023 financial period with capital and reserves of £22.45 million.
The directors for Algarve Golf Courses Ltd state that they were satisfied with the performance of the Sociedade do Golfe da Quinta do Lago in 2023.
Separately, accounts for another Denis O’Brien-owned entity, Catalunya Golf Ltd show that it recorded a pre-tax loss of £761,915 last year and this followed the company recording a pre-tax profit of £1.74 million in the prior year.
The loss arose chiefly from a foreign exchange loss compared to a foreign exchange gain of £1.75 million in 2022.
The firm is a holding company for companies engaged in the ownership and management of golf courses and the directors state both the level of business and the year end financial position were satisfactory.
A subsidiary, PGA Golf de Caldas SA is engaged in property development and recorded profits of £3.7 million last year. At the end of last year, it had consolidated capital and reserves of £5.36 million.