Well-known venue the Belmont Hotel is going on the market with a £1m asking price.
The Banbridge country house-style hotel has long been a popular venue for weddings in the area.
In the past, the Belmont was a landmark venue for country music acts.
But that genre has more recently been displaced by dance music nights catering for a younger audience. Two weeks ago it hosted a Ministry of Sound 2015 Tour night, and similar events are planned over the summer months.
The hotel has been owned by a low profile Banbridge family for generations – though they have now decided to place the 10-bedroomed boutique hotel on the market.
The old mill house which contains the hotel is listed, although its nightclub, the Auditorium, is housed in a more modern add-on.
Stuart Draffin, director and head of agency at commercial property agents Lambert Smith Hampton, which has been instructed to sell the property, said: “We are already encouraged by the level of interest towards the hotel being shown by both local operators and those from further afield.”
Lambert Smith Hampton describe the hotel as “strategically located on the A1 Belfast to Dublin transport corridor”.
It is one of Banbridge’s two hotels, along with the Downshire Arms on Newry Street.
But the Belmont’s location within nearly eight acres of mature woodland has given it added attraction as a wedding venue – with a location for wedding pictures – over the years.
However, it is business as usual while the venue is marketed for sale.
The site also has planning permission for housing, so a prospective buyer may wish to continue operating the hotel while also using some of the rest of the land for housing.
The Northern Ireland hotel market has seen growing activity in recent months.
The Ramada in Portrush was sold in January for £2.75m, Jury’s Inn in Belfast was sold as part of an overall Jury’s Inn portfolio, in a €910m (£658m) deal, while the Holiday Inn in Belfast was sold to Dalata for £18.5m.
The York in Portstewart and the Crescent Townhouse on Belfast’s Botanic Avenue have also been sold recently.
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