Browne family confirm the sale of Westport House and Estate

THE Browne family have confirmed that they have agreed with the estate’s administrators on the sale of the historic Westport House and Estate to Hotel Westport.

In February 2016, the family had reluctantly agreed to the sale of the property. At the time, they impressed upon their advisers that the best way to secure the future of this jewel in the crown of Mayo tourism was to attract an investor who would purchase the historic property and fulfill the plans and ambitions of the late Lord Altamont Jeremy Browne, the 11th Marquess of Sligo, to develop the estate as an integrated tourist attraction.

Robert Ganly of Ganly Walters extensively marketed the estate at home and abroad and it attracted significant interest. A preferred bidder was chosen after an exhaustive process and an agreement was signed in recent days.

Said Sheelyn Browne after today's announcement: “This is an emotional day for our family. On the one hand, we are handing over custody of our ancestral family home after hundreds of years, but we are doing so in the knowledge that the new owners are committed to bringing to fruition the ambitions and dreams of our late and much loved father Jeremy Browne. We are indebted to the estate administrators Con Casey and Dermot Furey for their unrelenting efforts to secure the future of the estate.

“We also want to thank all those who supported our efforts, from our local TDs to the community of Westport. In particular we would like to thank Minister of State Michael Ring, Peter Hynes, chief executive of Mayo County Council, and his team, and NAMA for working constructively and collaboratively with our advisers.

“There is one group that deserves special mention. That is our hard-working and dedicated small team at Westport House. We would not have been able to survive the last three difficult years without their unwavering support and loyalty. They know who they are and we as a family owe them a great debt of gratitude.

“We have been touched very deeply by the wonderful support of the people of Westport over the last few difficult years. We are confident that Westport House will continue to be the anchor of tourism in the region and we have agreed to collaborate with the new owners.

“Our fervent hope and wish was that someone would buy the house and estate, invest in it to secure its future, and to keep it open to the public so that it can continue to be the cornerstone of the tourist offering in our beloved Westport.

“We are delighted that today these hopes have been realised. The entire family wishes the new owners, the Hughes family, every success as the custodians of this wonderful and magical place. We are sure that everyone in Westport will wish them well with this new venture.”

Cathal Hughes, chairman of the Hotel Westport, added: “I want to acknowledge all the efforts of the Browne family over the years to maintain this beautiful house and estate and we look forward to continuing this great work which was very much the vision of the late Lord Altamont. We plan to invest up to €50m in new facilities, which will lead to the creation of 200 new jobs over the next five years.

“On behalf of the Hughes family, I want to wish the Browne family every success in the future and I look forward to liaising with them as we develop our plans over the next few years. I want to assure all the existing staff, suppliers and customers that we will continue to operate as normal under the new ownership.”

Westport House and Estate is one of the oldest in Ireland and comprises a range of buildings and facilities. The façade of the present house dates to 1778 and has been in the ownership of the Browne family from before this time. The family traces its lineage back to the 16th century 'Pirate Queen', Grace O’Malley.