Transaction Advisory

Acquisition Due Diligence for DTGO

DTGO was evaluating the acquisition of a portfolio of luxury hotel assets in Northern Ireland comprising nearly 900 keys, equating to close to 10% of the region’s room stock. Horwath HTL was engaged to provide acquisition due diligence, building on our long-term support of DTGO around their UK acquisition strategy and Ireland market entry strategy. The mandate required independent, localised expertise to validate the opportunity, benchmark performance, and translate the local market context into a decision-ready acquisition case.

The assignment was completed jointly by the Horwath HTL UK and Ireland teams, combining local insight with cross-border investment expertise. The due diligence was structured to evidence the quality of earnings and define the levers available to enhance value post-acquisition, with specific focus on:

Performance Benchmarking: Analysis of occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR against Belfast, Dublin, and regional sets established the portfolio’s relative strength in its home market and quantified the ADR discount to Dublin and UK gateway cities, framing rate repositioning as a key driver of future yield.
Asset Management Review: A detailed review of operating cost structures and EBITDA conversion clarified baseline profitability, isolated areas of margin leakage, and identified where economies of scale and tighter revenue management could improve flowthrough to NOI.
Value-Add Assessment: The potential for international brand affiliation was evaluated, particularly for the Belfast luxury assets. Modelling showed how brand alignment could accelerate ADR growth, unlock access to loyalty-driven demand, and reposition the portfolio to compete at an international level.
Market Contextualisation: Northern Ireland’s tourism recovery, inbound United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and United States demand, and the limited new supply pipeline were assessed against historic trading cycles. This analysis demonstrated how macro demand drivers and supply constraints underpin both near-term stability and medium-term growth.
Financial Modelling: Scenario testing to quantify incremental uplift from refurbishment, repositioning, and brand alignment strategies to give the investor clear visibility on risk-adjusted returns under multiple options.

The review provided DTGO with a clear investment case: the portfolio was proven to be profitable on a stand-alone basis, with resilience in its local market, while also carrying identifiable levers for future value creation. By quantifying both the defensiveness of the current EBITDA conversion and the scale of upside from rate repositioning and brand alignment, the work enabled the client to understand a market that was previously unfamiliar and to weigh downside protection against growth potential in concrete financial terms. This gave the investor the clarity to advance discussions with confidence, fully understanding the risks, return profile, and strategic fit of the portfolio within its broader UK–Ireland expansion plans.

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