UFC superstar Conor McGregor has vowed his pub empire will strike back after his bid to buy a boozer was floored.
The Notorious was in line to purchase the JW Sweetman pub on Dublin’s Burgh Quay, which was once owned by bankrupt billionaire Sean Quinn. However, it was reported last night his bid was pipped by a family of Longford publicans.
The website The Currency said the Mahon family – the owners of the Pig N Whistle chain of pubs in New York – are the new landlords. They reportedly offered €5.5million for J.W Sweetman, which had a guide price of €3.25million.
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A spokesman for JW Sweetman told The Star they were unaware of the fighter’s bid for the pub. But a spokeswoman for McGregor, 34, who already owns three pubs including The Black Forge Inn in Drimnagh, said the MMA star still wants to expand his hospitality holdings.
She added: “The unprecedented popularity of the Black Forge has encouraged us to look at many options for expansion but there is no announcement to make.” In May, the JW Sweetman was put up for sale with Quinn’s other pub The Barge on Charlemont Street, for €7million. JW Sweetman is a traditional-style four-storey over-basement double-fronted building.
Dating back to the 1800s, it retains many original features including ornate plaster work in The Conversation Room – the original location of the Dublin Library Society. The original Sweetman Brewery was in this area before being sold to Arthur Guinness & Sons.
The pub features a ground-floor bar with a rich traditional interior. On the first and second floors there is similar lounge bar accommodation while the third floor houses a kitchen. In the basement there is a cellar bar, cold room and micro brewery production.
John Hughes, of estate agency CBRE, said: “These properties will appeal to existing publicans wishing to expand their existing portfolios.”
McGregor bought the Black Forge Inn in 2019 for €2million and he went on to spend a further €1million on refurbishments. He then acquired the Marble Arch in Drimnagh for €2million and the Waterside in Howth earlier this year.
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