Waterford Castle Hotel sold for over €5m

The sale came just two months after the property and 310-acre island was put on the international market having being put into receivership by NAMA.

Analysts said the sale underlines the scale of the recovery in the Irish property market with Waterford Castle having been viewed by potential purchasers from the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Gulf States and China.

Marcus Magnier of Colliers International confirmed the sale but said the purchase price and the identity of the buyer will remain private.

"I don't have sanction to release the name of the purchaser except to say that they are a family with strong local interests.

"There was huge interest in the property. We had people from nearly every country in the world expressing an interest in it. There was very strong viewing indeed."

He said the new owner, who is based overseas, already has Irish interests and has ambitious plans for the castle which includes an 18-hole golf course and 48 garden lodges.

"They intend following through on a major expansion programme which would include doing a good part of what there is already planning for," he said. "I think their aim is to create one of Ireland's foremost leisure resorts."

Waterford Castle is accessed by ferry but a bridge is now under consideration.

hnews@herald.ie