Hotel deals such as the €260M purchase of The Shelbourne hotel in Dublin by a pair of global pension funds helped boost first-half real estate investment in Ireland.

Investment in Ireland totalled €1.23B through the first part of the year, data from MSCI showed, down 21% on the same period last year.

Of that total, more than €700M was in the hotel sector, more than triple the long-term average, according to the data.

The purchase of The Shelbourne was the 10th-largest deal to complete in Europe in the first half. The price paid equated to more than €981K for each of the hotel’s 265 rooms.

Archer, a joint venture between Dutch pension fund APG and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, bought the hotel from U.S. private equity firm Kennedy Wilson. Kennedy Wilson made a €97M profit on the sale, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Dublin accounted for €1.06B of Ireland’s overall investment volume and was the 11th-most-popular city for investment in Europe, in line with its ranking in 2022 and 2023.

According to the MSCI/SCSI Ireland Quarterly Property Index, the value of the average Irish commercial property fell in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than in the first quarter. SCSI said that could indicate the market is reaching a floor.