Castleknock Hotel, part of FBD Hotels, has completed a €7m development, which includes 52 additional bedrooms, a spa, upgraded leisure centre and two new restaurants. This increases capacity at the award-winning four-star hotel from 138 rooms to 190. The hotel, which opened in 2005, is part of the FBD Hotels and Resorts Group, which includes Faithlegg in Waterford, and Sunset Beach and La Cala Resort in Spain.

David Kelly, chief executive at FBD Hotel and Resorts, said 2017 has been another very positive year for the group. He added that “we can now meet a growing demand from both the local community and the wider domestic and international markets”.

Farmer Business Developments took full control of FBD Hotels when it purchased the remaining 50% stake in the business from FBD Insurance for €48.5m in 2015. The property and hotels group has shown consistent earnings improvement since then mainly driven by the improving economic picture in Ireland and Spain.