Adare Manor owner JP McManus in row over Ryder Cup countries – The Irish Times

Racehorse owner and player JP McManus pulled off a spectacular coup with a deal to host the 2027 Ryder Cup golf tournament at his Adare Manor Resort in Co Limerick.

Now the Swiss tax-resident billionaire is applying for exemptions from a new Irish property tax on land on the 842-hectare estate in preparation for the golf competition.

The government introduced the residential property tax to encourage housing construction on vacant lots. By levying the annual levy on unused residential land, homeowners should be encouraged to build houses rather than leave such land vacant.

However, filings with Limerick City and County Council show that Mr McManus’ five-star resort – described as ‘generous’ on its own website – has objected to proposals to collect the fee on a property with residential zones on the estate.

Four years before the golf tournament, the operator of Adare Manor says the land in question is earmarked for a Ryder Cup bus terminal and should therefore not be taxed.

The filing, from Tizzard Holdings Unlimited Company, which operates the resort, is one of dozens of Limerick landowners seeking property removal from tax card drafts.

There was no reply from Mr McManus when asked by The Irish Times for comment on Adare Manor, which he allegedly acquired for €30m in 2014 and modernized for €50m. The scenic golf course, with medieval ruins and ancient trees, was redesigned by American architect Tom Fazio before being chosen to host the biannual Europe-US competition.

In his submission to the council arguing that the property did not qualify for the tax, Tizzard said that the Ryder Cup Europe organization was under a 2019 deal to host the “Access to All Properties” competition in Adare manor have.

“We ask the Planning Authority to note that the land at Adare Manor designated for residential use is designated by Ryder Cup Europe LLP as infrastructure areas necessary to enable the Ryder Cup event to be staged at Adare Manor in 2027,” said the company. “At the time of writing these lands have been identified as the site of a bus terminal during the event.”

The filing states that “all of the land” owned by Adare Manor meets the tax code’s exclusion criteria as they are required for sports facilities and are subject to a “relevant” contract.