A director of the group owning Treacys Hotel in Waterford city has failed in a legal challenge to force a receiver to sell her the site of the former Ard Rí hotel.

It was confirmed almost two years ago that the 20-acre site had a new owner but the sale has been in the High Court for the past several months.

According to the Sunday Business Post Maria Keena told the court that she had a contract to buy the property for 1.6 million euro in late 2016.

The court heard that a ten per cent deposit had been paid, but the deal did not go ahead and the deposit was returned.

However the derelict hotel was sold to the owner of Waterford Castle, Seamus Walsh in early 2017 for a reported 1.5 million euro.

Ms Keena sought a declaration from the High Court that she had an enforceable contract to acquire the site.

But Judge Michael Quinn has ruled that a receipt issued from the deposit did not make it clear that Ms Keena was the sole buyer of the hotel and was not a binding contract.

The former Ard Rí site was included in Waterford City and County Council’s application for funding from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund for the North Quays project last year.

It said there will be an international scale tourist centre at the site, which would include a 4 star hotel and a holiday village.

The council’s submission named Seamus Walsh as one of the partners for the development.