by Renault S.A.S in 2006. It now operates as a subsidiary of the parent company. He continued to own Ireland's largest Renault retailer, CityGate Motor Group. It had six dealerships around the country – three of which were in Dublin. He also established and owned the Europa Academy, a training facility in Swords, north County Dublin. In October 2012, Cullen's motor-trade business was put into receivership by Ulster Bank. Cullen was said to be "very sad" at the appointment of receivers to his businesses Glencullen Holdings, which operates dealerships in Swords and Liffey Valley. He took over the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney in 1990 with his partner, Jackie Lavin, who is also his business partner. The hotel achieved five-star status in 2007, and – in the same year – ran at losses of €9.4 million. The Muckross hotel went into receivership in April 2013. With the assistance of Robert "Hino" Harris, Bill Cullen in 2014 became the Dublin area dealer for SsangYong Motor Company. Other business interests As well as his interests in the motor and hotel industries, Cullen also holds executive positions in other areas: In March 2009, Cullen became an Executive Editor of RSVP business magazine. He also offers his services as a paid motivational speaker to schools, colleges, and the business community. Exploits in outer space Cullen was booked to be one of the first passengers to take a flight into space on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic service at a cost of $200,000. Media involvement Cullen regularly appears in the Irish media and is considered a minor celebrity, appearing on television shows, such as The Late Late Show, Tubridy Tonight and The Restaurant on RTÉ He is often parodied by Tom Dunne on the Today FM Gift Grub comedy segment. This has led to him being referred to as 'Dr. Bill' because of his honorary doctorate. More recently in 2008, he has taken on the role as the businessman in the Irish version of TV show The Apprentice. Books Cullen released his autobiography entitled It's a Long Way from Penny Apples in 2002 detailing his life growing up in inner city Dublin and rising to become one of Ireland's most successful business people. Deidre Leahy of RTÉ called it a "entertaining and inspirational" book, while Pauline Ferrie of The Irish Emigrant praised Cullen's decision that all royalties from the book would be donated to the Irish