Irish hotelier Jurys is set to kick off an expansion drive in the UK if its bid to acquire the Doyle Hotel Group is successful, according to a company spokesman.
Jurys is interested in opening hotels in London, Birmingham, Coventry, Leeds and other cities in England and Scotland. If its discussions regarding the acquisition of Ireland’s largest privately owned hotel company, Doyle Hotels, are successful, it will have a platform for further expansion in both the UK and the US. He added that Jurys has no intention to make any disposals.
An enlarged group, if the merger goes ahead, would be called Jurys Doyle Hotel Group and own 28 hotels and inns with revenue over IR£130m.
Although it would have three hotels in London, two in the West End and one in Islington, north London, the new group would still look to expand in central London, confirmed the spokesman. “In Jurys’ opinion, London is still under-hotelled and they would wish to target further sites in central London.”
He also said that any new group could use Doyle’s two hotels in Washington DC as a springboard for further expansion in the US.
The acquisition discussions are at an early stage and any transaction will be subject to Jurys shareholder approval, due diligence, regulatory clearances and contract.
EGi News 24/09/98
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