Irish hotels group Jurys Doyle backed its optimism for the coming year today by unveiling plans to open three more UK sites.
The Dublin-based group is spending ¬90 (£56.3m) on taking its Jurys Inns brand to Glasgow, Leeds and Chelsea, London.
Together with a Jurys Inn currently under construction in Newcastle, the developments will expand group capacity by almost 1,000 bedrooms – 16%.
Chairman Pat McCann said the openings were part of a “focused development strategy to realise the full potential of our brands”.
He added: “We will continue to seek out further development opportunities in prime city centre locations, while at the same time maximising revenues in all our existing properties.”
The group currently has 32 hotels and inns in Ireland, the UK and the US, with a total of 6,145 bedrooms.
It will have 15 of its three or four-star Jurys Inns operating in the UK and Ireland when the three sites announced today are built.
The Jurys Inn Glasgow will be adjacent to the city’s central station and should be completed by autumn next year.
The 216-bedroom Jurys Inn Leeds will be located in Brewery Wharf with the completion date likely to be spring 2004.
Jurys Inn Chelsea is planned to open in spring 2004 and will be located near the Kings Road.
Today’s plans come three months after Jurys Doyle said it was “cautiously optimistic” about its prospects for 2002.
The impact of foot-and-mouth and the 11 September attacks on tourism meant pretax profits in the six months to 31 October slipped 12% to £18m.
Today, Jurys’ shares were unchanged at 675p.
EGi News 23/04/02
