Jurys Doyle plans to grow, but not in Irish Republic

Irish-based Jurys Doyle hotel group wants to open more hotels in the UK, the East Coast of the US and eastern Europe.

But it would like to curb further expansion in the Irish Republic, according to the company's chairman, Walter Beatty.

At its annual general meeting, Beatty said he was pleased with the group's performance for the first three months of the year.

He described trading as "up to expectations and ahead of the same period last year".

"We look forward to the current year with continued confidence and, barring unforeseen circumstances, expect another year of good growth," he said.

However, Beatty admitted it is unlikely the group will expand in the Irish Republic, because it feels it has "sufficient coverage" there. It wants new hotels in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well in the USA.

In Britain, it wants to expand in city centres. It said its 240-bedroom Jurys Inn, being built in Croydon, south London, is "in line with the group's strategy of achieving a strong geographic and segmental mix of hotels and inns across all markets".