Jurys Doyle sells Dublin property
Jurys Doyle hotel group is selling one of its hotels in Dublin and opening another in Southampton.
It is selling the Jurys Tara hotel to property group Woodmead for €14.2m (£9.86m). Woodmead is owned by Bernard McNamara and Jerry O'Reilly, who also own the Galway Radisson and the Kilkenny Ormonde hotels. The ownership transfer is due to happen on 10 July.
Pat McCann, chief executive of Jurys Doyle, said he was selling the hotel because it did not fit with the company's "long-term strategic plan".
Meanwhile, McCann said he had reached an agreement with Northern Ireland-based property developers McAleer and Rushe to build a 257-bedroom hotel at Charlotte Place, in the centre of Southampton.
The three-star property will be the largest hotel in the city. It will include a restaurant, a bar and almost 9,000sq ft of meeting rooms.
Jurys Inn Southampton will represent a total investment of approximately €27m (£18.75m) and Jurys Doyle has agreed to enter into a 35-year operating lease.
Jurys Doyle is planning the opening of Jurys Inns at Glasgow, Chelsea in London, Leeds, Dublin and Heathrow airport between September 2003 and the end of 2004.
When the Jurys Inn Southampton opens in early 2005, it will bring the number of Jurys Inns in Ireland and the UK to 18. Together they will have more than 4,200 bedrooms.
