Big Sleep budget hotel to become chain… For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Big Sleep budget hotel to become chain
The Big SleepThe Times, 24 June

Alternative Hotels Group makes £693m bid for De Vere
Permira, the private equity group, tabled a last-minute bid on Friday evening of more than £705m for De Vere Group. However, it is understood that the bid was yesterday rejected by the De Vere board as it was deemed too conditional. Yesterday, the De Vere board was in the process of finalising its decision to recommend an offer made by Alternative Hotels Group. - Sunday Telegraph, 25 June

Jurys Doyle is likely to go on the market at €700m
The Doyle and Beatty families have put a value of more than €700m (£482m)) on the Jurys Inn chain of hotels, which is expected to be put up for sale by early 2007. A sale of the Inns division, which comprises 14 hotels in the UK and six in Ireland, has been on the agenda since Jurys Doyle hotels was taken private last year. - Sunday Times (Irish edition only), 25 June

Another call for more money for school meals
The outgoing head of the School Food Trust Dame Suzi Leather has demanded that the government increase spending on school meals by 40%, from the present 50p per meal in primary schools to 70p. Last month Alan Johnson, the new education secretary, announced that primary schools should be spending at least 50p on ingredients for each meal, and secondary schools 60p. - The Observer, 25 June

St Andrews Bay share sale
Elan founder Don Panoz has sold his remaining stake in the Scottish golf resort St Andrews Bay to the Apollo private equity fund. Two years ago Panoz sold a 50% share in the resort to his business associate Henk Evers in an €80m (£55m) deal. - Irish Independent, 25 June

Esporta clubs in property sale talks
Health-club company Esporta is in talks to sell its freehold property assets for more than £300m. The group is believed to have received a number of unsolicited approaches about a possible sale-and-leaseback of its racket clubs. It has asked its regular adviser Citigroup to handle the inquiries. - Sunday Times, 25 June

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