Jurys Doyle receives improved bid

Irish hotel group Jurys Doyle has received an improved offer from Precinct Investments, owner of Gresham hotels.

This second unsolicited approach in three weeks for Ireland's largest hotel chain raises the offer for shares to €16.25 (£10.97) each.

This represents a rise of €1 (60p) from the original offer on 9 May, which proposed a price of €15.25 (£10.37) per share for the 33-strong hotel chain.

But an industry insider questioned whether Precinct, which is run by two developers and a solicitor, had the financial resources or ability to buy and run Jurys hotels.

"Because the Ballsbridge site in Dublin is such prime real estate, alternative uses could be being considered. Current speculation is that there may be a back to back deal in place where Precinct keep the Ballsbridge site and sell on the rest of the Jurys hotels to another purchaser," he said.

Jurys Doyle has hotels in Ireland, the UK and USA.

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