Dunne may lead Jurys Doyle consortium bid

AN individual bid for the Jurys Doyle Hotel Group by property developer Sean Dunne is still thought unlikely despite his decision to purchase further shares in the group in the last 48 hours, to increase his share to almost 28%.

However, latest speculation suggests he could make a bid for the business as part of a consortium with a private equity firm. One such firm, Orion, has been mentioned as being interested.

A link-up between Mr Dunne and London-based investors, the Reuben brothers - previously linked with the Jurys Doyle takeover saga through the Precinct consortium - had been mooted. But the Takeover Panel told the Reubens this week they could not take part in a fresh bid due to links with the aborted approach from Precinct, owner of Gresham group.

Mr Dunne has now increased his share from 24% to 27.65% and he is said to be looking at increasing his stake to 29.9%. Mr Dunne snapped up 100,000 shares on Thursday at €19.50 per share. This move is significant as the price paid was 60c more than the indicative offer tabled by the Doyle consortium earlier in the week. The earlier bid of €18.90 values the company at around €1.2bn. A €19.50 Sean Dunne-linked bid would increase the group’s value to €1.23bn.