Tycoon ‘has no interest in Jurys’

PROPERTY developer Bernard McNamara who is behind the takeovers of the Shelbourne Hotel and Superquinn, has ruled himself out of a tilt for Jurys Doyle.

A spokesman for Mr McNamara said the millionaire was not the person behind the approach for Jurys and had no interest in the firm.

Jurys shares rose again yesterday after confirmation late on Monday that the hotel group had received a takeover offer.

The shares were up by 1.5% yesterday to €14.30, valuing the company at about €900 million. Brokers believe the price will be more than €16.50 if the bid is to be successful.

NCB Stockbrokers analyst Shane Matthews wrote in a research note yesterday: “this approach is preliminary as recently evidenced by the fact that the finance director purchased shares three weeks ago. The move has been prompted no doubt by the ongoing speculation regarding the value of its Dublin properties.

“While no price range has been indicated in the release, recent takeover deals in the Irish market have required a 20% premium to be paid by the bidder. This would imply a €16.50 takeover price. We feel that this may prove to be too high a price for any potential bidder.”

Another complicating factor for the mystery bidder is the 32% stake in the owned by the Doyle and Beatty families. They are the founding families of the company and may be unwilling to sell out. If the offer is unacceptable to them it has no chance of succeeding.

Jurys is reviewing the future of its hotels in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin. It has three hotels on the prime seven-acre, which brokers believed could be worth up to €250 million if sold for development.