Earnings at the group that operates the Gresham Hotel in Dublin and formerly the Metropole Hotel in Cork last year increased by 34% to €3.9m.

The Dalata Hotel Group is considering a possible purchase of Cork’s Clarion Hotel, which is currently on the market with a €30m price tag.

Derek Brockwell left a prison officer with his “intestines hanging out” such was the ferocity of his knife attack, gardaí have said.

Thanks to Des O’Driscoll (Arts, June 13) for his very interesting article on Cork City’s music scene, reminding us of the history of Cork’s Arcadia Ballroom, as it was initially known.

NAMA is expected to pick up the pace of Irish hotel sales in the coming 18 months — so far, it has sold just 19 of the 136 in its control, and so has 117 left to sell, a conference organised by the Irish Hotel Federation heard this week.

A trio of top hotels, in Cork City, Killarney, and Kilkenny, is being offered as a rare portfolio sale bundle, for €30m.

The Government is putting hundreds of lives at risk by slashing drug addiction prevention budgets by more than a third since it came to power.

The group that operates the Gresham hotel in Dublin and the Metropole Hotel in Cork incurred combined losses of €27.4m over the past two years.

THE Gresham Hotel Group plans to dispose of assets to reduce its level of debt as losses soar.

The threat of industrial action at one of Dublin's most iconic hotels has been lifted following talks at the Labour Relations Commission last night.

Talks to avert possible strike action at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin are due to get underway at the Labour Relations Commission today.

ONE of Cork city’s oldest hotels, the Gresham Metropole, is lining up a circa €25 million-plus investment which will include large-scale demolition of the rear of the property.

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS (PwC) have quit as auditors to Mountbrook Homes, the building company owned by Jurys Doyle shareholder Sean Dunne, it emerged yesterday.

I AM writing on behalf of the Irish Hospice Foundation with whom we are running the ‘Help Your Local Hospice’ recycling appeal as part of our Charity of the Year programme.

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%.

THE battle for control of Jurys Doyle took a fresh twist yesterday when British property billionaires the Reuben brothers were booted out of the race.

David Clerkin

MILLIONAIRE property developer Sean Dunne has built up a €37 million stake in hotel group Jurys Doyle.

JURYS DOYLE has denied any friction with trade union SIPTU over the potential loss of 425 jobs at its hotels on the Ballbsbridge site.

JURYS Doyle board of directors is expected to respond to a €1 billion bid from Precinct by the end of next week at the latest.

Brian O’Mahony, Chief Business Correspondent

THE mystery surrounding the unsolicited bid for Jurys Doyle Hotel Group resolved itself yesterday.

THERE are not too many bosses who would pay the staff more than themselves, but then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is a rare one. In more senses than one.

FORMER Junior Health Minister Ivor Callely was last night challenged to break his silence on the Travers report into illegal nursing home charges.

OPPOSITION leaders have insisted Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin should resign because of issues raised in the Travers Report.

VINCENT BROWNE was utterly indignant on his programme on Tuesday night as he launched into the Irish Times over the column in which Kevin Myers used the term “bastards” in an offensive and distinctly insensitive way.

The Gresham Hotel Group is expected to sign over the management of its hotel in Dublin to the global luxury hotel group, Hyatt.

THE demise of Bewley's oriental cafés in central Dublin is "like part of Dublin dying", their emotional owner said yesterday.

THE Gresham Hotels takeover saga finally reached its endgame yesterday as the company's major shareholder moved to accept an improved offer that valued the group at €117 million.

THE bidder for the Gresham Hotel group has extended the deadline for shareholders to accept the offer until July 6.

THE Irish Takeover Panel plans to investigate further whether there are any links between two of Gresham Hotel Group’s largest shareholders.

A BID by three property developers to gain control of the Gresham Hotel Group has attracted acceptances from just 28.3% of shareholders.

The consortium behind the Gresham Hotels bid is expected to give shareholders two more weeks to accept its offer after failing to secure 54% of the company.

Dublin's ISEQ index closed up 20 points to 5,326 today with gains in the financial and pharmaceutical sectors outweighing losses from Ryanair and Jurys.

The Gresham Hotel Group has announced that 3,572,215 ordinary shares were bought on May 25 by Whiterain International Limited.

THREE Irish businessmen yesterday launched a €113m takeover bid for the Gresham Hotel group. The long-threatened takeover bid for the Gresham Hotel Group finally came yesterday afternoon.

Gresham Hotel Group said it has received a revised bid approach from a consortium of investors.

The ISEQ index was 28 points higher at 5,357 today, helped by a near 8% rise in Elan shares after a broker upgrade.

SHARES in the Gresham Hotel group dropped by nearly 7% last night after it rejected a takeover offer.

IRISH stocks again drifted lower yesterday. Shares in Dublin ended the week 29.11 points lighter at 5329.06.

GRESHAM HOTEL GROUP, currently in the grip of another round of takeover talks, has announced it has boosted pre-tax profits by 40% to €1.7 million before exceptionals for last year.