Senior Jurys managers depart ahead of sale

A number of senior managers have left the Jurys Inn operation in advance of the budget chain of hotels being sold by JDH Acquisitions for up to €1 billion.

It is understood that Stephen McNally, who headed the inns business in Ireland and the UK, is leaving the company.

Staff were informed of his decision in recent weeks.

According to an informed source, Mr McNally, who assumed the role only last year, was expected to remain with the company after a sale of the inns division was completed. It is not clear if Mr McNally has lined up another role.

In October, JDH split the Jurys Doyle operation into two divisions: one for its four- and five-star hotels and the other for its three-star chain of inns. This was in preparation for a sale of the highly-profitable inns business.

Others to leave the business in recent times include Con Ring, who had responsibility for the inns in the southern part of Britain, and Conal O'Neill, who managed the inns in the northern half of the country.

Mr Ring is now co-owner of the Gore Hotel in Kensington, London. O'Neill, meanwhile, has moved to Lyrath Estate near Kilkenny city, which is owned by Xavier McAuliffe.

The general managers of the inns in Christchurch, Dublin; Galway; Belfast; Islington in London; and Newcastle are also believed to have left recently.

In addition, the general managers of the Jurys Doyle hotels in Bristol and one of its properties in Washington DC are also thought to have departed the group in recent months.

These departures have raised questions about the strength of the management team at the inns division as it is prepared for sale by JDH, whose main shareholders are Bernie Gallagher, daughter of hotelier PV Doyle, and her husband John.

A source close to the company confirmed the departures but said they were part of a recent restructuring of the inns business in advance of its sale. The current management team was well regarded and would remain with the inns business after the sale, the source said.

JDH is seeking expressions of interest for the inns business, which comprises seven hotels in Ireland and 13 in Britain. An information memorandum was recently circulated to a number of parties in Ireland and the UK.

The sale is being handled by investment bank Merrill Lynch. A number of leading hotel groups and private equity players are expected to run the rule over the business.

It is understood that the inns business recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of about €65 million in 2006, a strong double-digit increase on the previous year.

This performance would have been helped by the opening of a new property in Milton Keynes in the UK and full-year contributions from inns at Southampton and Nottingham. Three new inns are on the drawing board for Britain.