Jurys Inn on course for 10% revenue surge in 2015

The Dublin-headquartered Jurys Inn hotel group is believed to be on course for a near 10 per cent surge in its revenues in 2015, after posting an 8 per cent rise in 2014 to £177.7 million (€244 million).

Accounts for 2014 obtained by The Irish Times for Vesway, which consolidates the finances of the 31 Jurys Inn properties that operated under the brand last year, show its operating earnings spiked by a quarter to £49 million.

The Ireland and UK-focused hotel group, which reports its finances in sterling, boosted its performance by targeting more high-value corporate guests, as well as riding the economic recovery and a spike in inbound tourism numbers.

The group’s bottom line was also boosted by a write-back of £134 million on its property assets, as it partially reversed a writedown it took on the value of its properties during the crash.

Vesway increased the carrying value of its hotels from £363 million to £623 million in 2014 following an independent valuation exercise commissioned by its management.

Jurys Inn was acquired for £681 million in March this year by Texan fund Lone Star, which has since made the chain the centrepiece of a new holding company for the fund’s hotel assets, Amaris Hospitality.

The 2014 Vesway accounts will be the last publicly available snapshot of the financial performance of Jurys Inn, before its results are consolidated into the new holding group.

Amaris, which is being considered for a future £2 billion flotation by Lone Star, is run from Dublin by senior members of the Jurys Inn team.

John Brennan, the Amaris chief executive who previously ran Jurys Inn, said the brand performed particularly well in secondary UK cities, as the UK economic recovery rippled out from London and Jurys' revamped strategy targeting corporate business paid off.

“It was also helped by our investment in refurbishments and we also boosted our TripAdvisor scores by improving service,” he said. “Provincial UK was particularly strong, but we would say we performed well across the board.”

The financial results were also helped by the impact of a financial restructuring concluded in 2013 with its main lender, RBS.

Its total debts were reduced by more than £300 million after a haircut on the bank loans, the injection of fresh equity for debt paydown and the conversion of shareholder loan notes.

Vesway’s £9 million interest bill for 2014 on its banks loans was down by two-thirds from 2012 to about £10 million, although it clocked up a £52 million interest bill on shareholder loan notes.

The chain was owned by investors including Dublin-based Avestus Capital Partners, Oman Investment Fund and Mount Kellett Capital. They then sold it to Lone Star earlier this year.

Mr Brennan has since led a £100 million investment in the Amaris portfolio, which includes the upgrade of many hotels, the conversion of a further nine to Jurys Inn, and the conversion of mothers to Hilton brands and also Accor’s Mercure.

Amaris recently announced it would invest more than €5 million renovating the Jurys Inn hotel on Custom House Quay in Dublin, which will then be rebranded as a Hilton Garden Inn.