The Jurys Doyle hotel group has seen good business for its first few months as a merged company, and is optimistic about the remainder of the year, the company's annual general meeting heard yesterday. The group's chairman, Mr Walter Beatty, also confirmed that the group was continuing to consider expansion options.

"The outlook for the year remains good and if the buoyant economic conditions prevail, I am confident the group will deliver another year of strong performance," Mr Beatty said. "The integration of the Doyle hotel group, acquired in May, has progressed well."

The new reservation centre for Jurys Doyle was already in operation, with a state-of-the-art system and a capacity for 3,000 calls a day, he added. This would enhance the company's capability to optimise sales of bedrooms across the chain of hotels.

"Trading for the early months of the current financial year has been very satisfactory," Mr Beatty said. "The outlook for the year remains good, and if the buoyant economic conditions prevail, I am confident the group will deliver another year of strong performance."

Shareholders generally seemed pleased with the performance and none raised concerns about the takeover of the Doyle group. One investor, Mr Neal Duggan, questioned the board on how the new group would react to competition, and on its international direction.

Mr Beatty said it was well known that Jurys Doyle was interested in expanding, and confirmed that the company regularly considered proposals to buy hotels abroad.

The company said the share ownership scheme, currently enjoyed by staff of the former Jurys but not those of the former Doyle group, would be extended across the group.

The a.g.m. also heard that a voucher scheme for shareholders would not be re-introduced because it cost too much to administer, but that the current discount scheme would continue, and extend to former Doyle hotels.