The Jurys Inn hotel brand is to be extended to a further eight properties in the UK owned by Lone Star's Amaris Hospitality division, as part of a £100 million investment programme overseen by its Dublin-based management team.
Following a strategic review advised upon by Rothschild, Amaris is to rebrand 21 of its hotels from its portfolio of 89 in Britain and Ireland, its chief executive John Brennan said yesterday.
In addition, Amaris will will extend Accor’s Mercure brand to 11 properties, while two of its Scottish hotels will change to an unnamed “upscale” brand next year.
Revamp
The plan, which includes a £100 million revamp of the properties being rebranded, will bring the total number of Jurys Inn properties in Ireland and Britain to 36. None of its Irish hotels will be rebranded.
Mr Brennan said the Jurys Inn group had “outperformed the market” by 2 or 3 per cent for the past few years. He said the Irish hotel brand would remain Irish run and is central to Lone Star’s plans for Amaris, which could include a potential £2 billion listing in the next few years.
The group has also lodged an appeal with An Bórd Pleanála to a decision by Dublin City Council to restrict an extension of its Jurys Inn Custom House property to 50 bedrooms. It has a separate planning permission decision from the Dublin Docklands Development Authority for an extra 80 bedrooms under an older design. This permission remains valid.