US investors buy Jurys Inn group for £680m

The Jurys Inn hotel group has been sold to US private equity firm Lone Star as part of a £680m (US$1.02bn, €909m) deal.

The sale of the business – which comprises 25 hotels across the UK and a further five in Ireland – comes less than two years after a significant debt restructuring.

Lone Star will take over the chain from a group of investors that includes Oman Investment Fund, Mount Kellett Capital Management, Ulster Bank, Westmont Hospitality Group and Avestus Capital Partners.

Jurys Inn was bought by Irish property group Quinlan for £791m (US$1.2bn, €1.1bn) at the peak of the property bubble in 2007, with The Oman Investment Fund buying a 50 per cent stake in 2008. But the onset of the financial crisis saw Irish property values plummet and Jurys Inn’s banks took control of the hotels group.

Announcing the Lone Star deal today (26 January), Jurys Inn said in a statement that the existing management team, led by chief executive John Brennan, will stay in place.

"I would like to thank our existing shareholders for their commitment and support and welcome Lone Star Funds as our new owners," said Brennan.

"We are now delighted to have attracted a new owner of the scale and calibre of Lone Star Funds, who are very committed to the future growth and development of the Jurys Inn brand and business and we look forward to working with them in realising our joint ambition for the business and to capitalise on the significant opportunities emerging within our sector."

The transaction is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland, and is expected to close by the end of March.