FORMER JURYS Inns chief Niall Geoghegan is back in the hospitality business.

Geoghegan, who left the Quinlan Private-led Jurys Inn group late last year, has teamed up with Mark Lynch, a former director of Horwath Tourism Leisure, to form Pembroke Hospitality, which is advising the owners of distressed hotel assets in Ireland and the UK on turning around their ailing businesses.

Geoghegan and Lynch won’t be short of potential clients. It’s no secret that there’s an oversupply of hotels here, many of which were built during the boom by developers funded by tax breaks and stuffed with debt.

With revenues per available room down about 25 per cent across the Irish hotel sector this year, many developers are now finding it tough to meet the interest payments on their loans.

“We’re working with a number of banks and some developers at the moment,” Geoghegan told me. “There’s a need in the market to help owners and lenders to enhance earnings and make exits more palatable for everyone.”

Geoghegan and Lynch also have an eye on assembling their own portfolio of hotels by launching a three-star city centre- based brand in Ireland and Britain. “There are UK funds with money available to support a new brand, but [hotel] valuations will have to be realistic.”