Sean Dunne increases Jurys stake to 24%

Developer Sean Dunne has raised his stake in Jurys Doyle to 24 per cent and is thought to be planning further purchases that could lift his position to 29.9 per cent of the company.

This would leave Mr Dunne with an influence equal to that of the Doyle family, who already control a 29.9 per cent stake. This is the highest level a shareholder can reach without being forced to launch an outright bid for the company.

At 25 per cent, Mr Dunne will be able to block special resolutions that do not meet with his approval. He will not, however, be permitted to vote on his own €260 million purchase of almost five acres of Jurys land at Ballsbridge.

Mr Dunne is thought to have bought about 2 per cent of Jurys Doyle yesterday, paying an average price of about €18.40 per share. He is understood to have picked up about 1.2 million shares in trades in London and Dublin.

Shares in Jurys are now concentrated in a small number of hands, making it increasingly difficult for buyers to access stock. Mr Dunne is nonetheless expected to seek more shares on Monday. His purchases are thought to be well supported by his extensive property portfolio.

Mr Dunne is also expected to hold further meetings with the Doyle sisters - Bernie Gallagher, Eileen Monahan and Ann Roche - early next week.

The two parties have already met, but their determined share buying suggests that neither side is sure of reaching an accommodation with the other.

Mr Dunne is also thought to have engaged with representatives of Simon Reuben, the London-based investor. Mr Reuben has expressed an interest in taking over Jurys, but has not yet submitted a formal approach.

Meanwhile, at least two private equity houses - Orion and Blackstone - continue to consider bids for the group. One of them is taking advice from a Dublin corporate finance house and is said to have been mulling an approach for some time.

Most in the market believe that Blackstone and Orion are only interested in the Jurys Inns business, but there were suggestions yesterday that one could be formulating a full bid.

The lack of movement from the two other potential suitors in the wings at Jurys suggest that the field could be narrowing somewhat. Neither Quinlan Private nor Paddy Kelly, the developer, have made any statement since being asked by the Takeover Panel to clarify their respective positions in the middle of last month. Few in the market expect a bid to emerge from Quinlan or Mr Kelly at this stage.

Liam Carroll, the developer who has an 8.3 per cent stake in Jurys, is also in the background. While Mr Carroll stopped buying shares last week, he could still play a kingmaker role when the current standoff draws to a close.

Jurys said yesterday that it had posted a circular to its shareholders that would outline details of the Ballsbridge sale to Mr Dunne. The deal will be considered by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on September 27th. The firm said the deal should be complete by October 11th if approval is given.

Shares in Jurys closed at a new high of €18.50 in Dublin yesterday, up 55 cent on the day.