Who owns Jurys?

The Doyle connection: The people behind the scenes of one of Ireland's most famous hotel groups.

The family of the late hotelier PV Doyle retains a significant stake in Jurys Doyle, the group formed when Jurys bought the Doyle chain for €238 million in May 1999.

His three daughters - Bernie Gallagher, Eileen Monahan and Anne Roche - still own 24.9 per cent of the group between them, a position that has put them in a powerful position in the boardroom debates about the future of the hotel group which owns 33 properties in Ireland, Britain and the US.

Although the proposal to sell five acres in Ballsbridge results from a property review initiated last September, speculation about a possible takeover was followed by an approach from the Precinct consortium, which owns the Gresham chain.

Any bid to acquire Jurys Doyle group would require the support of the three sisters and that of Walter Beatty, the former Jurys chairman whose 7.2 per cent stake in Jurys Doyle is worth some €68.48 million.

Between them, the Doyle and Beatty families control 30 per cent of the equity in the group and four seats on its board.

Ms Gallagher, Ms Monahan and Ms Roche each own 8.3 per cent of the business, stakes that were each worth €78.94 million at yesterday's closing price of €15.10 a share.

One of the seats held by the Doyle family is occupied by Ms Roche's husband, Tom Roche, chairman of National Toll Roads, the group that owns the East-Link and West-Link toll bridges.

Although Mr PV Doyle's sons, Michael and David, played prominent roles in the Doyle group in the past, neither remains active in the hotel business.

Mr David Doyle spent two terms as chief executive, interrupted by a hiatus in 1994-1996, after he left the group as a result of disagreements within the family about strategy.