Jurys sells part of landmark site for €260m

Jurys Doyle will today announce a deal to sell part of its landmark site at Ballsbridge in Dublin to developer Seán Dunne for €260 million.

Under the terms of an agreement to be detailed in a stock exchange statement this morning, Jurys will remain on the site for another two years.

The deal will bring into sharp focus the intentions of the Precinct consortium, which has been trying to take over the entirety of Jurys Doyle for €1 billion.

The €260 million valuation that has now been placed on the part of the five-acre Ballsbridge site being sold will put pressure on Precinct to raise the level of its most recent approach.

The consortium - led by developer Bryan Cullen and backed by solicitor David Coleman and hotelier JJ Murphy - raised its informal offer from €16.25 to €16.50 two weeks ago.

Precinct has been told by the Takeover Panel that it must formalise a bid for Jurys before tomorrow, or else walk away.

Mr Dunne was one of about 13 bidders to pursue the Ballsbridge site, which Jurys put up for sale under a tender process in June.

He is thought to be putting up about €90 million in cash for the purchase, with Ulster Bank providing the additional finance.

The under-bidder is believed to have been fellow property developer, Bernard McNamara. Market sources suggested that the second bid was within €300,000 of Mr Dunne's successful tender.

Another close bid came from Alanis (controlled by the McCormack family) in conjunction with Paddy Kelly and John Flynn.

Derry-based Taggart Homes and Ray Grehan of Glenkerrin Homes were also both involved in close bids. Four bidders were within €2 million of each other when the tender process closed.

Mr Dunne is expected to submit a planning application for the site in about nine months' time. He will focus on a luxury residential development, with about 10 per cent of the property likely to be dedicated to village-type retail along Pembroke Road.

The sale will require shareholder approval at Jurys, but it is possible that the group will consider sweetening the deal by promising a special dividend payout.

Precinct, which is known to be interested in buying Jurys with or without the Ballsbridge site, has had informal discussions with the company about its bid.

The consortium's current approach is based on winning approval in respect of Jurys shares, but sources say this will be hard to achieve.

Some 30 per cent of the company is controlled by the Doyle and Beatty families, neither of whom have shown an appetite for a takeover.

It would be possible for Precinct to reduce the 80 per cent threshold, but this could lead to nervousness among its backers.

The consortium's bid carries the financial support of Anglo Irish bank and billionaires Simon and David Reuben.

Shares in Jurys were steady at €15.75 last night.