Shares in Jurys traded in high volume at €18.00 yesterday, placing further pressure on Precinct to raise its €17.50 approach for the company if it is to make a firm bid.

A late buyer entered the market just before the close to pick up 617,000 shares, or just shy of 1 per cent of the company.

The purchase, handled by Merrion Stockbrokers, will attract scrutiny from all the players involved in the takeover saga that has developed around Jurys over the summer.

The buyer did not make a declaration to Irish Stock Exchange last night but is likely to do so this morning. The block of shares changed hands for about €11 million. The sum suggests the buyer has a firm conviction that a bid for the hotel group will emerge at a level well above €18.00.

Precinct is the only party to have made a takeover approach to Jurys so far, but at least two other parties - Quinlan Private and developer Paddy Kelly - have expressed an interest in developments. Sources said Quinlan was unlikely to have been behind yesterday's purchase. Mr Kelly is thought to be abroad.

Precinct offered no update on the status of its €1.1 billion approach for Jurys yesterday but it is thought the group has yet to formally inform the company's board about its new funding.

The consortium secured replacement funding from HBOS after Anglo Irish said last week it would no longer back a takeover.

The position of Precinct - headed by developer Bryan Cullen - is complicated by the readiness of its main equity backers, the Reuben Brothers, to make a bid on their own.

The brothers continue to seek a meeting with the Doyle family, who, together with the Beatty family, control 30 per cent of Jurys Doyle. Precinct is believed to have spent time yesterday ensuring that the Reubens were still supportive of its approach.

The largest individual shareholder in Jurys is Sean Dunne, the developer. Mr Dunne built up an 18.23 per cent stake in Jurys last week and was precluded from buying any more shares until today. Jurys closed at €17.40 last night, up 30 cent.