The Doyle-led offer for Jurys Doyle is not now expected to be formalised until the end of next week, sources said yesterday.

The bidding consortium is thought to be holding back its bid until after Tuesday, the date set for developer Sean Dunne to pay out €260 million to Jurys for the site he is buying at Ballsbridge.

As soon as the consortium is satisfied that Mr Dunne has advanced the acquisition price, it will proceed with its bid.

At that point the consortium will be able to rely on the €260 million in cash as part of the finance for its bid. Debt backing is being provided by AIB.

Property sources say Mr Dunne has liquidated several large assets over recent weeks, boosting his war chest in the process. He is being supported by Ulster Bank for his purchase of the 4.84-acre Ballsbridge site.

The developer has also said to have mulled a bid for Jurys Doyle on his own behalf, with private-equity house Orion viewed as the most likely backer.

The Doyle consortium, which also includes the Beatty family and Elizabeth Nelson, has said it will pay at least €18.90 per share for Jurys, valuing the company at just under €1.2 billion.

The consortium based its approach, made in mid-September, on an acceptance level of 50 per cent of Jurys shares plus one additional share. This acceptance level is not expected to have changed when the formal offer document is sent to shareholders.

Meanwhile, sources say the Doyle-led group has not secured the backing of any other major shareholders in Jurys in advance of its bid.

The consortium tried to gain the formal support of both Mr Dunne and fellow shareholder Liam Carroll but both declined to commit to the deal.

Mr Carroll owns 8.3 per cent of Jurys, while Mr Doyle has a further 27.8 per cent stake.

Shares in Jurys closed at €18.75 last night, up five cent.