Jurys Doyle has raised £52 million sterling (€78 million) in a private placement to help fund its UK expansion strategy.

The hotel group said yesterday that it had completed a private placement in senior bonds with four institutional investors.

The bonds have a 10-year maturity, so they do not need to be repaid until 2014.

Jurys finance director, Mr Paul MacQuillan, said it was a "cheap time" to borrow money in this way over 10 years, particularly when compared to the cost of other fund sources.

Mr McQuillan said all of the bondholders were "related" to institutions that provided funding of €125 million to Jurys four years ago.

The latest cash will be used to support growth within the Jurys Inn network in the UK. The hotel group recently opened Inns in Leeds and Chelsea and is due to launch an Inn at Heathrow Airport later this year. Further Inns are due to follow in Southampton and Nottingham in 2005.

The deal sees Jurys joining a lengthening list of Irish companies seeking to tap the private placement market for funds over recent months.