Contracts were signed in Dublin at 4am by John Gallagher, acting for the Jurys Doyle Group, and a representative of financier Derek Quinlan, cementing the deal for six of the budget hotels in Ireland and 14 in Britain.

Jurys' four-star range of hotels was not part of the transaction, and the daughters of the late hotel magnate PV Doyle retain ownership of luxury hotels such as the Westbury in Dublin, and the recently constructed Jurys Hotel opposite Croke Park. As well as a new hotel in Cork, Jurys also has three addresses in London, a hotel in Bristol, and four in the US.

The Jurys Inns business was put up for auction last January and it is understood competitive bidding inched Quinlan ahead of other interested parties, including Denis Brosnan's Swiss vehicle Lydian Capital, which is backed by Tom Magnier and JP McManus, leisure industry giant Whitbread Plc and private equity group Permira, both based in the UK.

The Jurys Doyle Hotel Group was made private in late 2005 and the luxury hotel business split from the Inns after a strategic review by Crownway Investments. At that time, the group was valued at around Euro1.25bn.

Crownway is run by John Gallagher and PV Doyle's youngest daughter Bernie Gallagher. Together with sisters Eileen Monaghan, Anne Roche, and former Jurys Doyle chairman Walter Beatty, the Gallaghers spearheaded the takeover in 2005, taking on Euro385m of debt.

Last year, they sold Jurys Ballsbridge for Euro260m and the Berkeley Court Hotel for Euro119m to property developer Sean Dunne. Last April, property tycoon Bernard McNamara purchased the Burlington from Jurys Doyle Hotels for Euro288m.

JDH has realised around Euro1.872bn in assets since delisting from the market.

Sources say Derek Quinlan's plan is to continue the Jurys Inns business under existing management and possibly expand the brand onto the continent.