Caterersearch.com 100: John Brennan
Overall ranking: 35
Hotelier ranking: 11
John Brennan - Snapshot
John Brennan is chief executive of Jurys Inns and hospitality principal at investment firm Avestus Capital Partners, which owns the midmarket hotel chain. There are currently 30 Jurys Inn hotels in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. New properties will open in Portsmouth, Bradford and Gateshead Newcastle in 2010-11, as well as a second hotel in Glasgow.
John Brennan - Career guide
John Brennan, who was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, spent 23 years at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in a career spanning 10 different hotels and seven countries. He eventually rose to regional vice-president before joining investment firm Quinlan Private (now Avestus Capital Partners) to look after its hotel portfolio. In 2007 Quinlan Private bought Jurys Inns for €1.165b (£956m). When Niall Geoghegan quit as Jurys chief executive in 2008 Brennan stepped in on an interim basis; but when the search for a replacement proved fruitless, Brennan took over on a full-time basis last summer.
John Brennan - What we think
Under Brennan's leadership, Jurys Inns has undertaken an ambitious growth programme, which saw the group open seven new hotels in 2009, bringing the total number of hotels to 30 and the total number of bedrooms to more than 7,000. The expansion programme also created 700 new jobs, bringing the number of staff over the 2,000 figure.
Brennan secured £60m of new capital in July 2009 with backing from the Oman Investment Fund and Quinlan Private, Allied Irish Banks and Anglo Irish. The funds will be used to drive Jurys' growth in the UK and help it to establish itself in Continental Europe
In addition to the expansion programme, Jurys has invested significantly in upgrading its older hotel properties. This included a €4.6m (£3.8m) investment in the major refurbishment and upgrade of two of its landmark Dublin hotels, at Christchurch and Custom House Quay.
In January 2010 Jurys became the first hotel chain to have all its 29 city centre hotels in Ireland and the UK awarded a top environmental rating from the Green Tourism Business Scheme. It was awarded Best Independent Brand at the 2010 Business Travel Awards and joint Most Improved Business Brand in 2009 by analyst firm BDRC.
Brennan has been happy to shake things up in the industry, most notably when he called for the "outdated" star system to be scrapped.
John Brennan - Further information
Quinlan Private buys Jurys Inn chain in £791m deal >>
Jurys Inns to appoint a new chief executive by mid-March 2009 >>
Jurys Inns calls for hotel star rating system to be scrapped >>
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