The takeover of Doyle Hotels by Jurys will bring to an end a period of tension at the top of the privately-owned group. There have been significant differences in approach between the former managing director, Mr David Doyle, and other members of the board. Sources said last night Mr Doyle would be taking cash rather than Jurys stock in the merger. He will not hold a place on the new board and will have no further interest in the family business.

Currently, the group is owned by the family of the late PV Doyle. His wife, Margaret, daughters Eileen Monahan, Ann Roche and Bernie Gallagher, and his son David, all hold a roughly equal stake. Another son, Michael, recently sold his share of the company to the family and has no involvement in the business.

Mr David Doyle resigned as managing director of the group in June 1994; a statement issued by the company then said he wished "to concentrate full time on his personal property investment and business interests". But it emerged that Mr Doyle had in fact stood down because of a dispute with other family members about the way the business was being run.

By February 1996, however, Mr Doyle was back as managing director, at the helm of the hotel group. Dr Paddy Galvin, the former chief executive of Waterford Crystal, took over as chairman. Some reports suggested the voting shares on the board had been altered, and there were indications too that the company was preparing to follow its rivals Jurys and Ryan Hotels in a stock market flotation.

During this time, the group appointed a number of high-profile non-executive directors, including former Price Waterhouse partner and ESB chairman, Mr Billy McCann, the former chief executive of Hilton Hotels, Mr Michael Hirst, and Senator Eoin Ryan.

Just over a year later, in April 1997, the Doyle group said Mr Doyle was again stepping down as managing director, following further clashes with the rest of the board on the running of the chain. While he remained on the board as a non-executive director, discussions began with a view to severing Mr Doyle's links, and that of his brother Michael, with the company.

Since then, despite the acquisition by the group of a third luxury hotel in Washington DC, the dispute within the family about the way forward has continued to attract the attention of the industry.