Business Post
The Connect Ireland/IDA dispute continues with Connect Ireland seeking €7m from the IDA. There is a disagreement about how many jobs Connect Ireland has created through companies it brought to Ireland.
Sarah Keane, the new CEO of Olympic Council of Ireland, is interviewed in the Business Post.
There are reams and reams on the current political turmoil. Mary Regan’s headline summarises it well, “The treatment of Maurice McCabe has been a failure not of Enda Kenny but of the state. Yet, as the man at the top, he is the one who will pay the ultimate price”.
The bookmakers, who got Brexit and Trump so wrong, suggest the following probabilities regarding the next FG leader:
– Leo Varadkar 46% (4/6)
– Simon Coveney 35% (6/5)
– Somebody else 19%
“Timber Creek, a €3.4bn Canadian private equity firm, is to target Irish property with the launch of a €200m challenger bank in Dublin.” Its sweet spots appear to be €5m to €50m and commercial property.
European Digital Bank is seeing big traction in Ireland for its offering with 10,000 of its 200,000 customers in Ireland. It operates in 17 different countries.
Animation company Monster Entertainment is raising €26m for a feature film and five different TV series.
David Ehrlich, head of Ires Reit, which has bought €600m worth of residential property in Ireland, said, “the supply and demand imbalance, despite recent announcements, will not be corrected for quite a number of years”. He said Dublin is particularly bad with a lot of inward migration and high birth rates. Ires reported €47m in profit in 2016.
GoCar, owned by Europcar, is set to double the size of its fleet as demand increases for its offering.
IKydz, set up by Jason Sheehy and John Molloy to help monitor children’s online activity, has signed two major distribution deals, one with Staples and another with an Australian retailer. IKydz is also rolling out a 3g and 4g solution with Etisalat, a major mobile operator in the Asia and African market. This will allow parents control the phone outside the home. Revenues this year are expected to top €13m.
Invis Energy, formed by Cork wind farm entrepreneur Michael Murnane and development partner HG Capital, is looking to sell its wind farm estate. The suggested price tag is €330m and NTR and a number of international players have made a play according to the article. Murnane is estimated to be worth up to €39m. RBC’s Capital Markets unit is running the sale. The portfolio generates €17m at the moment and is expected to generate up to €40m when fully developed.
Crowe Horwath announce the appointment of new partners Brian Geraghty and Neil Davitt in the Business Post.
There is an interview with the newly appointed CEO of Bord Bia, Tara McCarthy, in the Business Post. McCarthy spent a large part of her 20 year career in Bord Bia in various roles and most recently was head of Bord Iascaigh Mhara. With 37% of our food and drink exports going across the water, she will have a big job on her hands to help navigate the food industry through the Brexit. She applied for the job after the Brexit election so she is definitely up for the challenge.
Dublin-headquartered Falcon Oil and Gas’ share price rose almost 200% last week as it sits on a 30% share of potentially one of the biggest shale gas discoveries of all time. The company still needs to get the help of local authorities in South Africa and Australia to get permission to excavate the same. The Australian announcement during the week suggested that the find would have 100 times the amount of gas the Corrib gas field has.
Galway wind turbine manufacturer C&F Tooling had turnover of €93m, EBITDA of €7m and a net loss of €3.04m in 2015. 2016 saw further growth in revenue and EBITDA according to the accounts.
Nicola McClafferty joins Draper Espirit as investment director. She previously worked alongside Barry Maloney in Balderton and set up her own online boutique Covetique which she sold to Asos, who subsequently shut it down.
With Owen Killian announcing his resignation and plans to offload its stake in French supermarket chain Picard, Aryzta still has to define its route forward from here and there is a full page dedicated to what route Gary McGann will take the company and how it will manage the exit of Picard. Brian Carey in the Sunday Times reports that Killian’s departure looks set to be followed by the departure of Patrick McEniff and John Yamin, head of finance and its US business, respectively.
The Business Post sent 20 questions on Brexit to the government and have the answers printed in today’s edition. Alan Dukes also writes a piece on Brexit.
Sean Ennis, co-founder of Genomics Ireland, is interviewed in the Business Post. The company plans to build the country’s first purpose-built clinical genomics laboratory to study genes and their functions. It has raised $40m from a range of investors including ISIF, ARCH Venture Partners and GV.
OncoMark, which develops early stage diagnostic technology for breast cancer patients, has raised €2.1m from the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Venture fund, the IRRUS Investments syndicate and Galway HBAN Medtech syndicate.
There are focus pieces on CRM, Lifelong Learning and Education and Exporting in the Business Post.
Word on the street from Róisín Burke is interesting: “Donald Trump cabinet appointee and Bank of Ireland backer Wilbur Ross tried to lure Richie Boucher to help run the billionaire’s Greek Bank Investment”.
Tero Tiilikainen reflects on M&A activity globally in H2.
Sunday Independent
Athlone Extrusions, a midlands-based plastics business with turnover of €60m, is reported to be in talks with a European party for the potential sale of the business. The business is being advised by IBI Corporate Finance. Athlone Extrusions was formerly part of the Quinn Group before management completed an MBO in 2004 at a reported valuation of €55m.
A dispute between members of the family behind the Kilkenny Group was in court during the week which centres on the children’s share in the company and Gregory O’Gorman’s recent exit from his job with his family’s business. The Business Post reports that Gregory O’Gorman is fighting for his 25% share in the family Kilkenny business. He values his own stake at €12.5m; the basis for the valuation is unclear.
Investors Exchange (IEX), America’s newest securities market, is pushing to break the long-held control of America’s security trading held by the NASDAQ and NYSE. The business was co-founded by former high-frequency trader and Irish-man, Ronan Ryan. Ryan was one of the central characters in Michael Lewis’ book, Flash Boys.
Richard Curran’s piece:
– Curran muses over what might result for Irish businesses from the leadership struggle at the head of Fine Gael. A simple change in personnel will bring little difference to businesses. An election has the potential to bring change but there would need to be a clear winner, rather than a repeat of the same governmental power split: “without an obvious clear winner, an election in the short term would bring all the uncertainty for business and the economy and little gain”.
– KBC‘s announcement of its commitment to Ireland is likely to result in an expansion of its branch network. It is targeting 10% of the SME and retail market in the medium term. The bank will pursue its “Digital First” approach to banking and is unlikely to significantly add to its existing 15 branches. Its focus on digital banking is an important differentiator to the incumbents who rely on an extensive physical branch network.
– A Finnish company who bought the Nokia name from Microsoft last year will re-release the famous Nokia 3310 later this year. The 3310 was first released back in 2000.
Uniphar, the drug wholesaler, has sold 11 Allcare pharmacies to the independent pharmacy community and is reported to be in advanced talks for the sale of four more.
Non-bank lender Grid Finance has raised €30m for onward lending on its online marketplace lending platform. The investment was made by Thiele Marketplace Income Fund and Unbent Capital. Grid Finance has also announced that it will set up a new division, Grid Wealth, which will provide an investment product to consumers.
Kilkea Castle Hotel will reopen this summer after an extensive 5-star standard refurbishment programme. The hotel will be run by Podium Hospitality, a hotel operator backed by Bernard Brogan Snr and run by David Webster, the former GM of the Powerscourt Hotel.
US investment into Ireland through FDI almost doubled from $158bn in the five years to 2010 to $350bn in the in the five years to 2015; this figure includes both traditional investment into factories and offices, as well as less tangible financial investments such as corporate inversions.
Dan O’Brien discusses the potential impact on Ireland from Trump’s protectionism ideas. The US is one of Ireland’s largest export markets; if Trump was to impose a border tariff, Irish exporters would be badly hit. Recent rhetoric from the president bashing US companies looking to invest abroad may deter potential FDI and any retaliatory tariffs imposed by the EU on the US may disrupt the supply chains of US companies bringing goods into Ireland for further processing. Additionally, the lowering of the tax code and potential window for the repatriation of cash held outside the US will reduce one lever of Ireland’s attractiveness for investment by US companies. Stephen Kinsella and Colette Sexton also have a two-page special in the Business Post mulling over the possible implications for FDI into Ireland in light of the Trump policies.
Sean Gallagher interviews John Fitzgerald, MD of Harmonics, a specialist career consulting firm that helps organisations manage their employees through periods of change.
Mash Direct, a food producer based in Northern Ireland, has won a £1m p.a. deal to supply Morrisons. The company, formed in 2004 by Martin and Tracy Hamilton, turned over £15m and made £1.1m of pre-tax profit last year. It was voted the Best Food Company in the UK last year.
Alan Murphy, managing director of Eversheds Sutherland, has an excellent interview this week with Gavin McLoughlin. Formerly just Eversheds, the Dublin law firm has been renamed following the recent merger between Eversheds and US firm Sutherlands Asbill & Brennan to form Eversheds Sutherland.
Panda Waste CEO Eamon Waters recently received planning permission for a 124-bed 4-star hotel on Ship Lane in Dublin 8. The decision is being appealed to An Bord Pleanala by Galway developer Padraic Rhatigan, who owns the Radisson Blu hotel close by on Golden Lane. Rhatigan himself was given planning permission for a 103-bed extension to his hotel, taking the total room count to 255.
Declan Ryan has joined the board of Irish start-up FoodCloud. Founded in 2013 by Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward, FoodCloud “works by teaming up charities in need of useful food donations with companies that have produced too much food”.
Sunday Times
International investment funds are taking a keen interest in the Irish healthcare market, as the British investor Prudential and the Australian fund AMP are set to invest hundreds of millions building and buying primary care centres.
Brian Carey’s agenda piece this week:
– Bank of Ireland will announce its annual results this week which will include confirmation as to whether it’s going to return a dividend to shareholders. Analysts are split as to whether shareholders will be rewarded for the first time since 2008.
– Ciaran Murray, the Icon chief executive, was the highest paid domestic chief executive in the last four years. He earned $40m over that period, half in cash and half in share-based payments.
Quinn Industrial Holdings has taken legal proceedings against Facebook in a bid to unmask the people who have made malicious and allegedly defamatory comments about the company and its management.
Paul Coulson’s glass and metal packaging group Ardagh Group will take its first steps this week towards a 2017 stock market flotation by briefing investment bank analysts on its current performance and future strategy. Ardagh, which releases its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, has said it plans to raise between €250m and €270m, with a float of 5% of its operating company.
The sons of two business associates of Denis O’Brien have joined the boards of his Spanish golf and hotel business. Filings in Spain show Brett Desmond, son of Dermot Desmond, and Paddy McKillen Jnr, son of Paddy McKillen, became directors of PGA Golf de Catalunya, PGA Golf de Caldas and Golf Hotel Malavella in October and November last year.
Ryanair is set to sue US online booking company Expedia in its latest legal salvo against online travel agents who attempt to sell the airline’s fares.
Cormac Lucey describes Greece “as a sad case study of mistakenly joining a currency union which was never going to work, given its national circumstances”. Having joined Europe’s currency union in January 2001, Greece has already received a combined €260bn in vain attempts to rescue its economy over three bailouts. It now needs a fourth: unless Greece receives fresh funds, it will not be able to make €7bn of debt payments in July.
The Central Bank of Ireland has launched an investigation into whether motorists are being made aware of the identity of their motor insurer, especially when brokers place the business with foreign insurers operating out of Gibraltar and other off-shore locations. Following the failure last year of Enterprise Insurance, a Gibraltar-based insurer with 14k policy-holders in Ireland, the Central Bank raised concerns about the vetting of insurers that are able to use the British overseas territory as a base to operate in Europe from.
Just Energy, a Canadian-listed energy company, is preparing to enter the Irish retail gas and electricity markets in the second half of this year, targeting residential and SME customers.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are urging the government to extend a proposed sugar tax to include milk-based beverages, a move strongly opposed by dairy giant Danone.
Former Leinster Rugby winger Darragh Fanning is to open three new Zambrero burrito bars as he expands the Australian-owned Mexican food franchise in Cork and Dublin. Fanning is planning to expand the chain through a mix of company-owned stores and franchises.
A group of wealthy private investors managed by Davy stockbrokers is taking legal action against Colony NorthStar, a US private equity group, in an escalating row over the €200m Burlington Plaza office block in Dublin.
Your Direct Smile, a fast-growing Irish dental start-up, is being sued for patent infringement by Align Technology, a Nasdaq-listed maker of transparent teeth braces.
Gleann Hospitality Group was named as the buyer of the D Hotel in Drogheda, Co. Louth, which was built by developer Gerry Barrett during the boom. The largest shareholder in Gleann is the Martello Group, which is controlled by businessmen Douglas Brennan, Edward Hansom and Eugene O’Reilly. The Gleann Hospitality Group is headed by Alan Murtagh, formerly of Louis Fitzgerald group and more recently general manager of the Mercantile Group. The D Hotel deal was put together by Focus Consulting, the corporate finance firm headed by Rob Adams and Martin Higgins.
US fashion retailer Brooks Brothers moved to shore up its Irish operation with a €1.4m cash injection following losses in the Irish business, which is only establishing itself.
Joe Duffy Motors, the country’s largest motor group, is planning to invest in three new state-of-the-art car dealerships in Charlestown, near Finglas.
The former owners of the Leopardstown Inn in Dublin, which changed hands in a contentious examinership process in 2015, have failed in a claim for unfair dismissal following the takeover of the business.
Under Armour’s Irish outlet recorded a profit of €91k during its first year of trading, according to accounts recently filed.
Crisp maker Tayto Group, owned by Northern Ireland’s Hutchinson family, has bought London-based Tavern Snacks for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is Tayto’s second in recent weeks, alongside the purchase of a 75% stake in Portlebay Popcorn, which it bought out of administration. Tayto Group is headquartered in Tandragee, Co. Armagh and has no connection to Largo Foods, which makes Tayto in the Republic of Ireland.
Providence Resources, the oil and gas explorer, has notified the stock exchange that Marlborough Fund Managers has taken a 4.86% stake in the company.
Nick Webb’s inside track this week:
– Bernie and John Gallagher are thought to have sold a stake in the Bord Gais Theatre to the Purple Orchard investment vehicle, which is backed by accountants Michael Mohan and John Phelan.
– Accounts IQ, a cloud-based accounting group, has secured some high profile backers including Michael Walsh of IIU, Butlers Chocolates chief executive Colm Sorensen, accountant Paddy Shorthall, Global Currency Exchange founder Ed Murphy, Bizquip founder Jim Leyden and Microfinance Ireland chairman Cyril Forbes.
– Realex founder Colm Lyon, who sold the fintech company to Global Payments for €115m in 2015, has invested in PlayTank, the exchange ideas online platform.
– Francis Rhatigan has emerged as one of the biggest investors in Jump Zone, the trampolining and kids play venues.
In his business focus piece, Niall Brady discusses whether traditional lenders can make it in the new digital frontier or whether niche fintech firms will take over.
Gavin Daly has an interview with AMCS chief executive Jimmy Martin.
In Sandra O’Connell’s small business section this week she meets a number of Irish companies looking to grow their businesses outside of the UK post-Brexit.
8.4% – The year-on-year decline in Irish newspaper sales in the second half 2016, according to the @ABC_UK. @IrishTimesBiz
7% – The projected rise in house prices this year, according to @SPGlobal. @IrishTimesBiz
4% – The year-on-year decrease in the value of exports to the UK in 2016, according to the @CSOIreland. @IrishTimesBiz
10 – The number of years before the supply of houses matches the demand in the Irish property market, according to @SPGlobal. @IrishTimesBiz
1.8% – Annualised British rate of inflation for the month of January, an increase from 1.6% in December, according to @ONS. @IrishTimesBiz
2% – The year-on-year decrease in the level of trade at Irish ports in Q4 of 2016, according to @IMDOIreland. @IrishTimesBiz
1.5% – @EU_Commission’s projected growth rate for the UK economy this year, up from 1% previously. @IndoBusiness
4% – The year-on-year increase in shopping for the month of January, according to @Visa’s Irish Consumer Index. @IndoBusiness
3.4% – @EU_Commission’s projected growth rate for the Irish economy this year. @IrishTimesBiz
41 – The number of consecutive months that construction activity has increased in the Republic of Ireland. @IrishTimesBiz
€1.3bn – The amount of revenue generated in the Republic of Ireland by the live entertainment industry in the 12 months to March 2016.
44% – The proportion of office space leased in Dublin during the last quarter of 2016 which was pre-let, according to @SavillsIreland.