Sunday Business Post
There is plenty written on the Northern election, Irish Water and the various political stances on the same.
Over 730 solicitors and over 500k people have been written to regarding their lack of disclosure of offshore assets. Only 15 people have come forward ahead of the May 1st deadline, whereby people will remain anonymous and avoid penalties.
Neil Hughes of Baker Tilly Hughes Blake advertises on the front page of the Business Post seeking expressions of interest in relation to the Regency hotel examinership.
The monthly 40-page Get Connected guide to all things IT in your business is in the Business Post this week.
Leo Varadkar is looking to introduce an auto-enrolment pension scheme, similar to the one introduced in Britain, whereby employer, employee and state pay 5% each and this must be done unless employees opt out. He wants to get a definite start date for this soon and how it may be phased in.
c. 8k children are living outside of Ireland but their parents working in Ireland receive child benefit. Leo Varadkar is looking at putting pressure on the EU to review this and he has got support from a few other countries.
Bernard Brogan is part of the founding team for a wellbeing company called PepTalk. James Brogan, another co-founder and cousin of Bernard, says, “PepTalk provides holistic programmes built around fitness, nutrition and mind set and also financial wellbeing. The programmes are delivered through a combination of an online bespoke app and on-site delivery.”
Junior housing minister Damien English is looking to extend the mortgage-to-rent scheme beyond the current scheme whereby anyone on a combined income of €35k or outside social housing net does not qualify. He claims there are 4/5 funds interested in taking these on without evicting incumbents.
“Coolmore, the international bloodstock empire controlled by John Magnier, has defeated for a fourth time in six years plans for a coal mine near its stud in Australia’s Hunter Valley.” It decided to stand American triple-crown hero American Pharoah in its Australian stud and credit the planning ruling as a catalyst for the decision.
Five buyout funds have acquired €25bn of par debt from loan sell-offs. Cerberus leads the way with €14.4bn, followed by Oaktree at €3.9bn and Deutsche Bank at €2.4bn.
Shell is said to be selling its 45% stake in the multi-billion euro Corrib gas field.
Primary Healthcare Properties, which is structured as a REIT and has £661m under management, has lined up €60m of investments in Irish primary care centres.
Up to 40% of Irish windfarms are said to be set to change hands. Greencoat Capital is said to be the front-runner for one of these groups of assets, the Bord Gáis Wind Farms. It is said to be bidding in the range of €300m and may look to IPO the vehicle that will buy them this year.
Davy Target Investments has acquired 25% of the Burlington Plaza Office complex for €51m and is said to have outbid Colony Capital and Hibernia REIT. The vendor was Lington, a consortium of AIB private clients, run by Davy’s asset management division. Colony acquired debts in relation to the asset and expected to gain ownership through an enforcement but this was injuncted. There is still an outstanding action between Lington and Colony in relation to €2.6m in interest payments Colony claims is due.
Invoice discounting firm Invoice Fair has lent over €100m since inception. €270k is the average size of the amount lent to companies and 45 days is the normal duration.
“Shane Ryan, son of the late Ryanair founder Tony Ryan, has finally applied to turn the former French consulate at 36 Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4 into a residence.”
John Loughran, the owner of the Sandymount Hotel, gives an honest interview with Gillian Nelis on how he nearly lost the family hotel but has weathered the storm and is now investing €6m in the hotel.
The extremely successful Legal and Finance Network launches its summer event in the Business Post today. It has a “save the date” advert for 13th May for the event which includes tag rugby, drinks and speakers, etc.
Pigsback owner Empathy Marketing Limited has acquired escapes .ie and pamper .ie to grow its burgeoning stable which also includes dealrush .ie, the diningroom .ie and luxurybreaks .ie. This is expected to take its turnover to €30m this year. All acquisitions were funded through cashflow. Michael Dwyer’s company seems to have got itself into a pretty position where he has the scale to be the obvious consolidator in the Irish market.
All three papers have pieces on Irish hotel group Dalata this week. Dalata announced a great set of results this week with revenue up nearly 30% to €290m. It spent €150m on new hotels in 2016 and room rates rose to €97.60. Expansion horizons are moving to Britain immediately where it is working with development partners and expect to go further into Europe then. The Sunday Times reports that Dalata is in talks with German property investment group Deka Immobilien about partnering for hospitality deals in the UK. Possible deals could replicate its recent partnership where Deka purchased the Burlington Hotel in Ballsbridge and agreed a 25-year lease with Dalata to operate the hotel. Additionally, the Sunday Independent’s Richard Curran commends Pat McCann for his work on building the hotel chain but points out how little international diversification the group currently have, with “80% of its eggs in the Irish basket”. Dalata currently has 20% of the Dublin and Cork hotel market and 10% of the national market, making it a massive play on the Irish economy and tourism sector. Curran thinks that McCann’s new focus on the UK market could prove tricky with Brexit on the horizon, making it very difficult to read the economy.
Danuta Gray is stepping down from the board of Paddy Power Betfair, having spent several years on the Paddy Power board.
Frank Gleeson, who is running the Northern European division of Aramark, is interviewed in the Business Post. Gleeson has taken Poulet Bonne Femme, Chopped and Kanoodle under his wing and through the strategic partnership is getting them reach they could not have dreamed of before as Aramark reaches stadia, shopping malls, airports and universities. He is very proud that Retail Week called Avoca one of the top 100 brands in the world, which supports the acquisition thesis. He quotes US retail sage Hank Armour when saying retailing should be simple, “find out what they want, go get it for them, and give it to them in the right locations”.
Barry J Whyte and Matt Cooper have a three-page special on JP McManus and the fallout from the case he lost against the US tax authorities. McManus has 60 days to file an appeal. They also chronicle his gambling, trading and philanthropic career.
Atlantic Therapeutics, a spin-out of Galway-based Slendertone manufacturer BMR, has secured €15m in growth capital, mostly from various VC funds.
John Mullins’ Amarenco has secured planning for a big solar farm in Kanturk in what will be a €7m investment. Amarenco is managing €230m of solar assets in France across 17 sites.
“Verde LED, the Cork based industrial lighting company is valuing a new distribution contract with Scandinavian company Malux at €6m over the next three years.” Verde recorded €5m turnover last year and expects to record €6.5m this year.
Colette Sexton said that Taggart Homes’ promotion of its multi-million Barley Fields residential developments in Culmore, Co. Derry is very on trend with the new buyer.
Rumour of the week:
“Lion Capital is looking to take Aryzta private in the wake of its chief executive, Owen Killian, announcing plans to step down.”
Quote of the week from Colette Sexton:
“At the end of the day this is fundamentally a political decision” – AIB CEO Bernard Byrne on the plan to sell 25% stake in AIB this year.
There is a very interesting pull-out on the Deloitte Best Managed Companies. Sixteen newcomers have joined the programme. There are a number of interviews with the new companies, including a very interesting one with Pascal Naylor whose Arkphire is growing exponentially. The companies who were inducted before and stay on the programme are also chronicled in the pull-out. It is a fantastic initiative by Deloitte to support our growing companies and is supported by Barclays also.
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent reports that shareholders in the London-based oil and gas exploration company, T5 Oil & Gas, have been informed that the company plans to float on the Irish and London stock exchanges in April. Funds raised in the flotation will help with work on an exploration block in Senegal in West Africa which T5 owns 90% of and the pursuit of further acquisitions. Davy Stockbrokers and Hannam & Partners are advising on the transaction.
Alan Redmond, an independent director on the board of Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium, is seeking an injunction to have the Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium re-opened.
“TV3 Group’s ad revenue is to take a hit this month following very difficult negotiations over advertising rates with one of the country’s most powerful media buying agencies Core Media.”
The Sunday Independent’s Richard Curran thinks that the help-to-buy scheme could end up costing double its original estimate by the time a review is completed in September and that the money involved will go to a select few developers. The year-on-year increase in the number of people approved for mortgages in January was 47% and the average first-time buyer was borrowing €25k more than a year earlier. The Department of Finance estimated the full-year cost of the scheme to be €50m and at the current pace, it is on track to cost €100m by September.
Voxpro, the Cork-based outsourcing business owned by Dan and Linda Kiely, has committed to opening a new office in the Philippines in the next quarter. The company expects to employ 300 people at the centre and the aim is for the company to move towards a structure where it can meet customer needs in all time zones. Voxpro is currently working with Deloitte to raise up to €30m to fund its expansion plans. Turnover at the company has grown by 80% for 2015 and 2016 and is on track for 67% in this fiscal year, while EBITDA in the most recent period was €3m.
350 poultry farmers who supply Moy Park, the Irish food processing giant, are believed to have taken advantage of the “Cash for Ash” scheme. Many of them applied after plans were announced to cut the subsidy, but before it took effect. A surge in non-domestic RHI applications led to the scheme being massively oversubscribed which led to a £490m budget overrun.
BWG Foodservice, one of Ireland’s largest food service businesses, is expected to exceed €100m in sales this year due to the company signing a number of new major supply contracts with the HSE and catering groups Baxter Story, Gather & Gather and First Choice Purchasing. The firm recorded sales growth of 15% in 2016 following a €5m investment in IT systems and warehouse developments.
Guinness is partnering with British menswear brand Blood Brother to go into the fashion business and create a menswear range for spring & summer of 2017. Blood Brother was founded by Nicholas Biela and James Waller.
Blueface, an Irish cloud telephony company led by Alan Foy, has raised €10m from the BDO Development Capital Fund. Blueface provides services enabling businesses to bring their landline and mobiles together onto a single platform and recently expanded into the US, France, Germany and Spain. During the week, the fund, led by investment director Anthony O’Driscoll and head of investments Andrew Bourg, announced a €3.2m investment into the confectionery maker Broderick’s. Foy ends the article with a good quote on the importance of taking in external capital: “We need to build the next big Irish success story and to do that there are different points on your trajectory on your journey. You need to take in external capital to make sure you deliver on that promise.”
An article in the Sunday Independent suggests that ATA is tidying up its balance sheet and raising some equity through Investec to replace some vendor finance left behind by MML when it partially exited last year. ATA, led by Peter Cosgrove, turned over €65m and recorded EBITDA of over €14m in 2015.
In one of his pieces this week, Dan O’Brien discusses academic economist Frank Barry’s recent paper on Ireland’s decision to join the euro and what might have happened if Ireland had retained its own currency.
FBD, the only Irish-owned insurance company, has almost halved sales through intermediary brokers in 2016 and has worked its way back into profitability recording pre-tax profits of €11.4m for 2016 after making a loss of c. €86m in 2015. Many of FBD’s larger foreign-owned competitors have also been routeing an increasing proportion of their business in-house.
According to a survey carried out by DPD, the parcel delivery company, c. 20% of all Irish fashion shopping is conducted on the internet, ranking Ireland 5th of the 21 European countries surveyed.
Irish courts will have a central role to play when it comes to costly international disputes over privacy laws after the EU’s incoming General Data Protection Regulation becomes effective next year. The new directive will have huge significance for Ireland because of its growth as an EU data centre hub. The new regulations will enforce rights for EU citizens wherever in the world they are.
This week’s interview is with Hammerson’s Simon Betty.
There is a page dedicated to the winners of the SFA National Small Business Awards 2017.
This week’s focus pieces are on “Ireland’s race against time to avoid €360m EU renewables fine” and “Why empowering women in the workplace is a win-win for us all”.
There is a Q&A-style piece with Morgan McKinley’s chief marketing office Julian Kulkarni.
Sunday Times
The government is considering allocating up to 10% of new flotation of AIB to the public. It is reported that a minimum investment of €10,000 may be imposed to “discourage those without the experience or financial resources to assume the risks involved”.
Marlet, formerly New Generation Homes, is considering the “forward sell” of up to 1,500 apartments in Dublin in a deal worth c. €450m. This would be only the second forward sell arrangement since the property crash.
“Arralis, a Limerick-based satellite technology company, is close to being acquired by a Chinese buyer in a transaction worth up to €40m.” Arralis was founded by CEO Barry Lunn and CTO Michael Gleaves who each own 35.5% in the company. It has raised c. €1.3m in funding since 2013. Backers include Kernel Capital, ACT Ventures and Enterprise Ireland.
Zalando, a German online fashion retailer, is planning to expand its “fashion insights centre” in Dublin, creating 200 jobs. Zalando employs 2,000 people around Europe and had revenues of €3.64bn and operating profit of €216m in 2016. At present, the Zalando site is not currently available in Ireland.
A proposed restructuring by the government of the loss-making network of 1,130 post offices has been rejected by An Post, saying that the plan does not go far enough. Bobby Kerr prepared the report for the government. The plan would see the closure of up to 80 post offices. An Post have engaged consultants McKinsey to prepare an alternative survival plan. The Sunday Business Post also has an article on the challenge facing David McRedmond to turn An Post’s fortunes around.
Brian Carey’s Agenda:
– Ahead of its upcoming flotation, Carey highlights the significant turnaround in AIB since 2010. The Bank has refocused on its core consumer banking business, disposed of its non-core operations, is a market leader in a lot of its product areas and has completed an image revamp. The Sunday Independent’s Richard Curran also comments on AIB’s recovery and points out that the government will have gotten back between €8.6bn and €9.6bn post the 25% IPO. This figure is inclusive of the €6.6bn AIB has paid the government in fees, buybacks, etc., meaning that payback time for taxpayers is inching closer. Meanwhile, The Business Post reports that a decision by the government to offload a stake in AIB will be needed by April if the privatisation is to happen before the summer.
– Carey commends CRH and Albert Manifold on the performance of the group following its acquisitions of the “cast-offs” of the Lafarge and Holcim merger and from Canadian company CR Laurence. The incremental earnings and cash generated following the acquisitions has seen CRH’s debt to earnings ratio fall from 3x to 1.7x within a year. Carey also highlights the group’s ability to reap pricing arbitrage from its M&A activity. Over the past two years, is acquired businesses at an average of 10x earnings but sold businesses for 13x earnings.
– An Post’s pension scheme will be paying close attention to the state’s restructuring plan. As a means to plug a staff pension deficit in 2013, An Post granted mortgages over 63 post offices in favour of the pension. If these offices are closed or sold, replacement assets or cash will need to be given to the pension.
Noel Murray, owner of the Murray Group of pubs (five bars in Dublin city centre), is the preferred bidder on the Camden Deluxe Hotel on Camden Street with the price estimated at €8.5m. It is reported that Murray will reopen the property as a sports bar with capacity of 1,000 people.
MM Capital, owner of the Phibsboro Shopping Centre and an office block beside it, is planning to refurbish the adjoining office block. The existing tenants have been requested to part-fund the refurbishment through a €3 per sq ft rent increase and will be required to temporarily vacate the building for 12-18 months while the refurbishment is completed.
Fashion retailer Harvey Nichols lost €1.5m at its Dundrum store in the year to April 2016.
Michael Noonan has ruled out tax breaks for crowdfunding platforms in advance of the planned regulation for the industry.
Remus Umo fashion brand, owned by family business Douglas & Grahame, generated revenues of £20m and pre-tax profit of £1.5m in the year to May 2016.
Irish sports-technology company Kitman Labs has raised €4.4m from California-based BlueRun Ventures. BlueRun also invested €4m in Kitman Labs in 2014. Kitman Labs uses data on athletes to help predict and prevent injuries.
Credit rating agency Kroll Bond Rating Agency, the first rating agency set up post the 2008 financial crash, is to establish a new office in Ireland and is targeting to hire up to 100 staff.
Dutch online bank Rabodirect will cease taking in deposits in Ireland through independent financial advisors. The move is limited to deposits through financial advisors only and company has reported that direct deposits from customers will not be affected.
Cormac Lucey writes on Ireland’s priorities in the Brexit negotiations. He highlights his priorities: national concerns, border-related; economic concerns, trade related; and sectoral concerns such as agri. Lucey advocates for elected government, i.e. ministerial leadership in the negotiations rather than the “permanent government”.
Brian Carey interviews Glanbia boss Siobhan Talbot. From daughter of a Kilkenny farmer supplying Avonmore, to MD of Glanbia; the interview gives a very interesting background to Talbot and Glanbia’s journey.
Sandra O’Connell speaks with the leading women in the Going for Growth programme, an initiative sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG that is designed to support women who are serious about growing their businesses.
Nick Webb’s Inside Track:
– Irish business leaders will be well represented at Cheltenham this year; owners include: Michael O’Leary (Ryanair); Barry Maloney (tech entrepreneur) and his brother Michael Maloney (Payzone chairman); Robert Finnegan (Three Ireland boss); David Bobbett (H&K); Des Sharkey (Caelum Developments); Philip Reynolds (Pet food business); Ronan Lambe (Icon co-founder); and Luke Comer (property developer)
– Colm Lyon, who sold Realex Payments for €115m, and CarTrawler boss, Bobby Healy, have invested in travel recommendation group LikeWhere.
– TransferMate will reportedly work with West Ham football club to help manage its FX exposure in cross border trades for new players.
276k – The number of people on the live register as of February, a year-on-year decrease of 13.9% and the lowest level recorded since 2008.
c. €330k – The cost of developing a typical 3-bed semi-detached house in Dublin, according to @SCSISurveyors. @IrishTimesBiz
€7.5bn – The amount of revenue collected by the exchequer in the first two months of the year, 1.6% ahead of budget targets. @IrishTimesBiz
€1.7bn – Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government’s budget for 2017, a year-on-year increase of €400m. @HousingPress
€4.2bn – The value of the 129 M&A deals that occurred in Ireland last year, a year-on-year decline of 51%, according to @WilliamFryLaw.
c.56k – Number of new car sales in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year decline of 8%, according to @SIMI_IE. @IrishTimesBiz
65 – The crane count in Dublin city centre as of this morning, an increase of 91% from February of last year, according to @IrishTimesBiz.
9.1% – The year-on-year increase in the average loan size for the month of January, according to Banking and Payments Federation.
€716.07 – The average weekly earnings as of Q4 of 2016, a year-on-year rise of 0.6%, according to @CSOIreland. @IrishTimesBiz
0.8% – Northern Ireland’s projected growth rate this year, according to @DanskeBank_UK. @IrishTimesBiz
220k – The number of jobs in Ireland supported by the tourism industry, equivalent to 11% of the total employment in Ireland. @IndoBusiness
8.8m – The number of overseas visitors to Ireland last year, 40% of which were from the UK, according to @IHFcomms. @IndoBusiness