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‘Demonised’ landlords, Twitter called to task, and GAA selling O’Neills short

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

The contract to operate the Convention Centre Dublin is one of a number of infrastructure assets up for sale by a State-backed investment fund. Photo: Bryan O Brien

Dominic Coyle's face
Dominic Coyle
Wed Nov 16 2022 - 06:41

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe accused Sinn Féin of “demonising” landlords while suggesting the party’s call for a rent freeze would backfire and end up reducing the number of properties available to rent when he appeared before an Oireachtas committee discussing amendments to the Finance Bill. Eoin Burke-Kennedy tuned in.

John Laing, the British group that specialises in infrastructure investment, is the preferred bidder for three of the four assets in the State-backed Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF) that were put on the market over the summer with a total price tag of over €1 billion, writes Joe Brennan.

In the world of tech, “it was striking – and refreshing – to see chief executives take personal responsibility for the lay-offs,” Sarah O’Connor writes in her column of the recent spate of job cuts across the sector. “But it was also a reminder of how much power they have”, a reminder that, for all the casual wear and office ping pong, many tech companies are highly autocratic.

Twitter, for its part, will continue to use Ireland as its main centre of business in the EU, company officials have assured the Data Protection Commission after they were called in by the regulator over changes at the business since Elon Musk took over. The DPC says it will keep a close eye on how things proceed after being told the social media group was aware of its EU data privacy obligations. Ciara O’Brien reports.

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From one crisis to another, taking hotels off grid to house more refugees could cost the sector up to €1 billion when losses for local restaurants and attractions are factored in, and cost thousands of jobs, a report from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation to be published later this week will say, writes Mark Paul.

Eir, the telecoms group that has regularly found itself in headlines over poor customer service, paid €800 million in dividends in the first nine months of this year to a holding company owned by its main shareholders, French billionaire Xavier Niel and two US hedge funds, writes Joe Brennan. That brings total shareholder payouts to €1.73 billion since April 2018.

O’Neills sportswear may be quintessentially Irish but 2022 has proven a rough year for the sale of replica GAA shirts, the company said. It is blaming the foreshortened GAA season for a 16 per cent fall in shirt sales as growth in Australia and the UK outpaced the home market.

A Limerick solicitor who sued business lobby Isme over defamatory comments about a personal injuries action in which he represented two people involved in a traffic accident has received an apology in the High Court as well as €75,000 in damages.

Petrol retailer Maxol reported bumper profits but warned that the outlook for the next two years was “bumpier”. Ian Curran also reports that the group is planning a €100 million investment in electric vehicle charging hubs over time.

Waterford hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald has challenged the alleged sale of his loan in relation to a Clare property from ACCBank to a “vulture fund” in proceedings brought before the Master of the High Court against him by Pepper Finance and receiver James Anderson of Deloitte.

Storied bank, Goldman Sachs, has paid out well over €12 million to a veteran executive who complained internally about a toxic workplace for women in the highest echelons of Wall Street’s most prestigious firm, a settlement to make even the most privileged bankers smart.

Sticking with finance, Dublin aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation (Ireland) has become the latest plane lessor to take legal action over aircraft lost in Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, following action taken by the world’s two largest lessors, Dublin-based AerCap and Avolon, writes Simon Carswell.

Building a proposed children’s science museum next to the National Concert Hall in Dublin is likely to far outstrip its current €47 million budget, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy, even if it does get planning permission.

In Commercial Property, Ronald Quinlan writes about a fully let block of 54 apartments in the Hazelbrook Square scheme at Churchtown in south Dublin, which have come to market with an asking price of €20 million and offering a yield of over 5 per cent.

And he reports that €1.25 billion has been spent in the first nine months of 2022 by investors in 22 private rental sector transactions, according to a new report from estate agent Hooke & McDonald.

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