Stephen’s Green Centre heads for €100m facelift but fewer shops and cafes

The Stephen’s Green Centre is getting set for a facelift that will add another two storeys to the building and add significant office space at the expense of retail, according to the Sunday Times. A plan for the €100 million-plus upgrade is expected shortly from investors Davy Real Estate, who acquired the building in 2019 for about €175 million.

Kingspan family to add Buswells to its hotels portfolio

The family behind the Cavan building materials group Kingspan is poised to spend €22 million buying Dublin’s Buswells Hotel, a favoured haunt of politicians given its proximity to Leinster House. The Sunday Times reports that the Murtagh family, which already owns a five-star hotel in Amsterdam and previously owned a boutique hotel in London, has been in exclusive negotiations to buy the hotel for the past few weeks.

Report warns of property hoarding

A new Government report says that property investors are sitting on planning permissions for apartments, warning of a possible new trend of “hoarding and speculative behaviour”, the Business Post reports. The State’s internal research agency – the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service – says the number of apartments being built annually has only doubled to 5,000 between 2018 and 2021, despite more than 75,000 being approved in the same period, many of which are not encumbered by continuing legal challenges.

However, builders claim the problem lies elsewhere with the construction of up to 35,000 homes being held up by delays in the planning system, the Sunday Times reports. It reports that no decision on strategic housing developments has been possible since board chairman Dave Walsh took early retirement in October, and that just 563 cases have been decided on overall since July compared to 1,034 in the same period last year. The Irish Home Builders Association estimates that a further 31,000 homes are subject to judicial review.

Student accommodation: A market plagued by bed shortages, rising rents and 51-week leases

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An attempt to buy the next election with a giveaway budget would be a gross miscalculation

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The outlook for interest rate cuts is changing - so should Irish borrowers be worried?

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IDA gives Intel €30m in aid package

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Non-payment of invoices a threat to subcontractors

And sticking with construction, the Sunday Independent reports that non-payment of invoices across the sector is getting worse and is threatening the viability of subcontractors. Large contractors are reported to be haggling over prices of jobs already completed, causing a mounting crisis for smaller firms that operate as subcontractors and potentially driving younger workers to emigration, the paper writes.

Ronan O’Gara in challenge over Cork pub

The Business Post also reports that former Irish rugby international Ronan O’Gara, who is coach at French Champions Cup winners La Rochelle, has challenged the personal insolvency arrangement of a former team-mate at Cork Constitution, John O’Driscoll, a brother of former Munster and Ireland lock Mick O’Driscoll. The dispute, which also involves Cork developer Michael O’Flynn, relates to money invested in a Cork pub, the Silly Goose.

Aughinish Alumina cuts production at Askeaton

High gas costs are reported to have led to a decision by Aughinish Alumina – a business with links to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska – to cut production at its Askeaton facility in Limerick. The Sunday Times reports that the move could lead to the loss of up to 250 jobs.

Future investments face red light over carbon emissions

New rules requiring IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to consider the carbon emissions of any future proposed investment could see some potential investments rejected, according to the head of enterprise strategy at the Department of Enterprise. The Business Post writes that projects are being evaluated under a new model as part of the Government’s enterprise White Paper commitment to decarbonisation.

Sales tumble at face mask maker

An Irish manufacturer of protective face masks has reported a fall in pretax profit of over 50 per cent in the year to March 2022. Limerick-based Jahan Manufacturing still made €10.4 million even as sales tumbled over 40 per cent to about €20.2 million, the Sunday Independent reports.

Sisu chain adds new clinics

Also in the Sunday Independent, Pat Phelan’s chain of cosmetic clinics, Sisu, is planning a €10 million expansion next year, adding 10 new clinics to the 22 it has in Ireland, the UK and the US. The focus for the group seems to be New York.