Weir’s extends reach on both sides of the Liffey

Weir & Sons jewellers is expanding beyond its landmark premises on Grafton Street in Dublin. The 154-year-old company has bought two nearby buildings on Wicklow Street and is refurbishing them with the aim of opening next year.

“They may end up as departments of Weir’s or potentially stand-alone stores, maybe trading under the Weir name, maybe under a different brand,” said Chris Andrews, the managing director. “We’re probably under a bit of pressure space-wise in here, so it’s nice having that extra space.”

The company has planning permission to extend 12 Wicklow Street, and will build “a big light feature” in the ceiling. Across the road at 32 Wicklow Street, it has hired a conservation firm to work on the pointing, and “trying to get it looking sharp”, Andrews said.

Now employing 160 people, Weir’s is also planning a “total refurbishment” of its Grafton Street store, finishing in 2025. A Rolex showroom has opened on the first floor, with a Patek Philippe area to follow. Weir’s has also bought two premises on O’Connell Street, McDowell’s jewellers at number 3 and the building next door, where it has opened a watch store.

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Asked about the company’s policy of owning buildings rather than leasing them, Andrews says buying its premises outright in 1963 proved the key to staying on Grafton Street.

“Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of buildings on the street were owned by family-run businesses. Sale and leaseback was in vogue then and a lot did that but over time rent became too high and some businesses could not survive and were pushed off the street unfortunately,” he says.

“Sale and leaseback is a short-term vision and with everything we do, we try to think long term,” says Andrews, who is a direct descendant of the shop’s founder, Thomas Weir.

Phelan bounces back with Phoenix

Last June, a liquidator was appointed to the Naked Collective, a healthy-drinks company cofounded by Niall Phelan whose brands included Mude. The drink got a PR boost when it was included in gift bags at the Academy Awards’ pre-event reception in 2021, and also partnered the singer Rita Ora, and yet the Mude went sour in the end.

Phelan is back in business, however, with the aptly named Phoenix Business Advisors. Its website says the consultancy will only take on projects where “we can truly add value”, and adds: “We have been both very successful and also have the valuable lessons of failure.”

Speaking to me from his base in Florida, just before Hurricane Idalia struck, Phelan explained he is “just trying to rebuild things after closing down the business earlier this year” and said the Naked Collective experience was “the toughest four years I’ve had in any business”.

“You don’t do 25 years in CPG [consumer packaged goods] without having plenty of scars on your back and I’ve been fortunate most of the time, but I have had a couple of challenges in there,” he said. The pandemic was particularly tough for new brands in the CPG sector, he said, as it was difficult to convince consumers to try something different.

“What I have done for most of my life is help businesses turn around things, and grow things pretty fast, whether inside larger companies or doing it out on my own,” he said. “With Phoenix, I didn’t plan to set it up. A couple of people reached out to me and next thing I knew I had three clients, and decided I better do something with this. That’s the journey at the moment – not to say it’s the permanent journey, but that’s the journey.”

Coveney stoops to conquer

While businesses often fret about glass ceilings, a more practical concern can be low ceilings, particularly if your chief executive is 6ft 6in tall. Patrick Coveney, the former boss at Greencore, is now in charge at SSP Group, an operator of food and beverage outlets in travel hubs worldwide. He has just completed a tour of SSP outlets in Asia and Australia.

While meeting staff at Mactan-Cebu international airport in the Philippines, he had to stoop down to avoid banging his head off the ceiling. “I’m just too tall for this job,” Coveney quipped on LinkedIn, where he posted a video of the incident.

The group safety director at SSP Group responded: “Remind me to send you the ‘working at height’ risk assessment next time you go on your travels.” Indeed – we wouldn’t want him to hit the roof.

Vertical payout for Slattery

Dómhnal Slattery, the founder of Avolon, is to get $2.5 million (€2.3 million) from Stephen Fitzpatrick, the green energy billionaire and chief executive of Vertical Aerospace, after resigning as chairman of the Bristol-based manufacturer of electrically powered aircraft. According to a filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, the pair entered an agreement in January 2022 giving Slattery an option to purchase up to 1.175 million shares of Vertical at $0.0001 per share. Last April Slattery and Fitzpatrick entered into an option termination agreement in return for payments of up to $2.5 million, subject to certain conditions, including the company raising additional funds during 2023, maintaining a minimum pre-order book, and Slattery remaining as chairman until December 31st.

Vertical and Slattery later agreed to bring forward his leaving date to August 2nd, and he has been appointed a strategic adviser. “In connection with the adjusted transition date, the option termination agreement has been amended ...[and] the remaining payment is conditional only on the company’s maintenance of a minimum pre-order book,” the filing says.

Vertical has had a bumpy month, with one of its experimental prototype aircraft crashing during a test flight in the Cotswolds. It was being remotely piloted and there were no injuries.

Epicurean delight promised

What is happening with the rooftop restaurant promised for the top of the old Central Bank on Dame Street? Four years ago the top two floors of the Sam Stephenson-designed building – now called Central Plaza – were leased to the businessman Zafar Shah. The rooftop restaurant under a glass roof was going to encompass 830 sq m, it was reported, and give diners a bird’s-eye view of Dublin, from the Wicklow Mountains to Howth Head.

Then Covid happened but last November we were told development at Central Plaza was back on track. Brian Moran, senior managing director with developer Hines, promised: “Our unique rooftop experience will offer the best panoramic views of the city.”

We checked in with Hines to see how the restaurant is progressing, and there was no official comment, but we understand a new lease is pending and due to be signed “very soon”.

Crossed wires on Glass Bottle site

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) gave the Department of Finance fair warning before selling its remaining 20 per cent stake in the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Dublin. A memo sent by Brendan McDonagh, Nama’s chief executive, to senior civil servant Des Carville on February 17th has been released to us under the Freedom of Information Act. The time it was sent – 5.13pm on a Friday – may give a sense of its urgency.

On the previous day in the Dáil, Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin and Chris Andrews had proposed that Nama transfer its stake to Dublin City Council to ensure more than 600 affordable homes are built on the site. Jack Chambers, the junior minister in the Department of Finance, was standing in for Michael McGrath, and replied that he would pass along the “feedback” Sinn Féin had provided “and what they have stated regarding the community’s perspective on this, which is important”.

That response triggered McDonagh’s email. “Des, as you and the minister are aware, the board is in advanced negotiations with Oaktree to dispose of its 20 per cent share ... at a very good price,” he began. “We are likely to be contracting within the next 7-14 days – Oaktree are anxious to do the transaction.”

Referring to the Dáil debate, he said: “We note Minister Chambers’ response. However, he did advise the deputies who raised the matter he would communicate it to Ministers McGrath and [Darragh] O’Brien. I presume there is no reason for Nama to not proceed with the sale to Oaktree (by the minister issuing a Section 14 direction) as once we contract, we cannot reverse the transaction. We would appreciate if you could revert by mid next week.”

On February 17th McGrath had been Minister for Finance for two months, and it was unclear if he planned to be more interventionist than his predecessor Paschal Donohoe. In the event Section 14 was not used and Nama closed the sale to Oaktree and developer Johnny Ronan in June.

Ó Broin says: “As a consequence of the Government’s failure to act, it is going to be next to impossible to deliver genuinely affordable homes on the Poolbeg strategic development site, which is a bitter blow to the people of Ringsend, Irishtown and neighbouring communities who desperately need access to affordable homes.”