High demand from students for housing has fuelled substantial interest from property investors so far this year, according to a new update on the market. Ian Curran reports on the Cushman & Wakefield research, which shows the purpose-built student accommodation sector accounted for almost one fifth of investment in the Irish rented accommodation sector in the first half.
Soaring chicken feed costs put pressure on Armagh-headquartered Moy Park’s profits last year, writes Mark Paul. The company, owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS, saw profits fall by more than half despite a rise in revenues.
Wine sales slumped last year after a record year in 2020, according to new data from Drinks Ireland. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports that wine sales were down by 13 per cent, with the decline linked to the reopening of hospitality venues, where patrons typically favour other beverages.
US information management company Iron Mountain has signed a deal with Iput to rent more than 15,000sq m of space at Aerodrome Business Park in southwest Dublin. Ian Curran has details of the deal, which sees the Boston group join Life Style Sports as a tenant at the park.
In his Caveat column, Mark Paul considers the potential for “greedflation” in the Irish market, as inflation soars across the economy. He notes that grocery price growth is at a 15-year high and wonders if retailers could ever be tempted to use this as an excuse to pass on bigger price increases than necessary.
Mark also takes an in-depth look at the State’s pizza delivery market, which he says has in recent years been attracting heavy-hitting backers with deep pockets and big ideas. Industry sources tell him however that a post-Covid shake-out of some of the smallest operators could be imminent as inflation bites.
John FitzGerald this week focuses on the food processing sector, evaluating its importance to the farming community. Both parts of the food economy will need to evolve to deal with climate change, he writes.
In our Work section, Sarah O’Connor assesses research that considers the impact of harassment at work on female and male victims and on the perpetrators. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the outcomes differ widely.
Separately, Olive Keogh speaks to a professional who made a huge and happy change to her career just as the State entered its period of rolling Covid lockdowns in 2020.
This week’s Wild Goose is Elaine Herlihy, a marketing expert based in Sydney who hails from a small dairy farm in Knocknagoshel Co Kerry. Herlihy, who has spent the summer working from her childhood bedroom, tells Barbara McCarthy about her path through a commerce degree and a higher diploma in marketing practice and how she always had an “outward eye”.
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