A number of large gas-fired power plants deemed “vital” by the Government may not be built due to soaring inflation making their construction commercially unviable, senior energy industry figures have warned, the Business Post reports. The warning comes as Ireland is struggling with short- and medium-term energy supply issues. Eirgrid, the electricity grid operator, warned last week that the gap between electricity demand and supply is likely to get worse, and that the country faces a high risk of blackouts this winter due to a significant deterioration in the capacity of Ireland’s power system since last year.
As part of the efforts to meet the shortfall in power supply, Eirgrid held a power capacity auction in January seeking bids from energy companies to develop new thermal power plants by 2025. The auction secured successful bids from five different energy firms to build new gas-fired power plants around the country that will deliver a combined 1,100MW in new power capacity. It has now emerged that some of these plants may not go ahead.
Irish betting firm BoyleSports in talks over potential sale
Ireland’s largest independent betting company, BoyleSports, is understood to be in a sale process that may lead to a big shake-up of the Irish gambling market, according to the Sunday Independent. BoyleSports, which is headquartered in Dundalk, Co Louth, has 340 shops in Ireland and the UK and employs about 2,500 people. It also has a growing online business which is expanding into Europe, Africa and Canada.
Ekco founders cash in with stake sale
Corten Capital, a British private equity company, is to buy a controlling interest in Ekco Cloud Holdings in a deal that will value the Irish IT services company at well over €300 million, according to the Sunday Times. The deal is expected to help Ekco in its ambitions to become a leading pan-European IT services company. The sale is also likely to provide a substantial windfall for Ekco founders Eoin Blacklock and Jonathan Crowe. Its backers include Nick Furlong’s Pageant Holdings; Act Venture Capital; the former AIB chairman Lochlann Quinn; and Sencheer Holdings, the family office of the late retailer Feargal Quinn.
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Investors pull out of build-to-rent developments
The build-to-rent-sector in Dublin has suffered a heavy blow as €400 million worth of deals on two landmark apartment projects have unravelled in recent months, according to the Sunday Times. The German property behemoth Commerz Real has shelved a €200 million investment in the developer Joe O’Reilly’s 30-storey apartment building at Parkgate Street on the north side of the Liffey. Ruirside Developments, which is owned by O’Reilly’s Chartered Land Group, secured planning permission for the tower last year but construction has yet to start.
Revenue gives struggling firms a stay of execution
Revenue has given a cohort of struggling businesses seven days to clear their outstanding tax debt, or face being referred to sheriffs or the courts to recoup the money. Correspondence seen by the Business Post shows firms that are one step away from being subject to enforcement action have been given a week to pay their debts, as Revenue restarts debt collections which were paused during the pandemic.
