An Post has welcomed a recent breakthrough with the UK’s Royal Mail over an issue that had been leading to thousands of online purchases by Irish customers being returned each day to smaller British retailers, the Sunday Independent reports.
The UK postal service has adopted a new system over the past three weeks to add digital codes to packages, obligatory under EU rules for parcels sent from outside the union, which store information on the contents of the package and whether duty and taxes are prepaid.
Larger UK retailers had quickly put systems in place to ensure smooth deliveries after the rules came in post-Brexit.
O’Brien faces challenges on Digicel restructuring
Denis O’Brien’s Digicel restructuring plan to have $1.8 billion (€1.7 billion) of its debt written off is facing challenges as it has yet to secure enough support from holders of two groups of senior creditors, the Sunday Times reports.
Citing information from credit intelligence firm Reorg, the newspaper said that holders of 57 per cent of term loans issued by the group’s Digicel International Finance Limited (DIFL) and 46 per cent of DIFL secured note holders are not supportive of the agreement.
While these credit groups are not being asked to take debt writedowns, Digicel is looking to push out the dates when their credit matures. It is believed the DIFL creditors, who could block a wider deal, are looking for higher interest rates to sign up to the deal.
Dunnes seeks to redevelop Crumlin shopping centre
The Sunday Times also reports that Dunnes Stores is planning to knock down the 1970s-built Crumlin shopping centre and redevelop the site with a larger two-storey mall, in a move that could result in the retailer avoiding a derelict sites levy.
The centre once had 49 shops, a bank and a pub, but has been hollowed out over the past decade and a half. The retailer occupies one unit, while the rest of the centre is closed off to the public, the report noted. The Dublin Inquirer reported last month that Dublin City Council was assessing the site to see if it was suitable for the derelict sites register, where a levy of 7 per cent applies.
Big Irish property funds take €240m hit as values drop
The Business Post reports that a group of eight Irish commercial property funds managed by life and pension and investment groups have seen the combined value of their portfolios fall by 5 per cent since September to less than €4.4 billion amid valuation drops and investor withdrawals.
The combined hit across funds operated by Bank of Ireland, Irish Life, Aviva, Zurich and State Street Global Advisors has amounted to €240 million, it said.
Irish Life last week become the latest fund manager here to suspend withdrawals from its property fund, as rising interest rates have seen a sharp jump in investors looking to withdraw their money. Bank of Ireland’s New Ireland unit and Zurich Life had also recently taken similar moves.
Amgen to scale back plan for €1bn Waterford campus
The Business Post also reports that US biotech giant Amgen plans to scale back a planned €1 billion campus in Waterford after its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.
Amgen agreed to buy Horizon for €25 billion in November. Horizon had secured permission in November for a state-of-the art drug substance manufacturing facility and office campus in Waterford city, which has an estimated development cost of up to €1 billion. Amgen is now weighing plans to reduce the investment to a stand-alone €400 million facility to be located either in Waterford or its existing location in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, the report said.
