Stringfellow's arrival spells relief for some: The arrival of nude dancers in Peter Stringfellow's Irish venture will displease most locals in Dublin's Parnell Street area, but the club's imminent opening is good news for Mr Stringfellow's landlords.
A farmer, Tim Taylor, and businesswoman, Catriona Hallahan, who live in Kilternan, south Dublin, are the beneficial owners of Simbella Ltd, which in turn owns the units in the Parnell Centre that will house Stringfellow's.
Simbella's latest accounts show that the company had to write off €161,895 in 2004 after the previous tenant - Dublin Sports Cafe Ltd, trading as Shooters bar - went into liquidation.
The Simbella accounts for 2004 say that the property was not sublet during the year under review but that a "new tenant has agreed to let the premises from autumn 2005".
Simbella made a gross profit of €238,077 in 2003 and a gross profit of €322,011 in 2002 but there was a deficit of €232,288 at the end of 2004.
Business with Mr Stringfellow should improve Simbella's financial situation, which will be good news for its bankers, Anglo Irish, its accountants, Friel Stafford, and for BDO Simpson Xavier, where the company has its registered office.
Roche fails to stick blame on Wrigley
Bully for Wrigley, the chewing gum group. Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has made great play of a €2 million "contribution" from the gum industry for eduction and research into the sticky problem of gum litter.
Mr Roche characterised the multi-year programme as a significant step forward in the fight against the rubbish-mongers, but the real winner in this particular affair was Wrigley. The gum giant, remember, deployed the assistance of no less a figure than US ambassador James Kenny in its efforts to talk Mr Roche out of imposing a special tax along the lines of the plastic bag fee.
Not only was Wrigley successful on that score, but it also managed to divert the Government from using the industry contribution to clean gum from the streets. A contribution for cleaning would have established a causal link between the industry and its litter, as wells as an implicit admission that the industry was at fault. This would have established a precedent in Europe, encouraging other states to seek similar contributions.
The fact that the Roche initiative brings in a contribution for eduction while avoiding a tax on gum chewers represents a double-sided victory for the industry.
With 90 per cent of the market, Wrigley had the most to lose in a doomsday situation and the most to gain from a successful arm-twisting exercise. Wrigley won, in spite of what Mr Roche says.
Martin's home holiday
An absentee from Davos this week was Tánaiste Mary Harney, who was a familiar face at the Swiss resort in her time at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Harney has moved on to other things, of course, but the new political season was marred for her by a €56 million accounting miscalculation at the Health Service Executive, which only added to the sense that no-one is really in control of the health system.
Such problems are not unfamiliar to her successor, Micheál Martin, who had a torrid time of it in Health. Not for Micheál the high talk of the World Economic Forum. No. Martin enjoyed the week dishing out hundreds of new jobs in Cork, his home patch.
Indo's taste of India
Current Account is well aware of Independent News & Media's exotic international adventures, but even he was surprised this week to learn of the company's involvement in Indian beans and tomato sauce.
The previously-unknown link came to light in the latest edition of Business India magazine, which included a comment on the proposed initial public offering of Jagran Prakashan, Indo's Indian step-son. Part of the story refers to Indo's long involvement with India, including - you've guessed it - its acquisition "some years ago" of Heinz in India, the firm "well-known for its ketchup products".
Hmmm. Current Account is confused, as presumably Indo's shareholders would be . . . if the story were correct.
