Failure not an option for decentralisation: Despite the lack of enthusiasm among public sector workers for the Government's voluntary decentralisation programme, the associated property programme continues apace.
The latest OPW figures show it has bought 18 sites and allocated another five it already owns. Builders are on site in Sligo, Furbo, Carrick-on-Shannon, and Tullamore. Tenders are out for construction on another seven sites.
A total of 53 sites are being sought. Purchases to date have cost/will cost €35 million and the OPW expects to fork out €100 million before it is finished. Building on the sites is expected to cost in the region of €800 million, according to the OPW.
Meanwhile the Department of Justice building on St Stephen's Green has been sold, as have other sites around Dublin. The Veterinary Lab site in Ballsbridge is billed to make €100 million on its own.
Total sales by year's end are expected to be €250 million and the OPW expects eventual total sales in Dublin to pay for the sites and buildings around the State that will house the decentralised staff .
The OPW does not have an estimate of how much the whole programme will cost if it flounders - because it won't flounder. "It's Government policy," a spokesman explained.
Goldman fingerprints all over Refco collapse
You can almost hear the sighs of relief coming from Goldman Sachs as Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, the Chicago-based law firm, becomes the new focus of attention in the Refco collapse.
The affair has been a particularly uncomfortable experience for Goldman, which has had a very complicated relationship with the stricken US brokerage group. It was a lead underwriter for Refco's $600 million (€500 million) initial public offering two months ago and, when the roof fell in last week, it was taken on to sort out the mess.
Searching around for people interested in buying bits of the group, Refco contacted Chris Flowers, a highly successful private equity investor, who happens to be a former senior Goldman Sachs banker.
Flowers was indeed interested and put together a consortium and management team, featuring several other former senior Goldman Sachs executives. This has all prompted another flurry of comment about the way Goldman handles potential conflicts following criticism of the bank's multiple roles in the planned flotation of the New York Stock Exchange.
Now the spotlight has turned from Goldman Sachs to Mayer, Brown, which documented the loans that were used by Phillip Bennett, Refco's former chief executive, to disguise his debt of $430 million to the brokerage group. The Mayer, Brown lawyer who worked on the loans in 2002 was Paul Koury, whom the firm says left in May on good terms.
His biography, which suddenly disappeared from the firm's website shortly after media inquiries, states that he has worked for the firm since 2000. Former employers include Nomura Securities and, er, Goldman Sachs. - (Financial Times Service)
Readymix not set yet
Readymix plc's application for permission to build 130 apartments at its facility on Dublin's East Wall Road has been turned down by city planners.
But given the development value of the site - which it currently uses to distribute its products to customers - this is not going to be the end of the matter. Readymix says it is going to review the decision and then look at its options. These amount to either an appeal or a re-application.
They could of course turn to developer Gerry Gannon for advice, as the co-owner - with Michael Smurfit - of the K Club has bought a 5.28 per cent stake in the business.
Wong gets right job
The race to replace former Competition Authority chairman John Fingleton's has begun. With advertisements tempting qualified candidates with a salary of €140,000 a year, it's clear that the authority is searching for Mr Right.
In this context Current Account just cannot resist commenting on the recent appointment of Stanley Wong as a member of the authority's board. Is it a case that two wrongs don't make a right, but one Wong just might?
