ACCOUNTS FILED recently for Dublin-based stockbroker Dolmen Securities shed some light on the value of the company following the management-led buyout last year of German insurer Ergo’s 90 per cent stake.
According to the accounts, directors Ronan Reid and Gerardine Jones both held 8.76 million shares with a nominal value of €2.94 million each.
Property developer Garrett Kelleher owned 7.72 million shares, valued at €2.6 million while Paul McGowan, a founder of the stockbroker, held 4.65 million shares worth €1.6 million on paper.
The combined value of the directors’ interests was €10 million. Earlier this year, Dolmen was in sale talks with Irish Life Permanent, with reports suggesting a price tag of €70 million.
Those discussions foundered and Dolmen, like other stockbrokers, must be feeling the pinch from the stock market collapse.
Its accounts show that income in 2007 was flat at €24.7 million while after-tax profits declined to €5.6 million from €7 million a year earlier. This year’s books should tell a whole different story.
