WEEKEND DIGEST:Treasury Holdings wrote twice to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan personally last month in an effort to save the empire, the Sunday Independent reported.
The first letter sought an emergency meeting with the Minister and his officials to clarify the company’s concern that Nama was “hellbent” on “destroying” it. Group chairman and shareholder Richard Barrett (pictured) then wrote to express his concern at reports that Nama was not interested in any solution that would see him or business partner Johnny Ronan remain in situ.
* Interest in Dublin’s commercial property investment market may be on the up, the Sunday Times reports, citing three major deals on the table. It says 25 first-round bids were submitted for State Street’s Dublin HQ in the docklands. The Liam Carroll developed business was put on the market by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and had been expected to fetch more than €100 million, it said.
Separately, up to 20 potential bidders have undertaken detailed inspections of the Burlington Hotel, whose sale is expected to conclude by the end of the year. The level of interest, with 70 groups signing confidentiality agreements to gain access to financial details for the hotel, are fuelling expectations that it will sell at the upper end of the €65-€75 million price range. A common theme is the level of interest from foreign investors, it noted.
* Success in a courtroom battle has seen shares in Irish-headquartered Jazz Pharmaceuticals jump almost 50 per cent in the past month. Good news for Irish executive Seamus Mulligan, who merged his Azur Pharma with Jazz last year, the Sunday Business Post and the Sunday Independent both reported.
