A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Lenders to offer specialist mortgage
Ardent Group and Investec Holdings Ireland are to launch a specialist mortgage lending joint venture under the name Nua Homeloans.
The company, which is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2007, will target people who are excluded from the mainstream mortgage market as a result of a credit rating problem or irregular income. Specialist lenders charge higher interest rates than the mainstream market.
Ardent's principal business is its wholly-owned subsidiary Shared Home Investment Plan (SHIP), which operates in the home reversion market.
It is understood that three mainstream lenders are about to enter the specialist mortgage market, which Ardent said was expected to be worth €1 billion in 2006, with the potential to reach €4 billion in the years to come.
NCB Stockbrokers suggested on Wednesday that the Irish specialist mortgage market had the potential to reach between €2 billion and €3 billion.
Ardent yesterday acquired further reversionary interests, or shares in properties, for €5.55 million.
Ovoca finds silver at Russian site
Ovoca Gold said yesterday that the latest results from its 2006 drilling programme on the Goltsovoye Silver Deposit in eastern Russia confirmed the presence of high-grade silver deposits at the site.
Chief executive Barrie Oakes said the results demonstrated that Goltsovoye, situated in the Magadan Province, was one of the highest grade silver deposits in the world.
The current drilling programme, part of a larger feasibility study for the Goltsovoye site, is due to be completed by the end of the month. Production at the mine is scheduled to start in 2008.
Hydrogen 'key to sustainability'
The key to sustainable development in Europe lies in renewable hydrogen energy, a European Forum for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions heard yesterday at Dublin Castle.
Jeremy Rifkin, founder of the Foundation on Economic Trends, told the forum that creating a hydrocarbon energy distribution grid throughout Europe would "spur commercial growth, create millions of new jobs, facilitate the integration of Europe, ensure sustainable development and foster energy security".
Conroy gold buy gets go-ahead
Shareholders in the AIM-listed Conroy Diamonds and Gold yesterday approved the planned acquisition of Conroy plc's gold interests in Finland at a special meeting in Dublin.
The Irish group last month announced its intention to acquire nine exploration licences in Finland from Trans-International Mineral Exploration, a subsidiary of Conroy plc, saying that Finland has excellent prospects for gold and is under-explored by world standards.
The €1 million cost of the transaction will be satisfied through the issue of 19 million shares.
