Ciaran Hancockon An Post's startling announcment; Tipperary objections; Michael O'Leary and Channel 6 versus Sky
No savings at An Post
An Post's declaration last week that it had spent €13.9 million on identifying a joint venture banking partner left most in the industry breathless.
It amounted to almost a full year's operating profit for the perennially cash-strapped postal group.
The figure would have been enough to give every man, woman and child in the State six free 55c stamps.
An Post spent the money identifying Belgian bank Fortis as the appropriate partner for its Postbank retail bank. Launched last Sunday, Postbank has begun by offering deposit and savings products to customers.
We can only speculate as to the quality of the advice that An Post received. The semi-State company has declined to provide a breakdown as to the recipients of the cash over a two-year period.
One person who seems to have benefited on the double is Margaret Sweeney, former acting chief executive of Aer Rianta.
Last September, Ms Sweeney's consultancy Alainn was drafted in to advise An Post on the banking venture. An Post declined to say how much she earned. It said her appointment was "at the end stages of the agreement".
In January, Ms Sweeney was appointed chief executive of Postbank.
An Post's chairwoman Margaret McGinley described the selection of Fortis as "a highlight of 2006".
We presume she meant for the company's assorted advisers.
Channel 6's row with Sky drags on
Channel 6's spat with satellite broadcaster Sky continues. The Irish television company has lodged a complaint with British regulator Ofcom about its positioning on Sky's electronic programming guide (EPG).
Pat Donnelly, Channel 6's chairman, wants the station grouped with RTÉ 1 and 2, TV3 and TG4 at the front of the EPG and not on channel 227, where it is effectively at the back of the queue of entertainment channels.
As many viewers get tired of flicking through channels on their remote controls, Channel 6 says it is finding it difficult to gain viewers. The EPG is regulated by Ofcom in Britain, where Sky is domiciled.
In Britain, the prime positions at the front of the EPG are occupied by the terrestrial channels, BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel Four and Five. Channel 6 argues that this should also be the case here, with the Irish channels bunched together at the end of the EPG.
Sky disagrees, arguing that as RTÉ, TV3 and TG4 have public service obligations of one kind or another they can legitimately be placed at the front of the EPG in this market.
Donnelly also recently accused Sky of dumping cheap advertisements in the Irish market, a claim denied by the satellite company.
The former advertising executive recently told a gathering of advertisers in Dublin that he was prepared to pursue the EPG dispute to the high court in Britain.
Surely Channel 6 would be better advised putting its energy and investors' €14 million cash into new and distinctive programming.
Race on to stop Ronan
Developer Johnny Ronan isn't the only member of his family doing well for himself at the moment. His cousin Louis Ronan has just been named Tipperary Man of the Year. Louis's company, Enfer Scientific, has made a lot of money from a system for testing for BSE in cattle. It also sponsors the county's hurling team.
Another one of his businesses, Avglade, is not so popular with at least 390 people in the same county. Avglade and its partners, Dawn Meats and Bioverda, an NTR spin-off, are seeking planning permission from South Tipperary County Council to build a plant that will process slaughterhouse waste among other things. They plan to do this near the village of Rosegreen, not far from Cashel and in the centre of the Golden Vale. The plan has attracted 390 "observations" (which will become objections if the authority grants permission) from locals opposed to the development, including racehorse trainer Aidan O'Brien, and his main employer, the John Magnier-run Coolmore Stud.
They have lodged lengthy and detailed observations voicing their opposition to the proposal.
Another Louis Ronan entity, National By Products, sought permission for a rendering facility in Rosegreen five years ago. O'Brien, Coolmore and a group of locals opposed that plan, and it was rejected. We wonder what odds Paddy Power would offer on Ronan winning this planning race?
Ryanair Dublin take-off
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary might not care much for the way Dublin airport is run but he clearly likes launching new routes from there.
Just this week, Europe's biggest low fares carrier announced routes from Dublin to three new destinations, Alicante, Bydgoszsz and Gdansk. With fares starting at €10 a pop, including taxes and charges, they should prove popular.
Ryanair has launched 43 new" services from Dublin over the past year and based an extra 10 aircraft there. More of both is planned. This growth is taking place in spite of O'Leary's vehement objections to the Dublin Airport Authority's €2 billion plan to redevelop the complex and the likely hiking in airport charges. Money is money.
BIAM loses some more valuable assets
Buried in Bank of Ireland Asset Management's press release this week about senior appointments was a line announcing that deputy chief investment officer Leona Nicholson is leaving the group.
Nicholson is an 18-year BIAM veteran and was head of its Europe, Asia and Far East equities product since 2004. She is being replaced by Adam McNulty, who joined BIAM in 2001. The release announced the appointments of David Thompson as head of Macro Fixed Income and Absolute Return Products and Caleb Kyle as senior property fund manager.
There was no mention, however, of the departure of Des Flood, an experienced fund manager who joined BIAM about three years ago from Hibernian Investment Managers where he was head of equities. Flood has pitched his tent at Bloxham Stockbrokers. The latest departures continue a trend at BIAM that dates back to 2004 when four senior managers left to set up a Dublin-based global equities fund for Perpetual Trustees Australia.
In the meantime, BIAM, once a jewel in the bank's crown, has seen its funds under management decline by about €15 billion to €44 billion due to disappointing investment returns. One pension fund trustee described it this week as a "very worrying time" for the fund manager.
