Gardaheadquarters in Dublin is part of an €810 million portfolio of Nama loans that is expected to sell in the next few weeks for as little as 40 cents in the euro, according to the Sunday Times.

Loans on the Harcourt Street property are among 30 properties in the Project Aspen portfolio of developer and former estate agent David Courtney.

Other loans in the portfolio relate to five Superquinn supermarkets and the headquarters of Davy Stockbrokers on Dublin’s Dawson Street.

First-round bids on the portfolio of loans are due by the end of the month, according to the report. Interest is reported to be high, with one US bidder having made an offer to Nama.

Aspen is the first major domestic loan sale by the agency and analysts expect the portfolio to secure between €243 million and €324 million – between 30 and 40 per cent of face value.

Mike Lynch, the Irish-born founder of software business Autonomy, has raised €750 mil- lion to invest in new research-led technology businesses, the Sunday Independent reports.

Lynch was in the spotlight recently when an investigation into accounting at Autonomy ahead of its takeover by HP was announced.

HP bought the FTSE-listed business for $10 billion in 2011, but recently sued Lynch after writing down the value of the business by $8.8 billion.

The paper reports that Lynch has founded Invoke Capital with former Autonomy colleagues and support from institutions and sovereign wealth funds.

The group has already invested in security software business Featurespace, and is looking at emerging companies and mid-sized more established businesses.

It has also reportedly offered to help start-ups develop their products.

Ronan Murtagh, the son of Kingspan founder Eugene and brother of the building materials company's current chief executive Gene, has been declared bankrupt in Britain, the Sunday Times reports.

Murtagh, a pilot who used to fly a private jet for Larry Goodman, the owner of meat business ABP which has recently been in the headlines over the horse burger scandal, reportedly sought bankruptcy after moving to Brighton in the south of England.

The paper reports that Murtagh will be discharged from bankruptcy in September this year, 12 months after the judgment.

Murtagh, who took an Employment Appeals Tribunal case against the Goodman company that had employed him, once said that he was earning €100,000 a year from the flying business.