The survival of Dublin’s faltering stock market hinges on its ability to lure Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), according to its CEO, Daryl Byrne, in a statement to the Business Post. This alert follows the remark of Orla O’Gorman, the ex-head of listings at Euronext Dublin, who flagged the exchange’s significant struggles and observed it would be a bold act for any business to consider listing in Ireland at present due to the absence of IPOs in the previous half-decade.
Various high-profile corporations, like Flutter, the parent company of Paddy Power, CRH, and Smurfit Kappa, have either already delisted in the past months or intend to, subject to the acquisition of its US competitor in the paper and packaging sector, WestRock, later this year.
A sector-wide working body is devising a report to be submitted to government officials prior to the 2024 budget, outlining necessary actions to ensure the exchange’s survival.
Energy titan compensates fisherman obstructing wind farm development
A German energy behemoth has reached a settlement agreement and covered legal expenses of approximately €500,000 for a fisherman from Co Wicklow to cease legal actions that were preventing the creation of an offshore wind farm.
The Sunday Times disclosed that RWE, the holder of an offshore survey license for a segment of the ocean off the east coast, faced a High Court lawsuit last May from Ivan Toole, a Greystones fisherman.
Mr Toole requested a review of the Minister of State for local government’s licensing decision for environmental reasons, with the case subsequently forwarded to the EU Court of Justice, thus potentially stalling a verdict for up to a year.
The publication revealed the pioneering deal in the industry here, where RWE settled with Mr Toole, agreeing to cover his legal fees in exchange for his withdrawal of legal action.
Simplified debate concerning data centres is counterproductive, suggests Amazon boss
Data centres play an integral part in fostering investment in renewable energy, the European head of Amazon Web Services informed the Business Post, cautioning that blocking further development of these centres could cost Ireland potentially billions in investment.
Neil Morris criticised the overly simplistic and two-sided nature of the discussions around data centres and sustainability.
Contrary to assertions by some groups, it isn’t a matter of choosing between the environment and the economy, argues Morris. According to him, both need to be addressed simultaneously. He warned, a failure to do so might lead to no progress at all. Furthermore, he stressed that Ireland must demonstrate its readiness for commerce otherwise it may risk tech behemoths such as Amazon withdrawing future investments.
In related news, Hines, an American real estate company which manages the Aparto student housing platform in Ireland, is reportedly preparing to purchase its sixth student accommodation block. This news comes amidst a severe lack of student bedding and numerous challenges relating to the provision of new properties in Ireland. Hence, investors are showing a renewed interest in the nation’s student housing sector. The Sunday Times published that Hines agreed to spend nearly €80 million for a facility near St Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2, which Scape, a student accommodation provider, will manage.
In the meantime, industry experts suspect the market will become more competitive due to the scarcity of attractive investment prospects. They point out that there are only about 2,000 student beds currently being developed.
Lastly, the company behind Virgin Media experienced a €8.8 million loss in 2022 according to the Sunday Independent. The loss, primarily driven by fluctuations in interest and currency rates, saw the company lose €25 million on its cross-currency and interest rate derivative contracts. These contracts were intended to shield the company from hikes in interest rates on its variable rate debts. It was also noted that despite a boost in mobile and broadband subscribers, revenue fell marginally from €470 million in 2021 to €468.1 million.