The Irish Brady Group, led by Tony Brady, has emerged as the potential buyer for Slieve Russell hotel, golf and country club, previously owned by ex-billionaire Sean Quinn. The company, which has become one of the largest private property development firms in Australia since Mr Brady moved from Cavan in 1973, reportedly bid less than the €35 million valuation set by agents at the time of sale by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) to recover funds following a financial fallout.
As a bricklayer-turned-property tycoon, Mr Brady, now in his 70s, is said to have an interest in acquiring property from his home country. There was no comment from the Brady Group regarding the deal, while it is also suggested that Mr Quinn had put in a bid for Slieve Russell.
In other news, UK investment entity Digital 9 Infrastructure, set to wind up, is negotiating the sale of two Irish telecom assets, Elio Networks and Aqua Comms, at a rate significantly below their combined book value of €329 million. The declining assets are attracting the attention of a European private equity firm, along with Cubic Telecom and Fibrus based in Northern Ireland.
Weston Airport, partially owned by John Collison, co-founder of Stripe, plans to infuse €40 million into enhancing instrument landing capabilities. The investment aims to attract business jet traffic from Dublin Airport.
The impending introduction of a new system and procedures at Weston Airport is being considered vital for handling private jet traffic. These enhancements, facilitating nighttime and inclement weather operations, are currently being set up in collaboration with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). They aim to reinstate instrument landing protocols which went out of operation during the COVID-19 outbreak. Ahead of the relocation of Dublin’s rescue helicopter service to Weston in June of the upcoming year, the plan is to have these systems operational.
In 2021, Weston Airport was acquired by a consortium of investors, including Collison, financier Derick Walshe based in Limerick, and several others such as John Brennan, Catherine Greene and Gerald Dundon. Meanwhile, expansion plans at Dublin Airport by Dubai airline group Emirates have been stifled due to a passenger cap. As per a report in The Business Post, Emirates’ Irish country manager, Anita Thomas pointed out the cap was obstructing the airline’s growth prospects.
Thomas said the limit, set at 32 million passengers per annum for the past 17 years, meant the airline was restricted from expanding its current schedule which includes two daily flights ferrying 10,000 weekly passengers between Dublin and Dubai. The cap, likely to be exceeded this year, has been the subject of an ongoing dispute between airport operator DAA and Fingal County Council, who have been discussing an increase to 40 million passengers annually since November 2023. Furthermore, a summer report revealed that due to these restrictions, airlines had less than 3% of their new slots requests for the winter at Dublin Airport granted.