Michael Stanley, the co-founder and CEO of Cairn Homes, has been selected as the Business Person of March. The construction company made public record earnings of €667 million for the previous year, as a result of particularly robust demand. During that year, the company channelled €439.9 million into ongoing construction projects and saw a 20% increase in home starts to 2,100.
“We primarily focus on home construction for first-time homeowners. Last year alone, we provided over 500 economically priced new start homes, each costing slightly less than €400,000 on average,” Stanley explained. “We’ve consistently experienced positive growth and have seen a strong start in 2024, evident in both our completed and expected order book which has been augmented to 2,473 new homes,” he further commented.
Michael Stanley, often compared to Michael O’Leary in the construction industry, leveraged the release of the company’s earnings to voice his fears regarding the existing state of the housing market, commenting on how it adversely affects younger demographics and Ireland’s economy. “Our society is prosperous, yet the current circumstances remind me of the mid-80s when emigration was high due to unemployment … only now it’s lack of housing that’s driving young people away,” Stanley noted. “We need to realise that our flawed housing approach is harming our economy, particularly for our younger generation.”
Cairn Homes has set its sights on a 30% growth rate for the outgoing year, expecting to complete 2,200 new units.