Multi-millionaire businessman, Mr John Gallagher, has raised close to €15 million by selling off part of his stake in utilities firm, NTR.
The sale brings to €45 million the total drawn down from NTR by Mr Gallagher this year.
He received around €30 million from the company over the summer when he redeemed a loan note granted to him in 2001 when NTR bought his stake in Celtic Utilities for an estimated €47 million.
He had the option at this stage to convert the loan note into shares, but chose cash instead.
Mr Gallagher's sale of 850,000 shares at €17.50, made a week ago, reduces his stake in NTR from 7.7 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
He remains a director of the company and is not expected to reduce his holding further in the near term.
It is thought that he intends to use funds raised in the NTR sale to further his remaining business interests.
He is active in a number of sectors including property, support services and information technology (IT).
Investments in the IT sector have included Vordel and Spectel, the video-conferencing firm that was sold to Avaya in August for € 85.7 million. Additional investments are thought to be in the pipeline through Mr Gallagher's investment vehicle, Crownway.
NTR shares have appreciated rapidly since the start of last month when the firm allowed Goodbody and NCB to join Davy in trading its shares on an unofficial "grey" market. The stock has risen from levels around €13 to €17.50 in the meantime.
No buyer for Mr Gallagher's 850,000 shares in NTR was named yesterday, but the stake is believed to have been purchased by an institution.
Mr Gallagher received NTR shares as part-payment for his stake in Celtic Utilities, now known as Greenstar, in 2001. He paid some €7 million for a further 4.5 per cent stake in NTR two years ago.
He established Celtic Utilities as a player in the waste management sector three years before selling it.
He had earlier become a multi-millionaire by selling the security business he founded in his early 20s for €13 million.
Mr Gallagher is married to Ms Bernie Gallagher, a director of Jurys Doyle and member of the Doyle family.
Ms Gallagher owns 8.3 per cent of Jurys Doyle, a stake which was last night worth €59.6 million.
