One of Irish developer Sean Mulryan's British entities has paid out €17 million in dividends last year as well as rewarding directors with fees of €1.34 million in a sharp upturn of fortunes for the business which operates mostly in London. Barry O'Halloran reports.
Kerry found itself in the crosshairs of a short-seller who questioned the group's track record on value for money in its acquisitions policy yesterday. Shares tumbled 11.5 per cent at one point, writes Joe Brennan, but recovered to close 4.7 per cent lower after the group rubbished the research which, by the close of business, had been taken down online.
Eir chairman David McRedmond admitted the telecoms group scored a "major own goal" on customer service, saying it had run into a perfect storm as Covid hit just as it was reintegrating its customer service inhouse. But consumer complaints are still higher than for rival companies, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.
Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf has warned the regulator will not hesitate to take action against insurers that continue to hold out against legitimate claims for Covid-19 business interruption insurance. "Let me make it clear to the insurers involved: we've been clear with you on cases where valid cover exists. The UK courts have been clear with you. And now the Irish courts have been clear with you," he told an audience at the European Finance Forum, an annual conference run by the Financial Times and IDA Ireland. Joe Brennan was there.
Office rents fell to their lowest level in five years last year as letting came close to standstill, according to new industry survey by commercial property advisory group HWBC. The amount of space taken up in Dublin was down by half on 2019, writes deputy property editor Ronald Quinlan.
Despite that, new EU Commission figures show that Ireland was the only economy in the bloc to record growth last year, with a 3 per cent jump in GDP. However, writes Europe correspondent Naomi O'Leary, the expectation this year is that the Irish economy will lag the EU average as it battles the twin threats of Covid and Brexit.
KBC Bank said customers had fared better than expected with the financial squeeze during Covid, with more than expected returning to normal payment once the loan payment holidays put in place last year ended. Joe Brennan reports.
Retailers are locked in discussions with landlords over rent bills for the period when they were forced to close because of lockdown restrictions, writes Mark Paul in Agenda. Many landlords are striking deals but the big investors are proving the most reluctant.
Separately in Caveat, Mark examines the issue of zombie companies - those businesses that are unlikely to survive once the generous supports put in place by Government to see them through the pandemic are withdrawn. Just when is the right time for the Government to cut the cord?
Finally John FitzGerald writes about economists use of natural experiments to research impact on human behaviour and notes that the educational shutdown in Ireland and elsewhere will be studied for years to assess the impact it had on students of all ages.
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