In January, PwC, the accountants, finalised a 70-page document delving into the financial secrets and future strategy of one of Ireland’s most successful engineering businesses, Winthrop Engineering. Just months before, Winthrop, founded and led by the engineer Barry English, had taken a decision to sell either a significant stake, or all of the business. PwC had secured the mandate to manage the process.  Based on its performance and pipeline, market analysts and competitors said at the time that the entire business could be worth in the region of €250 million. Certainly, as a major player in data centres construction, it…