Billions of euro have poured into Irish alternative lenders since 2010. They tend to fund riskier deals, at a price. Covid-19 will test their underwriting and their business model.
Instead of being in his Youghal home, publisher Bill Bonner is locked down on a sprawling ranch in Argentina. From there, he talks about building a $1bn empire, his links with Ireland, and why printing money will make the current crisis worse.
Serial entrepreneurs Louise Grubb and Tom Brennan want to build a portfolio of veterinary products for pets that will both improve the lives of dogs and cats and eventually attract cash rich pharma giants. Investors agree with the strategy – and have just invested €5 million into the Waterford business.
In 2005, three Irish investors formed a partnership to buy commercial real estate in Romania. A €3 million bank loan was drawn down. Now one of the three, former Fine Gael donor Andrew Sheehy, claims his name was forged on the loan documents.
As Ireland haggles about greenhouse gas targets, New Zealand implements new climate legislation accommodating its livestock industry – one of many common interests with Ireland. Brad Burgess, the first Kiwi ambassador to Dublin, discusses growing business links and hopes of a trade deal.
One half of Celtic Linen's business has shut down due to Covid-19. The other is anticipating a surge in people needing the company's supply and laundering services. CEO Donald Campbell discusses the effects the pandemic has had on his business.
Dalata has closed 29 of its 44 hotels and laid off 3,500 workers. Its chief executive Pat McCann says the hard decisions were sad but unavoidable, and that the company will be ready when the lockdown ends.
Having spent a decade dealing with Nama, banks and vulture funds, Frankie Whelehan has reassessed both his life and his business choices. Now debt-averse, the country’s biggest boomtime hotelier is happy with his two family-owned hotels. But will Covid-19 end his newfound peace?
With tourism at a standstill, the global travel publisher is closing down offices around the world. Yet there are no plans so far to axe its relatively new Irish office, where the company's international intellectual property rights are held – and taxed.
Daqri opened its European HQ in 2015 in Dublin as it rode the wave of momentum around augmented reality. Five years later, the company has collapsed and its presence here ended. Just what happened and what does it say about future AR trends?
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