“Make the Irish equity market great again”: Stamp duty still the bugbear over listings

Michael McAteer presided over the wreckage of the financial crash, steering brands from Eircom to The Sunday Business Post back from the precipice. He started as an office boy and worked his way up to become one of Ireland’s leading accountants and insolvency practitioners.

The financial performance of the Irish banks has been abysmal. Not for the lack of profit margins, but due to strategic decisions to withdraw from lending in the potential growth segments of the domestic and European economies.

This week, Prepaid Financial Services announced it is to be sold to Australia’s EML Payments for up to €327 million. Sean Keyes met with the founders Noel Moran and his wife Valerie, who started the company in 2007 and could walk away with €266 million.

Nicola McClafferty previously sold her online fashion retailer Covetique to Asos. Now, as investment director of quoted tech investor Draper Esprit, she is on the other side of the investment table. She talks to Francesca Comyn about risk, reward and the ingredients of success.

The European Investment Bank is known for funding large infrastructure projects. Now, it wants to back innovative, high-potential businesses. Central to the strategy is its Irish vice-president, Andrew McDowell.

Reeling from a 29 per cent drop in ratings from 2015 to 2017 threatening the value of TV rights, the Premier League has vowed to stop illegal streams. In affidavits seen by The Currency, it shows how piracy undermines its business.

The complexity of the corporate structures behind horse breeding magnate John Magnier’s global investments has grown in tandem with his empire. A two-month investigation by The Currency explores dozens of firms in the Coolmore empire.

Brian Winters worked on the ground in Ireland for Craven House Capital, helping source and close deals. Now, just months after stepping down as company secretary of the quoted British investment house, the Irish lawyer is suing the firm in the High Court.

Serial entrepreneur Maeve Kneafsey has founded a string of digital marketing companies. Now, she has teamed up with Brenda Jordan to create SaaS business CloudKPI. A string of deals are in the pipeline, and the firm is set to close a €1m funding round.

Every year a host of Irish tech startups descend on Web Summit to pitch, promote and seek out investment for their ideas and products. Some are freshman entrepreneurs; others are seasoned business hands. Francesca Comyn caught up with four founders in Lisbon this week.