Pensions, regulatory reform, and private markets tee up next era of UK fintech

Through careful analysis of company filings, Sean Keyes uncovers the precarious state of the Irish construction industry. Builders are forced to bid aggressively in order to win the biggest contracts. And when things go wrong, they eat the costs.

In yet another Irish technology deal, Decawave has been acquired by American technology company Qorvo for $400 million. Decawave makes next-generation wireless hardware which is accurate, secure, and energy efficient, and therefore well-suited to internet of things applications.

From international art dealers to senior executives, money transfer firms must know their customers to meet strict European anti-money laundering rules. Last year an Irish subsidiary of global giant Western Union missed the mark and took a €1 million rap from French regulators.

When company director Kevin Rabbitte finally came clean about being the frontman for a transnational Vat fraud, he claimed he was acting for an extremely dangerous individual.

Peter Vandermeersch was installed by Mediahuis as publisher of INM following its €146m swoop on the embattled Irish media group last year. He talks about the new digital strategy for the titles, the commercial opportunities and the battle to rebuild staff morale.

SuperAwesome, the London-based “kid tech” company established by Irish entrepreneur Dylan Collins, has just added Microsoft to its shareholder register. The company is profitable and brokers want it to go public. So why raise the money at all? Collins tells Ian Kehoe.

The stake of Petrel Resources’ largest shareholders remains frozen by a court order, but the company and its new investors have agreed to put the dispute down to an alleged fraudulent loan default triggered by a US lender – and plough ahead.

The staffer worked in cybersecurity, fraud prevention and technology. Now though, it remains unclear who the individual actually was.

Stephen Kinsella reflects on why politicians say the things they do to get votes. He sat down with me to tell me more about this plus how the government system is becoming so complex that it is difficult to solve the country’s issues in one electoral cycle.

Insolvency figures are decreasing in retail in Ireland but this does not reflect the big picture for what’s going on within the industry. Bricks and mortar stores continue to battle the rise of online shopping and the uncertainty of Brexit.