IRISH FIRM'S BEVERLY HILLS COUP - The Irish Times says what it calls 'a little-known Irish investment firm' is planning a $300m (€217.2m) residential and retail project in Beverly Hills, one of the wealthiest enclaves in the Los Angeles area.
In anticipation of the development, First Equity Group said it had spent $87m on the acquisition of two sites with full planning permission.
The Dublin company, which was established in 1995 by former tax inspector Tom Dowling, said the gross development value of projects in which it had been involved currently stood at some $3 billion. It also said it was involved in more than 20 'live' deals at present.
Like others in the asset management and investment arena, First Equity packages property investment proposals for wealthy clients.
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CELTIC EXPANDS WITH UBET BUY - The Irish Independent reports that Celtic Bookmakers, owned by former government minister Ivan Yates, has acquired the Ubet chain of betting shops in a deal believed to be worth about €2.5m.
Founded three years ago, Ubet operates eight shops in the Limerick region. The business will be transferred as a going concern on September 11, along with the 30 staff.
The paper says all of the properties will be converted to leasehold premises following the deal, with Celtic having the option to remain a tenant or to relocate to different premises should the need arise.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Yates declined to give financial details of the deal but described it as 'a significant development' which would consolidate its presence in the mid-West region.
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CANADA JOINS ARCTIC SCRAMBLE - The Financial Times says Canada has raised the stakes in the battle to claim ownership of the Arctic by sending Stephen Harper, prime minister, on a three-day trek to the region, just days after the Russians planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole.
The FT says the US, Norway and Denmark are also competing alongside Russia and Canada to secure rights to the natural resources of the Arctic.
The paper says the Northwest Passage, which is the main focus of the dispute, has become a sought-after territory thanks to global warming, which has begun to melt the ice in these waters, exposing a potentially vast haul of natural resources.
Studies have estimated that the Arctic has as much as 25% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.
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CREDIT FEARS DELAY RBS HOTELS DEAL - The Times reports that the growing debt market crisis has forced Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to pull the sale of a £1.1 billion package of hotel assets for the second time in two months.
The paper says the 15 hotels, including the Waldorf Hilton and Cumberland hotels in London, the Park Inn at Heathrow and 11 other Hiltons, were to have been sold to Robson Asset Management (RAM), a new investment vehicle set up by Jeremy Robson, former head of principal finance at RBS.
It adds that the postponement of the deal, due to have been completed last week, follows the collapse in June of a sale to Vector Hospitality, the real estate investment trust.
The Times says investor scepticism forced Vector to cancel a £2 billion flotation that would have funded the acquisition of 71 hotels worth £2.6 billion, including the RBS package.
