DUBLIN RANKED LAST IN SURVEY OF PROPERTY INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE - Dublin has been ranked last for the second year in a row in a major survey of investment performance of existing property assets, says the Irish Independent. The study was compiled by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and the UK's Urban Land Institute. It examined 27 leading European cities and found that while there had been a "slight improvement" in sentiment for investment in the Dublin market, it remained in 27th place for the performance of existing assets, which has sharply deteriorated over the course of the past two years. "Prospects for new acquisitions are slightly better," said the report, which is based on the results of surveys of bankers, investors, developers and brokers around Europe. "Some overseas investors are positive about the opportunities," it added in relation to Dublin. The report quoted one investor who said: "Ireland has strengths that people are not seeing and so they end up focusing on its major downsides." The report also notes that in terms of development prospects, Ireland has managed to move out of its last place rating, which was taken by Madrid. Ireland remained just ahead of the Spanish capital. Central London is the most attractive European location for new property investment after prices fell the most in 20 years, according to the report.
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O'LEARY TO ANNOUNCE RANGE OF 'BARGAIN' CORK ROUTES - Ryanair is expected to announce a series of routes from Cork to a number of sun destinations today, writes the Irish Examiner. It said it will undercut Aer Lingus prices and could offer deals to the locations for €60 return. Chief executive Michael O'Leary flies into Cork this morning to make the announcement before he jets off to New York to address an airline conference. The airline is also expected to base a new aircraft at Cork Airport. Mr O'Leary said yesterday that Ryanair plans to "swamp" the sun destination market over the summer months with a raft of low fares. "We have 11 aircraft to allocate for the summer and there's a number of airports bidding for them," he said. Aer Lingus operates flights from Cork to Alicante, Faro, Lanzarote, Malaga and Tenerife but Ryanair is expected to offer prices for significantly less than what Aer Lingus are offering. Mr O'Leary said Ryanair will "explode" Aer Lingus's market. He said fares to sun destinations will be higher than average but lower than others charge in those markets.
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NEW M&S BOSS BOLLAND TO COLLECT £15m 'GOLDEN HELLO' - Marks & Spencer's new chief executive will pocket nearly £15m in his first year, it emerged yesterday as the high-street retailer ended months of speculation by confirming that Marc Bolland would start on 1 May, says the London Independent. The signing-on fee for Mr Bolland, the former chief executive Morrisons supermarkets, is the biggest ever awarded to the boss of a UK-listed retailer, although £7.5m - more than half - is compensation for the loss of shares and bonus he would have received at Morrison's. The Dutchman will start on a basic salary of £975,000 and a potential annual bonus up to 250% of his wages. But he will also be entitled to an exceptional award of shares under the M&S performance share plan, which will be worth 400% of salary in 2010-11. His total package for M&S's next financial year will be £14.8m, but the award under the share plan will not come into effect until 2013. Tony Shiret, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said last night: "This is really huge. I think you would have to go to the US to find comparable level of pay. It highlights the magnitude of the task that is facing him." Coming so soon after the row about bankers' bonuses, Mr Bolland's bumper remuneration package is certain to re-ignite the debate about excessive corporate pay. His earnings will comfortably outstrip those of the chief executives at M&S's bigger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's this year.
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SOUTH KOREANS TO TAKE STAKE IN GATWICK - South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's fifth biggest pension fund, will next week take a 12% stake in Gatwick airport, stressing that investment in Britain will play a significant role in quadrupling its international exposure, says the Financial Times. The NPS, which is aiming to expand its overall portfolio from $240 billion to $400 billion by 2014, came to the attention of Britain's financial community last year when it bought the headquarters of HSBC in Canary Wharf for £773m ($1.2 billion) in cash. Jun Kwang-woo, NPS chairman, who is spearheading a sweeping international expansion, said the fund would look to lift its exposure to Britain from the current 1.3%. "Some infrastructure-related investment ahead of the London Olympics in 2012 could be very interesting and that could generate some momentum. The regulatory framework is very stable and reliable," Mr Jun said.
