TWIST IN BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF BLACKROCK CLINIC - The battle for control of the prized Blackrock Clinic in Dublin has taken a new twist after the businessman at the centre of the row secured new backing to pay off a loan, reports The Irish Independent.
Joseph Sheehan, who is in a dispute with fellow shareholder Larry Goodman over the clinic, is understood to have agreed a deal for financing with US private equity company HIG Capital.
Under the deal, HIG is expected to lend Mr Sheehan a figure close to €50m.
The Irish Independent understands that over two-thirds of those funds are earmarked to repay a loan that was originally advanced by Anglo Irish Bank but is now owned by a company which is controlled by Mr Goodman.
The deal would seem to end Mr Goodman's dispute with Mr Sheehan, and leave Mr Sheehan holding onto his 28% stake in the company that controls the Blackrock and Galway clinics.
Mr Goodman's Breccia bought its, also 28%, stake in Blackrock Hospital Limited, the parent company of the clinic, back in 2006.
The situation became more complicated when he later bought Mr Sheehan's loans from IBRC. Mr Sheehan is a co-founder of Blackrock Clinic, but now lives mainly in the United States.
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NCPS RETURNED TO PROFIT LAST YEAR – The Irish Times reports that Nationwide Controlled Parking Systems, the State’s largest parking services business, returned to profit last year despite what it described as “continuing challenging market conditions.”
The company recorded a pretax profit of €114,445 for the 12 months to the end of August 2014, compared with a loss of €208,095 for the same period a year earlier.
NCPS said turnover rose by €800,000 from €11.4 million to €12.2 million, while operating profit reached €235,368 compared to a loss of €669 in the previous year.
The group said that with an improvement in the general economic environment it was confident levels of parking- management services could be maintained and developed to allow it to continue to operate profitably in the coming years.
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MCDONALDS TO OFFER TABLE SERVICE IN BRITAIN - McDonald’s is to offer table service for the first time in Britain as it seeks to ward off competition from upmarket burger chains, reports The Irish Examiner.
Diners can place their order with a staff member carrying a tablet computer or direct through a digital kiosk at the table. There will still be an option to order at the till.
The fast food giant is trialling the service at its branch in Mottram, Greater Manchester, and will extend it to eleven more across Britain this month.
If it proves successful, the trial may be rolled out across Britain.
McDonald’s says it hopes the service will provide customers with a more relaxed, modern dining experience.
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SAUDI ARABIA TO RETURN TO BOND MARKET – The Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia is returning to the bond market with a plan to raise $27bn by the end of the year, in the starkest sign yet of the strain lower oil prices are putting on the finances of the largest oil exporter.
Bankers said the kingdom’s central bank has been sounding out demand for an issuance of about 20bn Saudi riyals ($5.3bn) a month in bonds – in tranches of five, seven and 10 years – for the rest of the year.
Fahad al-Mubarak, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, said in July that Riyadh had already issued its first $4bn in local bonds, the first sovereign issuance since 2007.
But the latest plans are a significant expansion of that programme, which bankers believe could extend into 2016, given the outlook for the oil price.
