SUPERMAC'S STALLS MOVE DOWN UNDER DUE TO TRADEMARK DISPUTE WITH McDONALD'S - Plans to bring Supermac's to Australia have been delayed because fast food giant McDonald's objected to the Irish firm's name being used there.
The Irish chain - which was founded by former schoolteacher Pat McDonagh and now has over 100 outlets here - had hoped to open its first outlet in Australia this year. The first Supermac's restaurant there was set to be opened by an Australia-based Irish franchisee at Bondi Junction in Sydney. But Mr McDonagh told the Irish Independent that its move into the market has been delayed because of a trademark dispute with a "major international operator". Filings at the Australian government trademarks office show that McDonald's objected to the registration of the Supermac's name in the country after the Irish company filed an application for its use last March. Records show that McDonald's is set to argue its case early in March next year. Mr McDonagh had also been hoping to open an outlet in Perth to serve the big Irish expat community.
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BROWN THOMAS TO HIRE 200 EXTRA STAFF FOR CHRISTMAS - Brown Thomas is planning to hire 200 temporary staff to meet demand for the Christmas and new year sales period. It is also set to invest more than €5 million in its flagship Grafton Street store in 2015, refitting its men’s and women’s clothing areas, says the Irish Times. The number of temporary staff is up from the 150 it employed for the same period last year, and reflects improved trading and a desire to boost customer service levels, according to managing director Stephen Sealey. “There were areas last year where we didn’t have enough people to serve our customers,” he said. “This will allow us to put clear blue water between ourselves and the competition in terms of service.” Mr Sealey said the department store group has had a “decent year” of sales and he is “cautiously confident” about future trading. Its revenues rose by 2% to €146 million in the year to February 1st 2014, according to accounts just filed for Carlow Investment Company Ltd. Its operating profit fell by €500,000 to €5.5 million. Mr Sealey said the reduction in profits was due to its investment in launching its online store last year.
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STRONG INTEREST IN NTR ASSETS - NTR has received a number of expressions of interest for its remaining US assets, but doesn’t anticipate a sale to conclude until at least the second quarter of next year. The Dublin-headquartered renewable energy-focused utility formally put its US wind energy assets up for sale last month, at which time it said that initial bids were expected in the New Year, says the Irish Examiner. Speaking yesterday, on the back of a strong set of first-half results, group chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said that interest has been shown, but any sale before the end of NTR’s current financial year, at the end of March, is “highly unlikely”. NTR yesterday reported a first-half profit of €5.4 million, for the six months to the end of September, a €3.5m - or 184% - increase on the same period last year. This was the third consecutive profitable reporting period for the group since returning to profit in its last financial year. The interim figures were in line with management’s guidance, but were heavily skewed by favourable foreign exchange movements. Without those favourable movements, NTR’s profits would have amounted to only around €700,000 for the period. The company’s aforementioned US operations drove first half growth and will create a revenue vacuum when sold, until NTR’s planned new European expansion starts delivering.
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UBER VALUED AT $40 BILLION IN LATEST FUNDING ROUND - Uber has more than doubled its war chest and its valuation in six months, despite what the driver-hailing service’s chief called “significant growing pains”. Investors looked past Uber’s recent controversies over its handling of competitors, the press and users’ privacy to give it a huge $40 billion valuation as it announced the completion of a $1.2 billion funding round on Thursday. That figure makes Uber not only one of the world’s most valuable private companies but exceeds the market capitalisation of several publicly listed transport companies, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Continental, as well as several times the value of traditional car rental services Hertz and Avis. Uber’s price tag also exceeds the market capitalisation of Twitter and LinkedIn, and is closing in on Yahoo’s $48 billion valuation, highlighting the trend for Silicon Valley companies to raise more money privately in order to avoid the public scrutiny of a stock market listing.
