ANGLO IRISH BANK LIQUIDATION NEARS COMPLETION - The special liquidators of Anglo Irish Bank now only have loans with a face value of less than €500 million remaining to be sold in what has been the biggest liquidation in Irish corporate history.
This means the bank which has become synonymous with Ireland’s economic collapse is now essentially no more, writes the Irish Times. A small number of loans that the bank has not been able to sell - including borrowings of the family of Seán Quinn, which are the subject of litigation - will be worked out by a legacy unit of less than 50 people. Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide’s special liquidators KPMG accountants Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson started their liquidation in February last year with loans with a face-value of €23 billion to sell. In total, the special liquidators have completed 70 loan portfolio sales in Ireland, the UK and the US, repaying €13 billion to the State. The special liquidators are also expected to pay between €500 million and €600 million to the Revenue Commissioners from the sales process. The sale process has also recovered enough money to pay off most or all subordinated junior bondholders, who are owed €280 million. However, these bondholders will only be paid if litigation against the bank by the family of Seán Quinn fails, and the case could take until 2020 to conclude.
***
QUINN HIRED BY NEW OWNERS OF HIS EMPIRE - Sean Quinn will return to work at the business he built into a multi-billion-euro industrial group and dramatically lost control of, following its sale to a group led by business leaders in the border region. The bankrupted former business tycoon will be retained as a paid advisor by Quinn Business Retention Company (QBRC), once the sale of much of the former Quinn manufacturing and packaging business completes, possibly as early as today. Sean Quinn will advise the new owners but; "he will not be a shareholder, senior executive or director of the new venture," QBRC non-executive director John McCartin told the Irish Independent. Mr McCartin, a business man and Fine Gael county councillor based in Co Leitrim, is part of the group including former senior Quinn Group managers that has sealed a deal to buy former Quinn assets including cement factories, quarries, tarmac, roof tile and insulation businesses, and a packaging division. He confirmed that Sean Quinn will return to the business, once QBRC takes over from exiting owners Aventas. Around 700 people work in the businesses being bought, many in the neighbouring towns of Ballyconnell, Co Cavan and Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, that were at the heart of the former Quinn business empire.
***
SALES OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES UP 46% - It looks set to be a record year for the sale of electricity-powered vehicles with 1,756 new models registered in the first 11 months of 2014. It represents a 46% increase on the total sales figure last year for all such vehicles which include electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric types, says the Irish Examiner. Hybrids remain the most popular type of model, accounting for more than 80% of all electricity-powered vehicles sold in the Republic so far this year. Many motorists are still believed to favour having the choice to switch between electric power and either petrol or diesel amid concerns about the limited daily range of pure EVs without recharging. The latest figures show sales of electricity-powered vehicles have increased in every county with the exception of Tipperary where sales have remained static. More than 55% of all new electricity-powered cars are registered in Dublin where 965 have been sold so far this year, followed by Cork which accounts for almost 8% of the total (136).
***
DRINKS COMPANIES SHAKEN BY ROUBLE TURMOIL - Economic turmoil in Russia could lead to double-digit downgrades at leading drinks companies as the collapse of the rouble causes havoc for businesses operating in the country, reports the Financial Times. International companies selling products such as clothes, drinks, cigarettes and furniture are struggling to keep costs down as the fall in value of the rouble makes imports more expensive. Instability in Russia has forced companies to raise prices, suspend sales and even cease trading in the country altogether. Drinks companies are the most exposed non-financial businesses, according to Citi, with Russia accounting for more than 30% of sales for both Carlsberg and Coca-Cola Hellenic, the world’s second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola. Carlsberg, which has said it does not plan to pull out of Russia, has previously indicated that a one rouble swing against the euro could have a DKr100m (£10m) effect on forecast operating profits. The collapse in value of the rouble in December could therefore hit Carlsberg’s full-year results by as much as a third, according to Andrew Holland, drinks analyst at Société Générale. But daily swings in the currency have made it difficult to predict the final impact, he added.
