LOTTO PLAYERS MAY FACE HIGHER PRICES AND MORE NUMBERS - National Lottery players are almost certain to face higher prices and a bigger panel of numbers in the coming months as the new private operator seeks to recoup its €405 million outlay for the licence, says the Irish Times.
At an Oireachtas Finance Committee hearing yesterday, the chief executive of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) repeatedly declined to rule out changes to the current pricing structure or a widening of the existing 45-number matrix. Dermot Griffin said the company would move to a “game development” phase once the current technology transition is complete, noting there was a strong requirement to raise funds for good causes. Asked by Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald if there was a plan on the table to raise prices or add more numbers, Mr Griffin declined to answer the question directly, insisting the company had a number of plans for the franchise and that the current game format “had not been changed in a long time”. The last time the National Lottery introduced changes to its basic pricing structure and playing format was in 2006 when it upped the price per line from €1 to €1.50 and added three extra numbers. The addition of extra numbers could prove controversial with players as it makes the probability of winning the top prize - currently about eight million to one - that bit more remote.
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DUBLIN HOTEL DEALS TOP EUROPEAN PILE - The resurgent economy and continuing weakness of the euro have helped Dublin’s hotel sector to the top of the pile in terms of activity and room revenues. The city recorded the fastest increase in hotel transactions and revenue per room of seven major European cities analysed by property experts, Savills last year. Investors had a bumper year in the Irish market in 2014 with the value of transactions almost doubling on the previous year, writes the Irish Examiner. The trend is one that is expected to continue in the coming 12 months, according to Savills director of hotels, Tom Barrett. “Ireland’s hotel market has benefitted significantly from an increasing number of overseas visitors - particularly from the US and UK. With the euro continuing to weaken against the dollar and the pound, this is a trend that is likely to continue. Therefore we expect demand from hotel investors - both at home and abroad - to remain strong in 2015,” said Mr Barrett. The European cities report points to a major increase in hotel transaction volumes across European cities last year with totals rising by up to 94% in Dublin to €234m and 39% in Berlin to €411m. This growth is being partly driven by a lack of available investment opportunities in the larger European capitals such as London and Paris.
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GERRY BARRETT'S FIRM MAKES €49M AFTER BIG NAMA WRITE-OFF - A firm that is part of Galway businessman Gerry Barrett's Edwards Holdings group recorded profits of €49.29m in 2013. Figures lodged by Barrett's KH Kitty Hall Holdings show that the firm recorded the profit after a write-off of a bank loan of €54.79m. A note attached to the accounts states that the directors are working with Nama to agree a plan to trade out the assets until they can be prepared for sale, says the Irish Independent. Bank loans in certain group companies were transferred to Nama in February 2010. The write-off of the bank loan contributed to the amounts owed in bank loans and overdrafts falling from €173.1m to €125.2m in the 12 months to the end of 2013. The group operates the four star Meyrick hotel in Galway's Eyre Square. The Barrett firm that owns the hotel, Ml Meyrick, has written down the value of the hotel from €70m to €9m. The firm recorded a profit of €1.3m in 2013 at the end of the year and net liabilities of €71.59m. Separate filings for the Barrett firm that operates the Meyrick hotel, MT Mono Trading, show that the business recorded a loss of €559,159 in 2013. In 2013, the former jewel in Barrett's hotel portfolio, Ashford Castle, was brought out of receivership when Red Carnation Hotels paid €20m for the Co Mayo resort. Mr Barrett, pictured below, bought the castle and the 365 acres overlooking Lough Corrib from a group of Irish-American investors in 2008 for €50m.
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HOLCIM AND LAFARGE RETHINK €41 BILLION DEAL - Holcim and Lafarge, Europe’s two biggest cement groups by sales, are in talks to renegotiate the terms of their €41 billion merger after a divergence in the value of the two companies over the past year. The two sides are holding discussions that might result in changes to the terms of the one-for-one share deal announced last April, said people familiar with the matter. A combination would create a cement and crushed rock powerhouse in many of the largest markets, with revenues of €40 billion annually but a reduced European presence, says the Financial Times. In recent weeks, however, Holcim shareholders have raised concerns over the terms of the deal. A representative for the Schmidheiny family, which founded Holcim and is its largest investor with a fifth of the shares, told Reuters on Monday: “The industrial logic of the deal is undisputed.” He did not comment on the price. The remarks came after a SonntagsZeitung report at the weekend said that Thomas Schmidheiny, head of the family and a former Holcim chairman, wanted the terms of the deal renegotiated. Holcim’s second-largest shareholder, Eurocement, which is owned by Russian Filaret Galchev and holds 10 per cent of the shares, has not publicly supported the deal. Eurocement declined to comment.
