SHANNON SEES PROFITS TAKE OFF AS PASSENGER NUMBERS RISE - Operating profits at Shannon airport and its two subsidiary property and tourism firms rose last year.
That is according to the chief executive of the Shannon Group, Neil Pakey, who said yesterday that the group is planning "an ambitious investment programme" throughout the Shannon group. In an interview, Mr Pakey said that the airport is projecting single-digit growth in passenger numbers in 2015. In 2014, the airport enjoyed a 17% increase in passenger numbers to 1.639 million passengers largely on the back of new Ryanair services, writes the Irish Independent. "Overall, we are going to be looking at growth this year. It is not going to be the same level as last year and it is going to be single-digit growth," said Mr Pakey. The Shannon group - which employs 600 at peak season - is not due to publish its annual results until the end of the month or in early May. However, Mr Pakey did say that operating profits increased at the airport and its two subsidiaries, Shannon Commercial Properties Ltd (SCPL) and Shannon Heritage Ltd, in 2014. On the group's investment programme, Mr Pakey said: "The interesting thing about the whole business has been the under investment of previous years, whether it is the airport and some of the product in the airport", adding that "some of it is getting old and tired".
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NEXT TO CLOSE ITS FLAGSHIP SHOP ON DUBLIN'S GRAFTON STREET - Fashion and accessories retailer Next is to close its shop on Dublin's Grafton Street and make way for another fashion and lifestyle group Hugo Boss. Next's decision to leave the high street after more than 20 years is in line with its new marketing strategy of concentrating mainly on large in-town or out-of-town stores, says the Irish Times. Next's wish to leave 68 Grafton Street surfaced last autumn but with the shop then clearly paying over the odds for rent at €825,000 per annum and retail sales on the street going through a difficult patch, a delay in finding a replacement tenant seemed inevitable. The Mango fashion group which opened a new shop on Henry Street in recent weeks is also thought to have been interested in the Grafton Street store. Next eventually agreed to assign its 35-year institutional lease to Hugo Boss in the expectation that the German trader will open for business over the summer months. The final five-year rent review on the upwards-only legacy lease is expected to pass without any attempt to increase the rent by State Street, which manages the premises on behalf of IBI Nominees.
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IRISH COMPANY LANDS 'ZERO ENERGY' HOUSING CONTRACT - An Irish housing technology company is to team up with a Belgian counterpart to deliver a 'zero energy' social housing project worth €10m in the German city of Aachen, reports the Irish Examiner. Surface Power Hone founded by Castlebar, Co Mayo native, John Quinn, along with Belgian partner firm Mopac Systems have been chosen by the German authorities to build low cost 'daylight-fuelled' zero energy homes. The deal is a significant landmark for the Irish company, says Mr Quinn, and puts it on course for further growth in what is set to be an increasingly lucrative market. "We are extremely happy to have landed this deal in Aachen. Our daylight-fuelled heating and cooling systems are the perfect complement to Mopac's highly insulated building components," said Mr Quinn. "According to a recent report by leading research firm Pike, the zero energy building market is to grow to $690 billion a year by 2020 and will nearly double by 2035 to $1.3 trillion a year, with much of the growth occurring in the EU. We are very confident about the future," he said.
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BILLIONAIRE WILBUR ROSS SELLS DOWN VIRGIN MONEY STAKE - Two backers of Virgin Money are aiming to sell a stake of at least $277m (£187m) after shares in the challenger bank soared nearly 50% only five months after listing on the London stock market. Funds run by US billionaire Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments were seeking to offload 45 million of shares, it emerged on Tuesday afternoon, although this increased to 60 million shares, according to people familiar with the situation. The sale is likely to be priced at 400 pence a share, marking a sharp increase from its initial public offering price of 283 pence in November last year, reports the Financial Times. Mr Ross currently holds a 33.5% stake in Virgin Money, worth about £620m, while Stanhope owns 4.4% in the bank. The timing of the share sale comes during a window of opportunity ahead of the UK general election in May. But it comes before the end of a lock-up period expires, before which time institutional investors are generally unable to sell shares. However, the listing prospectus states that the bookrunners on the deal can waive the lock-up, which was due to end in mid-May.
