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Investors in Irish mortgage start-up wiped out, HMV is back on Henry Street, and vaping’s battle with regulators

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

The HMV Shop on Henry Street, Dublin which opens on Friday. Photograph: Damien Eagers for The Irish Times

Ciarán Hancock's face
Ciarán Hancock
Fri Jun 30 2023 - 06:52

One of Austria’s largest banks has taken over an Irish company eyeing an entry to the mortgage market, called MoCo, in a deal that has wiped out the sums invested by a number of its well-known backers. Joe Brennan has the details.

HMV is back in Dublin, with the music retailer set to reopen today on Henry Street, selling a mix of vinyl records, CDs and an assortment of pop culture merchandise. Ian Curran got a sneak preview of the store.

“I see vaping as the revenge of the tobacco industry in terms of getting people hooked on nicotine again,” said Tánaiste Micheál Martin recently. John Burns reports on the vaping industry’s battle for respectability as the regulatory noose tightens.

The annual rate of house price inflation eased in the first half of the year, with the national growth rate more than halving from the end of 2022, and the growth rate in Dublin slumping, writes Ciara O’Brien.

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In a pre-budget submission, Big Four accounting firm KPMG has called for a suite of tax measures to address the State’s housing challenge, including a reduced rate of VAT on new homes and the reintroduction of mortgage interest relief. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

In his weekly column, John Burns notes how communications consultancy Teneo has been hired by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to promote the merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. He also looks at the State’s bid for an EU agency, RTE’s auditor and why their name sounded familiar, and Web Summit’s search of a someone to build relationships with Irish media.

Some 61,278 businesses that availed of Revenue’s debt warehousing scheme during the pandemic still owed a combined total of almost €2 billion in taxes by the end of May 2023, writes Ellen O’Regan.

In the absence of an Executive, it will be very challenging for Northern Ireland to balance the government’s books over the next two years, writes John FitzGerald.

In Wild Geese, Colin Murphy explains to Ellen O’Regan the benefits of living in Spain while selling real estate in Florida.

In our work feature, Olive Keogh explains why headhunters are not always the best choice for those making big career moves.

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