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Kingspan deal, Pat Kenny’s ethics complaint and the summer media meltdown

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

Containers being unloaded at Dublin Port. Exports to the UK jumped by a fifth. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

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Peter Flanagan
Tue Jul 18 2023 - 07:00

Kingspan is to take a majority holding in German building envelope firm Steico, in a deal worth an initial €251.4 million. The Cavan-based firm is buying 51 per cent of the company from its chief executive Udo Schramek for €35 per share, and could end up paying double that if the business hits profit targets.

Exports to Britain grew by 19 per cent to €1.6 billion in May compared with the same month last year, new data from the Central Statistics Office shows. Colin Gleeson reports.

Microsoft will next week face its first formal European Union antitrust investigation in 15 years over claims the US tech giant is unfairly tying its video conferencing app Teams with its popular Office software.

New data show the Irish jobs market stabilised in the second quarter of the year, with the rate of the reduction in vacancies easing during the three-month period and the overall total of job vacancies now largely in line with pre-Covid levels. Ciara O’Brien reports.

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The postcode Dublin 18 has the highest proportion of homes with an A energy rating in the country, as a third of dwellings there have reached the top rating, and homes are on average only 15 years old. Ellen O’Regan reports.

It’s been a busy few weeks in the media world, with the RTÉ saga just one story that has dominated the news in recent times. Laura Slattery looks at where things stand.

Meanwhile Cantillon assesses the economic data showing plunging pharma exports, and whether Threads can replace Twitter for the long term.

A planning watchdog has rejected an ethics complaint made by broadcaster, Pat Kenny against a consultant in the ‘badger’ planning row over a proposed nursing home adjacent to the Kenny family home in Dalkey. Gordon Deegan has the story.

A High Court judge has expressed concern that the pretrial discovery process in Web Summit co-founder disputes has been “dragging on for some time”. Ellen O’Riordan was in court.

Worrying data shows the first six months of the year saw a 48 per cent year-on-year increase in insolvencies with significant collapse growth in key sectors including hospitality, construction and financial services. Colin has the details.

Gordon also reports that plans have been lodged for a €251.5 million 564-unit residential scheme for a site off Flemington Lane near Balbriggan in north Co Dublin.

In Your Money, Dominic Coyle looks at the tax implications of renting out rooms for the summer, and the issues around bringing money into Ireland from overseas to buy a home.

In her column, Fiona Reddan notes the return of “bring your own bottle” to restaurants and where you can do it.

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