One of Ireland’s oldest business schools, the Irish Management Institute (IMI), trimmed its staff headcount by almost 20 per cent in the year before the Business Post group agreed to acquire the executive education provider from University College Cork (UCC).
Newly filed accounts for the IMI show that losses at the Sandyford, south county Dublin-based institute, narrowed to just over €431,000 in the 12 months to September last from more than €1 million in the previous 12 months.
The IMI reportedly issued protective notice to more than 30 staff in the summer of 2023, warning of potential redundancies.
Staff numbers at the school subsequently shrank from 77 in 2023 to 63 in the year to September 2024, according to the latest filings, a reduction of more than 18 per cent.
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Consequently, staff costs – including wages, salaries, social welfare contributions and pension costs – declined by almost 19 per cent to €4.66 million in the year.
In a report attached to the accounts, the IMI’s directors said the market for executive education remained challenging due to escalating direct and indirect costs.
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“However, despite these challenges, the programme of turnaround activities, commenced in the prior year, has strengthened the company and significantly reduced the deficit for the year.”
Accumulated losses of more than €5.2 million had built up at the company, which is limited by guarantee and has no share capital, by the end of September 2024, according to the accounts.
The IMI’s directors also noted that after the financial year end, they had signed non-binding “heads of terms” related to the potential sale of the institute and its assets to a “third party”.
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Enda O’Coineen’s Business Post Group subsequently acquired the institute in a deal that was finalised in May.
UCC will reportedly retain control of the sprawling 13-acre campus in suburban south county Dublin as part of the transaction.
At the time of the deal, the Business Post Group said the addition of IMI would complement its existing portfolio and align with its “House of Brands” vision to deliver content through BusinessPost.ie, experiences through iQuest.ie, “insights” with RedCResearch.ie, and executive education.
“Our group of companies bring together the power of news reporting and insights as well as research – this will help to further inform IMI on the trends and emerging areas that leaders need to know and understand,” Mr O’Coineen said at the time.
The Irish Times reported in May that staff at the newspaper had been told the news publisher’s operations will likely move to the IMI campus when the lease on its offices on Merrion Road expires later this year.
