Cardbase lays off 29 staff in group

Dublin-based smartcard developer Cardbase Technologies has made 29 people redundant across its operations in Dublin, Belfast, Nigeria and the US. The cut follows the appointment of an examiner to the company, which is backed by businessman Mr Denis O'Brien. Cardbase is now left with 65 staff, fewer than half of the 135 it employed at its peak earlier this year.

It is expected that the latest cut means the company's Belfast office will be forced to close. The closure is bad news for Northern development agency, the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which welcomed Cardbase to Belfast in a blaze of publicity earlier this year. Cardbase was to create 98 skilled software jobs in a project that was valued at £1.9 million sterling (£2.37 million) and which would be supported by IDB grants of almost £500,000 sterling. It is understood that these monies were never transferred to Cardbase because some of the conditions attached to the grants were not met.

An IDB spokesman expressed regret at the development yesterday, which he described as "a commercial decision which in turn resulted from a downturn in the sector". He added that the IDB would "remain in contact with the company to see how things have developed".

Enterprise Ireland, meanwhile, confirmed that it had invested a total of £600,000 in Cardbase but a spokesperson was unable to say yesterday how that investment had been affected by the examinership.

Other investors include ICC and former Esat chairman Mr Denis O'Brien, who became involved with Cardbase through his investment vehicle Island Capital. Cardbase completed its last funding round in the first quarter of this year and, as recently as July, the company was still expressing hope of raising the additional capital required to save itself from insolvency. When the funding did not materialise, the company had no option but to call in the examiner.

Cardbase was founded in 1993 by current company president, Mr Aonghus Geraghty.