Developer Johnny Ronan plans new assault on London property market

Seen & Heard: Bank bonuses; Abercrombie closes; and Deliveroo driver windfall

Developer Johnny Ronan has told the Business Post that he is pursuing a return to the London property market. He expects to have his first project in there next year. The paper writes that Ronan's company has "ambitions on the scale of Battersea" for the city. Treasury Holdings, led by Ronan and Richard Barrett, was the latest developer to be undone by plans for the former power station when the financial crash hit in 2008.

Bank of Ireland bonuses

Bank of Ireland wants to be allowed pay bonuses to staff once again because it has repaid all of a €4.8 billion taxpayer bailout, the Sunday Times reports. Chairman Patrick Kennedy took the opportunity in his review as part of the company's full-year results to suggest that the bank should be treated as a special case on pay.

Abercrombie’s Dublin shop to close

It opened with a blaze of glory and sculpted models but Abercrombie & Fitch will not now reopen its landmark College Green shop when pandemic restrictions are lifted,the Sunday Independent writes. The lease on the store, which opened in 2012, expires this month. The retailer says it is looking at other sites in the city and also focusing more on online channels.

Deliveroo riders in line for ‘thank you’ payments

Deliveroo workers will benefit from a “thank you fund” the business is setting up ahead of a potential UK stock market flotation, the Sunday Times reports. The paper says payments of £10,000, £1,000, £500 and £200 will be offered to Deliveroo riders based on the number of orders they have delivered. The riders must have worked for the company for at least a year. Only a quarter of Deliveroo’s 1,100 Irish riders would qualify, it says, with the average payout being £440 (€510).

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Eirgrid feels burden of data centre power demands

Eirgrid will have to rely on new fossil fuel power stations to ensure stable power supply amid growing demand from Ireland’s burgeoning data centre customers, the Business Post reports. The company has told its data centre customers that electricity supply issues in and around Dublin will continue for the new few years.

Nama’s expensive legal pursuits

Nama, Ireland's bad bank, has spent almost €55 million on lawyers as it battles to secure assets from indebted developers and property owners, the Business Post reports. The top beneficiary of that spending has been McCann Fitzgerald, which has earned €11 million. Other Dublin law firms to benefit include A & L Goodbody, Beauchamps and Matheson.

INM frets over RTÉ’s expanded footprint

Independent News & Media has warned the Future of Media Commission about RTÉ's increasingly broad role in Irish media, according to the Sunday independent. The publisher says the broadcaster has become "a vast publisher of written content" in addition to the TV and radio content in its original remit.