Dublin Simon’s housing plan, cuckoo funds, and VideoElephant’s new money

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

The Dublin Simon Community has launched an initiative to secure funding from wealthy business people to buy homes that would be leased for free to the charity for 10 or 15 years. It hopes to receive enough support to buy 50 units over the next two years. Ciarán Hancock reports.

Institutional investors or so-called "cuckoo funds" are not the prime drivers of high rents in Ireland and may be key to unlocking further housing supply and actually reducing rents, a new report by stockbroker Davy has claimed. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

VideoElephant, an Irish company whose backers include Smurfit Kappa chief executive Tony Smurfit. has raised € 5.5 million in a funding round led by Dublin-based Act Venture Capital. Charlie Taylor reports.

In her weekly column, Pilita Clarksays workers should inform themselves about where their employers stand on climate change.

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Regular columnist Chis Johns notes how studies have shown that human happiness peaks at levels of income far below those of the successful lawyer and banker yet stressed out, rich, successful corporate types always seem to want their children to be just like them. Something has to change.

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Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times