A round-up of today's other business news in brief ....
Cross-Border "business angel" scheme
Cross-Border business organisation InterTradeIreland has initiated a new two-year "business angel" programme under which small and start-up companies can apply for seed capital from entrepreneurs and investment funds.
The Halo Ireland initiative has already raised €4.6 million for firms to date. This represents €11.1 million total funding. The investments in question were spread over 25 deals with an average deal size of €185,000.
InterTradeIreland facilitates meetings at business innovation centres in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Waterford and Galway. The centres in the Republic are funded by Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise boards.
A national director will shortly be appointed to roll out the new phase.
Ingersoll-Rand to move to Ireland
Ingersoll-Rand, the Bermuda-based maker of refrigeration equipment, said it will move to Ireland and leave the tax haven amid concern about new legislation that might cost companies US contracts.
The move won’t cost enough to require disclosure and must be approved by shareholders and the Supreme Court of Bermuda, the company said.
Ireland’s EU membership, its legal system and Ingersoll- Rand’s business in the country were reasons for the move, chief executive Herbert Henkel said.
Ingersoll-Rand has 700 employees in Ireland.The company plans to establish tax status in Ireland, according to the statement. Ingersoll-Rand expects to complete the move by the middle of the year. – (Bloomberg)
Quinn Glass plant ‘should be levelled’
Europe’s largest glass- making and bottling factory – built without planning permission near Chester four years ago – should now be levelled, a judge has been told.
Construction of Quinn Glass Ltd’s giant factory at Elton was completed in 2005 but still there is no planning in place, London’s High Court heard.
Dublin-based rival Ardagh Glass is battling to have the plant should be torn down.
The case continues.
Readership survey
The report in yesterday’s edition on the findings of the Joint National Readership Survey misstated the percentage gains and losses in the readership of some national morning papers.
Readership of The Irish Timesfell 2.5 per cent; readership of the Irish Independentfell 8.8 per cent and readership of the Irish Examinerdropped 24.3 per cent. Readership of the Irish Daily Starincreased by 9.3 per cent and readership of the Irish Daily Mailrose 18.8 per cent.
