Seen & Heard: business news round-up

The Sunday Independent leads with a story that a European drinks body, which is backed by Irish Distillers' owner Pernod Ricard, is prepared to support legal action in the State if laws on the minimum pricing of alcohol are introduced.

The Government is preparing to enact legislation on pricing before the year’s end.

Elsewhere the Independent reports that Dalata is the preferred bidder for the Tara Towers hotel in Dublin 4. The hotel was put up for sale last month by receivers Duff and Phelps with a guide price of €9 million. The hotel was bought by developers Bernard McNamara and Jerry O'Reilly in 2003 for €14.2 million.

The Sunday Business Post reports that Actavo, formerly known as Siteserv, had settled its dispute with Irish Water over who would pay for the cost of delays and video surveillance associated with the installation of water meters. the coast has been estimated at up to €5 million. The terms of the settlement are unknown.

The Post also reports that stockbrokers Davy is planning to expand its private client operations into London next year. The company has a number of clients in Britain which it manages out of its Belfast and Dublin office but is planning to recruit wealth managers in London early next year.

The Sunday Times reports that just 10 firms pay half of all corporation tax, according to the Revenue Commissioners. Up to €4.7 billion has been collected in the first 10 months of the year from corporations.

The Times also has a story saying that Sky, Vodafone, BT and Magnet have entered into a formal dispute with Eir, formerly Eircom, over its repair time on the broadband and fixed phoneline network. A report, commissioned by the quartic from British consultancy Towerhouse, claims that Eir's performance ranks below that of its European peers.