Glenveagh close in on €250m deal
Listed housebuilder Glenveagh has agreed a pre-fund deal with British investor Round Hill Capital that will see it get close to €250 million for 450 apartments it is planning to build closer to Dublin's north docklands, according to the Sunday Times. The nine-block scheme, some of which will be 15 floors high, will now be rented out rather than sold to private buyers.
KBC eye insurance foothold
Also in the Sunday Times. it is reported that KBC is looking to establish its own insurance business in the Republic, ending a long-standing link with Aviva. From some time in 2021, the Belgian finance house will manage its own life, pensions and investments business. Aviva currently manages the insurance business for all the main Irish banks, except Bank of Ireland.
Flutter’s €55m in legacy tax bills
Losing bets by Paddy Power parent Flutter means it could have to pay €55 million in legacy tax bills in the German and Greek markets, according to a report in the Sunday Independent. Both countries have found against the bookmaker - following an appeal in Germany. The liabilities date back to 2012 in both cases. Flutter indicated in its 2019 results that the tax bills were multiples of what it had earned in each of the two markets in the relevant years and has said it is appealing both decisions .
McKillen ordered to pay costs
Property developer Paddy McKillen has been ordered to pay the costs of his failed legal challenge to the process set up by the State to determine compensation to Anglo Irish Bank shareholders over the transfer of their shares to the State following its nationalisation of the collapsed lender. McKillen had challenged the time he was allowed to make submissions on the issue, the Business Post reports.
FBD trebles suspected cases of fraud
Insurer FBD trebled the number of suspected cases of insurance fraud that it reported to gardaí last year, the Post also writes. The move follows a dramatic Oireachtas committee last year when FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon and others were excoriated by Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty over insurance fraud claims by the industry that were not backed up by the number of cases they reported to authorities.
Hammerson’s Irish portfolio falls by €138m
Hammerson, the co-owner of Dundrum Town Centre, says the value of its Irish property portfolio fell by nearly €138 million last year, according to the Sunday Independent. The British property group blamed "yield expansion", which means potential investors looking for higher yields in property investments – and stamp duty for the dip. Hammerson, which also owns stakes in Dublin's Ilac Centre, Swords Pavilion and Kildare Village, is spending €16 million on the revamp of two floors of the House of Fraser store at Dundrum to accommodate Brown Thomas.
