Seen & heard: Eir set to sell Dublin city site on Dame Court

Phone group Eir is to put a valuable site in Dublin city centre on the market in a deal that could achieve up to €50 million, according to The Sunday Times.

The company is expected to hire BNP Paribas Real Estate to sell its offices and depot at Dame Court in the heart of the south city centre’s shopping and entertainment district, it said. The company has sold off a number of non-core property assets recently.

State assignee buys FitzPatrick oil well loans

The Sunday Business Post reported that Chris Lehane, the official assignee during Sean FitzPatrick's bankruptcy, has acquired the former banker's €30 million of loans linked to an oil field off the Nigerian coast.

Mr Lehane bought the loans at a discount from IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, to put him in a stronger position to negotiate with various investors in the oil field who have sought in the past to buy the asset for a very low price.

While Mr FitzPatrick was discharged from bankruptcy in 2014, his assets at the time continue to vest in the official assignee.

Cerberus SPV pays €2,500 tax on Project Eagle

A special-purpose vehicle set up by US investment firm Cerberus to hold and manage the National Asset Management Agency's former Northern Ireland loan book paid just €2,500 of taxes in 2014, according to the Sunday Independent.

Cerberus paid a discounted price of €1.6 billion for the portfolio, which had a book value of €5.6 billion. The tax-efficient SPV, named Promontoria Eagle, was set up on behalf of the US firm by Dublin-based Structured Finance Management Ireland, the newspaper said.

Tetrarch may raise capital in 2018

The Sunday Independent also reported that Irish property company Tetrarch Capital may seek to raise equity or refinance itself in 2018 to grow its hospitality business.

The paper cites Tetrarch's hospitality division managing director Damien Gaffney as saying the business is also open to the prospect of an initial public offering of the business, in time. The company's hotel assets include the Citywest Hotel and the Marker in Dublin, Mount Juliet in Co Kilkenny and Powerscourt in Co Wicklow.

WPP chief warns of prolonged, costly Brexit

The UK's exit from the EU will be complex, costly and take longer than expected, advertising giant WPP's chief executive Martin Sorrell said in an interview with the Sunday Express.

Companies in the UK are worried about the long-term impact of Brexit and uncertainty about Britain’s future relationship with Europe, he said. WPP, which took up domicile in Ireland between 2008 and 2012, is set post interim results on Wednesday.