Slattery sees rosy future for Claret in the US

One More Thing:Dómhnal Slattery's Claret Capital is spreading its wings. The Ballsbridge-based private equity group is opening an office in New York headed by Paul Geaney, a nephew of the late Donal Geaney, the former Elan boss.

Slattery plans to make a number of significant real estate investments in the United States and to seek out new funds.

"The office will be watching our investments and seeking out other investments and other sources of equity," Slattery tells The Irish Times.

In September, Claret acquired a 90 per cent stake in the prestigious five-star St Regis Hotel in Washington DC for about $170 million.

It has also piggy-backed on a string of Merrill Lynch-led deals, including the takeover of car rental group Hertz and a $350 million deal to buy a stake in a company that owns the Macau Landmark and Macau Fisherman's Wharf complex.

Claret is also behind fledgling executive jet airline JetBird and the maritime mobile phone group Blue Ocean Wireless.

Geaney started his career with Merrill Lynch Investment Bank, where he worked for its healthcare and pharma teams in New York and London. He worked with Slattery at RBS Aviation Capital before joining Claret.

Slattery's decision to open in the US now is curious, given the weak dollar, global credit crunch and concerns about the US economy.

"We're very big believers in America," he says. "We're not concerned about the weakness of the dollar.

"The pool of deals available and the efficiency with which deals get done there makes it easy for entrepreneurs like us to get going."