Deals site BoardsDeals to shut

Daily deals website BoardsDeals is getting out of the discount offers business.

Daily deals website BoardsDeals is getting out of the discount offers business.

From Monday, the company will no longer offer new deals to customers, and its network of merchants have been informed of the decision.

However, existing vouchers that customers have paid for to date remain valid and will be honoured, and merchants will receive the money owed to them in full.

The move does not affect the Boards.ie site, which will continue to operate as normal.

Rumours of BoardsDeals' closure have been circulating online in recent weeks. It is understood that although the business as a standalone entity was profitable, Distilled Media no longer sees a long-term future for the business in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

BoardsDeals, which began operating in July 2010, included offers on everything from restaurants and beauty treatments to spa packages and home services. It claims to have in the region of 2.2 million visitors per month.

It is believed staff and resources currently devoted to the deals site will be reallocated to other areas of the business, and no jobs will be lost as a result of the closure.

Distilled Media also operates property website Daft.ie and news site The Journal.ie.

A growing number of deals website have sprung up in recent months, and in July the National Consumer Agency said it planned to carry out a large scale review of all the deals sites, their offers and the terms and conditions applied to them.

International site Groupon said today it was reshuffling its senior management roles as it tried to shake-up its struggling European business. An internal memo seen by Reuters revealed the departure of its chief of international business Veit Dengler.

Mr Dengler is the latest in a series of executives to leave the company in recent months.

The business has suffered in Europe due to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, the economic slowdown, and issues with some merchants.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist