Business

Struggling stock exchange needs support, says Euronext Dublin chief

Seen & Heard: Offshore energy giant settles with fisherman; Amazon’s take on Irish data centre discussion; Hines’s latest student housing play; Virgin Media’s losses

Dublin needs to attract IPOs if its struggling Irish bourse is to survive, the chief executive of Euronext Dublin has said. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Ian Curran
Sun May 5 2024 - 11:21

Dublin needs to attract IPOs if its struggling stock exchange is to survive, its chief executive Daryl Byrne told the Business Post.

Mr Byrne’s warning comes as Orla O’Gorman, former head of listings at Euronext Dublin, said the exchange was “certainly challenged”, adding that it would be a “brave move” for a company to list in Ireland currently, given the dearth of IPOs over the last five years.

A number of high profile companies have either delisted in recent months or are planning to do so, including Paddy Power owner Flutter, CRH and Smurfit Kappa, pending the completion of its US paper and packaging rival WestRock later this year.

An industry-wide working group is putting together a report to be submitted to the Government before Budget 2024, outlining the steps that must be taken to secure the future of the exchange.

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Energy giant settles with fisherman blocking wind farm

A German energy giant made a settlement and paid legal costs of about €500,000 to a Co Wicklow fisherman for him to withdraw legal proceedings that were blocking the development of an offshore wind farm.

The Sunday Times reports that RWE, which was granted a foreshore licence to survey part of the sea off the east coast, was taken to the High Court last May by Greystones fisherman Ivan Toole.

Mr Toole sought a judicial review on environmental grounds of the Minister of State for local government’s decision to grant the licence. His case was then referred to the EU Court of Justice, potentially delaying judgment by up to 12 months.

The paper reports that in a first-of-a-kind arrangement within the industry here, RWE settled with Mr Toole and agreed to pay his legal costs in return for him withdrawing his proceedings.

‘Binary discussion’ around data centres is unhelpful, says Amazon boss

Data centres have a crucial role to play in helping to drive investment in renewable energy, the boss of Amazon Web Services’s European boss has told the Business Post, warning that the Republic could lose out on billions of euro in investment if it continues to block new developments.

Neil Morris hit out at the “simplistic and binary” nature of the debate around data centres and the drive towards sustainability.

“Some parties claim it’s either the environment or the economy. And I don’t accept that. It’s not simply the environment or the economy. It’s the environment and the economy. We have got to do both. And if we don’t successfully do both together, then we’re at risk of doing nothing,” he said.

In the meantime, Morris said Ireland must show it is open for business unless it wants tech giants such as Amazon to scale back future investments.

Hines set to buy sixth student housing block

As The Irish Times reported last week, investors are once again looking at Ireland’s student housing market against the backdrop of a chronic shortage of beds and myriad issues around the delivery of new properties.

[  Student accommodation: A market plagued by bed shortages, rising rents and 51-week leases ]

It is no surprise then that US property player Hines, which operates the Aparto student housing platform here, is set to buy its sixth student block, according to the Sunday Times.

The paper reports the investment giant has agreed to pay close to €80 million for a scheme near St Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2 delivered by student housing provider Scape.

With just 2,000 purpose-built student beds in the pipeline, industry experts believe the market could heat up again as operators chase scarce investment opportunities.

Virgin Media swings to loss

The company behind Virgin Media swung to a €8.8 million loss in 2022, the Sunday Independent reports, largely due to swings in interest and currency rates.

Recently filed financial results for the company reveal it lost €25 million on its cross-currency and interest rate derivative contracts, used to protect against increases in the interest rates on its variable rate debts.

Revenue was also down slightly at €468.1 million compared with €470 million in 2021, the paper reports, despite growth in mobile and broadband subscriptions.

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times

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