O’Flynn and Kildare development will allow Abtran to employ 1,000

Cork developer Michael O'Flynn and Kildare Partners, which is backed by billionaire Ellis Short, have completed the refurbishment of a high-spec office in Cork that will allow Abtran, the business process outsourcing firm, to increase its headcount to 1,000 people.

Abtran is already one of Cork’s biggest employers, with more than 400 staff, but it had struggled to find a suitable office to house its employees until Mr O’Flynn completed the office building which is the Mahon Industrial Estate.

Abtran has taken 65,000 sq ft in the 100,000 sq ft building. Mr O’Flynn is in talks with other companies to bring additional employment to Cork by leasing them the rest of the building.

In Ireland, Mr Short's business is led by Emer Finnan, a former chief financial officer with EBS Building Society, who is understood to be supportive of the well-known Cork businessman continuing his work as a major developer.

Mr O'Flynn is also understood to be working on further multimillion investments in Munster alongside Kildare Partners, which in March acquired about €100 million worth of loans from Lloyds Bank which relate to a portfolio of properties in the Cork area assembled by Mr O'Flynn.

Kildare Partners close working relationship with Mr O'Flynn is in stark contrast with the businessman's relationship with Blackstone who bought his loans with a face value of €1.8 billion from the National Asset Management Agency last May.

Mr O’Flynn has been forced to take legal against Blackstone because he claims the private equity fund was involved in a “very elaborate and sophisticated, but ultimately hamfisted, blitzkrieg” against companies in the O’Flynn construction group.

This claim has been rejected by Blackstone. Mr Justice Brian McGovern has reserved judgment on the action.