Seen and Heard: Google to build €150 million data centre in west Dublin

Project would bring tech giant’s investment in Irish property over past four years to about €500 million

Google is to build a new €150 million data centre in west Dublin, the Sunday Independent reports. The tech giant is expected to file a planning application for the project today, it writes.

If the project goes ahead, it would bring the total amount invested in Irish property over the past four years by the California company to about €500 million. The construction will create up to 300 jobs over a year or more and 60 full-time jobs once it is operational. The data centre would be twice the size of the €75 million centre Google opened in Dublin last September.


Sweet plan
Valeo Foods, the owner of the brands Tuc and Shamrock Foods, is in talks to buy Rowse Honey from Wellness Foods, the health food company backed by JP McManus and John Magnier, according to the Sunday Times .

The deal would mark the first entry by Valeo into the British market. Wellness bought Oxfordshire-based Rowse, one of Britain’s oldest honey producers, for £70 million in 2006, but the sale would help Wellness reduce its debt.

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Meanwhile, Kraft, which manufactures the US cookie brand Oreo, has opposed attempts by Jacob’s to trademark a new product called Jacob’s J-O’s.


Digital deal
Arcadia, the fashion empire owned by Philip Green, has signed a £50 million deal with US technology giant Oracle to revamp its digital platforms, reports the Sunday Telegraph .

The owner of the Topshop, Topman and Dorothy Perkins chains said the deal would give the group a better understanding of its fast-growing global business.

Arcadia has outlets in 36 countries and an online presence in 110.

Topshop and Topman last week announced plans to open a 40,000sq ft shop on Fifth Avenue in New York.


Bank jobs
The Central Bank is planning to give its employees pay rises later in the year to help recruit and retain staff amid growing competition from the private sector, according to the Sunday Business Post .

The bank intends to loosen long-standing strictures on pay for its 1,400 workers, the newspaper reports.

It may also seek exemptions from Government pay cuts and salary caps following an organisational review that is set to be completed in the coming months.

Central Bank workers have taken three pay cuts since 2008 and the organisation has been hit by some high-level departures in the past two years.