Former Ireland and Leinster secondrow Devin Toner is tackling craft beers with an investment in Wicklow-based O Brother Brewing, says the Sunday Independent.
The secondrow has joined a group of investors who have put €600,000 into the company, founded by the O’Neill brothers from Kilcoole, Co Wicklow.
“I love the brand and the taste of the beer,” Toner tells the Sindo. The rugby legend added that he would be happy to lend his profile to the business, but he will not be involved in its day-to-day running.
O Brother’s beers include The Chancer, The Sinner, The Dreamcatcher and The Nightcrawler. The company plans on using the €600,000 it has raised to boost production to more than two million pints a year and revenues to €3.5 million.
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Kingsbridge Healthcare weighs sale
Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, Northern Ireland’s biggest private hospital operator, is weighing a possible sale of the business, the Sunday Times reports.
The news follows businessman Denis O’Brien’s sale of the Beacon private hospital in Dublin last week.
Kingsbridge has hired advisers to examine future funding options for the business, including a possible sale, says the Sunday Times.
It operates private hospitals in Belfast and Limavady, Co Derry, as well as a diagnostics and treatment centre. It bought a private hospital in Sligo in 2015.
Current owners are medics, Suresh Tharma, Ashok Sangra and Madan Songra, and UK private equity group, 57 Stars.
Irish companies avoid prosecution for serious crimes
Irish companies avoid prosecution for serious crimes because the Oireachtas has failed to close a loophole in Irish law, according to the Business Post.
Barrister Shelley Horan says that companies avoid prosecution for offences requiring proof of criminal intent as they are legal rather than natural persons. This makes it difficult to prove that a corporation has a “guilty mind”.
Legislators have failed to act on Law Reform Commission recommendations meant to address this problem, sending a message to companies that they can avoid prosecution for offences committed by their workers from which the business benefits, says Horan.
Blackrock to sell Jacobs Inn
US investment giant Blackrock is preparing to sell Jacobs Inn, a 412-bed hostel on Dublin’s north docks for more than €30 million, the Sunday Times reports.
The newspaper says it understands “that a European investor has agreed to buy the hostel for more than €30 million in an off-market deal”.
Blackrock and hostel operator Amistat Continental bought the business in 2020 for €30 million.
Dublin’s tourism industry is struggling with a shortage of beds, boosting demand for low-cost accommodation across the city.
