Tetrarch buys 470 acres of Howth, bankers’ bonuses and Ryanair’s turbulent week

Some 840 years after setting up home in the coastal village of Howth, the Gaisford-St Lawrence family have agreed to sell the 470-acre estate to Irish investment group Tetrarch in a multi-million euro deal. The vast estate includes Howth Castle and Demense, the Deer Park Hotel and golf courses, and acres of walled gardens and woodlands.

With days to go to Budget 2019, investment and pension funds working on multimillion-euro deals to buy apartment blocks in the fast-growing private rental sector have been warned to sign contracts before the Budget is unveiled, to avoid being caught by a likely rise in stamp duty.

In his column this week, John FitzGerald identifies three targets that warrant tax increases rather than hitting taxes like PRSI in next week's Budget. He says emissions, property and VAT rates on hospitality can all incur tax increases before the Minister for Finance touches incomes.

Central Bank governor Philip Lane has said that "there's a good case" to be made for bankers receiving performance-related pay if it can be adapted when circumstances change. Speaking to an Oireachtas committee, he also warned that economic forecasting models "understate the negatives" of a disorderly Brexit.

Kiely’s of Donnybrook set to sell as development site for €6m

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Irish commercial property turnover hit €620m in Q3

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Shopping centre outside Navan on sale for €3.8m

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Tetrarch buys 470 acres in Howth including its castle and former hotel

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A Chinese military unit has been inserting tiny microchips into computer servers used by companies including Apple and Amazon that give China unprecedented backdoor access to computers and data, according to a new report.

A dispute between a property company of presidential candidate Seán Gallagher and Nokia Ireland over heating and cooling systems for a Dublin premises has come before the High Court. Counsel for Nokia told the court on Thursday Mr Gallagher had in an email threatened to close down the premises if the dispute went to court.

In our Agenda feature, meanwhile, Barry O'Halloran considers the latest turbulence at Ryanair, where a profit warning sent the Irish airline's share price into a tailspin this week. Meanwhile, Dominic Coyle interviews the boss of pharma company Amarin, which after several false starts looks set to take its Vascepa cholesterol drug to market.

Finally in Wild Geese, Pádraig Collins meets Sinead Connolly, a 30 year-old UCD graduate who is a director and founder of Sydney-based Lotus People, a recruitment company supplying support role staff such as receptionists and secretaries. She has been nominated for, and won, a host of business awards.