Seán Quinn children demand share of lost business

Seen & Heard: Property prices rising; boomtime for Irish law firms

Seán Quinn's five children have demanded shares in his former businesses, according to the Sunday Independent. It reports that the children have issued a legal threat to directors at Quinn Business Retention Company, including Kevin Lunney and former Quinn chief executive Liam McCaffrey. The company has referred the legal demand to An Garda, the paper reports.

Rise in house prices

The Independent also reports that data from estate agents points to a rise in house prices over the first half of the year. Full details of the nationwide residential property price barometer compiled by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers are not expected until September but point to good demand for attractive homes, its chief executive says. Hooke & MacDonald managing director Ken MacDonald says his business is having an unusually busy summer, the paper says.

Kerry Group considers dairy sell-off

Agribusiness giant Kerry Group is weighing the sale of 60 per cent of its €1 billion dairy business to Kerry Co-op members as it focuses increasingly on its ingredients division, the Sunday Times reports. Co-op members who supply milk to the group would be asked to invest in a new company that would purchase the dairy business stake while retaining a shareholding in the listed business. Other farmer members would receive additional Kerry shares in the deal, which is under consideration but not yet confirmed, the paper writes.

Legal action against developer

Developer Greg Kavanagh is back in the legal headlines, according to the Business Post, being sued by Wicklow man Fergal Doyle over alleged breach of contract relating to a Dublin city centre development . The two men are understood to have worked together before on development property investments.

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Law firms enjoy rising revenue

Ireland's top law firms saw revenue grow last year, according to an annual analysis carried out fir specialist publication The Lawyer, the Business Post reports. Two firms – A&L Goodbody and Arthur Cox, rank among the top 20 legal firms in Europe by revenue. But Matheson, third among Irish firms, had the best year, according to the rankings, with estimated earnings growth of 12 per cent.

DAA voluntary redundancy take-up

One in four DAA staff have applied for voluntary redundancy programmes at Dublin and Cork airports, the Sunday Independent writes. The news of up to 870 applications comes as the airport operator and trade unions talk over steps to address a dramatic fall in business due to coronavirus that could even lead to the closure of one of the Dublin terminals in a “worst-case scenario”, shop stewards said.