By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance brings you the day’s Irish business news in brief.
110 jobs announced for five new Chopped outlets
Healthy fast food outlet Chopped has today announced a recruitment drive to fill 110 new positions across Dublin and Kildare. The positions on offer, a mix of full and part-time, will service five new Chopped outlets opening in the next month.
Aramark, which recently agreed to an exclusive five-year strategic partnership with Chopped to expand the healthy fast food chain’s presence in the corporate, education and industry sectors in Ireland, will open and manage the new Chopped outlet at The Loop at Dublin Airport. Four other outlets will open over the next month in the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, O’Connell Street, Talbot Street and in the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The new restaurants will join 13 existing Chopped outlets in Dublin.
Chopped co-founder Brian Lee recently featured in a Business & Finance 60 second challenge.
ESB Invests €2.5m in Terra Solar to develop solar energy generation
ESB has invested €2.5m to take a minority shareholding in Irish solar company Terra Solar which aims to accelerate the development of solar energy generation in Ireland.
Terra Solar and ESB have the potential to deliver over 260 megawatts of electricity generation capacity from solar energy, which would power over 50,000 homes every year.
Terra Solar was founded by David Fewer and André Fernon and is headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin.
The company previously announced plans to develop solar farms in Kerry and Clare and is now also accelerating the roll out of solar farms across Limerick, Waterford and Wexford.
While the sector is in its infancy in Ireland, solar PV is already playing a key role in many countries around the world in meeting user daytime energy needs.
Wrike continues European expansion with new Dublin office
Wrike, a provider of work management software as a service, today announced the opening of the company’s new Dublin office that will support its ongoing expansion into Europe; one of Wrike’s fastest growing markets.
The firm also recently opened a new data centre in Amsterdam.
To help support this growth, the company has rounded out its European leadership team, adding Alexander Belenky as VP of Sales, EMEA.
Wrike began operations in Dublin over one year ago, but quickly outgrew its office space and has outpaced its own expectations for growing its team.
It currently employs 25 in Dublin and plans on increasing that total to 80 over the next three years.
Capitol Gains Tax announcement is a boost for business, believes Hession
The announcement of a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reduction to 10% for the first €1m is a real boost for many enterprises across the broad spectrum of business sectors says The Entrepreneurs Academy’s Joanne Hession.
She comments: “Changes announced to CGT in Budget 2017 may do little to halt the flow of some start-up companies moving to the UK from Ireland but most of the microenterprises we work with at the Academy are indigenous businesses with strong Irish roots in local economies who have little intention to move country and would rather help rebuild this one.”
Hession, as chairperson of the SME Committee of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and member of Council on Dublin Chamber of Commerce has lobbied in these areas on behalf of microenterprises and SMEs and congratulates the Government, welcoming future advancements in these areas.
Newstalk begins search for new editor-in-chief as Garrett Harte quits station
Newstalk 106-108FM has announced that Garrett Harte has resigned as editor-in-chief of the station. Harte, who joined Newstalk 15 years ago, has decided to leave to pursue other interests. He will remain with the station until the beginning of 2017.
Tim Collins, chief executive of Newstalk, has commenced a process to identify a replacement for Harte who will commence employment early next year.
Commenting on the announcement Garrett Harte said: “I am very proud to have contributed to the development of Newstalk from its launch in 2001 to its development into a significant and influential media outlet. I have worked with some of the most passionate and ambitious people at Newstalk and I would like to wish them, Tim Collins and the station every success for the future.”
New multi-million euro hotel for Dublin Airport
A multi-million euro construction of a new seven-storey hotel is planned for Dublin Airport.
CG Hotels wants permission for the 144-bedroom hotel, which will be located in the car park of the existing Radisson Blu hotel.
CG Hotels, owned by investors including Patrick Coyle, manages the Gresham Hotel. CG Hotels had previously secured planning permission for a €59m extension to the existing Radisson Blu at Dublin Airport.
The group operates the former Great Southern hotels at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports with the Dublin and Cork hotels operating under the Radisson Blu brand while the Shannon hotel is a Park Inn hotel.
