Business & Finance brings you the day’s Irish business news in brief.
Tuesday, September 27th 2016
Mortgage approval on the rise
There has been a large increase in the number of people getting approved for mortgages.
3,000 mortgage approvals were seen in August to buy a home, a rise of 37% on August 2015 according to figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.
In a note to investors Davy Stockbrokers’ Conall Mac Coille said: “The worry is that growing numbers of buyers are now chasing too few homes, with numbers of properties listed for sale falling and weak housing construction.”
Value of construction projects up
The overall value of construction projects commenced saw a significant increase in the first half of 2016, rising by €1.12bn to €3.69bn when compared to the same period in 2015 according to the Building Information Index.
This figure represents a very strong increase of 44% in the value of actual construction activity for the first six months of 2016 when compared to the first half of 2015. Compiled from real time planning and project information by Building Information Ireland, the Building Information Index is measured by examining in detail the two distinct phases of a construction project.
€150,000 made available Cork’s young stars
The campaign has just been launched in Cork, and has been extended to those aged between 18 and 35, with an innovative and original idea or concept for a product or service that is either at start up or early development stage.
Now in its third year, the IBYE competition in Cork has unearthed a wealth of young entrepreneurs, who their respective LEOs work with to nurture and support.
The competition, which has a simple online application form available on www.ibye.ie, aims to encourage and support a culture of entrepreneurship among young people, to promote entrepreneurship as a career choice, and to encourage the establishment and development of new and innovative businesses by Ireland’s young entrepreneurs.
Irish pension savers favour introduction of auto enrolment
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the asset management business of State Street Corporation, today released the findings of its annual Retirement Confidence Monitor, which surveyed almost 700 defined contribution savers in the Republic of Ireland, in addition to more than 2,000 respondents in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Retirement Confidence Monitor is an annual survey designed to track changing attitudes and behaviours relative to defined contribution plans. The RCM found that 80% of Irish respondents favour automatic enrolment of all eligible employees into pension schemes. Nearly two-thirds (61%) would also likely take advantage of automatic annual increases in contributions.
The Irish are the least confident when it comes to making ends meet; if an unexpected expense or health crisis arose 35% of respondents said they would risk running low on money for basic necessities, and 36% of respondents said they would consider their financial life to be a ‘mess’.
€1m Enterprise Ireland fund announced
Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: “In Enterprise Ireland our focus is on helping businesses to start, innovate and scale. Recent SBIR projects have involved collaborations with start-ups and innovation led businesses, providing funding for innovative new ideas that, as well as creating jobs, will ultimately improve and enhance quality of life for people”. www.sbirireland.ie
Event set to honour leading Irish CEOs
The Business & Finance CEO 100 edition will honour the most influential and innovative CEOs in Ireland at The Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 on October 18th.
From the success of emerging enterprises that are blazing a trail, to the longevity and substance of well-established firms, Ireland’s CEOs and the companies they lead are displaying top-level innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit indicative of our national character.
The Business & Finance CEO 100 reveals much about life and work in Ireland today. Some of the companies that these CEOs lead are reassuringly familiar – some companies could barely have been dreamed of until a few years ago.
To read the article in full, click here.
Is Uber about to launch a food delivery service in Ireland?
Online transportation network company Uber could be about to launch its new food delivery service in Ireland after the company posted a job ad for its latest product in Dublin. Uber is making a push into meal delivery as the company attempts to take on other notable delivery services. UberEats is hiring for launches in 24 countries.
Shannon pharma company makes nifty profit
A pharma firm located in Shannon has made a profit of €519m from the sale of the intellectual property of one of its drugs last year.
UCB Manufacturing Ireland recorded pre-tax profits of €461m that arose chiefly from the sale of Neupro, its Parkinson’s disease drug.