UK firm closes in on Buswells

A new UK real-estate firm cofounded by an Irish property veteran is close to buying Buswells, the storied hotel opposite Leinster House once owned by the Quinn family, for about €15 million, according to sources. As Joe Brennan reports, Roundstone Real Estate Group is understood to have secured part financing for the deal from Novellus – a so-called alternative lender owned by Billy McManus, who is a nephew of racehorse owner JP McManus. Novellus is reported to have links to the billionaire’s Swiss family investment office, Leicosa.
Joe also reports that a new health insurance company backed by Aviva Insurance Ireland and led by a group of industry veterans launches on Friday with claims that it can offer “meaningful savings” to customers, following a series of price hikes by the three existing players in the market.
Jeffrey Leo, the American financier, has filed legal proceedings in Dublin against Allan Beechinor, the founder of failed tech company Altada, according to court records. Barry J Whyte reports that the proceedings were filed in the High Court last Friday. As well as Mr Beechinor, radio and podcast host Keith Walsh has been included as a defendant in the case. Neither defendant has any legal representation on record.
Irish hospitality group Press Up will next week open a new Asian restaurant at the former Wagamama premises on South King Street, which is located to the side of the St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in Dublin 2. Ciaran Hancock reports.
In his column, John FitzGerald looks at the parties’ manifestos for the upcoming election and shows why it can be difficult to make all the numbers add up.
Staying with the election, in Smart Money, Cliff Taylor offers a guide to decoding all the promises the parties are making in the run up to the vote.
In the interview of the week, Barry O’Halloran speaks to planning regulator NIall Cussen on the issues facing the planning sector, as well as the housing crisis.
As the Web Summit winds down for another year, in Agenda, Ian Curran assesses what we learned at the firm’s first flagship conference since Paddy Cosgrave returned as CEO.
Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion giant, ran €7.6 billion in revenue through its Irish arm in 2023, new accounts show, up from €4.5 billion the year before. Barry has the story.
Workers may lose the right to opt out of their employer’s occupational pension scheme as companies look to avoid the administrative burden of operating auto-enrolment (AE), according to benefits consultants WTW. Dominic Coyle reports.
Dublin slipped to 17th place for potential investment and development in a ranking of 30 cities across Europe, according to a new study. It dropped from 13th position in the previous report. Fiona Keeley has the story.
Meta has been fined nearly €800 million by Brussels after regulators accused Facebook’s parent company of stifling competition by “tying” its free Marketplace services with the social network.
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