Zara boss buys Nama’s final docklands office block and Dalata says no to €1.3bn offer for hotels

Zara founder Amancio Ortega’s investment firm Pontegadea has paid almost €70 million for the last Nama office block in Dublin’s docklands – owned in conjunction with Kennedy Wilson – after a decade-long regeneration programme for the area that has delivered 3.8 million sq ft of commercial space and 2,000 homes over 15 sites, writes Joe Brennan.

Dalata, the State’s largest hotels group, rejected a surprise €1.3 billion cash bid for the group from Swedish peer Pandox, which owns hotels run under the Leonardo brand in Ireland, and a leading shareholder in the Irish company, Oslo-based Eiendomsspar. Joe Brennan reports that Dalata said the offer “materially undervalues the group and its prospects”.

Ireland is the country most exposed to the threat of US tariffs after Mexico and Canada, the OECD said on Tuesday, as it cut forecasts for global economic growth this year. Th US, whose policies are seen as driving much of the uncertainty will be among those worse hit with forecast growth this year now just 1.6 per cent, reports Ian Curran, sharply down on projections just last March.

High energy prices and worries over security of supply were costing Ireland Inc foreign direct investment and jobs, IDA Ireland warned in briefing for government, saying the State was losing ground to other EU countries and the United States over the issue.

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Better news for consumers, especially mortgage holders, as the case for another cut in interest rates as the European Central Bank meets this week was strengthened when euro zone inflation eased more than expected, dipping below the ECB’s 2 per cent target.

Nothing beats a good corporate espionage row and the one raging in the normally staid world of HR software is a humdinger. Deel claims arch-rival Rippling had directed one of its employees to “pilfer” the company’s assets by posing as a customer. The latest claim comes after Rippling alleged earlier this year that a Dublin-based staff member had been spying on behalf of Deel.

In his column, John McManus writes that pay levels of chief executives at Irish semistate companies are a soft target in a world where the gap between the pay of bosses and their workers keeps growing wider.

Joanne Hunt, meanwhile, looks at the issue of money dysmorphia. If there’s a disconnect between how you feel about your financial position and the reality, this may well be you. She goes through the basics you need to bear in mind if you want to have control of your personal finances.

Car sales were down again in May but they are still ahead for the year, writes Ian Curran. The same cannot be said for commercial vehicles with buyers reportedly put off by growing economic uncertainty. And while EV sales have rebounded, they’re a long way short of allowing the Government to hit climate change targets.

Guinness and Three have been named as Ireland’s top sponsors as the number of sponsorship deals rose 29 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, writes Colin Gleeson. Industry consultants Onside, which has compiled the review since 2016, said the GAA had a “very active first quarter”, with horse racing and soccer also among “very active categories”.

In Commercial Property, Fiona Reddan reports that the HSE has bought a prime 16-acre development site in Swords, including the former offices of car hire group Hertz. The price? In excess of €20 million.

Finally, does owning a barge restaurant float your boat? If so, La Peniche on Grand Canal in Dublin 4 could be yours for around €350,000.

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