A roundup of today's other business news in brief

Businessmen have arguable defence to claim

Two businessmen against whom Anglo Irish Bank sought €6.8 million summary judgment orders have made an arguable defence to the bank’s claim entitling them to a full hearing, a judge ruled yesterday, writes Mary Carolan.

Denis Collins and Michael Kiernan had claimed there was a unilateral hand-written alteration by Anglo – after it was signed by Mr Collins – of an alleged guarantee of the liabilities of a building company, MDZ Ltd, in liquidation, under which the bank was claiming €4 million against them.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly in the Commercial Court said the guarantee document rooted the bank’s claim for liability and was “clearly altered” in an apparent “high-handed” way, without recourse to Mr Collins.

The situation required an explanation, he said.

If Mr Collins read the document, he must have been aware he was signing a guarantee, the judge said.

Goodbody says recession is over

The recession came to an early end in the last quarter of 2009, according to a report by Goodbody Stockbrokers.

It said a “plethora of indicators” pointed to a return to growth, adding that domestic activity was also showing signs of stabilisation.

Although concerns surrounding consumer confidence remained, evidence from car sales, core retail sales, and VAT receipts suggested the large increase in savings seen in 2009 was partly reversed at the beginning of this year.

The report predicted consumer spending would remain flat in 2010, with a modest growth next year of 1.3 per cent. Chief economist with Goodbody Stockbrokers Dermot O’Leary said the economy still faced challenges but the signs were positive.

Pub operator regrets ousting directors

Pub operator Mitchell Butlers has expressed regret at ousting four former directors after a review by an international law firm cleared them of any wrongdoing.

Denis Jackson, Ray MacSharry, Richard McGuire and Douglas E McMahon were removed from the company’s board in 2009. However, following a review by Freshfields, the company accepted the directors acted in what they believed to be the best interests of Mitchells Butlers.

The company has made a payment towards the personal costs and expenses of certain of these former directors.

Mitchells Butlers operates about 2,000 pubs accounting for about 3 per cent of pubs in the UK.