Quinn Group's latest UK property coup is partly funded by the cash that its insurance arm, Quinn Direct, is generating for the business.
Yesterday, it announced that it has agreed to buy the Belfry hotel and golf course complex in the UK from the publicly quoted De Vere Group for €270 million.
At the same time, it said that its projected profit for 2004 would be €220 million, earned on the back of a €1 billion turnover, almost twice the sales it generated in 2003.
After a tough period, the insurance business is making a big contribution to profits, although it won't say how big, and the group is seeking opportunities to invest part of this.
Therefore, it is turning to an area in which it has already achieved a good deal of success - hotels and leisure. Last year it said it had €1 billion to invest in this sector and it has not spent anything like that sum since then.
Given that the Belfry deal comes with a very big carrot for De Vere shareholders in the shape of a €265 million special dividend, more or less the sale price, it is unlikely that they will block the sale. It is equally unlikely that Quinn will stop there.
The Seán Quinn-controlled group has already cast its net very wide. It's businesses include cement, glass and plastics manufacturing, insurance, hotels, pubs and a leisure centre.
Its chief executive, Mr Liam McCaffrey, said yesterday that the Belfry deal represented "an exciting new phase in the group's UK expansion plans" - making very clear where it intends focusing its energy.
That's not surprising. In the Republic, the property market is levelling out and there is nothing to equate with Barlo, the plastics manufacturer it bought last year for €84 million.
Although it has businesses in eastern Europe, moving across the Irish Sea is probably easier and less risky. Quinn has just opened a motor insurance business in the UK and is building a glass and bottling plant near Chester in northern England.
However, alongside these, it is continuing to look at hotels and leisure. The Belfry is its biggest bet on this sector yet, but sources last night were positive that it would not be its last.
