One51 plc, the Philip Lynch-led investment company, is on track to double its profits this year after widening dramatically its portfolio of interests in 2006.

Results issued within the group's annual report show that it made profits of €9.7 million in 2006 within the businesses it actively manages.

The group is believed to have broadly matched that level of profit in the first half of the current year and expects operating profits of at least €20 million for 2007 as a whole.

The profits reflect the group's operational division, which comprises waste, plastics and food businesses.

One51 plc also includes One51 Capital, a pure investment arm which houses holdings in NTR, Irish Continental Group (ICG) and Thirdforce, among other investments.

It is this side of the business that is pursuing a takeover of ICG, having tabled a €560.9 million bid for the ferry operator.

Last year's profits at One51 came on turnover of €121.9 million, of which €24.7 million came from acquisitions made in the course of the year.

These acquisitions cost a total of €49.3 million.

Pretax profits amounted to €4.7 million for the year, as financing charges at the group came to €5 million. Net assets more than doubled in 2006, standing at €340 million at the end of the year.

The annual report forecasts a positive 2007, with One51 thought to have a strong pipeline of new deals as it enters the second half. So far this year, the firm has completed four acquisitions, three in the recycling sector and one in plastics.

This comes as it engages in its latest funding round, which aims to raise at least €200 million from existing investors. Two similar fundraising exercises last year were substantially oversubscribed, with One51 raising a total of €168 million from shareholders.

The annual report also details a €280 million five-year bank facility agreed at the end of 2006. This structure involves a syndicate of six banks and is designed to fund "further development opportunities" and provide working capital to the group.

The investment company has made no secret of its ultimate plan for flotation and is expected to take the next step towards this over coming weeks by appointing Davy Stockbrokers to administer a "grey" market in its shares.

The annual report shows that, at the end of last year, Mr Lynch held almost 6 per cent of One51, the largest holding of any of the firm's 11 directors.

His position however is thought to have been diluted since then.

Shareholders will not receive a dividend in respect of last year, according to the annual report.

The document makes scant mention of the company's offer for ICG, which has been with the ferry company's independent directors since the end of June.

This bid has been bogged down in a stalemate with a team of ICG managers who are prepared to offer the same sum for the company and have the ability to block One51's offer.

The two bidding parties are known to have met to discuss a possible way forward in the process but it is thought resolution has not yet been reached.