Business

British Airways Expands Dublin-London Connectivity British Airways launches new Dublin to London flights British Airways is to start flying to the financial heart of London from Dublin this winter. The airline announced that it is to add an additional link between the two capital cities with the launch of new direct flights from Dublin to London City Airport. From the start of the winter schedule, 26 October, British Airways will launch five-a-day services to London City Airport using a mix of Embraer 170 and 190 jets from its new fleet of 17 aircraft. Business and Connectivity Benefits The aircraft will be based in Dublin overnight for an early morning departure,…

US library technology company Innovative is to double its workforce in at its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Dublin to 50 by the end of 2015. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, Innovative is a global provider of integrated library management and automation software. Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD met with the company’s CEO Kim Massana on his recent marketing business trip to the US with IDA Ireland. “We have had a very positive experience of the business environment in Ireland since we first set up our EMEA headquarters in Dublin in August 2012,” said Massana. “Dublin has a rich talent pool and we have been able to…

Opel Ireland and its parent company General Motors (GM) have announced a partnership with the Higher Education Authority’s (HEA) Springboard programme. It will mean the introduction of new free graduate programmes in University of Limerick (UL) and NUI Galway involving 30 graduate positions a year over the next four years. The Higher Diploma in Software Development (Middleware integration) will be delivered at UL starting in the middle of July while the Diploma in Applied Sciences will be delivered by NUIG with a high performance computing stream being developed in conjunction with the Irish Centre for High End Computing based on the NUIG campus starting early August 2014. Applicants eligible to…

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has reported pre-tax profits of €7.2m for 2013, a 15pc increase on 2012. Revenues were 12pc higher at €22.9m. The increase was driven by strong growth in primary markets business (in particular from listing debt securities), where revenues grew 17pc to €15.4m and accounted for 67pc of total ISE revenues. Primary markets business relates to international debt, fund and equity listings. At the end of December 2013 the ISE had approximately 30,000 securities from 4,000 issuers in 78 countries listing their securities on its markets. Traded markets business (income from market data sales, transaction income, infrastructure and membership fees), represented 33pc of ISE revenue in…

VistaMed to create 125 jobs in Co Leitrim as part of €7m investment Irish medical devices firm VistaMed is to create 125 new jobs at its manufacturing facilities in Carrick-on-Shannon and Rooskey in Co Leitrim by the end of this year. Currently employing 250 people in Ireland, VistaMed provides catheters and extrusion products to the global medical device industry and is a Helix Medical joint venture partner. The announcement is part of a new investment programme of more than €7m, supported by Enterprise Ireland. Recruitment for these positions is ongoing and positions are expected to be filled by the end of 2014. It came as VistMed officially opened a state-of-the-art 35,000 sq ft…

United Airlines has re-introduced its non-stop service between Shannon and its Chicago hub, O’Hare International Airport, for the summer in response to customer demand. The service is operating until 15 September 2014, a more extended period than last year. The frequency of the service is five flights weekly until 16 Jun and the period 19 August to 1 September, daily between 17 June and 18 August, and four flights weekly between 2 to 15 September (all dates westbound). Declan Power, head of aviation development at Shannon Airport, commented: “The increase of 90 additional flights to and from Chicago this year is a testament to the success of the route which…

Green REIT has invested €335m to date in compiling a portfolio of 16 investment properties. In an interim management statement for the four and half months since 1 January 2014, the company said this morning that it has acquired a number of properties in what has been an “active period”.  The company’s acquisitions during the period were the Danske II portfolio for €22.1m and Central Park. On 2 May 2014, Green REIT completed a firm placing and placing and open offer, raising net proceeds of around €385m. “The success of our second capital raising, which increased our total equity base to approximately €685m, reflects the market’s confidence in our ability…

Nearly three-quarters (72pc) of international insurance leaders based in Ireland are confident about business volume growth in the year ahead, up from 62pc last year, according to a new survey. The survey by PwC among the Dublin International Insurance & Management Association (DIMA) shows that of this, 32pc are very confident, up from just 10pc last year. Over half (59pc) of industry leaders are planning people or resource growth, however there are indications that conditions remain weak in certain areas. Nearly a third (30pc) of respondents reported that further product innovation and diversification is the main opportunity for growth in the next three years. Other growth opportunities include increasing existing…

Irish medical device company Mainstay Medical has floated on the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) today. The company, which has operations in Australia and the US, raised €18m on its admission to the Enterprise Securities Market (ESM) and began trading with a market capitalisation of €90m. It’s the first company on the Irish market to have a dual quotation with Euronext Paris. The ISE now has active dual listings with the UK, US, Canada, France and Switzerland. “Our listing on the ESM raises our profile in Ireland and internationally and enables us to focus on the next stage in our development as we execute our plans to obtain regulatory approval for…

Visa card spend by overseas visitors up 20pc to €903m in 2013 Overseas visitors to Ireland spent over €903m on credit, debit and prepaid Visa cards during 2013, up 20pc on 2012, according to Visa Europe, which attributed much of the increase to the success of The Gathering. Asian and Middle Eastern Visitors Lead in Average Spend per Transaction Although visitors from the UK and the US accounted for the bulk of foreign spending in Ireland, travellers from countries in Asia and the Middle East had a higher average spend per transaction. Indonesians spent more per transaction than any other nationality, with an average of €170.71.  The next highest spenders…