Business

The latest figures from the IBF Mortgage Approval Report, published today for the month of June, show an annual increase of 7.3pc in the level of mortgages approved by mainstream lenders. With 92pc of new approvals now accounted for by house purchases, the level of approvals in this key segment also showed a year-on-year increase, rising 8.8pc on the same period in 2012; and the average mortgage approval value for the purposes of house purchase was €174,675 – down by 2.6pc on June 2012. In total, the report shows that 1,652 mortgages were approved by lenders here in June to the value of €280m. The IBF has welcomed the sustained…

So far this year, 182 companies in Ireland have been declared insolvent, which is 17pc lower than the same period last year, according to business and credit risk analyst Vision-net. Of the 812 insolvent companies, 559 were liquidated, 243 entered receivership, and an examiner was appointed to ten. Dublin accounted for most insolvencies (41pc), followed by Cork with 12pc, and Kildare with 5pc. Kilkenny, Carlow, Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Laois, Sligo and Longford all recorded company insolvency rates of less than 1pc. The professional services sector accounted for 18pc of insolvencies so far this year, followed by construction with 17pc, wholesale and retail with 14pc, real estate with 13pc, and manufacturing…

AOL Ireland said today that it is planning to create 40 new software engineering roles over the next 12 months at its Dublin Development Centre. The 40 new positions are within AOL Networks, a team that is leading the delivery of AOL’s programmatic advertising solutions for brands and publishers globally. AOL Networks brands include Adtech, Advertising.com, The AOL On Network, Be On and Pictela. The open roles include junior and senior positions. Candidates, who need industry experience, will work with programming languages such as Java, Erlang and C++. “AOL is a globally recognised brand and the choice of Dublin for these roles is a vote of confidence in the quality…

Starbucks has made its first corporation tax payment in the UK since 2009, handing over £5m to HM Revenue and Customs. While the coffee chain has maintained that its UK business is running at a loss because of high rental rates, it said this weekend that it had listened to its customers and would be making a further payment of £5m this year. “Six months ago, we felt that our customers should not have to wait for us to become profitable before we started paying UK corporation tax,” said the company in a statement. “We listened to our customers in December and so decided to forgo certain deductions which would…

Vodafone has announced its intention to buy Kabel Deutschland for €87 per share, giving the German triple play cable provider’s entire share capital a value of €7.7bn (£6.6bn). Vodafone said the transaction will be implemented as a voluntary public tender offer by its wholly-owned subsidiary Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungsgesellschaft for €84.50 per share in cash plus the payment of the €2.50 dividend announced by Kabel Deutschland on 20 February 2013. Subject to their review of the formal offer document, Kabel Deutschland’s management and supervisory boards intend to recommend shareholders accept the offer. Following completion of the transaction, Vodafone will have 32.4 million mobile, 5 million broadband and 7.6 million direct TV…

The number of professional jobs on offer was 20pc higher in May, at 9,434, compared to a year ago and 5pc up on April of this year, according to the Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor. The number of professionals seeking new job opportunities increased by 2pc to 10,135 in May 2013. This upward trend has built slowly from January when 9,735 job seekers were recorded. However, on a yearly basis the number of job seekers has overall declined by 20pc from May 2012  to stand at 10,135 in May of this year. Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer, Morgan McKinley said it remained “cautiously optimistic”. “Though modest, the 5pc increase represents the…

Permanent TSB Group is back in the banking business with plans to approve lending of up to nine times more this year than in 2012, the chairman said today. Speaking at its annual general meeting, Alan Cook said the group is competing again for mortgage business, car loans, educational loans and current accounts. “We’ve been able to open the doors to lending through Permanent TSB again,” he said. The ‘Bank plus Two’ strategy, designed to create three distinct businesses, shows it is making “real progress” in addressing its problems and taking decisive action to improve the position of customers and the taxpayer, he noted. “Our strategy is now settled and…

Queen Mary 2 arrival to kick off Dun Laoghaire cruise ship season The arrival into Dún Laoghaire of Cunard Line flagship vessel Queen Mary 2 this Thursday (16 May) will kick off a busy cruise ship season for the port. Up to six cruise vessels are expected to use the facilities at Dún Laoghaire from May to July this year, bringing potentially up to 15,000 passengers and crew ashore. The highlight of the season is expected to be the visit of Queen Mary 2, which has 3,000 passengers and several hundred crew members aboard. The ship is currently travelling from Hamburg to Greenock in Scotland, where it will arrive tomorrow.…

Cisco Remote Expert Cisco has launched a new technology in Ireland that will allow retail banking customers to have virtual face-to-face meetings with banking specialists and experts from any bank branch in real-time via high-definition video. Cisco Remote Expert Smart Solution for Retail is designed to take advantage of the expertise and sales potential of specialty lending, wealth management and other types of banking advisers. Cisco has signed its first contract in Ireland for the new technology with AIB, which recently launched its first digital banking store, The Lab (Learn about banking), in Dundrum Town Centre. The Lab incorporates the latest Cisco Remote Expert video booths where visitors can use…

Aramark Ireland is planning to create 25 jobs over the next 12 to 18 months as it expands its energy management division. The company said the expansion follows recent success in implementing significant energy projects on behalf of organisations including Forfás, Liffey Meats and the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital. Chief executive Donal O’Brien said the company’s green business is set to grow exponentially as the EU transitions to a competitive low-carbon economy. “Realising the energy efficiency potential of buildings is central to the EU’s energy efficiency policy and we anticipate growing demand for our building retrofit services which will create additional employment of engineering and science graduates in…