Business

Sky, Acorn Life and the Department of Health in Western Australia are among the organisations that will be recruiting and providing advice at next month’s Jobs Expo, where thousands of Irish and overseas jobs will be on offer, according to the event organisers. Learning Ireland, which runs the event, says Jobs Expo 2013 will provide job seekers with real opportunities to find a new job. Taking place from 11am to 5pm on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 February in the Hogan Suite in Croke Park, the event is free of charge and will include a diverse range of companies with “a large number of job offers”. Confirmed organisations that will be there include…

Betting and gaming company Ladbrokes said today it has agreed to buy Global Betting Exchange Alderney Ltd (GBEA), the operator of the Betdaq exchange business, for an initial consideration of €30m on a cash free/debt free basis from TBH Ltd. Ladbrokes said it has also agreed to buy from TBH a 10pc stake in TBH Guernsey Ltd, the technology provider to GBEA, for €4m, with a call option to acquire the remaining shares in TBHG after four years. The transaction is subject to certain conditions and is expected to complete in late February 2013. “The Betdaq exchange is a well-regarded and well invested business and a close strategic fit for…

Better than expected year on year sales growth of 25pc over the past three months by Primark has boosted profits for parent company Associated British Foods (ABF). Primark sales were driven by an increase in selling space of 14pc and superior sales densities in the larger new stores. Fourteen new stores opened in the past three months, ten of which were on continental Europe, bringing the total number of Primark stores worldwide up to 256. The company refurbished its flagship Dublin store, and relocated its Sunderland store to a bigger site. ABF, which also owns the Twinings, Ovaltine, Ryvita and Jordans brands, said overall revenue rose 10pc, despite problems in…

Visa card expenditure in Ireland reaches €15.5bn There was a 43pc rise in the number of Visa cards in Ireland since 2011 to reach 4.9 million for the year ending 30 September 2012 with annual expenditure reaching €15.5bn, an increase of 17pc. This means €1 in every €7 of consumer spending in Ireland is now on a Visa card — either debit, credit or prepaid cards. There was a 26pc increase in the number of transactions during the course of 2012, with 201 million transactions taking place during the 12 month period. Visa Europe said growth in Ireland was driven from consumers becoming more comfortable paying with Visa cards particularly for lower-value…

Pension fund assets performed strongly in 2012, with fund values up an average of 13pc to 17pc during the year, according to pension experts Mercer. “Global equities were up by 15pc during 2012, and have almost doubled in value since their lows of March 2009” according to Patrick McKenna, senior consultant with Mercer’s Financial Strategy Group.  “Furthermore, Eurozone sovereign bond markets also performed strongly, with average returns also ranging from 15pc-20pc, resulting in further gains for pension funds”, commented McKenna. However, pension scheme liabilities have also grown materially over 2012, due to the continuing decline in the yield available on ‘safe haven’ German government and other high quality sovereign and…

Many Irish businesses are facing increased security threats in 2013, according to IT security specialist Integrity Solutions. Mobile malware, securing the big data mountain, increasingly sophisticated social engineering, social networking attacks, and issues surrounding security and compliance in the cloud will all become more prevalent this year, it said. Following major security breaches in recent times at large international businesses such as Sony, LinkedIn, Global Payments and RSA, even the most successful organisations are finding it difficult to protect all of their data, all of the time, the company noted. In Ireland, there were a smaller number of high-profile security breaches in 2012 but this should not put organisations off…

PayPal, which employs 1,500 people at its facility in Blanchardstown, has been awarded the Employer of the Year Award at the 2012 Fingal Business Excellence Awards. The awards, which were hosted by TV personality Marty Whelan at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry on Friday last, recognised how highly PayPal values and treats its employees. According to the judges: “ PayPal more than met the criteria for this award – they really value their people and do everything in their power to ensure that each and every employee is treated with respect, dignity and fairness in a creative and innovative atmosphere which celebrates the worth  and contribution of each individual.” Louise…

Zurich has been awarded the 2012 Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) Service Excellence Award in the General Insurance category. The ceremony took place in Dublin last night. “To win this award for the second year in a row is a fantastic achievement for our team and a great endorsement of our industry-leading service delivery to brokers and their customers,” said Ken Norgrove, chief executive officer, Zurich. The PIBA Annual Survey of more than 420 broker firms across Ireland forms the backdrop to the association’s industry awards and is a key performance indicator of service excellence, measuring the level of customer service provided by Insurers in the marketplace. Karina Corbett

Shares in Petrel Resources have jumped by more 350pc after the Irish Aim-listed oil and gas exploration company announced today that it has identified a target in the South Porcupine Basin of the Irish Atlantic Margin with a billion barrel potential. The target is located on Quad 35 of Petrel’s 100pc owned 11/4 licensing option.  Petrel said the identified targets have been mapped at several levels indicating that they are vertically stacked and would be accessible with one well. According to the company, which is chaired by John Teeling, stacked targets have been mapped at Eocene (Lower Tertiary), Lower Cretaceous and locally Jurassic levels.  This facilitates drilling and testing of…

Over half of retailers have experienced increased levels of crime in the last two years, with €512m of retail stock stolen in 2011, according to a new survey from Retail Ireland. The Ibec group has called for a more pro-active and collaborative approach from Gardai and retailers and said those caught shoplifting should bear the full brunt of the law. In the survey of 33 retail companies, which have over 800 shops and employ over 67,500 people around the country, 52pc said they had experienced an increase in crime in the last two years. Nearly half (49pc) said they have experienced theft of cash from their premises. Eighty-two percent said…