Permission given for new office block on Dublin City Arts Centre site
The council has granted planning permission to the firm, headed up by developer, David Kennan and Winthrop engineering group founder, Barry English, despite opposition from the Office of Public Works (OPW), an inner city primary school, a religious trust and An Taisce.
In granting planning permission to Ventaway Ltd, a Council planner's report concluded that the scheme 'will result in the redevelopment of a massively underutilised vacant site in a prominent location within the city centre'.
The report found that the proposed alterations 'ensure that the development will not only create valuable commercial space but will also add much needed artistic spaces, while also providing managed space for the adjoining school'.
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Underlining the scale of the scheme, the council has ordered Ventaway to pay €3.18 million in planning contributions towards public infrastructure and €1.08 million towards Luas works.
The current plans follow An Bord Pleanala refusing planning permission in May 2024 to Ventaway to develop what would have been Dublin's tallest building at 24 storeys for the same site.
Ventaway lodged its revised plans last December and the scheme - designed by architects, Henry J Lyons - is 61.05m tall, which is a 46.95m lower than the high scheme refused in 2024.
Principal of City Quay National School, Philip Kelly, told the council that the school's board of management were objecting 'in the strongest possible terms' to the new planning application.
The OPW is the State agency charged with the care and management of the James Gandon designed Custom House and in its objection, the OPW stated that the construction of a building at this scale and magnitude 'has the potential to adversely impact the historic and architectural character of the Custom House'.
In a separate objection on behalf of St Laurence O'Toole Trust and The Administrator of the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, planning consultant, Declan Brassil stated that the scheme 'represents a significant overdevelopment of the site'.
The country's largest industry lobby group, IBEC also weighed in, stating that approval should be granted.
IBEC's Head of Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability, Aidan Sweeney told the Council that the proposal 'offers an effective revitalisation of a prime location in the city centre and is exactly the sort of project Dublin requires going forward'.
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
EY Entrepreneur of the Year profiles: From aviation finance software to changing private dermatology
Alan Doyle, Aerlytix Alan Doyle, Aerlytix chief executive Aerlytix is a Dublin-based technology company dedicated to the aviation finance industry. Its software is used by leading lessors, global aviation banks and investors, handling billions of dollars in aircraft transactions. The company provides products for customers to scale their businesses, while driving efficiency and value. The Aerlytix team is assembled from the banking, technology and aviation finance world. What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business? Necessity really was the mother of all invention. When my previous employer shifted strategy and planned job cuts, I asked a supportive boss if I could spin out the company, bring some of the core tech team, and find clients and investment myself. It was agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history. Describe your business model and what makes your business unique. Aerlytix is an aviation finance tech company helping aircraft owners, investors, lenders and lessors make smarter decisions through fast, accurate cash-flow modelling and analytics. READ MORE What makes us different is our deep focus on blending technology, aviation finance with the metal (ie aircraft). Being based in Ireland, the heart of global aircraft leasing, provides us with the perfect home for our products. What was your 'back-to-the-wall' moment and how did you overcome it? Getting clients before the software was built was the key moment for our existence. Agreeing long-term contracts with two amazing Irish aviation lessors during Covid was a huge win but my stress levels were through the roof at the time. What moment/deal would you cite as the 'game changer' or turning point for the company? I wouldn't say there was one game-changing deal. It was more the sheer volume of deals over a 12-month stretch that made me realise things had shifted and there was a strong demand for what we can provide as pioneers in this space. Looking back at the end of that year, it was clear we'd hit a new level. What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out? A mentor of mine once said the pricing model of your software will not be as you think. He was spot on. That may not sound very exciting, but for those who are in fintech, they will know what I mean. To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your future plans/ambitions? We have a lot of Irish clients since aviation leasing's headquarters is Ireland. However, as we move into other client spaces such as banks, lenders and investors, we have gone truly global. That is just going to increase as we move forward. Describe your growth funding path. I have been very lucky in that I have a great US investor who has been very supportive since our inception. Unfortunately, Ireland does not yet have the ecosystem when it comes to VC/PE investing, so I had to look outside. It is changing but there is still a long way to go when compared to the US investment space. How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be? Technology evolves very fast. If you are not investing in it constantly then you will be left behind. AI, combined with our modelling and team, has huge possibilities. I think my capital-intensive industry will come to rely on innovative technology and strong risk management practices common in other investment classes. Aerlytix will be at the forefront of that evolution. What are your annual revenues and profits? All I can say is we have invested more than €10 million to get to the profitability space. How are you deploying AI in your business and what impact has it had on your performance? We love AI but also remain cognisant of the limits to what is actually possible today. We are strategically sprinkling AI throughout our software and development, and that will only grow more over the next 12 months. What makes your company a good place to work? Finding people to build complex software is not easy. We cannot match tech giants on pay, but we offer flexible roles where people learn and grow quickly and feel part of something that is pioneering in this space. What is the single most important piece of advice you would offer to a less experienced entrepreneur? Having smarter people than you work for you is a privilege and critical to a company's success. I consistently hire people who excel in fields where they have a far deeper understanding than I. Eddie Dillon, CreditLogic Eddie Dillon founder of CreditLogic. Photograph: Naoise Culhane Eddie Dillon founded CreditLogic in 2018, as an AI-powered software-as-a-service platform to help banks simplify, digitise, and scale their regulated new customer processes. Built by banking professionals, the platform delivers results by replacing manual, paper-based workflows with secure, real-time automation. It supports more than 60 regulated entities, including all major Irish banks, government agencies and non-bank lenders. The company also has clients in Spain, Greece, and Italy. It operates from offices in Dublin and Madrid, employing a team of over 30 professionals. What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business? Over 10 years ago, when I worked in banking, I was handed a 1,000-page mortgage file that had cost over €20,000 to process, only to find the customer had secured finance elsewhere. The inefficiency was clear. I searched for a technology solution, found none and saw the opportunity to build one – sparking the launch of CreditLogic, with international scale in mind. Describe your business model and what makes your business unique. I developed CreditLogic as an AI-powered software-as-a-service platform that simplifies regulated customer processes for banks. Designed and built with comprehensive banking expertise, it eliminates paperwork and manual processes, reducing customer processing times by 90 per cent and costs by 50 per cent. Unlike traditional solutions, it readily knits to the bank's business process and can be deployed instantly, replacing long, costly internal IT projects. Proven at scale, we now support major European banks and government entities. What is your greatest business achievement to date? We were the first fintech in our space to be adopted by an Irish bank. Today, we're trusted by every major Irish bank and over 60 regulated firms. Evolving from a start-up viewed with scepticism to being designated as a core transformation partner is a massive achievement. What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it? Starting out with painfully slow early enterprise sales, especially while supporting a team who had left secure roles to back my vision. Winning our first bank client demanded resilience, patience and belief. We overcame high security and procurement thresholds by offering low-risk pilots to prove value. Credibility, persistence and a clear return on investment finally got us over the line. What moment/deal would you cite as the game changer? The onset of Covid-19 was a pivotal moment. It exposed banks' overreliance on manual processes and in-person interactions, rapidly accelerating the need for digital solutions. We shifted from being a 'nice-to-have' to a strategic necessity. What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out? The best advice is my key driver today: always maintain ruthless financial discipline – protect cash flow and ensure pricing supports sustainable unit economics. The worst? A throwaway line: 'You don't need a parachute to go skydiving – only if you want to go again.' It was a sobering reminder of the risks involved and the value of building for the long term. Describe your growth funding path. Initially self-funded, with support from friends and family, we built a strong financial foundation. We've since raised over €8 million to fuel growth ambition, including a €3.5 million round in 2024 with continuing support from international fintech investors and Riverside Acceleration Capital, their first investment in Ireland. What are your annual revenues and profits? In 2025, we will exceed €5 million in annual recurring revenue with underlying profitability. Gross margins consistently exceed 80 per cent, and EBITDA margins are projected above 30 per cent. Our strong financial performance is underpinned by long-term contracts, low customer churn and a highly scalable software-as-a-service model. What are you doing to disrupt or improve your products/services? CreditLogic delivers real-time automation, reducing processing times by up to 90 per cent. AI is central to our proposition – transforming customer experience and eliminating inefficiencies. We continuously evolve our platform through client feedback, regulatory insight and secure GenAI integration. What makes your company a good place to work? We've built a values-led, inclusive culture centred on our mission to build a sustainable financial ecosystem. Our team spans 10 nationalities, united by purpose and empowered by shared success. With flexible working, mentoring, and continuous learning, we create an environment where people are empowered, make real impact, and help shape meaningful change in financial services. What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make? Many focus too much on product and not enough on validation. Product-market fit is everything. It confirms demand, economics and relevance. Without it, there's no scalable business. Entrepreneurs must obsess about solving real problems, not just building clever products. Aidan O'Shea and Hilary O'Shea, Otonomee Aidan O'Shea and Hilary O'Shea, co-founders of Otonomee Otonomee is a remote customer management outsourcing company. Founded in 2020, it provides people and products that enable clients to scale their customer experience. It is a certified B-Corp that has grown to 400 employees in Europe, the United States and Asia. Its clients are leading Irish and US tech and ecommerce customers. What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business? When Covid struck in March 2020 and the entire world went home to work. It was proven that working from home could be effective, secure and productive. We imagined that the traditional call-centre business could be disrupted by building a business where people worked entirely from home and not in big, cramped call centres in the middle of overcrowded cities. Describe your business model and what makes your business unique. Our business is unique in that we are entirely remote first. We have no offices and everyone works from home. The business is purpose built as remote first and everything we do, every process and practice, has been designed for remote working. This operating model allows us greater responsiveness, agility and flexibility in designing and building customer experience solutions. What is your greatest business achievement to date? Starting Otonomee during a time when the world was unsure how it would emerge from Covid. Surviving and growing the business to €20 million in turnover in five years. What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it? It's often hard to believe how close the line is between failure and success and how many Irish entrepreneurs experience this. At one point, we effectively ran out of cash. The business was growing rapidly, and we had a strong pipeline, but we had heavily invested in our team and technology and so the business was consuming cash. Banks and state agencies couldn't understand that scale requires aggressive and brave moves and so declined to help. We raised €500,000 from friends and family who believed in us and in the business, and that got us through a period, until we made it to profitability and self-sufficiency. What moment/deal would you cite as the game changer or turning point for the company? Winning a deal with a fast-scaling US health tech Oura. It gave us scale and a reference customer in the US. It helped us demonstrate that we could deliver a complex, large, global solution for one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world. What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out? The worst advice was not to work together as husband and wife. Working together as husband and wife is one of the business's strengths. Having co-founders who are 100 per cent aligned, open, honest and complementary in our skills and background has been a major factor in our success. To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your future plans/ambitions? About 90 per cent of our business is from exports (internationally traded services). We see the US as our main growth area, and we plan to leverage our existing US customers and reference brands to win more customers. Describe your growth funding path. The business is growing fast and is profitable. We can fund our future growth organically. We would be open to taking on funding from a partner where they brought in strategic support or capabilities that would enable us to grow the business significantly in the coming years. How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be? We have a plan to be at €50 million in turnover by the end of 2028. We are aiming for 15 per cent in EBITDA. What are your annual revenues and profits? We have confirmed orders for €20 million in revenue in this financial year and are on track to generate €2.2 million in EBITDA. What impact have Donald Trump's tariffs had on your business? How has this affected your view of the United States as a place in which to invest? So far, no impact. But if there is an escalation and retaliatory tariffs we may be impacted. No business can assume they will be exempt. Our main US customers have European entities, which we had contracted with from the outset, so this was positive for us. We have also established a presence in the US and are in the process of setting up an entity there which will give us some protection if we need to operate onshore in the US. Caitriona Ryan and Niki Ralph, The Institute of Dermatologists Caitriona Ryan and Niki Ralph, co-founders of the Institute of Dermatologists Caitriona Ryan and Niki Ralph are consultant dermatologists and co-founders of the Institute of Dermatologists. The company aims to transform the delivery of private dermatological care through collaborative practice, with a US-style group model, combining medical excellence with aesthetic care. It is based in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, and is served by 13 consultant dermatologists, a cosmetic suite, a rapidly growing online sales platform and more than 20 employees. The clinic offers medical and aesthetic dermatology with a conservative, evidence-based ethos. In response to patient demand for evidence-based wellness solutions the company launched ID Formulas, a scientifically formulated oral supplement to support healthy skin, hair, energy, cognitive performance and longevity. What vision/light bulb moment prompted you to start up in business? After working in the Irish, UK and US healthcare systems, we saw how the US group dermatology model offered better continuity, peer review and innovation than Ireland's solo-practice norm. We decided to establish Ireland's first collaborative dermatology clinic, offering gold-standard medical, surgical and aesthetic care in one setting. Describe your business model and what makes your business unique. We've built an integrated skin health platform spanning medical dermatology, aesthetic procedures, longevity support and surgical care. Patients benefit from a unified medical and aesthetic journey underpinned by scientific rigour, innovation and a female-led leadership team. What is your greatest business achievement to date? Within six years, we've grown from a two-person start-up to Ireland's leading full-service dermatology practice, now with 13 consultant dermatologists, 24 staff, and over 38,000 patient visits annually. We've expanded our clinic, launched a science-led supplement brand, and are developing Ireland's first private skin surgery centre. What was your back-to-the-wall moment and how did you overcome it? Covid-19 struck just nine months after opening the Institute of Dermatologists, forcing the closure of our cosmetic suite and a sharp decline in patient visits. We focused on essential medical dermatology, expanded teledermatology, and developed our online skincare sales platform. We adapted quickly, and used the experience to build greater operational resilience which laid the foundation for subsequent growth. What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out? The best: 'Only scale what is already working exceptionally well.' The worst: 'You can't do it all.' Founders are often told to narrow focus, but our strength lies in executing a broad, integrated vision. To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your future plans/ambitions? We have trademarked ID Formulas in the EU, UK, UAE, and US. Our supplement is set to expand internationally via dermatology clinics and select retail in 2026. We also plan to bring our clinic model to other Irish cities and select Gulf and UK markets. Describe your growth funding path. We've bootstrapped and reinvested returns into scaling. We are exploring Enterprise Ireland high-potential start-up funding to accelerate growth. How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be? The convergence of health, beauty and longevity will accelerate. We aim to be a trusted global player in scientifically backed skin health, expanding our supplement brand internationally, scaling our dermatology group across Ireland. What are your annual revenues and profits? We are projecting 40 per cent year-on-year growth over the next three years, driven by premium services and product innovation. What are you doing to disrupt or improve your products/services? We're changing the paradigm of private dermatology in Ireland, introducing collaborative care, creating the first dedicated skin surgery centre, and launching a dermatologist-led supplement grounded in longevity science. How are you deploying AI in your business and what impact has it had on your performance? We are piloting AI-supported diagnostic triage to reduce wait times and improve clinic flow. In ID Formulas, we use AI tools for predictive analytics and consumer segmentation, helping us refine marketing strategy and personalise supplement journeys. What makes your company a good place to work? We've built a collaborative, respectful, uplifting environment where medical, cosmetic and administrative staff work seamlessly together. As a female-founded organisation, we prioritise flexibility, mentorship and professional growth. Our team benefits from a strong sense of purpose, clinical excellence, and the opportunity to be part of a pioneering, values-driven healthcare model. What impact have Donald Trump's tariffs had on your business? Minimal impact to date, but protectionism reinforces the importance of EU and UK supply chains. We view the US as a key market, particularly for supplements, but remain vigilant about trade barriers when scaling.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘It tastes like an ashtray': Irish pubs lament the arrival of Chinese-brewed Guinness
This promises to be a good week for many Irish pubs in China , bracketed by All-Ireland finals at each end, with the British and Irish Lions ' Australian matches in between. But for some publicans, each pint of Guinness they pour this week is part of a countdown to an unwelcome change that one told me could close his business. Until recently, Guinness was shipped from Ireland and distributed in China by AB InBev , the brewing giant that makes Budweiser. But earlier this year, the company started brewing Guinness under licence in China and the reception in Irish pubs has not been good. 'The feedback from everyone is that it tastes like cigarettes or an ashtray. The taste is not the same at all and the aftertaste is terrible,' one publican told me. Almost every time I have been with a group of Irish people in China in recent months, the subject of the new Guinness has come up 'That's what the customers are saying. They refuse to drink it. We only have three kegs left of the original but other bars have the new stuff and all the people come in and say the same things.' READ MORE Almost every time I have been with a group of Irish people in China in recent months, the subject of the new Guinness has come up and I have yet to meet anyone who likes it. Most describe it as having a burnt taste and the comparison with an ashtray is a common one. 'It's a different drink altogether I'd say. The current Guinness is lovely, creamy and tastes like a great pint of Guinness you'd get back home,' said one aficionado. 'The Chinese or alternative Guinness has a slight burnt taste and doesn't taste like the original Guinness. I'd go as far to say it tastes worse than a bad pint of Guinness back home.' There are dozens of Irish-themed bars across China but a smaller number of authentically Irish pubs, many of them owned or run by Irish people. Most depend on a mixture of Chinese customers and foreigners from many countries who come for the atmosphere, to watch a match or to take part in a quiz as well as for a drink. The Irish Embassy and consulates host events for Irish citizens but it is the GAA and the network of Irish pubs that provide the social backbone of the community The Irish community in China is small and much diminished since the coronavirus pandemic, probably numbering only a couple of thousand people. The Irish Embassy and consulates host events for Irish citizens but it is the GAA and the network of Irish pubs that provide the social backbone of the community. Like Irish pubs across the world, China's double as information hubs and informal support centres, often organising fundraising efforts to help Irish emigrants in distress. And although there are not enough Irish people to keep a pub going on their own, Irish identity is a big part of the attraction of these bars, many of which are renowned for the quality of their Guinness. 'It's literally our best seller, so this could close us. All the feedback is extremely bad with the new stuff,' said one bar owner. 'We sell a lot of Guinness in the bar and people know it for Guinness. So we'd expect a drop in the customer base if we can't sell Guinness. All the reviews we get online are about Guinness, so it has a huge impact.' We regularly monitor and engage with the trade via our appropriate channels — Budweiser China spokeswoman I put these complaints to Budweiser China, who are brewing Guinness under licence and asked if they could explain why it has a different taste. I asked if they had brewed stout before and if they could do anything to improve the product. 'Guinness is produced in numerous locations around the world, and all authorised breweries of Guinness Stout adhere to consistent production standards and specifications. We regularly monitor and engage with the trade via our appropriate channels,' said a spokeswoman. 'To meet growing market demand, starting from 2025, we began producing Guinness in China, allowing consumers greater convenience in enjoying a consistent supply of fresh Guinness beer. The brewers from the Guinness Irish Team at St James's Gate, Ireland, carefully oversee all aspects of locally brewed Guinness. The Guinness stout produced in China has the smooth taste, well-balanced flavour and consistent quality Guinness is renowned for all over the world and the Guinness stout brewed in China has received a full 10/10 Guinness Technical Flavour Score.' When I asked her if this would continue to be the only Guinness available in China, she simply repeated that they started brewing it in China this year, 'allowing consumers greater convenience in enjoying a consistent supply of fresh Guinness beer'. There's nothing we can do, and we just have to suck it up — Publican in China I put the same questions to Diageo and asked if they would supply the original Guinness to pubs in China while they were improving the locally brewed product. Conscious of the importance of the Irish diaspora experience in Guinness's marketing, I told them about the importance of the pubs to China's small and fragile Irish community. 'Alongside our third-party operators, we have an unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality, taste and experience of our products across the globe,' said a spokeswoman. Or as one publican in southern China put it when he said he saw no point in complaining, 'there's nothing we can do, and we just have to suck it up'.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Average mortgage drawdown reaches record level after €28,000 rise in a year
The average value of home mortgages drawn down in Ireland has hit the highest level on record, reaching over €330,000 as the combined value of all mortgages during the first half of the year increased by nearly 19%, new data from the Banking and Payments Federation, Ireland (BPFI) shows. During the first six months of this year, there were just over 20,000 mortgages drawn down worth a combined value of €6.2bn, an increase of 18.7% compared to the same period in 2024 and the highest value seen between January and June since 2008. There were 11,803 mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers worth a combined €3.7bn while mover-purchasers accounted for 3,947 mortgage drawdowns worth €1.47bn in total. Of all those mortgages, 10,978 were drawn down between April and June. They had a combined value of €3.37bn. This represents an increase of 9.6% in volume and 18.1% in value in the corresponding second quarter of 2024. According to the BPFI report, as of the end of June, the average mortgage drawdown value stood at €330,745 - which is an increase of €28,000 compared to the same point in 2024. The average mortgage on second-hand properties increased by more than €29,000 to €324,688 in the year to the end of June while average home mortgage on new properties was almost €24,000 higher at €341,063. Chief executive of the BPFI, Brian Hayes, said during the first half of year first-time buyers 'continue to dominate' after recording the 'highest' drawdown volumes and values since 2007 and 2006, respectively. Switching activity during the first half of the year also increased by 41.9% in volume - with 2,660 mortgages drawn down - and by 60% in value terms to €732m. New properties, including self-builds, accounted for 34.5% of all home purchases between January and June. By contrast, while the number of mortgages on second-hand properties increased marginally to 10,312 it was 9.7% below the level seen in the first half of 2022. Mortgage approvals The BPFI also released data on the mortgage approvals seen during June which showed that a total of 4,883 mortgages were approved, of which first-time buyers accounted for nearly 60% and mover-purchasers accounted for 20.3%. The value of all these mortgages stood at just under €1.56bn. Nearly €1bn of this was from first-time buyers. The value of mortgage approvals fell by 3.1% compared to May but rose by 16.2% year-on-year. There were 53,191 mortgage approvals in the 12 months ending at June 2025, valued at €16.5bn. Mr Hayes said that mortgage approvals during the first half of the year are up 5.4% to 15,736, the highest level for the first six months of the year since the data series began in 2011. 'While mover purchase approval volumes fell for the fourth year in a row to 4,990. First-time buyer housing demand remains very strong, with 22,903 Help to Buy applications in the first half of 2025, according to the Revenue Commissioner, almost 41% more than in H1 2024,' he said. Read More Mortgage approval values jump nearly 18%
