Latest news with #LetsGetChecked
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Venture capital funding surges to record in first quarter
Irish small and medium business raised a record €533 million in venture capital in the first quarter of the year. But the figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) highlight an imbalance in the market, with the quarter dominated by larger deals and things looking less positive for smaller companies looking to raise less than €3 million. The life sciences sector was most in demand with funders, accounting for 45 per cent of the funding total in the quarter, according to the VenturePulse survey. That was followed by cybersecurity at 22 per cent, software at 9 per cent and fintech at 8 per cent. AI and machine learning accounted for 7 per cent. Among the five biggest deals were the €150 million raised by life sciences company Let's Get Checked, and the €115 million raised by cybersecurity company Tines. AI company, Protex AI, drone delivery firm, Manna, and medical technology manufacturer, Perfuze, completed the top five. READ MORE More than 80 per cent of the deal value was down to deals worth more than €10 million. Among individual deals, those in the €30 million and over category rose by almost 90 per cent to reach €296.8 million, while deals in the €10 million to €30 million range were up 184 per cent to €132 million. But while deals for more than €3 million in funding rose, those in the €1 million to €3 million category were down 5 per cent to €21.6 million, and those under €1 million were down 42 per cent to €3.6 million. Seed funding was also lower, falling 3 per cent. Overseas investors played a significant role in funding during the quarter, at 82 per cent compared to 71 per cent a year earlier. 'This is a doubled edged sword,' said Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general of the IVCA. 'While it reflects the high quality and potential of Irish tech firms and demand by overseas investors, it also reflects Ireland Inc's vulnerability to international influences if the tide goes out.' That is of particular concern given the tariffs introduced by US president Donald Trump and others threatened, which have injected considerable uncertainty into the global markets. The venture capital figures cover the period before US 'liberation day' on April 2nd. Gerry Maguire, chairman of the IVCA, said there was anecdotal evidence that uncertainty and caution is likely to show up in following quarters, especially among overseas investors. The VenturePulse survey is compiled from information supplied internally by members of the IVCA and from published information where the funding included non-IVCA members.
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Regulatory uncertainty hits housing investment
Regulatory uncertainty is stiffling much-needed investment in residential housing, according to private market specialists Elkstone. In its latest State of Private Markets Report Elkstone - which has invested in LetsGetChecked and Flipdish - said international investors are keen to deploy capital in European property but are not convinved they can get a return if they do so in Ireland. "When we think about interest rates and the interest cost of debt associated with it, as well as inflation and increased costs that are associated with that in terms of development - in most areas across Europe, those costs would be pushed through to the end user and the development would still have the same kind of return expectation," said Karl Rogers, chief investment officer at Elkstone. "In this case, however, because only a portion of that goes through, the cost of the project gets increased and it goes outside of the range of institutional capital requirements - which helps create a slow up in the actual development itself," he said. Mr Rogers said the country was between a rock and a hard place in terms of trying to protect consumers while also trying to encourage enough development to ease housing costs. "Short term there would be more pain before the relief comes," he said. "If there isn't as much supply coming then the price is going to remain higher. "If there was a situation where rental caps were taken away, those costs would be pushed through in the shorter term but more supply would be enabled. After a few years time that supply would catch up and should decrease the prices." The report also highlighted short-comings in other forms of infrastructure - in particular around energy. However it said that while the moratorium on data centre development was a bottleneck, it was actually coming because Ireland was ahead of the global trend in terms of building this industry. And, he said, the problem was creating opportunities in other ways. "We need to increase the supply of the grid and we're doing that through the likes of offshore winds," he said. "So instead of capital going into developing demand assets, capital is going into the development of supply increasing assets." Meanwhile the Elkstone report highlighted a broader trend in the investment market, with larger 'mega-funds' increasingly drawing in more capital than smaller players. This was a consequence of higher risk aversion among investors. "What that means for Ireland is that these mega-funds aren't located here - so the very, very big funds aren't located here," Mr Rogers said. "The smaller funds aren't getting as much funding - therefore it's important that both the State funding continues as well as local, private capital. "Otherwise they're not getting the advantage of that international capital," he added.
Irish Independent
24-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Peter Foley steps down as CEO of LetsGetChecked
'After ten years, I have decided to step away from my role as CEO of LetsGetChecked and pass the reins to our incredible leadership team to carry on the mission we began a decade ago,' said Mr Foley today. 'I will remain on the Board to continue to support the leadership team.' The company, started in 2015, has raised over €400m in funding and last year entered a merger-acquisition arrangement with a struggling US pharmacy, Truepill, in a deal reportedly worth $525m. Irish investment fund Elkstone has backed the copmany, as have high-profile individuals such as Rory McIlroy. Last year, LetsGetChecked began a genetic testing service for those checking potential hereditary predispositions to certain medical conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular problems. 'I am very proud of the progress the company has made over the past decade and the evolution of the platform which now spans across a range of capabilities including diagnostics, genomics, telemedicine and pharmacy,' said Mr Foley. 'I consider myself fortunate to have been the CEO of this company and to have led such a special group of people. I know the company will continue to achieve great things through its collective ambition due to the unwavering commitment that lives within the team for what they do.'
