Latest news with #SpecialPurposeVehicle
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Dublin city derelict building numbers soar by 80% as old Victorian pub lies empty amid ‘far lower' than true data fears
Dr Frank O'Connor has said that the number does not reflect the reality of the problem in the city DERELICT DUBLIN Dublin city derelict building numbers soar by 80% as old Victorian pub lies empty amid 'far lower' than true data fears THE NUMBER of derelict building in Dublin city has soared by almost 80 per cent in the last four years, according to new figures. Dublin City Council's Derelict Sites Register shows that there were 131 properties in a dilapidated site in July of this year - up from 74 at the end of January, 2021. However, the local authority has now taken ownership of Neary's Bar and Hotel on Parnell Street, which has been lying idle for many years. The Council said it currently has no plans to acquire any more. Co-founder of the Derelict Ireland movement, Dr Frank O'Connor, has said that the number does not reflect the reality of the problem in the city. He said: 'You'll find there's a huge inconsistency across the country in terms of how local authorities tackle dereliction. 'From our work across the country, we generally find that the recorded numbers of derelict properties are far lower than the actual number, and from the data we have collected, Dublin is no different. 'We see so much dereliction in Dublin, and it has a huge impact on the community. They lose out on the potential that property could offer to the area. 'I don' t think there has been the cultural or political will to tackle the issue for the last number of decades, but that is starting to change. If you chat to people on the street now, they want change.' Change may be made possible through a new statutory instrument called a Special Purpose Vehicle. Green Party Councillor for Dublin's North Inner City, Janet Horner, said the Special Purpose Vehicle can be employed to combat dereliction in Dublin. 'The Special Purpose Vehicle is proposed as part of the Taoiseach's Task Force recommendations, but it really comes from Dublin City Council as an idea. 'Essentially, it provides for the creation of a development company, wholly owned by the city council. 'Because it's a development company, it's allowed to do things a little bit differently than the city council would be empowered to do. For example, it would to be able to acquire properties outside of the Compulsory Purchase Order process. 'It enables the council to take risks in relation to derelict properties in a way that it otherwise wouldn't.' 'If you look around the wider O'Connell Street area, along Abbey Street, Parnell Street and Marlborough Street, there are significant derelict and vacant sites there and that is a prime place where the city council needs to be intervening and actually acquiring those properties.'
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- General
- RTÉ News
131 derelict buildings recorded in Dublin city
The number of derelict buildings in Dublin city has increased by almost 80% in the last four years. Dublin City Council's Derelict Sites Register, which tracks properties in the capital that have fallen into a dilapidated state, shows a jump from 74 at the end of January 2021, to 131 in July of this year. However, the local authority has now taken ownership of Neary's Bar and Hotel on Parnell Street, a building that has been derelict for so long one elderly inner-city resident says he barely remembers it as a functioning business. "I only vaguely remember it to be honest, I couldn't tell you much about," he said. "I'm in my 70s, and from the inner city, and I would remember it more the way it is now, than when it was a workplace. I notice dereliction a lot in the city. I walk around a lot, and I see it everywhere." Asked what he would like to see the property repurposed as, he said: "We need to turn it into flats for people to live in. Not another hotel, Ireland has enough of those. Accommodation is what we need most for sure." Dublin City Council has said that there are currently 131 properties on its derelict sites register and it currently has no plans to acquire any more. However, co-founder of the Derelict Ireland movement, Dr Frank O'Connor, has said that the number does not reflect the reality of dereliction in the capital. "You'll find there's a huge inconsistency across the country in terms of how local authorities tackle dereliction," he said. "From our work across the country, we generally find that the recorded numbers of derelict properties are far lower than the actual number, and from the data we have collected, Dublin is no different. "We see so much dereliction in Dublin, and it has a huge impact on the community. They lose out on the potential that property could offer to the area. I don' think there has been the cultural or political will to tackle the issue for the last number of decades, but that is starting to change. If you chat to people on the street now, they want change." Change may be made possible through a new statutory instrument called a Special Purpose Vehicle. Green Party Councillor for Dublin' North Inner City, Janet Horner, explains how it can be employed to combat dereliction in Dublin. "The Special Purpose Vehicle is proposed as part of the Taoiseach's Task Force recommendations, but it really comes from Dublin City Council as an idea. "Essentially, it provides for the creation of a development company, wholly owned by the city council," she said. "Because it's a development company, it's allowed to do things a little bit differently than the city council would be empowered to do. For example, it would to be able to acquire properties outside of the Compulsory Purchase Order process. "It enables the council to take risks in relation to derelict properties in a way that it otherwise wouldn't." "If you look around the wider O'Connell Street area, along Abbey Street, Parnell Street and Marlborough Street, there are significant derelict and vacant sites there and that is a prime place where the city council needs to be intervening and actually acquiring those properties." Dublin City Council has said that almost €9.9 million in fines for dereliction are outstanding in 2025, and Cllr Hornet said that is something that needs immediate attention. "It isn't easy to chase these things and pursue them to the courts, but it is really necessary," she said. "We have to be using that power to the maximum the potential of the city. Dublin needs to be alive and derelict sites are antisocial to the city."
The Citizen
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
ELM salaries paid after Rand Water lifts attachments
Emfuleni municipal employees and councillors were paid on time this month after intensive negotiations with Rand Water (RW), which had last week attached the bank accounts of the local authority over billions in unpaid debt. Now, RW and the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) are looking towards the implementation of a new agreement and restructuring of their functioning to avoid future situations of this kind. ELM has confirmed salaries were paid on time – June 25. Political sources said severe pressure on RW with its own financial year-end had led to its decision last week to attach ELM bank accounts. The attachments reportedly took place last week already, leading to severe political criticism of ELM which allegedly did not inform Council members about the development. Employees were earlier bracing themselves for severe financial disruptions as has happened several times over the past few years due to bank attachments by both RW and Eskom. RW and ELM have already received approval for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) re-organisation of its entire water management sphere but this has not yet taken place despite approval being granted recently by the National Treasury. Once implemented, this will place ELM water infrastructure and revenue management on a completely new basis – similar to the ground-breaking move which placed ELM electricity management on a new footing through appointing Eskom as ELM's agent. ELM says it is still awaiting its formal authorisation letter from National Treasury on the SPV approval, whilst RW has reportedly already received its authorisation letter. An entirely new management structure with its own name and CEO is envisaged in terms of the RW/ELM SPV. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
A 50% stamp duty concession for land transactions under MMRDA's Pen township project
MUMBAI : The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved a 50 per cent concession in stamp duty for land transactions linked to the state's first large-scale urban project being executed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The project will be implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority ( MMRDA ) and Raigad Pen Growth Centre Ltd in Pen taluka . This move will promote investment and generate employment opportunities, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis chaired the meeting of the council of ministers, it said. The stamp duty payment concession applies to land agreements required for the integrated township project being developed under the New Town Development Authority (NTDA) in Pen taluka. According to the statement, the project spans approximately 1,217.71 acres and is being executed through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as per MMRDA's integrated township policy. Once operational, the growth centre is expected to house fintech firms, educational and healthcare institutions, entertainment hubs, affordable housing, commercial zones, retail markets, and construction-related industries. Described as Maharashtra's first large-scale, world-class urban project under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, it is also anticipated to attract substantial foreign investment. In the long term, the state government expects to receive increased revenues through stamp duty and taxes from commercial activity generated by the development, the CMO said. The cabinet also approved a stamp duty waiver for the transfer of land to the Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) in Mumbai. A total of 1,41,640.40 square meters of land at Pahadi in Goregaon (west) has been earmarked for the permanent campus of MNLU, currently operated from rented premises in Powai. This decision will facilitate the development of a permanent and integrated campus, enhancing the educational infrastructure in Mumbai.
Deccan Herald
06-06-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Insolvency regime needs hard reform
The Supreme Court's recent annulment of JSW Steel's Rs 19,700-crore acquisition of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has reignited a deeper question about the balance between legal form and economic function. The Court's reasoning was sound: material deviations from the approved resolution plan were made without returning to the Committee of Creditors (CoC) or the NCLT for consent. Legally, the process mattered. But the implications of this decision go far beyond legality. They touch the foundations of India's financial case serves as a reminder that while India's insolvency regime has made significant progress, the broader financial infrastructure on which it relies remains incomplete. The JSW-BPSL outcome isn't a failure of law; it's a signal that the institutions surrounding it must evolve to support more complex economic resolution plan used a Special Purpose Vehicle, a standard acquisition structure, and financed part of the deal through Optionally Convertible Debentures, an established instrument globally. Yet, under Indian insolvency procedure, such post-approval changes must receive renewed creditor and tribunal consent. The absence of that step rendered the plan invalid, despite repayment having message isn't one of malfeasance or manipulation, but of a system that hasn't yet adapted to the evolving needs of modern restructuring. JSW acted within widely accepted financial logic but discovered that process constraints flexibility. The broader lesson is that strategic capital may hesitate to engage with distressed assets unless resolution mechanisms allow for well-regulated innovation. That holds consequences not only for bidders but also lenders, employees, and the JSW case reveals the need for deeper institutional capacity in insolvency governance. The CoC, composed mainly of banks, brings financial skin in the game, but often lacks the commercial restructuring expertise to evaluate unconventional plans. Meanwhile, the NCLT, pivotal to resolution, continues to face resource to advanced economies, where restructuring decisions are shaped by capital market actors, specialist advisers, and commercial courts, India's process leans heavily on legal formalism. India must bring in independent expertise and strengthen the interplay between legal and financial perspectives to enable effective resolution. Encouragingly, these gaps are not insurmountable; they are reform out, this episode reflects a broader challenge in India's financial evolution. The post-liberalisation decision to convert Development Finance Institutions into commercial banks was bold, but it assumed the rise of a vibrant corporate bond market. That market remains most long-term credit still flows through banks and NBFCs, intermediaries not designed to handle complex risk-pricing over time. Corporate bond issuances are often private, illiquid, and difficult to trade. The result is that bankruptcy resolution ends up doing work that well-functioning capital markets would normally share: absorbing risk, repricing assets, and enabling JSW case demonstrates that even when operations resume and creditors are paid, a procedural lapse can unwind a resolution. For capital to engage sustainably, investors need assurance not just of legality, but of must solution is not to weaken the IBC but to fortify it with institutional and market reforms. A regulated, liquid secondary market for distressed debt would allow for dynamic pricing, risk-sharing, and investor entry without the delays of judicial vital is enhancing the capability of the NCLT. Resolution decisions with major economic impact should benefit from commercial expertise and capital market insight. The process must evolve beyond a legal tribunal into a financially informed once a resolution plan is approved and executed in good faith, it should enjoy legal stability, subject to apparent exceptions like fraud. This would strengthen investor trust. And as India continues its financial modernisation, it's worth reconsidering the current ban on leveraged buyouts, which are globally standard tools that, if properly regulated, can enable efficient asset thoughtful financial structuring should be seen not as a risk, but as a route to economic recovery. Mergers and acquisitions during insolvency are not loopholes but part of the JSW-BPSL episode is not a story of legal overreach or corporate miscalculation; it is a moment of reckoning for how far India's financial ecosystem has come and how much farther it needs to go. It calls for the next chapter of reform: one that builds out institutional capacity, deepens capital markets, and ensures that law and finance move in step, not in conflict. India has made bold strides in building an insolvency regime. With the right reforms, the regime can now deliver not just resolution but real renewal..(The writer teaches finance at IIT Kharagpur)
