Tag: Irish News

Shortlists revealed for NI Dealmakers Awards

Posted on by Rory Moynagh

HNH features prominently in the 2019 Northern Ireland Dealmakers Awards shortlists.

We have been shortlisted in the Corporate Finance Team of the Year category. Craig Holmes features in the Dealmaker of the Year list. While, we were involved in a number of deals which have also gained prominence – the sale of fscom’s KYC Pro product to PWC, funding for ISL Waste Management Ltd (both feature in Deal of the Year – below £2.5m) and the acquisition of Alumasc Facades by Kilwaughter (Deal of the Year £2.5 – £10m).

HNH Director Richard Moorehead is proud of his team:

“2018 was a fantastic year for HNH’s CF team, which nearly doubled in size from five to nine team members over the course of the year. As well as giving us crucial extra bandwidth, our targeted recruitment has added expertise in financial modelling, transaction services and debt advisory,” he said.

“We completed 15 transactions during 2018, covering a wide range of sectors and transaction types. Having three of our deals (Kilwaughter, FSCom and ISL) shortlisted for deal of the year is testament to the strength of our team and their hard work and dedication.

“2019 has continued in the same vein as 2018.  At the end of last month, we completed the sale of the leading independent foodservice business, Foodco, to Henderson Foodservice and have another four or five deals scheduled to complete before the end of this quarter. ”

The annual NI Dealmakers Awards aim to recognise the high quality professional advisory firms and funders in Northern Ireland and some of the best deals in which they have been involved in over the previous calendar year. All winners will be revealed at the gala dinner event set to take place at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast on 14 March 2019.

‘Bankruptcy Tourism’ – The End?

Posted on by Rory Moynagh

News has begun to surface in recent days that the Bankruptcy term in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) may be reduced from three years to one year, to bring Irish bankruptcy law into line with legislation in the UK.

The move for this legislative change is being pioneered by Labour Longford – Westmeath TD, Willie Penrose who has been a long standing critic of current Irish bankruptcy law.

Mr Penrose is reported as stating “This is critical, the current situation where it is three years bankruptcy here and one year north of the Border is rather silly and impractical”.

The less onerous duration in Northern Ireland has led to ‘Bankruptcy Tourism’ in recent years – referring to the practice of ROI residents travelling North to avail of the 12 month UK bankruptcy regime.

Although supported by the Labour party, the Dáil’s Department of Finance has previously opposed any such change, and failed to raise the issue in the Government’s mortgage arrears package earlier in the year.

The Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald may be bringing the proposed legislation change to the Cabinet in the next number of weeks.

James Neill, Managing Director of HNH Group and a Licenced Insolvency Practioner, commented on the proposed change; “This is a potentially ground breaking development in bankruptcy law with a far-reaching impact across both the island of Ireland and UK. It is particularly pertinent when you consider the current stage of our recovering economies, both north and south of the border and has the potential to further stimulate recovery in Ireland”.

With the upcoming Irish general election in the spring of 2016 it will be interesting to see whether this potential legislation change will become a bi-partisan issue supported across the isle or whether it will become an election sticking point that parties will bump heads over.