Irish stock market proves the detractors wrong

So there is life in the old dog yet. After a long and extended period, during which the end of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) was being heralded by some, a fresh wave of companies and equity issuance suggests something different is afoot.

Since last summer, we estimate no less than €1.3bn of new equity finance has been raised in the Irish stock market. Green Property completed an IPO that raised €310m for investing primarily in Irish commercial property. Last week, Hibernia inked another IPO that raised €365m for property investing, while Bank of Ireland completed an equity placing for €580m.

Drill bit company Mincon (based in Shannon) and gaming business GameAccount also joined the ISE, while Independent Newspapers raised money via a placing. This completed a six-month period of positive funding activity on the Irish exchange that has been unmatched for about eight years.