Nama has denied that some potential investors were discouraged from participating in the controversial £1.3bn (€1.6bn) sale of its Northern Ireland loan book, known as Project Eagle, writes Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner.

A Dundalk firm whose directors are linked to major Northern Ireland and UK developers McAleer & Rushe has emerged as the buyer of the Good Shepherd Convent in Sunday’s Well, above Cork city. Moneda Development was set up earlier this year, and directors include Eamonn Laverty and James Higgins of McAleer & Rushe, who specialise in design and build, asset management, construction and multi-use projects.

Three development sites worth up to €30m have been put for sale in Cork City and suburbs.

Outbound deals accounted for half of all Irish-related merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions last year; the highest level on record, new data shows.

Cairn Homes is considering a range of funding options — including a further equity raise — in order to meet expansion opportunities.

Jurys Inn is to add eight hotels to its portfolio of properties and invest over €50m refurbishing them, its parent company has confirmed.

A man who is celebrating holding on to his home after securing a 53% mortgage writedown required morphine doses to deal with severe migraines while his wife contemplated suicide over the debt.

AFTER a market revival in 2012 and 2013, 60 Irish hotels sold in 2014 for a total of €440m, double that of the prior year.

The face of the Irish hotel sector has changed significantly over the past number years as international owners and well-known brands have become more prevalent.

Almost a quarter of the 145 hotels put into receivership at the end of last year are yet to come to market creating a pipeline of properties that will help transactions reach record highs again this year.

The Jurys Inn hotel group has been acquired — pending regulatory approval — by US investment firm Lone Star Funds for £680m (€910m).

Investment in the country’s real estate market reached record levels last year with a number of new players coming to the fore accounting for much the activity. More than €4.5bn was spent on real estate in 2014 making it the highest amount ever invested in the Irish market surpassing the previous peak by more than €900m.

That the coalition is in disarray and heading for meltdown is no longer in dispute.

Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to sell 4,000 non-performing Irish mortgage loans to Lone Star Funds, a US investment company, according to sources.

More than €670m worth of Irish mortgages are to be sold to a US-based private equity firm for an undisclosed sum.

The Government’s decision to introduce consumer protection legislation for unregulated firms “is merely window dressing” and will have very little impact on customers in mortgage arrears, according to Ross Maguire from financial advice group, New Beginning. 

One-time billionaire businessman Tony O’Reilly has had a judgment for €22.6m entered against him at the Commercial Court.

Nama may soon be no more, according to reports in today's Sunday Business Post.

Nama will this week finalise its biggest asset sale to date — the Project Tower loan portfolio, connected with the Cork-based developer Michael O’Flynn.

Ten protesters staged a sit-in yesterday in the offices of KPMG Liquidators amid claims that they had been "abandoned" by the Government.

ONE of the first firms to avail of real estate investment trust legislation introduced by Finance Minister Michael Noonan in the budget, Green REIT, has concluded its acquisition of Nama’s biggest prize — Central Park, Dublin, for €311.5m.

Only €1.9bn of the €21.7bn par value IBRC loan book will go into Nama following the completion of the sales process.

Two US investment funds have bought nearly two thirds of a €1.8bn mortgage loan book from IBRC.

The US fund Lone Star has acquired the bulk of Anglo Irish Bank’s €7bn UK loan book sold by the special liquidators for IBRC.

Nama has generated €16.5bn in cash and redeemed €7.5bn of senior bonds since it was established in 2009, according to its 2013 end-of-year statement.

Several private equity groups and hedge funds have expressed interest in public finance specialist Depfa, which the state-rescued German bank Hypo Real Estate has put on the block.

A new private equity fund set up by ex-Lone Star vice chairman Ellis Short to buy loan books across Europe is establishing a unit in Ireland, a source close to the matter said.

AIB’s attempt to offload a portfolio of British-based property loans valued at €245m has been revived after an earlier deal collapsed at the start of the week.

Signs of a revival in merger and acquisition activity helped the FTSE 100 Index power above the 6600 barrier today.

The London market was in a bullish mood today after a continued rebound for mortgage lender Northern Rock lifted financial stocks.

Banking giant HSBC moved to step up its presence in fast-growing emerging markets today as it agreed to buy a majority stake in Korea’s sixth largest bank.

Stocks ended higher in volatile trading today as investors weighed fears about mounting tension in Iran against a report that indicated better-than-expected US economic growth.