⚡ Exponent doubles down, a line is drawn for ICG, and district heating opens up

18 August 2026

Good morning. Exponent is back shopping in Ireland, ICG’s €1.2bn offer is now final and the Government is trying to make district heating investable. Property and construction are also showing fresh momentum, while Lululemon offers a reminder that even premium consumers have limits. Let’s get into it.

1. Exponent Backs Another Irish Energy Business. Exponent has agreed to invest more than €70m in Kildare-based OFS, which services gas turbines, power equipment and data-centre infrastructure across 40 countries. OFS plans to double its 200-person workforce in the coming years after 2025 sales rose 42% to €42.8m. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and expected to complete by year-end. This comes after last week’s news of Exponents increasing its investment in H&MV Engineering which valued the latter at €1.4 billion.

2. District Heating Is Being Opened To Private Capital. The Government is redrafting its Heat Networks Bill to let investors sell stakes before eventual State buybacks, while grants of up to 50% of eligible project costs are planned from 2027. Separately, State Savings returns are rising across products holding €23.9bn, including the 10-year bond from 22% to 30%. Two very different attempts to make long-term capital work harder.

3. ICG’s €1.2bn Offer Appears To Be Final. Eamonn Rothwell’s Bluefin BidCo has ruled out raising its €8-a-share offer despite investors owning almost 11% of ICG publicly opposing the valuation. The bid represents a 25% premium to the three-month pre-offer average and has backing from proxy adviser ISS. With ICG shares closing Monday at €7.83, the question is now whether shareholders will accept rather than if there will be a be a better offer.

4. Property And Construction Find Fresh Momentum. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Ires Reit price target 5% to €1.39, arguing new rent rules could lift income as tenancies reset towards market rates. John Paul Construction’s pre-tax profit also jumped 60% to €36.6m last year as revenue rose 41% to €906m, although more of its current order book is now expected to fall into 2027. Meanwhile, US recycler Paladin Envirotech has leased 53,000 sq. ft. at Iput’s Nexus Logistics Park, prompting development of another 148,000 sq. ft. unit.

5. Lululemon Feels The Consumer Slowdown. Revenue at Lululemon’s Irish arm fell 8% to €14m in the year to January, its first decline in five years, while after-tax profit dropped 14% to €385,134. The company blamed a weaker consumer environment and no new store openings, while its global parent has also cut its 2026 profit forecast. Premium retail is discovering that despite brand loyalty, there is still a price ceiling.

Oil climbed back towards $89 as hopes of a quick end to the US-Iran conflict faded, keeping fuel and inflation risk elevated for Europe. China’s industrial output growth slowed to 4.5% in July while retail sales rose just 0.6%, adding pressure for further stimulus. In Britain, Jamie Dimon warned Chancellor John Healey that higher bank taxes could push finance jobs elsewhere, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly “minded” to approve the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, though no formal decision has been made and Rosebank may still be rejected. Virgin Trains also secured approval for up to 20 daily return Channel Tunnel services from 2030. EU business bankruptcies rose 5.7% in Q2, while Japan’s 10-year bond yield hit 2.93%, it’s highest since 1996.

Legal & Regulatory

Legal and regulatory business in Ireland this week is less about single dramatic rulings than about a profession quietly reshaping itself under cost, geography and workplace pressure.

The High Court gave the clearest individual judgment, dismissing Paddy McKillen jnr's bid to strike out a bankruptcy summons over a disputed €2.1 million personal guarantee tied to Herbert Street Property Finance. Mr Justice Liam Kennedy was unusually blunt, criticising a "cavalier attitude" to contractual commitments and finding McKillen jnr had not met even the low threshold needed to halt the case, which returns to court in November.

Employment law supplied the week's structural story. TikTok is scrapping the international remote-working policy that let staff work from abroad for up to 20 days a year, requiring a return to base location from the new year, a policy reversal that will land directly on its large Dublin workforce already absorbing hundreds of proposed redundancies.

The Law Society's own data pointed to a widening geographic imbalance in the profession itself: 82% of new 2025 training contracts went to Dublin firms, against single figures or zero in several counties, prompting warnings of emerging rural "legal deserts" just as the ongoing criminal legal-aid dispute strains rural practices that depend heavily on that work.

Separately, the Labour Court's annual report showed appeals down 11% but workload undiminished, as cases grow more legally complex, spanning unfair dismissal, equality, and newer statutory rights like sick leave and work-life balance.

Watch whether the Law Society's grant schemes meaningfully slow the Dublin concentration of trainees before more rural practices close.

In Wednesday’s Tá, the Sector Spotlight will be Finance & Markets.

Tuesday – On the Move…

Pat Farrell, Cairn Homes: The former BPFI chief executive and most recently chief executive of Institutional Property will join Cairn as an independent non-executive director from 01 October this year. Cairn said his real estate, banking, and public-policy experience will strengthen the board as the homebuilder scales.

JP McGrath, Aurivo: The former Dairygold CFO will become chief executive of Aurivo in late September, succeeding Donal Tierney, who retires after 15 years with the co-op, including seven as chief executive. McGrath has also held senior roles at Bord na Móna and Aryzta.

Ken Byrne, Level Health: The former Laya Healthcare head of corporate sales has joined the health insurer as director of corporate business development, leading its push into the corporate market.

Professor Oonagh Breen, UCD: The UCD Sutherland School of Law professor, whose expertise covers charity law, governance and regulation, has been appointed to the Royal Irish Academy’s Ethics, Politics, Law and Philosophy Committee for the 2026 to 2030 term.

Gary Hoffman, Monzo: The chair of the UK digital bank, which has recently entered the Irish market, will step down next month. Non-executive director Karen Peacock will replace him on an interim basis, subject to regulatory approval, while Monzo searches for a permanent chair.

Virgin Media is adding more NFL, with at least 22 games a season and the Super Bowl secured. And for more American crazy, remember Ferrari’s tragic-looking first EV? A one-off Luce somehow fetched $40m at Monterey Car Week in California, with proceeds going to charity. Back home, the Attorney General’s Office is opening for Culture Night, while King’s Inns is hosting a history and archives talk. Wholesome legal content, finally.

The Read – The Irish Times – Trump Media sees a money-spinner in president’s posts but investors are not buying it

Trump Media is charging investors up to $100,000 a month for early access to Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts, an extraordinary attempt to monetise presidential statements that can move markets. But the economics look far less spectacular than the controversy: around 10 groups have reportedly signed up, generating less than $12m annually for a company valued at about $2.35bn. With Truth Social daily users falling and Trump unable to run again in 2028, the sharper question is whether the product has much value once the presidency ends. Link: Trump Media sees a money-spinner in president’s posts but investors are not buying it

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