Lidl gets into mobile, Kingspan closes, and Ires jumps

29 September 2026

Good morning. Deals, savings and the cost of work are doing most of the talking today, with Ires and Kingspan moving big transactions forward and fresh detail on how households are being pushed towards investing. Lidl also decides Ireland needs another mobile network before we’re done. Let’s get into it.

1. Ires And Kingspan Move Their Big Deals Forward. Ires Reit shares jumped 22.64% to €1.30 after Barings’ possible €1.386-a-share cash offer emerged, while the offer itself sits just below Ires’ €1.388 June net asset value per share, strengthening the argument that shareholders may struggle to extract materially more. Kingspan, meanwhile, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Meath-based BMC Manufacturing Group for €850m upfront with up to €50m deferred. One is an Irish company getting bigger through acquisition; the other could see one of Ireland’s biggest listed landlords move into full British ownership and another blow to Euronext Dublin.

2. Ireland’s Growth Forecast Comes With A Fiscal Warning. The ESRI expects modified domestic demand to grow 2.6% this year and 3.4% in 2027, while non-pharma exports rose by around €10bn year-on-year in the first half. But it is also urging the State to “aggressively” build fiscal buffers as borrowing costs rise and tax receipts remain unusually exposed to multinational and technology revenues. Ireland is benefiting from the investment cycle; but the ESRI’s warning is not to spend as though those gains are guaranteed to last.

3. The State Is Building Two Routes From Saving Into Investing. My Future Fund has accumulated €586m after roughly nine months, with 835,000 employees across about 115,000 employers automatically enrolled. At the same time, around seven firms reportedly bid to become An Post’s strategic partner for the new Savings and Investment Accounts, providing some combination of funds, custody, execution and the investment platform. My Future Fund is mandatory for eligible workers without an existing pension, so the more interesting test over time will be how much demand there is for an “SIA” programme when people have to actively choose to join.

4. Brazil Puts A Price On Flutter’s Regulatory Problem. Flutter expects restrictions on its Brazilian operations to reduce 2026 revenue by about $70m and adjusted EBITDA by roughly $20m if it cannot resume trading this year. Davy says the immediate financial impact is relatively small, but the bigger strategic risk is losing exposure to a market with attractive long-term growth prospects. The numbers are manageable for now, while the longer-term question is how much growth Flutter loses if Brazil stays closed.

5. Pay Pressure Is Showing Up At Both Ends Of The Working Life. Ireland’s calculated living wage has risen 3.9% to €16 an hour, with rent and household energy among the main drivers. Separately, Balance for Better Business found labour-force participation among women aged 55 to 65 was 62.9% in 2024, compared with 78% for men, creating a 15.1-point gap that was wider than the EU average. Employers are facing two different workforce pressures at once there: making work financially sustainable and retaining experienced women into senior leadership.

The US and China agreed a lower-tariff regime covering $60bn of non-sensitive trade, with each country allowing $30bn of imports from the other at reduced rates. In Europe, BCG says 16.2% of companies are under transformation pressure, up from 14.3% last year, as leverage and higher borrowing costs bite. UK housebuilder shares jumped after Labour announced a new first-time-buyer loan scheme, with Persimmon rising as much as 17% and Taylor Wimpey 23%. Nvidia has also launched new open-source security tools designed to control what AI agents can access and quarantine them when they breach rules. Trade is easing for some while debt, housing and AI controls are getting more expensive elsewhere.

Legal & Regulatory

Government is preparing to strip process out of planning just as the courts struggle to keep solicitors in them.

The Government is expected to scrap Environmental Impact Assessments, the formal studies of a project's environmental effects, for housing schemes of up to 250 units, with the change reportedly due next month. Under the Planning and Development Act 2024 regime, schemes of 250 to 750 units would get basic screening and larger ones full screening, against a mandatory threshold of more than 500 units today. Construction figures welcomed it, while Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin likened it to the days of light-touch regulation. It’ still only a plan; not law yet.

Criminal legal aid turned to competition law. The Oireachtas Justice Committee agreed to send a hearing transcript to the CCPC for comment on whether coordinated solicitor withdrawals breach competition rules, after solicitor Tony Collier said solicitors withdrew individually, not collectively. The Law Society again asked for an independent mediator, and the dispute is expected to run into the new legal year. Civil legal aid is also pressing for Budget 2027 money with a FLAC-led petition backed by 60 signatories cites waits of up to 64 weeks for a first appointment.

The US Department of Transportation has extended indefinitely the window in which it could retaliate against Irish airlines over the Dublin Airport passenger cap, saying the public interest is best served by keeping pressure on Ireland.

Watch whether the 06 October Budget delivers the increased civil legal aid funding FLAC says the Minister has committed to.

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

Tuesday – On the Move…

Mo Behbahani, Eli Lilly Kinsale: Appointed site head at Lilly’s Kinsale manufacturing campus, replacing Tara Tibbs. Behbahani has more than 20 years’ experience across Lilly’s global manufacturing network and most recently spent three years leading its Sesto site in Florence.

Derek Henry, Gallagher Ireland: Promoted from interim chief executive to the permanent role after taking over in April. Henry joined Gallagher in 2021 and was most recently managing director of digital distribution.

Deirdre Costello, JLL Ireland: Appointed chief executive from January 2027, succeeding John Moran, who becomes chair. Costello currently leads leasing advisory and has spent more than 30 years with JLL.

Daniel J Weitzner, Ethyca: The former Obama White House technology-policy official has joined the Irish-founded privacy company as chief strategy officer and will help set the direction of its Astralis AI-governance platform.

Rossa White, EY: The former NTMA chief economist has been hired as chief economist at EY. He most recently served as head of group investor relations and communications at DCC Energy, having previously worked as chief economist at Davy.

Lidl is launching a mobile network at €8.99 a month for its first 100,000 customers, so Ireland is now one step closer to buying unlimited 5G beside a chainsaw, a double-pack of steaks and an inflatable kayak. Micheál Martin used World News Day to warn about deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation, while JCB made the founder’s grandson co-chair beside his father. So, if you find a phone shop in the middle isle, the Taoiseach appears on your screen saying something unbelievable and a digger company is still being run by the same family, at least two of those things are probably real.

The Read – Reuters – Explainer: The road ahead for Volkswagen's restructuring

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume has stakeholder backing for his turnaround plan, but the hard bargaining over jobs and plants is only starting. Reuters sets out what remains open: about 50,000 additional job cuts, half likely in Germany, with unions wanting the 25,000 planned German cuts treated as a starting point. The Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm plants are scheduled to close on a staggered basis from 2031 to 2034, and a European production plan is due by end-June 2027. IG Metall is expected to raise labour-deal concerns with management tomorrow, while a strike truce runs until January. Link: Explainer: The road ahead for Volkswagen's restructuring

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