🥤 VitHit sold for €75m among a number of big business stories today

11 August 2026

Good morning. Irish businesses are changing hands, Letterkenny is lining up 300 more jobs, and construction is finally picking up even if housing is still dragging its feet. Abroad, oil is climbing again while AI infrastructure keeps attracting eye-watering sums. Let’s get into it.

1. Irish Businesses Are Changing Hands. VitHit has been acquired by Vimto-owner Nichols for €75m, with its Dublin office retained after the deal. Galway electronics manufacturer M&M Qualtech has also been bought by Swedish group Nolato; the 200-person company has 2026 sales of around €35.1m and will become Nolato Qualtech from September. Gym+Coffee, meanwhile, returned to profit last year but the highly leveraged company see the owners step aside, while BYD is expected to take direct control of its Irish operation from Motor Distributors Ltd as it seeks to ramp up expansion.

2. Vertiv Plans 300 More Letterkenny Jobs. Digital infrastructure company Vertiv plans to add 7,000 square metres to its Letterkenny facility, supporting up to 300 additional jobs, subject to planning. The company has already onboarded more than 500 people across its local facilities since the start of 2026. AI infrastructure demand is translating into something more tangible in Donegal through manufacturing capacity and recruitment and a big boost for the North West.

3. Building More Means Building The City Around It. Ireland’s construction PMI rose to 53.0 in July from 45.4, although housing activity only edged into growth at 50.5 showing a lag in the middle. Purcell Construction has also been appointed to the €173.2m first phase of Parnell Square Cultural Quarter. The bigger question is what gets built around new homes: a Business Post analysis argues Ireland’s demographic advantage depends on housing, transport and liveable cities, while TII has warned it will not cover mitigation costs arising from plans for 18,500 homes at Dunsink beside the M50. Growth needs more than the homes themselves, even though the homes part remains a struggle.

4. The Labour Market Sends Mixed Signals. Ireland’s unadjusted Live Register rose by 6,253 people, or 3.4%, year-on-year to 191,880 in July, while the seasonally adjusted total increased by 1,200 over the month. At Flahavan’s Waterford plant, workers are preparing to vote on industrial action after rejecting a proposed flexibility arrangement. Similar to yesterday, we see unemployment is on the rise along with a turbulent front on existing employment, all while FDI continues to flow.

5. Record Flying Meets A Changing Airline Market. Dublin Airport handled a record 3.84m passengers in July, up 2.3% year-on-year, taking its 2026 total to around 22m. At Aer Lingus, IAG’s European Works Council has asked the group to pause consultation over the airline’s planned 500-job reduction. Across Europe, EasyJet is being acquired by Apollo while Wizz Air has reported a €198m quarterly loss, prompting analysis that Ryanair could eventually emerge as the last independent major low-cost carrier. Passenger demand remains strong but the airlines carrying it continue to be reshaped.

Brent oil climbed as much as 6.6% to around $87.70 as hopes of a quick US-Iran agreement faded, with Tehran still demanding sanctions relief, reparations and a US military withdrawal before fully reopening Hormuz. Wall Street slipped from record levels as investors also turned towards US inflation data and what it could mean for Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s hawkish stance. AI spending is getting bigger again with Nvidia is reportedly discussing a $500bn infrastructure data centre funding package with some of Wall Street’s largest investors, although exactly how much would be new capital remains unclear. Intel, meanwhile, launched a $15bn share sale to fund investment and strengthen its balance sheet. Revolut has also secured a full French banking licence, expanding its European banking footprint.

Legal & Regulatory

Legal and regulatory in Ireland this week sits between two pressures pulling in opposite directions with a profession stretched thin by an unresolved pay dispute, and a wider governance apparatus scrambling to keep pace with generative AI.

The criminal legal-aid standoff has moved from crisis to negotiation, but not resolution. More than 200 solicitors remain withdrawn from panels, and the Law Society has told justice minister Jim O'Callaghan that two specific issues, separate and distinct charges heard on the same day, and complex, multi-appearance cases, still need fixing in the new €520 flat-fee model before solicitors will consider it workable. Minister O'Callaghan has already softened payment timing; whether he moves further before more resignations follow is the clearest thing to watch this week.

AI governance took a concrete step forward. The High Court's new practice direction, effective from September 1st, will require lawyers to declare where generative AI shaped affidavits or expert reports, with non-compliance risking referral to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. Separately, Mary Doyle was named first chair of the AI Office of Ireland, the body created under this year's Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act, giving the State's AI enforcement architecture an actual leadership team.

Elsewhere, questions persist over whether AI is thinning graduate intake in law and accounting, with early Irish data inconclusive against a broader cyclical slowdown. And Coolmore's John Magnier has accused businessman Maurice Regan, via solicitors' letter, of a "concerted campaign" against him, reviving their Barne Estate rivalry in sharper terms.

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

Tuesday – On the Move…

Ken O’Byrne, Flogas Energy: O’Byrne has been appointed managing director after seven years as commercial director, taking charge as Flogas expands its renewable-energy offering and wider energy-transition strategy across Ireland.

Nuala Ryan and Paddy O’Dea, Fenton Fitzwilliam: The pair will join as directors in September from FINN Partners Ireland, adding senior public affairs and corporate communications experience across sectors including technology, finance, aviation, healthcare and consumer brands.

Angela Brennan, DAA: The Matheson disputes partner is leaving the law firm after almost 16 years to become general counsel at Dublin Airport operator DAA, moving in-house at a particularly busy time for aviation infrastructure, regulation, and capacity.

David Hoctor, TikTok: The Irish executive has been appointed head of global agency and accounts after joining TikTok in 2019 as one of its early commercial employees. His new role puts an Irish executive into a senior global commercial position at the platform.

Liverpool could soon have a few more Americans in the owners’ box, with a consortium including Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (despite a net worth $33bn probably best known to most as the unfortunate loser from The Social Network) reportedly closing in on a minority stake. Back home, Christmas FM is already rebranding for the season moving to a full-year programme, while Bambino looks set to cross the Liffey with a potential Smithfield shop. August, apparently, is no barrier to Christmas, pizza, or Premier League billionaires.

The Read – The Irish Times – Intel, Nvidia and the wild swings beneath a calm market

Proinsias O'Mahony unpacks why the S&P 500's calm surface, up 12 per cent this year with the Vix below normal, hides violent moves underneath. Intel shares have risen fivefold in a year but included a 40 per cent peak-to-trough drop and a 25 per cent rebound in five sessions. SanDisk surged almost 5,500 per cent before losing 60 per cent in a month. Nvidia shed a trillion dollars in value, then rebounded 17 per cent in a week. Index investors barely notice but single-stock holders are in "the roiling waters below." Link: Intel, Nvidia and the wild swings beneath a calm market

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