Has is come to this?…
Middle East funds look to Irish stud farms
By Neil Callanan in Dublin
Published: April 25 2011 21:01 | Last updated: April 25 2011 21:01
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have approached Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, looking to buy high-end hotels with large grounds for use as stud farms for horses, government insiders in Dublin say. The move could provide a boost to Ireland’s flagging bloodstock industry, which produces 10 per cent of the world’s racehorses each year.
Nama has already been approached by at least two sovereign funds seeking to buy hotels, a senior government insider said. They are “not interested in them as hotels but as houses”, while their real interest lay in the land around them “for use as bloodstock”, the official said. (link to article)
mer O’Siochru is a qualified architect and valuation surveyor. She was a founder of Feasta and served on its executive committee for many years. She is director of EOS Future Design which designs and develops sustainable systems and settlements. She also manages the Feasta-led Smart Tax Network which is funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to develop tax policies in areas related to the environment. She lives in Dublin.
