Staff at the Business Post have been told it is likely that operations will move to the Irish Management Institute (IMI) campus in south county Dublin when the lease on its offices on Merrion Road expires later this year.
Colm O’Reilly, chief operating officer of Enda O’Coineen’s Business Post Group, which publishes the newspaper, said the move was “probable” but “we haven’t finished all of the plans yet”.
He said the group, which comprises other businesses including RedC Research and events company iQuest among others, is not consolidating all of its operations at the IMI campus in Sandyford, Dublin 16.
However, The Irish Times understands newspaper staff could move later this year when the Business Post’s lease on AIG House on Merrion Road in Dublin 4 expires in the autumn.
Mr O’Coineen’s group acquired the IMI from University College Cork (UCC) in a deal that was finalised earlier this month.
UCC will reportedly retain control of the sprawling 13-acre campus in suburban south county Dublin as part of the transaction.
At the time of the deal, the Business Post Group said the addition of IMI would complement its existing portfolio and align with its “House of Brands” vision to deliver content through BusinessPost.ie, experiences through iQuest.ie, “insights” with RedCResearch.ie, and executive education.
“Our group of companies bring together the power of news reporting and insights as well as research – this will help to further inform IMI on the trends and emerging areas that leaders need to know and understand,” Mr O’Coineen said at the time.
The Business Post recorded continued losses in 2023, according to latest accounts last month, but said it expects to be profitable and cash generative this year and next.
It returned a loss before tax of €552,582 for the year, which was up from a loss of €359,184 the year before.
It also had a net liability position of €2.6 million, up from €2 million. The directors did not recommend the payment of a dividend. Turnover shrank from €8.6 million to €8.3 million, although the cost of sales also came down from €6.6 million to just under €6 million.
“Over the last number of years, the company’s immediate parent company has been investing in complementary businesses to create a modern, data-driven, and fully integrated media platform built around the Business Post brand,” the group said at the time.
