Business
College Road, Galway apartment for online auction
A three-bed duplex apartment in Galway City is set to go under the virtual hammer in a unique digital auction.
No 37 The Elms on College Road is a three-bed home spread over first and second floors, with a balcony and its own parking space. It extends to around 970 square feet and is being sold with vacant possession.
It is part of a catalogue of 22 properties which are being sold at the moment, with bidding open for 24 hours from next Tuesday morning.
Robert Hoban, Director of Auctions at Allsop Space told Tribune Property: “We are hugely excited to be introducing our online auction to the market with a modern, innovative, transparent and effective method of sale for buyers at home and abroad.
“The sale of property through a fully digital process offers vendors a new choice that also comes with the unique commitment to transparency and effectiveness that buyers expect from us.
“The online auction provides a fully transparent bidding process and a legally binding sale, allowing bidders to secure property from the comfort of their own home.
“In a ground breaking first, the entire property transaction process will be performed digitally, from catalogue to contract. Bidders can purchase property at their convenience and in comfort on their PC, tablet or smartphone.
“The Contracts for Sale will be signed electronically through the use of ISO standard digital signatures provided by Post Trust, a division of An Post.
“The payment management system is handled by GlobalCollect and the entire bidding process will be independently observed by Ernst & Young.
“Another first for property sales in Ireland is the use of digital signatures, which will allow transactions at the Allsop Space online auction to be legally binding, giving certainty to both buyer and seller.
“Following the closing of each lot, a signed Contract for Sale is emailed to the buyer, seller and their solicitors and the balance of 10% deposit (less €5,000) is due within 48 hours,” said Mr Hoban.
Bidding will open at 10am next Tuesday, July 8 and run for 24 hours, closing in 15 minute intervals on Wednesday, during which period all bids will be openly logged and displayed.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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