Byrne Tapped Into The Latest Zeitgeist

Interactive Services has been a fantastic success story for founder Garrett Byrne (54), who established the business with Kevin Cronin in 1993.

Its niche is providing education and compliance content for business customers as well as offering custom online and person-to-person learning design, reaching c.3 million learners every year.

Operating from Damastown Business Park in D15, the venture is very profitable. Latest filed accounts for holding company Hawkington Ltd disclosed turnover of €14m in the year to March 2019 and a pre-tax profit of €3.2m. With €11.6m cash accumulated in the balance sheet, the company declared a €4m dividend.

Hawkington shareholders Garrett Byrne and Breda Byrne, speak for over 90% of the equity. After that €4m dividend, Hawkington had net worth of €7.6m, plus whatever profit was booked in FY 2020. And then LRN Corporation came calling, with a takeover offer that concluded in September.

New York’s LRN was shopping for growth after it partnered in 2018 with a New York private equity firm. The deal consideration wasn’t disclosed but was likely c.€18m — excluding the cash on the vendor’s balance sheet.

The zeitgeist that Byrne tapped into? According to LRN founder Dov Seidman: “We are in a time of increasing focus and scrutiny on corporate and individual conduct. In response, companies throughout the world are reimagining the workplace, redefining leadership, and seeking to build cultures that are genuinely aligned and inclusive. This requires meaningful education, communication, codes of conduct, and adaptive learning environments.”