Payroll Venture Mints Fortune For Terry Clune
Kilkenny entrepreneur Terry Clune (51) is something of a business wizard, and his ventures mostly operate through unlimited companies, so there is little public visibility on their financials. Best known for Taxback, which Clune started in 1996 when he was aged 24, another major string to his bow was Immedis, a global provider of payroll and other HR services to multinationals.
In June 2023, Immedis was acquired by larger American peer UKG. The parties didn’t disclose the transaction value, but the view from law firm and M&A specialist William Fry was that the deal was worth €575m to the vendors. Immedis Ltd booked an operating loss of €14m on turnover of €31m in 2022. Sales were up 50% on the previous year, and 343 people were employed at year-end.
Immedis burned through over €40m to develop its offering, and the main backers were Scottish Equity Partners (for a 15.5% stake) and Lead Edge Capital (9.5%). Terry Clune owned c.60% of Immedis Ltd and there were also stakes for CEO Ruairi Kelleher, chief commercial officer Mark Graham (about 6% each), and CTO Richard Limpkin(3.2%).
Family business Gaffney Mechanical, owned by Niall Gaffney (51) and Deirdre Gaffney, caught the eye of Dutch private equity firm Waterland, which finalised acquisition in November 2013. The firm was established in 1999 and specialises in provision of heating and plumbing
services for housing developments and large buildings.
Gaffney Mechanical enjoyed bumper trading in the year to June 2022, when annual turnover more than doubled from €33m to €70m. Pre-tax profit for the financial year was €4m, and net worth at year-end was €10.8m including €5.3m cash and financial assets of €2.3m. Total liabilities at period end were €18.5m.
Another family firm that found a new owner in 2023 was Dawnlough in Galway, Ireland’s largest supplier of custom tooling. Dawnlough has expertise in the design and precision machining of difficult metals associated with very fine assembly, whether for tooling for the industrialisation of medical devices, components for these same devices or for aeronautics.
The company was incorporated in 1983 by Patrick McKeon, who stepped back from the business in 2022. Brian McKeon became a director in 2005 and led the business when it was acquired by Swiss buyer Acrotec Group in July 2023. Dawnlough’s turnover in 2022 was €13m, a 50% hike on the previous year, and operating profit was €1.9m. Dawnlough Ltd’s net worth in December 2022 was €7.8m.
Afamily firm with a longer heritage that also found a new owner in 2023 was Curust Industries, acquired by Cork’s Irish International Trading Corporation in April 2023. Curust has been trading since 1952, and supplies painting and decorating products as well as security and home care products. The company was set up to introduce pre-packed solvents to the Irish market, which it sold through its Douglas brand. The business was owned equally by directors Richard Brocklesby (54) and Rosie Brocklesby, and the two directors shared €537,000 in pay and pensions remuneration in 2022, and €915,000 in 2021.
Panelto Foods in Longford is a Midlands success story that grew to scale with the assistance of substantial state aid. Founded in Longford in 2004, Panelto Foods has a leading position in the UK and Ireland for prepacked thaw and display rolls, bake-off sandwich breads and rolls, and bake-off