Quinn Insurance in Administration

[mylestheslasher]

Have to say I agree with unitedireland although I realise my thinking is not considering the letter of the law and all the legalise stuff. I was brought up in Cavan in the 80's and I remember as a child heading north for the petrol on shitty pot holed roads to meet the smooth roads of the north as soon as you crossed the border. There was 1 factory in Cavan - Pauwels. Killeshandra has close McCormacs and fletchers mill, Killeshandra Co-Op was emplying half what it used to. The Celtic tiger came and Cavan seen no investment from the outside (nor did any of the other border counties except maybe Louth). We did have the promise of Terradyne setting up for 100's of jobs and the place was full of suited ministers bestowing this great gift upon us but that never happened. All that time anything that happened in Cavan was developed from within. Sean Quinn has a legendary status in Cavan, Fermanagh and the other border counties because he made jobs when no politician was to be seen. He made 100's and 100's of jobs. He started in cement and made a success of it. He built a huge Hotel in the middle of nowhere and everyone thought he was mad but he made a success out of that. He went into bottle making and made a success of that. Then insurance and then he did the whole country a favour by taking over Bupa when it decided to leave and leave the healthcare industry at the mercy of VHI. He's done insulation, pubs and others and made a success out of it and all the time creating jobs. He lives local to where he is from, he is an irish resident and pays his taxes, he has not farmed any jobs out even though many of them are tailor made for Indian call centers. Now clearly he made a mistake and took a very wreckless (in hindsight) punt on a Bank, put his company at risk and lost a massive amount of money. That is the good versus the bad. Taking a common sense look surely anyone can see the good surely outweighs the bad. Surely this means that something should be worked out with Quinn to sort this all out. We can give banks billions and billions and I suggest we get f**k all in return so surely Quinn could be helped out - after all he is committed and capable of paying it back in time. No. True to form our heroic leaders allow administrators to go in there, make an example out of the greatest job makers in the country, drive a steak into the heart of his business and destroy the lives of 900 people. What will happen now is that the group will get sold to another insurance company and those jobs left will be consolidated into that companies existing jobs. God knows where that might be but it could easily be in another country. The Quinn group will struggle and will probably let people go and with all the job losses in Quinn we will see all the other dependent businesses go to the wall. The politicans will hide behind  the law and true to form they will leave the people of the border counties to sort it out themselves as they have for 90 years. This country is full of  talentless wasters who owe lots and have not a cent left to their name and they get off scot free and a man and a company that did so much for this region get pulverised because they have some assets left. I'm sorry for folks but there is no justice or fairness in this no matter what the rules or the law says. Thanks a million Fine Fail and the Greens for looking after the border counties and I hope the electorate give ye back exactly what you deserve.

[orangeman]

Have to say I agree with unitedireland although I realise my thinking is not considering the letter of the law and all the legalise stuff. I was brought up in Cavan in the 80's and I remember as a child heading north for the petrol on shitty pot holed roads to meet the smooth roads of the north as soon as you crossed the border. There was 1 factory in Cavan - Pauwels. Killeshandra has close McCormacs and fletchers mill, Killeshandra Co-Op was emplying half what it used to. The Celtic tiger came and Cavan seen no investment from the outside (nor did any of the other border counties except maybe Louth). We did have the promise of Terradyne setting up for 100's of jobs and the place was full of suited ministers bestowing this great gift upon us but that never happened. All that time anything that happened in Cavan was developed from within. Sean Quinn has a legendary status in Cavan, Fermanagh and the other border counties because he made jobs when no politician was to be seen. He made 100's and 100's of jobs. He started in cement and made a success of it. He built a huge Hotel in the middle of nowhere and everyone thought he was mad but he made a success out of that. He went into bottle making and made a success of that. Then insurance and then he did the whole country a favour by taking over Bupa when it decided to leave and leave the healthcare industry at the mercy of VHI. He's done insulation, pubs and others and made a success out of it and all the time creating jobs. He lives local to where he is from, he is an irish resident and pays his taxes, he has not farmed any jobs out even though many of them are tailor made for Indian call centers. Now clearly he made a mistake and took a very wreckless (in hindsight) punt on a Bank, put his company at risk and lost a massive amount of money. That is the good versus the bad. Taking a common sense look surely anyone can see the good surely outweighs the bad. Surely this means that something should be worked out with Quinn to sort this all out. We can give banks billions and billions and I suggest we get f**k all in return so surely Quinn could be helped out - after all he is committed and capable of paying it back in time. No. True to form our heroic leaders allow administrators to go in there, make an example out of the greatest job makers in the country, drive a steak into the heart of his business and destroy the lives of 900 people. What will happen now is that the group will get sold to another insurance company and those jobs left will be consolidated into that companies existing jobs. God knows where that might be but it could easily be in another country. The Quinn group will struggle and will probably let people go and with all the job losses in Quinn we will see all the other dependent businesses go to the wall. The politicans will hide behind  the law and true to form they will leave the people of the border counties to sort it out themselves as they have for 90 years. This country is full of  talentless wasters who owe lots and have not a cent left to their name and they get off scot free and a man and a company that did so much for this region get pulverised because they have some assets left. I'm sorry for folks but there is no justice or fairness in this no matter what the rules or the law says. Thanks a million Fine Fail and the Greens for looking after the border counties and I hope the electorate give ye back exactly what you deserve.

Well said.

Although the regulator will say he was right in what he did, this government that bailed out all their mates look like letting Quinn go down the pan.

[haranguerer]

Well said Myles.

It stinks to the high heavens that rather than working with Quinn to sort things out, they decided to hang him and his workers out to dry. He has shown much more comitment to the economic future of Ireland than any of those f**kers who took that decision. He deserved better than that, and I hope in time they become truly ashamed of the way they've handled this and him.

[FermPundit]

Well put Myles. Maybe I'm being deluded here, but I would love to see the Quinn group ride this thing out and come back stronger than ever before in a few years time. It's just very annoying that very few politicans or people in the media have come out and supported Quinn over the last few weeks.

[sammymaguire]

I echo the sentiments of the other lads sine your post myles, you have more or less summed it up in a very pragmatic and striaghtforward fashion. This "issue" highlighted by the Financial Regulator of enough solvency to cover all the policy holders in the event of a d-day scenario could have and should have been dealt with in such a totally different fashion in difficult times when both the irish and british governments should be desperate to hang on to jobs - total and utter disgrace and disrespect to the businessman Sean Quinn and the people of Cavan/Fermanagh/Leitrim/Monaghan and everywhere else that does business with the Quinn Group, the knock on effect of the 900 people losing their jobs could be untold. How this has happened and the major Irish banks who were trading in arguably a much more wreckless fashion, then get bailed out by NAMA is sickening and laughable     

[mylestheslasher]

I echo the sentiments of the other lads sine your post myles, you have more or less summed it up in a very pragmatic and striaghtforward fashion. This "issue" highlighted by the Financial Regulator of enough solvency to cover all the policy holders in the event of a d-day scenario could have and should have been dealt with in such a totally different fashion in difficult times when both the irish and british governments should be desperate to hang on to jobs - total and utter disgrace and disrespect to the businessman Sean Quinn and the people of Cavan/Fermanagh/Leitrim/Monaghan and everywhere else that does business with the Quinn Group, the knock on effect of the 900 people losing their jobs could be untold. How this has happened and the major Irish banks who were trading in arguably a much more wreckless fashion, then get bailed out by NAMA is sickening and laughable     

Indeed, when Dell decided to up sticks we had a couple of muppets of ministers head of to talk to Michael Dell even though there was no a hope he was for turning. If Intel decided in the morning the same there would be a rush of Dublin and Kildare TD's to get millions of grants signed off. Just compare that to how Quinn is treated and also Michael O Leary's 500 jobs in Dublin airport. Seems to me these TD's and ministers put their own personality issues ahead of their duty to the electorate. It disgusts me.

[orangeman]

I listened to the trade minister on today.


What he said was not very encouraging at all.

He just said he'd send round the Fas people on Tuesday to those who were being made redundant to see if they could help ! FFS !

[orangeman]

Sean Quinn to stand down from board
Wednesday, 5 May 2010 22:14
Sean Quinn has today announced that he and his wife Patricia have decided to stand down from the Board of Quinn Group Limited.

Mr Quinn said in a statement that his decision was based on his need to concentrate in the short term on Quinn family interests outside of Quinn Group Limited and in particular on the interaction of these interests with Anglo Irish Bank.

He also stated that he wanted to avoid any potential conflict of interest associated with the proposed sale of Quinn Insurance.

AdvertisementHe added 'After 37 years of sustained development Quinn Group Limited has a mature, professional and skilled executive as well as a very experienced and independent Board.

'The group is extremely well invested and is strongly positioned to meet all of the challenges ahead.

'The Group management and staff in all areas are second to none as has been demonstrated in recent times.

'For now I want to concentrate on Quinn family interests outside of the group and bring all outstanding matters to a satisfactory conclusion in that regard'.


Quinn staff to meet ministers

Meanwhile, staff representatives from Quinn Insurance are to hold further meetings with ministers Batt O'Keeffe and Brendan Smith next week as part of their campaign to limit the number of job losses in the company.

Speaking after a meeting today in Cavan, staff representatives said they had put a number of questions to Minister O'Keeffe for clarification.

They were also highly critical of the role of the Financial Regulator and his handling of Quinn Insurance.

[Maguire01]

I had my car insurance with Quinn and had to renew this week. My insurance last year was about £340. I rung up to renew this week after the ban was lifted. They quoted me almost £800! That's despit another year's no claims. As much as I would have liked to support them, rates like that don't give you much choice. I got cover elsewhere for £280. Not a hope they'll maintain any share operating like that.

[FermGael]

Interesting.  Anybody hear anything about this:

http://www.impartialreporter.com/news/roundup/articles/2010/05/13/391429-family-bid-for-quinn-insurance-not-ruled-out/

Family bid for Quinn Insurance not ruled out
A CLOSE family member of Sean Quinn is planning to purchase the crisis-hit Quinn Insurance, The Impartial Reporter has learned.

It's understood the ambitious plan which, if successful, is the only way to keep the troubled firm in the Quinn family.

Sources say serious negotiations have been under way for a "considerable time" about a deal involving members of Sean Quinn's family and American investors.

It is believed several potential investors in the United States have been approached by representatives acting on behalf of the Quinn family regarding a takeover bid.

As speculation continued yesterday, Mr. Peter Quinn refused to rule out a family bid: "There isn't a move by the family at the minute but that's not to say there won't be any in the future."

Since Quinn Insurance was placed into permanent administration three weeks ago, around 46 multinational companies are believed to have come forward wanting a slice of the Quinn pie. But the family are keen to retain control of Quinn Insurance, we're told. In fact, sources say that keeping the firm in the family has always been the case and that the plan has always been to have the business back within six weeks of entering permanent administration.

Three weeks in, the clock is ticking and according to a source close to the Quinn family the stakes have never been higher -- buying back the business could mean "risking everything".

"I know representatives are actively seeking investors from New York but before a takeover could be granted, the prospective buyers would need to ensure the administrators that not only could they afford to take over the business but that the balance of the business was efficient. Clearly at the moment it is not efficient which is why it went into administration in the first place. The Irish Regulator's requirements are also becoming evermore rigorous. It's a hell of an attempt, I have to take my hat off to them. They certainly have guts but I guess you can only go bankrupt once. My main concern is the future of jobs. I think this sort of deal could put even more jobs at risk," he said.

Furthermore, The Impartial Reporter has also been told that Sean Quinn's resignation last week from the Quinn Group came about as a result of those negotiations.

Mr. Quinn and his wife Patricia stood down from the board of Quinn Group Limited last Wednesday evening to avoid any "potential conflict of interest" associated with the sale of Quinn Insurance -- and now we know why.

The businessman also said his decision was based on his need to concentrate in the short term on family interests outside of the Quinn Group, in particular on the interaction of those interests with the troubled Anglo Irish Bank.

In a statement, Mr. Quinn said: "After 37 years of sustained development Quinn Group Limited has a mature, professional and skilled executive as well as a very experienced and independent Board. The Group is extremely well invested and is strongly positioned to meet all of the challenges ahead. The Group management and staff in all areas are second to none as has been demonstrated in recent times. For now I want to concentrate on Quinn family interests outside of the Group and bring all outstanding matters to a satisfactory conclusion in that regard."

A spokesperson for Dublin administrators, Grant and Thornton, said yesterday: "The administrators are preparing a memorandum to go out to everyone and anyone who has expressed any interest in Quinn Insurance. Should the Quinn Group come to any decision about the sale of shares in Quinn Insurance Limited, the administrator would have to approve such a deal. It is possible that the Quinn Group may be going off to approach other people about their business. However, the administrator couldn't comment on anything like that. The memorandum will be sent out to the interested parties at the end of this month and that's when you may begin to see progress on the Quinn Limited side. The Quinn Group side is a completely different kettle of fish."

Responding to today's story, a Quinn spokesperson simply said: "The Group have no comment to make on this."

At the moment there is no price tag fixed to Quinn Insurance but it is thought to be "extremely high".

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, who along with Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey will co-ordinate the Government's response to the situation at Quinn Insurance, says her Department are continually being made aware of any takeover proposals from prospective buyers and said a number of options were currently on the table.

The focus on finding a solution -- and quick -- she says, is her main priority.

The Minister met with the Irish Regulator in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss the crisis: "We had a very frank discussion about the options open to the Quinn Insurance," she said.

Last week, Mrs. Foster announced that Leslie Ross, who is originally from Enniskillen, will co-ordinate the activities of the Department of Enterprise, the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), Invest Northern Ireland, InterTradeIreland and local councils in response to the problems facing Quinn Insurance.

Leslie Ross CB has extensive experience of economic development in Northern Ireland for nearly 30 years, having held a number of prominent posts within the industry. Following the creation of Invest Northern Ireland in April 2002 he was appointed Managing Director of its Business International group, a role which he held until his retirement from full time employment in 2005. He was awarded a CB in the Queen's New Year Honours List in 2006.

Mr. Ross was in Enniskillen yesterday to meet with Arlene Foster and staff at the Townhall, where he will be based for several weeks.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Mr. Ross said he was ready to take on the challenge: "Yes, very much so. It's a job that needed to be started quickly. I will be looking, firstly, to acknowledge the importance of Quinn Insurance to the local economy and to reassure the work force that my team and I will be doing all that we can to secure the future of Quinn Insurance. We will be looking to see what we can do to help Quinn Insurance in its current state and to help those employees who will have to leave find alternative employment," he said.

Meanwhile on Monday, Independent councillor Gerry McHugh was thrown out of the Northern Ireland Assembly after criticising Stormont's handling of the problems at Quinn Insurance.

He was ruled out of order and proceedings were briefly suspended by Speaker William Hay after he kicked up a fuss following Assembly questions with Deputy Leader Martin McGuinness.

Speaking afterwards, Mr. McHugh said he felt Stormont had "let down" Quinn employees and "isn't doing enough".

And in a statement to this newspaper yesterday, Sinn Fein councillor Phil Flanagan described Mr. McHugh's outburst as "unproductive and childish".

"Perhaps, Mr. McHugh would be better served questioning his Fianna Fáil colleagues, particularly An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan and Batte O'Keefe, to see what action they have taken to protect the jobs throughout the Quinn Group. This would be much more productive than criticising the Assembly. He is not trying to look after the interests of the workers of the Quinn Group, but merely trying to be seen to be doing something in the run up to the Assembly elections next year."

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Heads up for Spotlight tonight on BBC1 10:35pm looking at the Quinn situation

[supersarsfields]

Heard about this last week. Just wondering what the chances of getting this over in Engerland? Will i be able to access the iplayer?

[FermPundit]

Heard about this last week. Just wondering what the chances of getting this over in Engerland? Will i be able to access the iplayer?

Yep, you should be able to watch it on iplayer, it'll probably be tomorrow afternoon before it's available.

[FermGael]

Right so Little is definetly back.

[orangeman]

Poor enough programme revealing nothing new.