Glenveagh Properties has been the third-most-active in the Irish market in 2022. The housebuilder spent €87.2 million on a buyback in the first half of its financial year and is currently working its way through a further €50 million of planned repurchases.
However, analysts and market strategists expect the global flurry of buy-backs so far this year – against the backdrop of a slump in mergers and acquisitions and a 26 per cent drop in global equities – to dissipate as companies focus increasingly on saving cash amid fears of a global downturn. In the UK, FTSE 100 companies are on track to spend a record £50 billion-plus on buy-backs this year, according to UK online stockbroker AJ Bell, with companies taking advantage of depressed valuations for their stocks and as they hold back on investing for growth.