The €250 million deal will provide a total 5,000 extra student places across four colleges: Technological University Dublin; Munster Technological University in Cork and Tralee; Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dún Laoghaire; and Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Co Westmeath.Macquarie is also understood to be interested in other public-private partnership projects across a range of sectors.
A Macquarie spokesman said: “The higher education PPP contract was one of Macquarie’s larger projects in Ireland and we’re delighted to support the Irish State to provide high-quality educational buildings across four third-level colleges. Our Irish business has been expanding in recent years, and we are keen to further grow our activities and support the Irish economy.”
Apart from the universities project, the group is also developing 400 megawatts of offshore electricity generation at the Sceirde Rocks wind farm off the Connemara coast and, in 2021, reached a deal to acquire Panda Power owner Beauparc worth an estimated €1 billion. A Macquarie-led group also built the east and central quad buildings that form the core of Technological University Dublin’s Grangegorman campus.
The company’s results were underpinned by a 54 per cent surge in profits from its commodity trading business, which accounted for more than half of the group’s net profits last year. Off the back of the price volatility seen in global markets last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an increase in hedging and trading activity saw profits at Macquarie’s commodities division soar to the equivalent of €3.6 billion before tax and other deductions.
As a consequence, Nick O’Kane, the group’s global head of commodities and markets, saw his total pay packet balloon by 59 per cent boost to A$57.6 million , ahead of some of the top US bankers, including JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon.