Speaking at the awards CEO of Great Place to Work John Ryan congratulated Merlin Group on this achievement: “I wish to congratulate you on the superb achievement of being recognised as one of the Best Small Workplaces in Ireland 2012. Your ongoing commitment to your people practices within your organisation has been an inspiration to many and has set a bar for other organisations. This is an achievement worth celebrating and communicating because by creating a great workplace you are establishing a firm base for business success in 2012 and beyond”.

The Best Workplaces study, which is now in its tenth year, uses confidential employee feedback to identify employers who follow a policy of creating positive workplaces in which management build high-trust relationships with their employees, based on mutual respect. Great Place to Work conducts similar studies in forty-five countries worldwide.

We have won a number of awards over the last two years including the Deloitte Best Managed Company in 2011, Innovation of the Year trophy at the SIMI Awards in 2010 and being nominated for an Eircom Spider award.

Dave Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Group commented, “We are delighted to have won this accolade, especially as it is the first year that the Great Places to Work Awards have included a category for businesses with less than 50 employees.  We constantly strive to provide a happy and engaging environment for our employees.  We scored 84% in the staff confidential surveys which reflects the work we put in to maintaining good working relationships and support for all of our employees.”

Figures just released from the SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) show that in July 2011, 4,067 new cars were sold, a decrease of 2,231 on last year, that’s a fall of 35% on July 2010. Over 1,200 Scrappage scheme cars were

included in the figure for July 2010, whereas the scheme ended in June this year.

Director General of SIMI, Alan Nolan (pictured) says, “the overall market remains very fragile.

The months immediately following the ending of Scrappage were always going to be challenging. However, the year to date figures are still quite positive; with New Cars (+10%), Light Commercials (+12%) and Heavy Commercials (+3%) all remaining ahead of last year’s figures at this stage.”

In summary:

New car sales up 10% for the year, 81,176 sold so far this year
July sales down 35% on last July (First Month after ending of Scrappage Scheme)
22% increase in number of diesel cars sold (now represent 71% of all new cars sold)
Petrol accounts for 27% of all new cars sold this year, reduction of 8% on last year
Silver is still the most popular car colour
LGV up 12% year to date
HGV up 2.5% year to date

We carried out extensive groundwork for the extension into the property business whilst completing our proposal for the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards, which we were delighted to win in March this year. Sustainable growth is a key requirement for the business so we decided to expand into the property market having identified the viable and potential opportunities that exist.

We will work closely with property agents and independent sellers to offer a bespoke service. A panel of professional specialists including structural surveyors, architects, planning specialists, building contractors, financial consultants and buyers brokers, will be available for consultations both pre and post auction. The financial consultants will provide advice on relationships with financial institutions if a vendor feels that the auction is an option for them to dispose of their properties. The broker is available to assist in defining what type of property will benefit an investor or private purchaser. Distressed property owners can avail of the free advice service from Merlin Property with suggestions on how to maximise the sale of their property at auction.

We will provide a package with a full marketing plan and expertise for many estate agents, developers and investors who do not have the resources or means to stage an auction, delivering their properties to a global buyers platform.

Property expert Lisa Geoghegan, who has a wealth of experience in the industry has come on board as Property Director and Ed Byrne from the Merlin Group has been appointed as Corporate Services Manager. The new division will employ 10 people and the company hopes to create 40 jobs on the back of the business launch over the coming year. The new positions range from administrators, junior to senior negotiators, valuers an experienced commercial letting agents.

Dave Byrne, Managing Director of Merlin Property said, “We are delighted to move into this exciting area of auctioneering. The property market has changed dramatically over the last few years and many buyers have lost confidence in private sales when they can find better prices at an auction. With reports of between 45,000 and 100,000 vacant properties in Ireland the auction process can help institutions and property holders to dispose of properties by pricing them to meet the demand in the market and provide a more efficient sale.

We have 37 years of expertise as an auction house and have sold assets on behalf of financial institutions from residential homes and farms to boats, cars, vans and motorbikes over the years. We have a long established relationship with these institutions and their response to the introduction of Merlin Property has been very positive, as it provides a neutral platform that can be used by all the various bodies.”

Lisa Geoghegan, Merlin Property Director said, “It has become apparent that we need to establish a floor price for properties coming on to the market. We need to help establish some stability back in to the market to reassure purchasers. I believe auction is the best way to achieve this as over the next number of auctions we will start to observe a realistic entry level for properties to the market. I am delighted to join Merlin Property with their expertise in the auction sector and assist them in providing the global platform for showcasing such properties on behalf of financial institutions, developers and private sellers. We offer many services to both buyers and sellers from pre-auction consultations, an independent broker service to full fit out with rental and management services for investors.”

The first auction will take place in the Burlington Hotel in early Autumn when properties from the commercial and residential sectors will go under the hammer. The full catalogue will be available in late summer on the Merlin Property website and there will be a four-week viewing period of properties prior to the auctions.

Excellence In Property Auctioneering.

Merlin Property is the only Irish owned auction house delivering Excellence in financial institutions and private clients.

Your property is our priority and we have a dedicated team of auction professionals committed to delivering your properties to a global buyers Property Auctioneering.

Our expertise in auctioneering stems from over forty years as Ireland’s Premier Auction House.

Through our land and property auction sales division, we have auctioned an extensive volume of properties across Ireland on behalf of corporate clients, platform.

Call our property team on 01 4395470 and let your property be our priority.

We look forward to hearing from you.

David Byrne, Group Managing Director