The former Queen’s horse breeder is planning an Irish expansion for a racehorse lottery company

The former horse racing breeder to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is planning an Irish extension of a ‘lottery’ for enthusiasts to win a racehorse.

Ames O’Donnell and his brother Hugh, a former investment banker, are looking to raise £2million for Racehorse Lotto. The venture was launched in March 2020 with the lottery company Zeal Network, which is listed in Germany. Hugh O’Donnell, chief executive of Furlong Gaming, Racehorse Lotto’s parent company, said he would aim to launch in Ireland in 2023 if all goes well.

“Ireland is an exciting and natural next step for Racehorse Lotto with its heritage and keen interest in racing. However, it is still beginning to develop partnerships in Ireland and raise funds to expand the entire business. We would welcome Irish investors.”

Racehorse Lotto has over 16,000 registered customers with lottery players spending an average of £5 a week. Currently, bettors pay £3 for a ticket, with a fifth of sales being donated to horse racing charities. Multiple prizes are offered, with the jackpot being ownership of a racehorse for a year, with all training, racing and vet fees paid for. It has hired well-known trainers, including Jonjo O’Neill, to look after the winner’s horse.

Creaven in the spotlight at the Image Business Awards

Several Irish business successes were celebrated at the Image PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards, held at Dublin 4’s Clayton Hotel last Wednesday night.

The evening’s winners included An Post’s Debbie Byrne and Sculpted’s Aimee Connolly. Among them was Dr. Lisa Creaven from Spotlight Oral Care – she and her sister Vanessa won the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Lisa also wowed the very busy crowd of more than 700 people (very much a minority of men) with the news that Spotlight has just confirmed it’s available in 7,000 CVS stores across the US. It initially went to around 1,200 branches. So worthy winners!

The overall award went to Eva Pau from Asia Market, a family business that has grown over the past 40 years from a ‘one stop shop’ for Asian goods to a major player in the Irish market.

Abbey Capital increases dividend to parent company by €7m

Abbey Capital, a Dublin-based alternative investment manager, paid dividends of €15.5 million to its parent company in the year to the end of June.

The dividends Abbey, which was founded in 2000 by Dublin investment managers Tony Gannon and Tim Brosnan, paid to its parent company Cavendish Capital last year rose from €8.5 million in 2020

Earnings before taxes amounted to more than €26 million after €12.8 million.
The alternative investment manager paid an additional €8.5 million in dividends to its parent company, majority-owned by Gannon and Brosnan, in mid-July last year.