SYS Financial acquires Cork-based Qifa Financial Planners and Wicklow firm Efficient Financial
Qifa Financial Planners is based in Mallow with clients right across Ireland. The firm was founded by current managing director, Sean Lynch, in 2006 and manages €76m in client assets.
Efficient Financial was established in Arklow by Henry Crummy in 1976 and has since been succeeded by his sons, Harry and Derek. The firm manages €50m in client assets.
Mr Lynch and Harry Crummy will move into senior roles at SYS. 'Joining SYS Financial marks an exciting new chapter for Qifa Financial Planners, our team, and our clients,' said Mr Lynch.
With further acquisitions planned for 2025, SYS Financial expects to grow its assets under management to over €1bn by the end of the year.
'This is a landmark moment for SYS Financial as we welcome two highly respected firms into the group. Qifa Financial Planners and Efficient Financial bring outstanding reputations, deep client relationships, and decades of expertise to the table. These acquisitions strengthen our presence in key regional markets and reinforce our ambition to be the leading provider of client-focused financial planning in Ireland,' said SYS Financial chief executive Tony Delaney.
Efficient Financial director Harry Crummy said joining SYS Financial will give the firm access to 'enhanced resources, cutting-edge technology, and broader expertise'.
Founded in 2015, SYS Financial is headquartered in Nenagh and has offices nationally including in Cork, Dublin, and Waterford, offering financial solutions for employers, individuals, families, and private wealth clients. The company has a client list of more than 8,000.
In March 2023, SYS acquired Dublin-based Donald P McKenna & Associates for an undisclosed sum, while May 2024 SYS acquired Cork-based Global Life & Finance, which was founded in 2000 by Seamus Fox.
Last month, SYS launched an expanded private health insurance advisory service, focusing on businesses amid rising health insurance premiums.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
21 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Guinness Storehouse offered as location for Ireland's EU presidency events
The Guinness Storehouse has been offered as a potential location for events during Ireland's presidency of the European Union next year. The offer was made during a meeting between Guinness owners Diageo and Micheál Martin when US president Donald Trump's threatened import tariffs were also discussed. A Lobbying Register return shows Diageo sought the meeting to 'ensure awareness of the business impact of the US tariffs' as well as to discuss the Irish and EU response. Ireland takes on the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026 and it is expected a summit of leaders and 22 meetings of ministers from all bloc's states will be hosted here. READ MORE Dublin's Guinness Storehouse tourist attraction previously featured on the itinerary of the late Queen Elizabeth II during her 2011 visit to Ireland. A note of an April 11th meeting between Diageo Ireland managing director Barry O'Sullivan and Mr Martin, released by the Department of the Taoiseach in response to a Freedom of Information request, said Diageo 'offered to work with the Irish Government in context of forthcoming Irish presidency of the EU'. It is understood the company offered the use of the Guinness Storehouse at St James's Gate and other facilities as possible locations to host events. The note of the meeting also said the discussion 'mainly focused' on latest developments in EU-US trade and the 'potential implications of tariffs for Ireland-US trade, the impact of ongoing uncertainty on investment decisions, and the close integration between markets on both parts of the island, and with Great Britain'. The two sides 'agreed to stay in contact'. Diageo is also said to have 'provided an update on their business and investment plans in Ireland, noting in particular the success of the Guinness Zero brand.' Neither Diageo or the Department of the Taoiseach offered further detail in response to queries from The Irish Times on what was discussed in relation to 'uncertainty on investment decisions' and whether there were implications for any of the company's plans in Ireland. Diageo was among a number of other drinks manufacturers and representative organisations that attended a separate meeting with the Taoiseach, also on April 11th. A note of that meeting shows that lobby organisation Drinks Ireland warned that Ireland's plans for health labels on alcohol products had been 'identified as a barrier to trade by the US'. The industry was said to be 'open to labelling requirements', but was seeking a delay in their introduction. Mr Martin is said to have 'noted the comments of Drinks Ireland in this regard'. The Government decided on Tuesday to delay the labelling measure for two years until 2028 amid continuing trade uncertainty.
Irish Times
21 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Government likely to delay VAT reduction for hospitality sector until mid-2026
The Government is likely to delay the VAT cut for the hospitality industry until the middle of next year, creating more room for tax cuts in Budget 2026. It is also possible that the lower VAT rate of 9 per cent will be extended only to hospitality – ie, food and drink in bars, restaurants and hotels – and not to accommodation. The tax strategy papers due to be published today, which inform the budget process now under way within Government, are expected to say that such a separation would be complicated, but not impossible. [ 'Economic vandalism': Unions condemn plan to cut VAT for hospitality sector Opens in new window ] Senior political sources involved in discussions on the issue stressed that it would be possible, if complex. READ MORE Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said at the launch of the Government's summer economic statement on Tuesday that the full-year cost for the VAT cut would be almost €1 billion – which would take up to two-thirds of the available resources for tax cuts in the budget. However, three senior sources, all with knowledge of the discussions at the top level of Government on the issue, confirmed that they expect that the VAT cut for hospitality would be introduced in mid-year, possibly on July 1st. This would dramatically cut the cost of the move for next year, creating room for other tax cuts in the budget. Current modelling suggests that the full year cost of reducing VAT to 9 per cent for hospitality and hairdressers would come to €715 million. New Central Statistics Office data out next week may drag that estimate up further, however. Will the Government's big projects survive the next downturn? Listen | 36:20 Sources indicated that an introduction halfway through the year would bring the cost down to roughly half that figure, although that could move marginally up or down due to seasonal factors. The programme for government promises measures to support small to medium-sized enterprises, in particular those in the retail and hospitality sector. It emphasises this will 'entail changes to VAT, PRSI and other measures' as part of the budget process, but does not detail specific commitments. The Department of Finance has long-harboured a deep ambivalence about the benefits of such a measure. A previous cut was reversed in 2023 and there was intensive but unsuccessful lobbying from the sector to secure another reduction in last year's budget. Tax strategy group papers from last year noted the inherent difficulties in applying different rates to the industry – namely, that the higher rate would apply to all accommodation operators, including small B&Bs and hotels, as well as 'significant practical operational concerns' including those relating to packages ranging from bed and breakfast accommodation through to all-inclusive deals. Officials last year warned these could combine to lead to underpayment of VAT and additional complexity for Revenue and taxpayers, as well as increased risk of avoidance and scope for manipulation. On Wednesday, Fianna Fáil Minister of State for Justice Niall Collins stated a personal belief that a universal VAT reduction for hospitality is 'not merited', arguing on Limerick's Live95 radio station that there was 'little to no evidence' that a previous temporary reduction was passed on to consumers. [ Does the hospitality sector really need a VAT cut? Opens in new window ] Trade unions also criticised the move, describing the suggestion that tax cuts worth up to €1 billion could be granted to hospitality as 'economic vandalism'. They also argued that the facts about the hospitality sector do not justify tax cuts, saying the sector is now growing. It comes as the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said the Government's ongoing spending overruns amount to 'poor planning and budgeting'. It follows the summer economic statement showing that planned expenditure for this year is now expected to amount to €108.7 billion, €3.3 billion more than set out in Budget 2025. Some €90.5 billion was allocated in the budget to current expenditure, or the cost of delivering public services, and €14.9 billion to capital expenditure. Both have since increased.
Irish Times
21 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Redevelopment of Dún Laoghaire protected structure approved, ending long-running planning saga
The restoration of Dun Leary House and the construction of almost 90 apartments in its grounds has been approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála, bringing to an end one the most contentious and long-running planning sagas in the Dún Laoghaire area. A distinctive yellow-brick Victorian building, Dun Leary House sits on an elevated corner site on Dun Leary Hill overlooking Dún Laoghaire harbour close to the West Pier. County councillors voted in 2021 to add the house to the Record of Protected Structures and agreed to include a specific provision in the 2022-2028 county development plan for its 'rehabilitation and suitable reuse'. The house dates from the 1870s and was built for the original owner of the adjoining coal yard, which has been earmarked for redevelopment for more than 20 years. In 2003 permission was granted for a scheme of offices, shops, a leisure centre and apartment complex in the Tedcastles Coal Yard, which included the demolition of Dun Leary House. However, the scheme never went ahead. In November 2021 Ted Living Ltd applied for a strategic housing development (SHD) of 146 build-to-rent apartments surrounding, and on top of, Dun Leary House. The plans involved the removal of the roof of the house and the construction of three additional storeys of apartments, retaining the rest of the house below. READ MORE Under the SHD system, which was discontinued at the end of 2021, applications for large-scale residential developments were made directly to An Bord Pleanála, the coimisiún's predecessor, bypassing the local authority planning system with the aim of accelerating the delivery of housing. The board had a statutory mandate to issue decisions within 16 weeks. In the end it took 138 weeks for it to refuse permission, making it the longest-running SHD case ever determined by the board. [ Longest running Dublin strategic housing development case refused permission Opens in new window ] The new scheme, granted permission in recent days, permits the construction of 87 apartments in two blocks up to eight storeys high, and the refurbishment of Dun Leary House as a four-bedroom home. Planning consultants for the developer Brock McClure said Dun Leary House was the 'focal point and main consideration within the overall scheme'. The new blocks would be detached and set back from Dun Leary House. 'This is a significant departure from and improvement on the previous application,' the consultants said. Independent Senator Victor Boyhan, who had campaigned for the protection of the house, said he welcomed the decision. 'It was a long campaign with many setbacks and delays – the house has been saved and will be central to the development of the site.' The new scheme would ensure 'an appropriate level of new homes' would be built on the site, he said.
