At first glance, the price of a coffee might seem trivial. But when tracked consistently across global cities, it becomes a useful and relatable indicator of discretionary spending and cost-of-living pressures.

Introducing the Latte Index: Fitzgerald Power’s quarterly snapshot of the price of a standard Starbucks latte across key international cities, converted into euro using ECB exchange rates.

While simple in concept, the index offers a lens into broader economic dynamics: wage levels, rent pressures, currency movements, and, importantly, consumer tolerance for rising prices.

Q1 2026 Snapshot

In Q1 2026, London ranks as the most expensive city for a latte at €5.93, followed closely by Dublin (€5.65) and New York (€5.60). At the other end of the spectrum, Tokyo remains significantly more affordable at €3.48.

This spread highlights more than just pricing differences, it reflects structural cost variations across economies.

Dublin: Converging with High-Cost Cities

Dublin’s position is particularly notable.

Despite being a smaller market than London or New York, Dublin’s latte price sits firmly within the top tier. This suggests that cost pressures in the Irish economy are aligning with those seen in larger global cities.

Key drivers include:

• Persistently high commercial rents
• Rising wage expectations in hospitality
• Strong urban demand supporting premium pricing

In effect, Dublin is behaving like a high-cost global city — without necessarily having the same scale advantages.

The Role of Currency and Local Cost Structures

Currency movements also play a role.

For example, New York appears marginally cheaper than Dublin in euro terms, partly due to exchange rate effects. However, underlying local costs, particularly labour, remain high.

Similarly, Tokyo’s lower price point reflects both a weaker yen and a fundamentally different cost structure, where wages and rents remain comparatively subdued.

Consumer Behaviour: A Tipping Point?

Perhaps the most important insight from the Latte Index is not the price itself, but what it signals about consumer behaviour.

Across many developed economies, consumers have absorbed sustained increases in everyday costs — from coffee to energy. However, there are signs that this tolerance is being tested.

Recent protests linked to rising living costs and energy prices highlight a growing sensitivity to affordability. While a latte is a small discretionary purchase, it sits within a broader basket of spending that households are increasingly scrutinising.

The question is no longer whether prices can rise, but how far they can rise before behaviour changes.

Why It Matters

The Latte Index is not intended to be a definitive economic measure. Rather, it complements traditional indicators by grounding macroeconomic trends in something tangible and widely understood.

It provides:

• A relatable benchmark for discretionary spending.
• A comparative view across international markets.
• An early signal of pressure points in consumer affordability.

Looking Ahead

Fitzgerald Power will track the Latte Index on a quarterly basis, building a clearer picture of how consumer prices evolve over time — and what that means for businesses operating in Ireland and beyond.

Because sometimes, the most meaningful economic insights aren’t found in complex models…

…but in the price of your morning coffee.

The post The Latte Index: What a Coffee Tells Us About the Global Economy appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

In Fitzgerald Power’s interview series, we’re speaking to people with different perspectives who feel they can offer more to the workplace, from the water cooler all the way up to the C-Suite. Today, it’s Orla Hennelly of Ireland’s premier beauty hack destination, ItsBeautyCheats.

Becoming an entrepreneur, for Orla Hennelly, kind of came out of the blue. “I always loved fashion, and I wanted to work in it, so I ended up doing Communications in DCU, because I thought I wanted to do fashion journalism,” she says. “But that was a long time ago.” Looking back, it was actually through her time in retail that she first realised a penchant for figuring out how the sausage gets made. “I used to like seeing what was coming in and thinking about what would sell and what wouldn’t, so, from there, I realised I wanted to work further back in the supply chain.” She enrolled in a Master’s in Fashion Buying and Management, and from that, got an internship in Dunnes Stores’ Buying Department, where she stayed for seven years. “I loved it, I loved buying things, designing products and seeing them come to life.”

It was around that time that Hennelly was making the professional personal, by choosing the outfit she’d wear for her own wedding. “I really wanted to wear these heavy, vintage earrings for my wedding, but I hated how they were dragging down my earlobes, so I thought, why isn’t there a product that solves this issue?” With a quick Google to see that no such product existed in the Irish marketplace, ItsBeautyCheats was born in November 2023, with a chunk of Hennelly’s own savings and a desire to fix problems for women with similar needs. “In terms of actually launching the business, it wasn’t a hugely expensive product for my first, so I took money out of my savings, and I just thought to myself that if this doesn’t work, whatever. I’ll wrap it up.” Now three years later, ItsBeautyCheats is stocked in Arnotts, One Dame Lane, Ór Jewellery and a suite of pharmacies. Not to mention, it closed 2025 with 100% revenue growth YOY. “It’s going well,” she smiles, bashfully. “Ups and downs, but good overall.”

ItsBeautyCheats bills itself as the ultimate beauty-hack destination and the home of LobeLifts, the innovative earlobe protection patch that prevents earlobe stretching and tearing from heavy earrings. Their products seek to address a range of beauty-related grievances, from necklaces that don’t tangle to discreet, comfortable body tape. Once the success of LobeLifts, the business’s original name, took off – by way of Hennelly’s own marketing and a bit of luck with TikTok virality – eight months later, the business took on its current moniker. “I built the website myself. I kept costs really low, and suddenly I had this niche product that was doing really well,” she says. “As a result, I had to lean into the randomness of it all, and then started listening to consumers who had other beauty-related problems that needed fixing. To this day, I take all my ideas and theirs down in the Notes app on my phone.”

A business penned as a discrete problem solver proved enough to impress the Pitch team at Arnotts – a business accelerator initiative from Arnotts, created to empower innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs based in Ireland or Northern Ireland – and indeed the women of Ireland, many of whom thank Hennelly regularly for catering to needs in a way no one had before. “I remember coming home from a wedding with a friend and helping her take this body tape off, which was literally ripping her skin,” Hennelly says. “I just thought to myself, there has to be a better version of this.” ItsBeautyCheats’ subsequent body tape, priced at €18.95, includes 5 oil-based removal wipes for effortless, skin-friendly removal, and is now one of the brand’s best-sellers. “I’m fortunate enough that every product is close to best-seller status at the moment,” she says. “It feels like whichever one I push the most becomes the best seller, and I’ve had to restock everything. Like, there hasn’t been one product that I haven’t had to purchase multiple times, so it’s been brilliant. What I really love to see, though, is when someone buys one thing and within a matter of weeks they buy another for their friends.”

With just Hennelly at the helm, aside from the occasional contractor, her job spans a multitude: from the back-of-house – quality control, market research, customer service, to the front – courier, social media, marketing. “My family is great,” she says. “My brother has been packing orders, and my husband drives around the place delivering stock. I’m hoping to take someone on soon, but until then, it’s just me.” It seems ludicrous, then, that among her biggest competitors is Amazon. “I do think the people who follow my story and my social media accounts are willing to buy Irish over Amazon,” she says. “It is tough to compare, though, especially with shipping. Like, I ship with An Post, and it randomly went from €5.95 to €6.95 last month, which was huge. For my products that are €12.95, asking for €6.95 shipping is huge, so I didn’t put it up, I’m just taking the hit on that euro.” In times of panic, Hennelly turns to other female entrepreneurs in the business for help. “I can’t get over the support from women in particular,” she says. “I say this all the time, from the influencers and micro-influencers I work with, to those who run pharmacies and helped me get it in stock, to anyone going through the same thing. I had a disaster with a TikTok Shop video two weeks ago, and I wrote to so many other women business owners, and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Then customers with reviews and comments… My biggest takeaway is that Irish women are incredibly supportive all around.”

Today’s SME landscape is undeniably difficult, and despite a wealth of available resources out there – like Enterprise Ireland’s Going for Growth, the programme for ambitious female entrepreneurs across all sectors in Ireland that Hennelly is currently enrolled in – many continue to face significant operational challenges. “The number one thing for me at the moment is just trying to find the time to do everything before I can afford to hire someone,” she says. “I’m lecturing in Buying and Merchandising at the Portobello Institute two days a week to help pay the bills, we have a 10-month-old at home, and my husband works full time, so it’s just finding the time. Apart from that, I would also say it’s hard to get funding. I’ve been working with the local Enterprise Office, which has been great, but it’s just the cash flow issue that is really difficult. I would love to inject a load of cash into the business, and I know it would come back, but just getting it that’s the issue.”

Just last month, Hennelly announced that ItsBeautyCheats closed 2025 with 100% revenue growth YOY and tripled their online sales. How has that informed Orla’s vision for 2026? “I would say, year one, I didn’t have much wholesale at all,” she says. “Year two, I really pushed the wholesale aspect, and that was kind of increasing the revenue. Underneath that, profit wasn’t a 100% increase, so this year, I’m back to pushing direct-to-consumer sales. The wholesale is brilliant, and obviously, I won’t give that up, but to be honest, the big push for me now is back to the consumers and getting them directly to the website, because the dream is to be the number one beauty hack destination online, competing with the likes of Look Fantastic. But my own products that people come back to because they’re reliable, high quality, and they know their work.”

You can follow Orla and ItsBeautyCheats on Instagram here or on the brand’s official website. 

The post An interview with: Orla Hennelly appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

The central thesis is very simple. The lives of men have been taken to represent the lives of humans overall and as a result most of recorded human history is one large data gap. When it comes to the other half of humanity, the silence is often deafening. This absence of data – the failure to count, measure, and analyse the female experience – is what Perez calls the gender data gap.

If you want to understand inequality in modern society, you could do worse than starting here.

I have three smart, thoughtful children – two daughters and a son. And like most parents, I hope they all get the chance to reach their potential

But it seems unfair to think that the world is likely to provide my son with unfettered access to opportunity because he is a white male, while my daughters may have to fight for their place in it. Yet the data suggests precisely that.

Here are a few takeaways that struck me.

The Male Default

Women make up half the population, yet the female perspective is routinely treated as niche. The “default human” across medicine, economics, urban planning and technology is male – often white and middle-class. Everything else is a deviation.

The inequalities that result are not always the product of malice. Or as Perez puts it; “One of the most important things to say about the gender data gap is that it is not generally malicious, or even deliberate. Quite the opposite. It is simply the product of a way of thinking that has been around for millennia and is therefore a kind of not thinking. A double not thinking, even: men go without saying, and women don’t get said at all. Because when we say human, on the whole, we mean man.”

She cites an example where Google’s image-recognition software labelled a portly, balding, middle-aged man standing in front of a kitchen stove as “female”. Kitchens, it would seem, are a more powerful indication of gender than male-pattern baldness.

When the data is skewed, so are the conclusions.

Equality Is an Economic Issue

We often frame gender equality as a moral issue. Which it is, but it is also an economic problem.

When half the population is underrepresented in decision-making, the resulting policies, products and processes are less efficient. Markets are misread, talent is misallocated, and productivity is constrained.

Women do the vast majority of unpaid work globally – childcare, eldercare, housework. Much of the value that this work creates is invisible. But it has a value.

We tend to value what we can measure. It’s just easier.

But here’s one we can definitely measure. Women are more likely to have career breaks, so their chronological age is often older than their academic or professional age. Promotion systems and tenure clocks often fail to account for this. And that’s before you start to consider how difficult it is to re-enter the workforce after a sustained absence.

Representation Matters

In politics, balanced representation leads to more balanced legislation. When women enter legislatures in meaningful numbers, policy priorities shift – often towards health, education and social welfare.

The use of all-women shortlists by the UK Labour Party dramatically increased the number of female MPs over time. Representation changed because the mechanism for selecting candidates changed.

Contrast this approach with commentary during the 2016 US presidential election campaign where some voters suggested that Hillary Clinton was too ambitious. Running for the most powerful political office in the world undoubtedly requires ambition. Yet a reality television star with no political experience wasn’t criticised for the same trait. The difference was not ambition it was social norm violation. We associate leadership with men, and through this lens Trump was a better fit. Although history is unlikely to record it as such.

Closing the Gap

Perez’s solution is to close the representation gap, increase female participation in all spheres of life and collect gender-disaggregated data. Then analyse the data and act on it.

As more women move into positions of influence, different questions get asked. Gaps in previously held universal truths are exposed, and new ways of thinking are developed.

Sigmund Freud once posed a riddle about femininity.

“The great question,” he said, “that has never been answered, and which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul is: What does a woman want?”

The answer, as Perez points out, was staring us in the face all along.

All “people” had to do was ask women.

The post Half the population, half the data? Understanding the Gender Data Gap appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

Noel starts by asking Peter to give a brief overview of Financefair’s decade supporting Irish SMEs as the funding landscape continues to evolve rapidly.

Noel Winters (NW):

2025 was Financefair’s tenth year in business, congratulations! Tell me about Financefair’s early days, and journey over the past ten years.

Peter Brady (PB):

Thanks very much, Noel. Last September we marked our ten-year anniversary. Ff started by solving a very simple problem – post GFC lots of great businesses were being underserved by traditional banks, it was easier for Banks to say no rather than look at how they could support their growth. My Co-Founder, Helen Cahill, spent her career on the Treasury side of banking helping SMEs manage FX & interest rate risk – my background was in Finance – but from the other side of the fence. So, we had both seen first-hand how good businesses struggled to access growth funding. That was the genesis what was then called InvoiceFair a Platform that connected SMEs with institutional capital via Technology. We began with a single product: single invoice funding. From my previous experience using invoice discounting with banks, I understood the restrictions around concentration and geographies. If a business had a small number of large customers, or customers overseas banks often restricted funding. We took a different approach and focused on funding individual invoices instead of the entire debtor book. That reduced friction for businesses and gave them access to more flexible and larger amounts of funding.

Over the last 10 years, we’ve evolved significantly – diversified our funding base, innovated our product offering, leveraged the power of data in underwriting and monitoring and built institutional-grade risk processes.

NW:

From being in business ten years and looking at SME Ireland daily, what differences are you seeing in SME Ireland over that period, and what are the main challenges that you are seeing for business owners?

PB:

One of the main things that has changed is how businesses generate revenue. Previously, businesses relied heavily on invoicing and waiting for payment. Now, many businesses have shifted towards predictable recurring revenue models. . These provide more certainty and predictability and ultimately drive more value in the long term.

The growth of technology businesses has accelerated this shift. Many modern businesses don’t have physical assets to pledge the ones that banks traditionally lend against. Lending has become more focused on cash flow and revenue generation rather than physical collateral. For Funders like us, this means understanding the drivers behind revenue and understanding, early on, how the business works. Our products developed as this landscape evolved where businesses shifted towards recurring revenue models and scaling business in sectors that were asset-light but growing quickly.

NW:

And that leads us on to due diligence. Describe the typical due diligence process for Financefair. What kind of data points do you examine before extending credit?

PB:

An important part for us is the use of technology and data tools to get as much information as early as possible before you have a discovery call with the clients. The most crucial part of the call, however, is understanding how the business works. How does the company generate revenues ? How will the company be profitable? How will the company grow their business, what are the levers and do the management team have the capability to deliver that growth?

Once we understand the business model and the management team and we identify the risks and mitigants, we then use technology to access financial data. This includes read-only financial integrations – open and accounting banking data along with credit rating agency data. Open banking data has been a game changer for us because it gives real time visibility into cash flow, which is critical for assessing and monitoring risk. We also analyse the context behind financial metrics. For example, a balance sheet item might look negative, but on review could represent quasi-equity rather than debt.

NW:

From my experience, pillar banks use traditional metrics such as a three-year track record when assessing businesses. That track record is not there for early-stage businesses. What do you look at in those scenarios?

PB:

For early-stage businesses, we focus heavily on clarity of the business plan, quality information and operations readiness. Then we look at customers – the most important asset a company has, and banks often overlook this. We look at customer quality and mix , sales pipeline, conversion timelines, and the strength of uniqueness of the value proposition strength.

For revenue-based finance, we typically fund based on predictable recurring revenue. Funding increases as revenue grows, which reduces risk and aligns funding with business performance. It’s all about landing those early customers and having total focus on the revenue number month on month.

NW: The term ‘alternative lending’ is often used to describe the type of finance that Financefair provides, what does this mean?

PB:

Alternative lending is generally understood as non-bank lending. It is typically faster and more flexible than traditional bank funding. From our perspective, it gives access to diversified funding. The advantage of that is you’re able to take on board different risks; banks usually lend from their own balance sheet, which limits risk. In our model, we can match different risks with different funding sources and spread that risk across multiple funders. This diversification allows us to support businesses that may not fit traditional lending models. Ireland has a structural gap in SME funding due to limited banking competition. Data-driven lending and diversified funding sources help to address that gap.

NW:

Financefair’s model is gearing towards relatively early stage and scaling businesses, therefore, a riskier profile of lending. Do you experience much default within your portfolio?

PB:

I’d love to say, no, we get everything right. Our default rate has been very low, typically below 0.5%. This is not because we’re brilliant at underwriting. It’s all about the relationship and the understanding of KPIs in each of those businesses, which signal performance changes early. These might include customer churn, return on advertising spend, or operational metrics. For example, I worked with someone in manufacturing who tracked waste by how often they replaced scrap bins. That single metric gave them early visibility into production issues. So, that’s how we manage those types of risks. It’s all about openness and transparency.

We monitor a small number of meaningful KPIs for each business. This allows early intervention if performance begins to change. The strength of the balance sheet is not why a business fails. Good businesses fail only for one reason: they run out of cash. Understanding cash flow and business drivers is critical to managing risk.

NW:

Are you seeing any trends developing in any sectors regarding credit appetite?

PB:

I see a lot of Irish businesses in the data centre space that are doing well in the Nordics and Northern Europe. There’s a lot of growth in that area. The credit underwriting is very different from what’s typical in Ireland, because there are a lot of other risks in those countries such as very strong unions. You need to make sure you’re on side with union agreements, deductions and pay rates. That’s something you must be able to get access to and to be able to underwrite.

Irish businesses are becoming increasingly international, particularly in sectors like technology, data infrastructure and MedTech. We have funded a lot of companies that got traction in the US so it will be very interesting to see what happens now in the US market during the Trump regime.

NW:

Have you seen any changes in that environment?

PB:

The only changes we’ve seen were the introduction of tariffs at an early stage. It was interesting for us from a risk perspective. You can look at your portfolio and think there’s no problem there, but you really need to understand the supply chain and the impact of tariffs, and you need to understand how easy it is for them to disintegrate. Can you easily move somewhere else where tariffs might be lower? This is something we are much more aware of.

NW:

What does the future hold for Financefair?

PB:

Our primary focus is on growth and on broadening and deepening our funding mix so that its competitive, but also flexible – enabling us to meet the needs of scaling businesses in 2026. We’ve recently added two European banks, and we have a lot of institutional funding on the platform as well. As we scale, we can support large and more price sensitive SME requirements.

We also want to continue providing fit-for-purpose funding. Traditional funding products have not changed significantly over time. Our focus is on adapting funding to match modern business models and revenue structures.

NW:

If you were to offer one piece of advice to someone starting their scaling journey, what would that be?

PB:

I think the most important thing is to focus on business growth rather than fundraising. I’ve seen young, smart entrepreneurs focus too heavily on raising large amounts of funding early when what they should be doing is looking to get a funding line that is directly related to their growth.

When businesses focus on building revenue and profitability first, they often make better decisions. They also retain more ownership when they eventually raise equity funding, because their valuation is higher.

Fundraising is a huge diversion of time and it’s not what a business starting out should be concentrating on. It’s about getting your message, your products and your channels in place.

Until next time.

Financefair was founded by Helen and Peter, combining deep experience from both sides of the funding challenge to solve one of the biggest problems facing growing businesses: access to working capital. Frustrated by how often potential was being held back by inflexible funding, they set out to build something better. For more information, go to Financefair’s website here.

The post Advice, Due Diligence and the major asset banks overlook: Peter Brady appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

In Fitzgerald Power’s interview series, we’re speaking to people with different perspectives who feel they can offer more to the workplace, from the water cooler all the way up to the C-Suite. Today, it’s Colin Harmon, founder and CEO of 3fe Coffee.

Eighteen years ago, Colin Harmon took a pretty big gamble. He made the decision to quit his job as an investment broker, sell his car, and pursue his dream of opening a coffee shop. A hospitality stalwart since his teens – jobs like McDonald’s on Grafton Street funded Harmon’s third-level education – he decided that the finance life wasn’t for him. “Probably boredom,” he laughs, citing the reason behind it. “I got a job working in investment funds, working mainly with regulations, and I got two years into that and sort of felt like I needed out.” At the time, the finance world was booming. “There was lots of money in that industry,” he says. “And lots of safety, too. People would regularly leave their jobs to go travel to places like South East Asia or Australia, and then get a bonus to come back. Because that was on offer, I decided to leave my job and try to do something I wanted to do. I told myself that if I couldn’t figure it out after a year, then I’d take my old job back. Then, three months in, the economy collapsed.”

Nevertheless, he persisted. So much so that one year to the day after Harmon left his job, he came fourth in the World Barista Championships. (This was after he’d secured the national title, one he’s since won three other times.) “It was a bit mad,” he smiles. “One of the judges told me afterwards that I shouldn’t tell people that, because the guy who won it had, like, 30 years of experience. So I think they were like, we can’t let this guy win, he’s only been at it a year.” Dublin at the time had practically no coffee culture, something that became glaringly obvious at the event. “Other teams from say the US or UK had sponsors, as well as someone to organise the cups, another to organise the beans,” Harmon says. Conversely, he arrived with friends to take a chance. He left with an impressive final result and an understanding of the growing power of speciality coffee worldwide. “You had 4000 people in tiered seating cheering for cappuccinos, it was mad.”

Harmon was born in Cork City, but spent most of his life in the capital. At university, he accrued a Business and Law degree as well as Fund Investment, Tax and “a few other finance-based courses,” all of which came in handy for a start-up in the thick of a recession. Not to mention a coffee start-up in a nation of tea-drinkers. The first iteration of 3fe – named for the simulator he built from his third-floor apartment to practice for competitions – came in by way of Middle Abbey Street’s Twisted Pepper nightclub (now Wigwam) with a loan of €5000 from Harmon’s father and a promise to the owner that he’d pay rent when he made some cash. Business hardly boomed. “The first day I sold 16 cups of coffee,” he laughs. “There were days where I stood for eight hours and sold nothing.” Filter coffee at that stage was a hard sell; it was often only ever ordered by the city’s baristas, who were typically too busy with their own work to visit the premises week-on-week. Bit by bit, however, Harmon figured things out. “Honestly, that’s how I’m still doing this – figuring little bits out day by day.” A year and a half later, 3fe’s flagship space on Grand Canal Street opened. “We ran the two spaces concurrently for about six months, then sold our gear to the then-manager of Twisted Pepper, who now runs Vice coffee, and started roasting. Roasting seemed like a much more scalable thing to do, and today roasting is the bigger part of the business.”

Today, Dublin’s speciality coffee scene is vast and varied, a shift many credit to Harmon and his peers. “I don’t think people realise it, but for such a small city, Dublin’s scene is quite astounding,” he says. “Like, you don’t see this calibre of places in New York, which is mad to say.” Those behaviour shifts started modestly, he says. “I remember a bit of resistance,” he says. “There was this article in one of the papers about how much a cup of coffee was in different cafés, which is mad because you’d never do that for, say, a glass of wine. People know there are so many variables at play. But at that stage, trying to convince people the same for coffee – that it tastes different from different places and is a seasonal product – was a huge part of it.” The main reason he believes that behaviour change was successful? “Honestly… just being nice to people.” He likens this to an analogy of a bookstore. “If you’re into books and you go into a bookshop for a certain one, and the guy behind the counter rolls his eyes at your choice, chances are you’re not going to go back. Engaging people, and bringing them on a journey, and as much as I hate the term, educating people, was really important for us in the early days. Because we’d often come up against people who were like, I’ve been drinking coffee a certain way all my life, why would I change that? But honestly… being nice was the way to do it.”

Today, 3fe has eight shops, “about 80” staff and an 8500sqft roastery in Glasnevin. Last year, they roasted about 250 tonnes of coffee for products shipped worldwide. The company also runs a subscription service, an online shop and hosts a series of workshops on making the perfect brew. As a result of their expansion, the business’s biggest customer is actually themselves. But increasingly domestic and international businesses and clients – “loads of Irish people living abroad” – call on their beans for their morning pick-me-up. A lot of this can be linked to Harmon’s own intellectual acumen; people trust his brand to be good because they know he’s put in the hours. “It’s easy to open a food business,” he says. “The barrier to entry is quite low. But whether it’s pizza or wine or burgers, you want people to trust you. When people see you as an expert in that field, they’re more likely to gravitate towards you. I enjoy getting right into the heart of something and devoting myself to it, and being able to leverage that. I just don’t think you should be a big player in something if you’re not in it completely yourself.”

Much has been written about the difficulties of running an SME in Ireland of late. In hospitality, the difficulties are more pronounced still. 3fe, according to Harmon, is protected from some of the harder parts because they’ve managed to scale, but he sees peers time and again unable to protect themselves because “the government is creating an environment that is more suitable to larger companies.” “All of our staff are paid more than minimum wage, but when minimum wage goes up, there’s an expectation that all wages go up, and that affects everything we do. It means all the prices of coffee have to go up, and then that means people stop having three coffees a day, and they’ll start having one… or that kind of thing. It’s a lot of stealth factors that people don’t realise. Construction, pension contributions, and insurance costs are all going up, and all of these things don’t impact big businesses in the same way.”

The consequences of that are tenfold, Harmon insists. “Small businesses are huge employers,” he says. “And even if people don’t want to work in coffee shops their whole life, they’ve often developed the skills to become excellent marketing people or sales people from their time there. It’s a great sense of learning, and I think the government needs to do more, because the environment is becoming very, very inhospitable.” This consideration colours the advice Harmon gives today, particularly towards those who look at his career change and subsequent success with rose-tinted glasses. “I’ve been very lucky,” he admits. “I’ve worked hard, but I’ve also been lucky. I think it’s the Irish Times that love the stories of somebody giving up their job to pursue their passion, but sometimes, you’re better off just keeping your hobby. Like, if it goes wrong, you can end up with a job as your hobby, and then you start hating your job, and you’ve got no hobby. Don’t presume that just because you’re passionate about something that will be a successful business. If you find the time and figure it out, that’s brilliant. But, yeah, I think the perception is that just because it’s your passion, it would make a great business. And unfortunately, that isn’t always true.”

You can follow Colin Harmon can on Instagram @colinharmon and 3fe on @3fecoffee.

The post An interview with: Colin Harmon appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

Think like a buyer.

A successful sale requires an understanding of both the seller’s and the buyer’s perspectives. If a pharmacy is not an attractive proposition to a purchaser, it simply will not sell – or it will sell at a discount.

Selling a pharmacy is not unlike retailing itself. Customers do not buy faulty or poorly presented products. Similarly, buyers will not pay a premium for a business that is inefficient, opaque, or overly dependent on its owner. The critical question every seller should ask is:

• How can my pharmacy be best packaged for sale?
• How pharmacies are valued.

Most pharmacy transactions are valued using an earnings-based approach, typically applying a multiple to maintainable EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation). EBITDA is effectively a measure of the business’s pre-tax cash-generating ability before financing costs.

It is important to note that historical or current EBITDA may not reflect the true value of the business. Buyers are purchasing future income, not past performance. As a result, normalising profits and identifying sustainable earnings is critical.

In the current market, EBITDA multiples in the range of 4 to 6 times are common. The multiple achieved will depend largely on factors such as:

• Scale of the business.
• Geographic location.
• Quality and sustainability of earnings.
• Strength of systems and processes.
• The final valuation step involves adjusting for assets and liabilities, including stock, debt, and working capital.

Understanding how your pharmacy is valued allows you to actively influence that outcome.

The three key drivers of value.

While pharmacy businesses are complex, valuation ultimately comes back to three core drivers:

• Turnover.
• Gross profit margin.
• Overhead control.

Improving performance in each area strengthens EBITDA and, in turn, the valuation.

1. Driving turnover

Increasing turnover is often the most challenging lever, particularly when the majority of the business’ income stream is set by the State  and there is continual pressure on discretionary consumer spending. However, opportunities still exist.

Consider the following:

• Maximise claim accuracy: Most pharmacies already have the systems in place. Reviewing rejected prescription claims and tightening processes can recover income that is already earned but not collected.
• Monitor competition: Customer loyalty should never be taken for granted. Today’s consumer is well-informed and value-driven.
• Optimise front-of-shop performance: Every square inch must earn its keep. Replace stagnant product lines, trial new offerings, and make swift decisions where performance disappoints.

In many cases, protecting turnover can be just as valuable as growing it.

2. Improving gross profit margin

• Gross margin is often the most impactful and controllable driver of profitability.
• Review purchasing arrangements regularly and negotiate assertively with suppliers.
• Consider joining or leveraging buying groups to improve terms.
• Some pharmacies benefit from assigning responsibility or even a dedicated role to sourcing discounts and monitoring supplier pricing.
• Small improvements in margin can translate into disproportionately large increases in EBITDA.

3. Controlling overheads

• Overhead management is critical, particularly in two key areas: wages and rent.
• Benchmark labour costs against sector norms and review dispensing processes. Variations in the cost of dispensing between pharmacies can be significant.
• Ensure staffing levels and skill mix align with workflow efficiency.
• Review occupancy costs regularly and understand how they compare to industry standards.
• Consistent discipline in overhead control strengthens profitability and reduces buyer risk.

Tax planning: act early or pay the price.

After years of effort spent building and improving a pharmacy business, it is remarkable how often tax planning is left until the final stages of a sale. In our experience, this is where significant value can be unintentionally lost.

A pharmacy may be trading well and operationally ready for sale, yet still be structurally unprepared for a tax-efficient transaction. Issues frequently only come to light late in the process or when a deal is already being negotiated, leaving little or no scope to correct them.

Examples we commonly encounter include substantial cash balances or investment portfolios that have accumulated within the company, uncertainty around share ownership and who is ultimately entitled to the sale proceeds, or complications arising from property ownership, whether the premises are owned personally, held within the company, or owned by a third party. Each of these can materially affect both deal structure and post-tax outcomes if not addressed early.

Effective tax planning requires meaningful lead time to avail of the various reliefs and exemptions available, including entrepreneur and retirement reliefs, participation exemption, and tax-efficient strategies for interim cash extraction. Just as importantly, it allows the overall exit to be designed in a way that aligns the business structure with the owner’s personal objectives.

At Fitzgerald Power, this work is carried out collaboratively. Our Taxation Partner, Brian Kelly, works closely with pharmacy owners and with the corporate finance team to ensure that both the business and the shareholder are properly positioned well in advance of a transaction. As we often say: if you are already at the altar, it is probably too late. Addressing these matters early can materially change not just the tax bill, but the overall success of the sale itself.

Maximising the value of your pharmacy is not about a single change or a last-minute push. It is about consistent improvement, clear planning, and early professional advice. If you would like to explore any of the issues raised in this article, contact Noel Winters, Corporate Finance Partner at Fitzgerald Power, on 051 870152 or visit www.fitzgeraldpower.ie.

The post Maximising the value of your pharmacy when it comes time to sell appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

The case for data in pharmacy.

Faster, more informed reactions. Data lets you see trends as they’re happening, not weeks or months later, so you can pivot before issues become problems (e.g. a product mix shift, margin compression, or supply disruptions).

1. Benchmarking and comparative insight.

In Ireland, new tools are emerging to allow pharmacies (or stakeholders) to compare prescribing trends across regions and national schemes. For example, the RxTrends platform (developed by RCSI) uses publicly available data from the HSE’s PCRS to visualise prescribing patterns over time, and this offers a glimpse of what is possible when you harness data across multiple units.

2. Guarding margin in tight markets.

Many pharmacies are under pressure from rising costs, labour constraints, and regulatory challenges. Data is your best defence here as it helps you catch margin erosion early, identify underperforming lines, and redirect resources where they yield the best return.

3. Stronger stakeholder communication.

Whether you’re dealing with staff, investors, auditors, or external partners, having objective data builds trust, reduces disputes, and helps align everyone to the same targets.

4. Supporting strategic growth.

Want to expand to a new location? Explore new service lines? You’ll need data-backed forecasts and KPIs to validate your decisions and secure stakeholder buy-in.

Key metrics you should be tracking in a pharmacy.

Below is a shortlist of vital KPIs every pharmacy (or group of pharmacies) should have on its dashboard. These help you assess performance, operations, and growth potential.

*These metrics are not just “nice to have”, they’re essential levers that let you spot friction, allocate resources smarter, and push your business forward.

How to put data to work (without overwhelming yourself).

1. Start small, expand intentionally – Pick 3–5 KPIs to begin. Once you’ve got a reliable tracking process, layer in more.
2. Automate data capturing – Manual spreadsheets drag and are error-prone. Use systems that integrate with your pharmacy software or POS to pull data directly.
3. Set benchmarks and targets – Don’t just report numbers, compare them to goals or industry statistics.
4. Regularly review and act – Weekly or monthly dashboards should lead to action, what to scale, what to pause, what to test.
5. Use visual dashboards – Charts, heatmaps, and traffic-light indicators make insight more digestible for you and your team.
6. Foster a data culture – Everyone from store managers to pharmacists should feel empowered by, not intimidated by, data

Putting it into practice.

Building a culture of data-driven decision making takes time, but the payoff is significant. It can give you greater control, improved profitability, and a clearer understanding of what truly drives your business.

At Fitzgerald Power, we support many pharmacy clients in bringing their data to life through custom dashboards and real-time financial tracking tools, such as Ezora. These systems turn day-to-day business information into meaningful insight, helping owners make confident, evidence-based decisions about their pharmacies. Chat with our pharmacy team today, we’re here to make the numbers and the process add up.

The post Why data-driven decision making is crucial appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

So, what exactly is benchmarking?

At its simplest, benchmarking means comparing your pharmacy’s key financial and operational metrics, often referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with those of similar businesses, sector averages, or best-in-class performers. It’s about gaining perspective: identifying what’s working well and where there’s room to improve.

Why benchmark your financial performance?

1. Performance Comparison.

As with any business, each owner will have their own way of running their business, be it from their purchasing policies to their private sales pricing model. Benchmarking is an invaluable exercise to ensure that the policies being implemented in the pharmacy are achieving the best results. For instance, if you were generating a gross profit margin of say 41%, but the sector average benchmark for pharmacies with a similar profile was 44.50%, then straight away you know that your purchasing policy, sales pricing model or turnover mix requires review.

If your pharmacy achieved the sector average gross profit margin, there would be an additional 3.5% of turnover added to the bottom line of the business. In these challenging times with labour cost inflation and stock acquisition constraints, the additional gross profit margin could help negate these ever-increasing costs.

2. Driving continuous improvement.

Tracking KPIs over time helps you assess whether operational changes are having the desired effect. To garner the most from this approach, I would strongly recommend preparing live monthly management accounts (live meaning accounts prepared within 30 days of the month’s end) Waiting until year-end to review performance makes it harder to identify what’s driving your results in real time.

3. Setting realistic goals.

Using sector benchmarks allows you to set targets grounded in reality, ambitious yet attainable. Unrealistic targets, though they may seem motivating, only lead to feelings of failure and low team morale if not met.

4. Strengthening Accountability.

Whether it’s purchasing or staffing, having transparent performance metrics encourages responsibility and helps keep everyone focused on results.

5. Resource Allocation.

Understanding where your pharmacy is underperforming helps direct resources where they’ll have the most impact. Benchmarking can also help identify risks, justify investment decisions, and build the case for operational change.

6. Increasing your business value.

For owners thinking ahead to succession or sale, benchmarking delivers tangible benefits. Pharmacies that consistently meet or exceed sector averages for key metrics over a three-year period are typically more attractive to buyers and command higher sale prices. Proven, sustained performance reduces perceived risk and smooths the transaction process.

In summary:

Benchmarking isn’t just a numbers exercise, it’s a strategic tool for performance improvement, decision-making, and long-term value creation. Whether you operate a single community pharmacy or manage multiple sites, benchmarking ensures you’re maximising the return on your hard-earned turnover.

At Fitzgerald Power, we offer all clients complimentary access to Ezora, our advanced Pharmacy Sector Benchmarking tool, which provides real-time insights and comparative data to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Whether you are a large pharmacy chain or a small independent community pharmacy, the owner should be benchmarking their KPIs to ensure they are maximising the return on the hard-earned turnover being generated.

Get in touch HERE for more information!

Over the last four decades, we have made a name for ourselves as the largest pharmacy transaction brokerage firm in Ireland. Offering creative solutions, we provide bespoke pharmacy services for businesses of all sizes, from independent single-unit operators to multinational mammoths. As one of the top accounting firms Ireland has to offer, we use our experience and knowledge of the sector to provide our clients with unparalleled pharmacy insights. For more information contact our expert team today!

The post Why Benchmarking matters for your pharmacy appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

With a three-decade track record of backing visionary founders, Delta is where Amy leads investments in early-stage companies across diverse sectors and champions entrepreneurs who are shaping the future and building high-impact businesses. She serves on several startup boards and is a vocal advocate for a more inclusive tech ecosystem. In a previous life, she was Senior Vice President at Mastercard, where she led the global fintech team and founded the award-winning Start Path programme. Originally from the UK, and now based in Dublin, she has over two decades of experience in technology and venture investing and holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics.

I began by asking the basics.

Jennifer Power (JP):

Thanks for joining me today, Amy. For those who might not know, what exactly is venture capital, and how does it differ from other funding types like angel investment or bank finance?

Amy Neale (AN):

Venture capital (VC) can seem like a black box, so it’s useful to explain the business model. We raise funds from investors who want a small portion of their portfolio in a high-risk, high-return asset class, for example, promising technology companies. We then put that money to work across a portfolio of around 20–30 companies with the potential for very high returns. But only a small proportion will deliver those outsized returns. The returns come only when we achieve an exit — through a trade sale or IPO.

Most importantly, investors gain access to opportunities they wouldn’t typically reach themselves — from global sovereign wealth funds and government agencies to pension funds, family offices, and successful entrepreneurs.

JP:

How does a founder know if VC is right for them, and if a VC is the right fit?

AN:

Founders need to ask two key questions. The first is, “Is this the type of business VCs back?” VC-backable companies target large global markets and build strategically significant technology that could be acquired or listed. Many brilliant businesses aren’t suited to VC, simply because their market isn’t big enough. The second is, “Am I comfortable having co-owners?” Taking VC means selling equity, meaning you no longer own 100% of the business. You’re bringing in partners aligned to a long-term exit outcome. Even in early conversations, we discuss where the company could go and potential exit paths.

JP:

And obviously, the founders need to be aligned with the VC that you are moving to this event at the end of the term, whether it be exit or IPO; everybody must be very clear, I imagine?

AN:

Absolutely. And you know, there are different types of venture capital investors at different points along the journey. At Delta, we focus on early-stage investment, pre-seed, seed, and Series A. This is the phase where founders are building their product, securing their first reference customers, achieving product–market fit, and starting to shape what the business could look like at scale.

Even at this early stage, we’re having conversations with founders about the long-term potential of their company and where future exit opportunities might arise. For venture-backable businesses, it’s never too early to think about this.

JP:

From your experience and with Delta, are there specific sectors or industries that you focus on, or are you agnostic to that?

AN:

We are primarily focused on the Irish market. While we can invest internationally, most of this fund is dedicated to Ireland. We believe that to be a successful early-stage investor in the Irish ecosystem, you need to take a generalist approach, looking across sectors and segments.

Our focus is on backing outstanding teams and allowing them to define the problems they want to solve. That said, at Delta, our strong preference is for B2B technology. This is where we spend most of our time: supporting companies developing technologically innovative solutions where the end customer is another business.

JP:

Let’s talk about the investment process. Could you give us some insights on how it works from pitch to funding?

AN:

As a VC investor, I have a few key responsibilities. The first is to find fantastic founders who are building great businesses with big visions. I make it my mission to be everywhere and meet as many founders as I can. Most VC funds in the Irish market operate similarly, so as a founder, you’re likely to come across investors through the networks you’re building yourself, which is hugely important. So, it typically starts long before you’re actively fundraising. That first connection might be a coffee six months earlier. When the founder is ready to raise, we’ll meet and review a pitch deck that explains the problem, the solution, why the market is large, and what early traction looks like. We then move into due diligence, researching the market, speaking with customers, reviewing metrics and modelling scenarios. If everything holds up, we issue a term sheet, summarising key deal terms. Timing varies hugely; it can be very fast if the fit is strong or if there’s competition for the deal.

JP:

What mistakes do founders commonly make in their pitch decks?

AN:

So, I always think that when I’m reviewing a pitch deck for the first time, I need two takeaways. “What do you do?” And, “Why should I care?” Founders often overcomplicate the explanation of what they do. Make it so simple that your grandfather would understand! We see hundreds of companies, so we must quickly understand what map we’re on.

Then show why it matters: a big, uncapped market with real change happening and customers ready to buy globally.

JP:

And obviously, that global expansion piece is critical to that bit.

AN:

Absolutely, Ireland is not a big enough market for the types of exits that we’re trying to direct ourselves towards

JP:

What should founders understand about a term sheet?

AN:

A term sheet does two things. It defines the deal, the investment amount (and expected total round size), valuation and resulting equity ownership. It also defines governance going forward, which covers board composition, decisions requiring investor involvement, information rights, and employee option pool expectations. Getting alignment early avoids expensive legal work later. Some clauses cover unlikely but important “nuclear scenarios.” We want clarity so that once signed, we can all get back to building the company.

JP:

Once VC money is in the business, how do things change?

AN:

Day-to-day operations shouldn’t change dramatically; execution against the agreed plan is key. But when challenges arise, there’s a wider set of stakeholders to help strategise. We typically join the board and act as a sounding board, bringing experience from many companies. CEOs can sometimes feel alone; we provide supportive but honest challenge. It’s not giving up control — it’s gaining partners in success.

JP:

How early in the journey do you start speaking to the founders about exit plans? Is that something that you’re talking about from day one, or is it more of a let’s-see-how-it-goes?

AN:

We ensure alignment before investing, but we don’t constantly discuss exits. In the early years, success comes from commercial progress — customers, product proof points, market positioning. Smart founders keep potential acquirers aware of them, but weekly exit talk isn’t helpful.

JP:

And if projections aren’t being met, what happens?

AN:

Startups rarely follow the plan exactly. We may support follow-on funding if there are good signals, customer traction, strong pipeline progress, or meaningful product milestones. At times, companies must make tough choices to extend their runway. Our reserves exist so we can add fuel when momentum is real.

JP:

If a founder expects to raise VC investment in 12–18 months, what should they do now?

AN:

Build relationships with VCs and the wider ecosystem: Enterprise Ireland, professional advisors, accelerators, incubators, and university spin-out teams. Ireland is a small, well-connected network – use that. And build the business. Engage in deep customer understanding, tangible product progress and early validation of sales motion. We need to see the ability to take something from concept to reality.

JP:

Final question: What’s the one thing you wish every founder knew before entering the world of VC?

AN:

It’s a long-term relationship. You’ll speak with your investor monthly, if not more, for 5–8 years. Make sure it’s someone you trust, someone you’d feel comfortable calling when things go wrong on a trip to the West Coast. We fall in love with the companies we invest in. We take time to decide because we want to know we can work well together.

Jennifer Power:

Amy, thank you so much. You’ve truly demystified all things VC.

Located on Stephen’s Green, Delta Partners helps Ireland’s entrepreneurs to ensure solid foundations at the early stages of business building. To find out more about them, or Amy, you can visit their website here. 

The post Demystifying Venture Capital Investment: Amy Neale appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.

Auto Enrolment (AE) is one of the biggest payroll and HR changes Ireland has ever introduced. Set to go live on 1st January 2026, the new system aims to ensure more workers have access to retirement savings – whether or not their employer already offers a pension scheme.

While the intention is simple, the operational impact is significant. Payroll processes, employee communication, compliance checks, and reporting obligations will all change. And with penalties for non-compliance, employers need to be ready well before the go-live date.

Below is a clear, practical guide to what Auto Enrolment means, how it will work, and how Fitzgerald Power can help you prepare with clarity and confidence.

What is Auto Enrolment?

Auto Enrolment, or the My Future Fund, is a mandatory retirement savings system for employees who meet certain criteria and are not already in a qualifying pension scheme.

It is based on a Defined Contribution model and will be administered by the National Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA).

NAERSA will:

• Determine employee eligibility
• Notify employers when an employee must be enrolled
• Collect employee and employer contributions
• Apply the State top-up
• Manage each employee’s single “pension pot for life”
• Provide an online portal for employers and employees

Employers won’t decide eligibility – NAERSA does. Employers simply apply the instructions.

Which employees will be enrolled?

• Are aged 23 to 60,
• Earn €20,000 or more per year across all employments, and
• Are not in an exempt employment (i.e. already contributing to an occupational pension, PRSA, PEPP, RAC, AVC or ASC via payroll).

Important points:

• Eligibility is reviewed weekly based on payroll submissions.
• There is no waiting period – if the criteria are met, enrolment happens.
• Multiple employments are assessed independently.
• Income outside payroll (e.g., private PRSA payments) does not affect eligibility.

Employees who do not meet the criteria can still opt in if they are aged 18–66 and the employment is not exempt.

Employer responsibilities

Once NAERSA issues an Auto Enrolment Payroll Notification (AEPN), employers must:

1. Notify the employee of their enrolment
2. Begin deductions from the next payday
3. Calculate employee and employer contributions based on gross pay
4. Deduct the employee amount from net pay
5. Remit both contributions to NAERSA by 6.30pm on payday
6. Apply all future instructions (opt-outs, suspensions, re-enrolment, rate changes)

There is no exception for employers in financial difficulty, and contributions cannot be delayed.

Failure to comply may result in:

• Compliance notices
• Fixed payment penalties up to €5,000
• Interest charges
• Possible criminal prosecution for serious or repeated non-compliance

This system is designed to be fully electronic, meaning payroll software must be AE-ready.

Contribution rates and how they work

Contributions are calculated as a percentage of gross pay (up to an annual limit of €80,000). AE includes:

• Employee contribution
• Employer contribution
• State top-up of 33⅓% of the employee contribution

Employees are automatically enrolled for six months before they can opt out. They may also suspend contributions later for up to two years.

Situations where a 0% contribution rate applies:

• Opt-outs
• Suspensions
• AEL (earnings limit) breach
• Exempt employment
• Retirement, death or enrolment error

The new employer portal

From December 2025, all employers must register on the NAERSA employer portal – even if they currently have no eligible employees.

Registration involves:

• Accepting terms
• Completing employer details
• Setting up payment methods (Direct Debit or card)
• Ensuring ROS digital certificate access

Failure to register may lead to immediate compliance action.

The portal will be the hub for:

• Downloading AE notifications
• Uploading contribution files
• Correcting errors (within strict deadlines)
• Viewing reconciliations
• Managing leavers and starters

Common payroll scenarios employers must be ready for

AE affects payroll far beyond simple contributions. Employers will need processes for:

New starters

NAERSA checks eligibility using a 13-week lookback. Enrolment may happen quickly.

Leavers

Employers must submit a cessation date, and any payments within 12 months may still trigger AE contributions.

Overlapping contributions

If an employee joins the company pension mid-year, AE may still apply for one or more pay periods until NAERSA issues a 0% AEPN.

Insufficient net pay

If net pay can’t cover the employee contribution, employers must deduct what they can, flag the shortfall, and recover it in the next payroll using specific reason codes.

Corrections

Only possible until 6:30pm on payday – after that, NAERSA begins fund collection.

Tax considerations

• Employees do not receive standard tax relief – the State top-up replaces it.
• Employer contributions are tax-deductible and not a taxable benefit.
• Funds grow tax-free.
• Lump sums at retirement follow standard pension lump-sum rules.

Investment options will include low, medium and high-risk funds, with a default “lifestyling” model.

How Fitzgerald Power can help you prepare

Auto Enrolment will reshape payroll across Ireland, and businesses that prepare early will be in the strongest position.

Fitzgerald Power can help you:

1. Understand exactly how AE affects your business

We translate the complex rules into practical steps tailored to your operations, workforce structure, and payroll cycles.

2. Assess payroll readiness

We review your systems and processes to ensure they can handle AE notifications, calculations, remittances and compliance checks.

3. Support employee communication

Employees will have questions – we help you prepare clear, accurate messaging based on NAERSA guidelines.

4. Manage the transition smoothly

From handling tricky edge cases to implementing contribution workflows, we ensure your payroll runs cleanly from day one.

5. Stay compliant and confident

With penalties for errors, late submissions and incorrect deductions, professional oversight provides peace of mind.

6. Provide ongoing support

AE isn’t a once-off setup. Contribution rates rise over time, employees opt in/out, and NAERSA instructions evolve. We stay on top of it so you don’t have to.

Preparing now means less stress later

With the go-live date approaching, every employer – even those with existing pension schemes – should begin preparing. Auto Enrolment is detailed, technical, and administrative heavy, but the good news is you don’t need to manage it alone.

Fitzgerald Power is here to help you navigate every step so your business is ready, compliant, and confident ahead of implementation.

The post Auto Enrolment (AE) – What you need to know appeared first on Fitzgerald Power.