Ifac (the Irish Farm Accounts Co-operative Society) announced that it has acquired Friel Stafford, a move which John Donoghue, CEO of Ifac, said would “greatly complement our existing capabilities”.
Insolvency law
Ifac, with 30 offices nationwide and over 500 staff, dwarfs Friel Stafford’s single office holding approximately 20 employees.
However, Friel Stafford is a very specialist firm, and so they would have knowledge of insolvency law in Ireland, which is second-to-none.
The specialist firm was founded almost 30 years ago by Jim Stafford, who remains active and was a joint owner of the company with Tom Murray.
Controversy
Stafford caused some controversy in 2013 when he said in a radio interview that professional people, such as lawyers and consultants, should be entitled to keep trophy homes when entering insolvency, due to the status of their jobs. He later apologised for the comments.
Murray and Stafford said in a joint statement that “we wanted a home for our business that would be aligned with our mission and values; Ifac is the ideal fit for us”.
Donoghue said Friel Stafford joins Ifac “at a time of growth, transformation and change across our firm”, adding that “together we will achieve great things”.
SHARING OPTIONS