The Irish Farmers Journal has learned of another layer to the Goodman business empire based in Liechtenstein.
Three entities based in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, appear very close to the top of the Goodman empire.
Corporate structure headed by entities based in Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein is a small principality, which is located between Switzerland and Austria and is well-known for its financial secrecy.
Time and time again, documents for companies connected to Larry Goodman point to three entities based in Liechtenstein; the Rabena Foundation, the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Trust.
Addresses for these entities show they are all based in Vaduz, the capital city of Liechtenstein. Based on these addresses, the Irish Farmers Journal recently travelled to Vaduz in Liechtenstein to uncover what exactly they are.
The address for the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Trust lead to the offices of a law firm called Marxer & Partner.
Similarly, the address provided for the Rabena Foundation leads to the offices of a separate law firm called Kaiser & Partners.
ABP plant in Poznan, Poland.
Who ultimately owns these three entities and what purpose they serve is not exactly clear. This is where the visibility ends in the Goodman group as entities based in Liechtenstein are not required to file any public documents.
It is noteworthy, however, that numerous documents filed for companies within the Goodman group list their ultimate controlling party as “the Goodman Family Trusts”.
Whether these three entities in Liechtenstein are the Goodman Family Trusts referred to is not clear.
Regardless, the complexity of the corporate structure behind the ABP Group leading all the way to Liechtenstein gives an insight into the lack of transparency in the Goodman empire.
Goodman Group
As revealed in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal, Larry Goodman has built a business and investment empire around him valued at close to €4bn.
From financial accounts the Irish Farmers Journal has visibility of, the Goodman group made profits of €182m last year and paid less than €300,000 in taxes on these profits – an effective tax rate of just 0.3%.
ABP Meat Plant, Clones, Co Monaghan.
Coming from humble beginnings in the beef trade, Goodman is one of Ireland’s wealthiest private individuals today and has investments in property, equities, healthcare and other sectors. In healthcare, privately held Goodman companies hold shareholdings in the Blackrock Clinic, the Hermitage Medical Clinic and the Galway Clinic.
Goodman also holds significant investments in companies such as IPL Plastics (formerly One51) and recently made an €800,000 profit from the sale of his 2% stake in Independent News & Media for €3.1m
He also has significant property interests, including the Setanta Centre in Dublin 2, as well as a €21m stake in Green Reit, the listed property investment company.
Goodman also holds significant investments in companies such as IPL Plastics (formerly One51) and recently made an €800,000 profit from the sale of his 2% stake in Independent News & Media for €3.1m.
The Louth native also owns Miesian Plaza, which he acquired from Bank of Ireland in 2013.
Miesian Plaza is now home to the Department of Health, which is understood to make Goodman one of the largest recipients of rent from the Irish State.
ABP Food Group
However, the face of the Goodman group remains the ABP Food Group – one of the big three beef processors in Ireland.
ABP operates meat processing plants in Ireland, the UK and Poland and has an annual turnover of approx. €3bn.
The company has 11,000 staff employed across its various sites and buys cattle and sheep from 35,000 farmer suppliers every year.
Offices of Marxer & Partners, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
In recent years, ABP has taken a 50% stake in Slaney Foods in Wexford and has also taken a 50% stake in Linden Foods in Northern Ireland.
The company also took full control of Good Herdsmen, Ireland’s largest organic meat processor, as well as full control of C&D Foods, a €500m turnover pet food business and the largest private-label pet food manufacturer in Europe.
Documents filed with the companies office (CRO) show an entity based in Jersey called Fane Unlimited is the main parent company of ABP in Ireland
While Larry Goodman is very much the face of ABP, the ownership structure behind the company paints a complex picture.
Documents filed with the companies office (CRO) show an entity based in Jersey called Fane Unlimited is the main parent company of ABP in Ireland.
Above Fane Unlimited is an entity in Jersey known as Whiterath Unlimited, which in turn is controlled by another Jersey entity known as ABP Food Group Unlimited. This labyrinth of holding companies based in Jersey continues until it eventually connects to other companies based in the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Connection
The companies based in the Netherlands and Luxembourg that are connected to ABP are the same companies the Irish Farmers Journal revealed last week as key cogs in the Goodman empire, providing financing and loans to subsidiary companies within the group.
However, from the Irish Farmers Journal investigation the three entities in Liechtenstein appear to be very close to the top of the corporate structure behind the Goodman group.
The Irish Farmers Journal has learned of another layer to the Goodman business empire based in Liechtenstein.
Three entities based in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, appear very close to the top of the Goodman empire.
Corporate structure headed by entities based in Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein is a small principality, which is located between Switzerland and Austria and is well-known for its financial secrecy.
Time and time again, documents for companies connected to Larry Goodman point to three entities based in Liechtenstein; the Rabena Foundation, the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Trust.
Addresses for these entities show they are all based in Vaduz, the capital city of Liechtenstein. Based on these addresses, the Irish Farmers Journal recently travelled to Vaduz in Liechtenstein to uncover what exactly they are.
The address for the Sabena Foundation and the Portlon Trust lead to the offices of a law firm called Marxer & Partner.
Similarly, the address provided for the Rabena Foundation leads to the offices of a separate law firm called Kaiser & Partners.
ABP plant in Poznan, Poland.
Who ultimately owns these three entities and what purpose they serve is not exactly clear. This is where the visibility ends in the Goodman group as entities based in Liechtenstein are not required to file any public documents.
It is noteworthy, however, that numerous documents filed for companies within the Goodman group list their ultimate controlling party as “the Goodman Family Trusts”.
Whether these three entities in Liechtenstein are the Goodman Family Trusts referred to is not clear.
Regardless, the complexity of the corporate structure behind the ABP Group leading all the way to Liechtenstein gives an insight into the lack of transparency in the Goodman empire.
Goodman Group
As revealed in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal, Larry Goodman has built a business and investment empire around him valued at close to €4bn.
From financial accounts the Irish Farmers Journal has visibility of, the Goodman group made profits of €182m last year and paid less than €300,000 in taxes on these profits – an effective tax rate of just 0.3%.
ABP Meat Plant, Clones, Co Monaghan.
Coming from humble beginnings in the beef trade, Goodman is one of Ireland’s wealthiest private individuals today and has investments in property, equities, healthcare and other sectors. In healthcare, privately held Goodman companies hold shareholdings in the Blackrock Clinic, the Hermitage Medical Clinic and the Galway Clinic.
Goodman also holds significant investments in companies such as IPL Plastics (formerly One51) and recently made an €800,000 profit from the sale of his 2% stake in Independent News & Media for €3.1m
He also has significant property interests, including the Setanta Centre in Dublin 2, as well as a €21m stake in Green Reit, the listed property investment company.
Goodman also holds significant investments in companies such as IPL Plastics (formerly One51) and recently made an €800,000 profit from the sale of his 2% stake in Independent News & Media for €3.1m.
The Louth native also owns Miesian Plaza, which he acquired from Bank of Ireland in 2013.
Miesian Plaza is now home to the Department of Health, which is understood to make Goodman one of the largest recipients of rent from the Irish State.
ABP Food Group
However, the face of the Goodman group remains the ABP Food Group – one of the big three beef processors in Ireland.
ABP operates meat processing plants in Ireland, the UK and Poland and has an annual turnover of approx. €3bn.
The company has 11,000 staff employed across its various sites and buys cattle and sheep from 35,000 farmer suppliers every year.
Offices of Marxer & Partners, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
In recent years, ABP has taken a 50% stake in Slaney Foods in Wexford and has also taken a 50% stake in Linden Foods in Northern Ireland.
The company also took full control of Good Herdsmen, Ireland’s largest organic meat processor, as well as full control of C&D Foods, a €500m turnover pet food business and the largest private-label pet food manufacturer in Europe.
Documents filed with the companies office (CRO) show an entity based in Jersey called Fane Unlimited is the main parent company of ABP in Ireland
While Larry Goodman is very much the face of ABP, the ownership structure behind the company paints a complex picture.
Documents filed with the companies office (CRO) show an entity based in Jersey called Fane Unlimited is the main parent company of ABP in Ireland.
Above Fane Unlimited is an entity in Jersey known as Whiterath Unlimited, which in turn is controlled by another Jersey entity known as ABP Food Group Unlimited. This labyrinth of holding companies based in Jersey continues until it eventually connects to other companies based in the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Connection
The companies based in the Netherlands and Luxembourg that are connected to ABP are the same companies the Irish Farmers Journal revealed last week as key cogs in the Goodman empire, providing financing and loans to subsidiary companies within the group.
However, from the Irish Farmers Journal investigation the three entities in Liechtenstein appear to be very close to the top of the corporate structure behind the Goodman group.
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