Despite the once sprawling business empire being picked apart and sold off in the years since its stunning collapse following the financial crisis, the legacy of the Quinn Group remains.
What began with Sean Quinn starting a small quarry operation in Derrylin in Fermanagh in 1973, quickly moved into supplying cement and other building materials. This part of the business would form the foundation for all the future business ventures Mr Quinn would pursue.
Quinn Group would eventually move into the insurance and financial services market with Quinn Insurance but the company also had interests in hotels, wind farms as well as other manufacturing ventures including glass and plastics.
However, during the financial crisis, Mr Quinn found himself massively exposed when the Anglo-Irish Bank collapsed. The businessman invested heavily in the bank using contracts for difference which is a type of financial contract that stipulates a buyer must pay the seller the difference between the current value of an asset and its value at contract time.
This resulted in Mr Quinn losing the majority of his wealth and set in motion a sell-off of his businesses. When the dust settled, it was found that Quinn Group owed nearly €2.9bn to Anglo-Irish Bank after it was nationalised and eventually wound down.
Control of the company was seized in April 2011 and a liquidator was appointed. Later that year, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance bought out Quinn Insurance.
In 2013 the remaining company – which still included the manufacturing of glass, packaging, building supplies, radiators, and plastics – was rebranded as Aventas Group.
In 2014, the company sold its radiator division for €25m. It bought the radiator company Barlo in 2005 in a deal worth around €87m. The same year a 54-megawatt wind farm, located at Slieve Rushen in Fermanagh which was developed by Sean Quinn, was sold for €127m.
In 2015, the company sold its glass manufacturing business for €400m to Spanish glass container manufacturer Vidrala as well as its plastics business to Swiss company Schweiter Technologies for a reported €120m.
The remaining divisions – manufacturing and packaging – were sold to a local consortium of businessmen which included former senior executives of the Quinn Group. The move was backed by three US hedge funds including Contrarian Capital, Silver Point Capital, and Brigade Capital.
In 2014, the consortium renamed the company Quinn Industrial Holdings. However, this period of the company’s existence was marred by the brutal kidnapping and assault of its chief operating officer Kevin Lunney in 2019.
In 2020, the company was rebranded again as Mannok with the company saying this was the culmination of a five-year transformation and investment programme to reposition the business as a provider of sustainable building and packaging solutions.
The name derives from Fear Manach – the origin of ‘Fermanagh’ aiming to resonate with domestic and international stakeholders.
In 2023, the company reported earnings before deductions of €44.9m on a turnover of €311.9m.
Subject to regulatory approvals, Mannok will soon become a subsidiary of Turkish company Cisma. The local Mannok leadership team will retain a 5.3% interest in the company.