Kingspan has had a €700m offer to purchase the insulation and flexible foams sections of a Belgian firm rejected. Recticel announced that after due consideration it has rejected the offer made by the Co Cavan firm earlier this month to purchase its insulation and flexible foams sections. A conditional non-binding offer by Kingspan to acquire all of Recticel at €10 per share has also been rejected. | There was an 8.9% increase in the number of mortgages drawn down in Ireland in the first quarter of this year, according to the body representing the banking, payments and fintech sectors. Figures published by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show 8,577 new mortgages, to the value of almost €1.9bn, were drawn down during the first three months of 2019. | Amazon has delivered record profits for the first quarter, fueled by gains in cloud computing and new business segments for the US technology colossus. Net profit in the quarter more than doubled from the same period last year to $3.6 billion, extending Amazon's trend of rising profitability. Overall revenues for the company rose 17% to $59.7 billion, according to the update, which topped most analyst forecasts. | Royal Bank of Scotland has reported a dip in first-quarter profit as the lender was held back by economic uncertainty and competitive pressures. The bank, which owns Ulster Bank here, saw bottom line profit fall 12.5% to €819 million in the three months to 31 March. Pre-tax operating profit also came in lower at €1.16 billion versus €1.39bn as RBS was hit by stiffer competition in the mortgage market and continuing uncertainty among businesses, with many reining in spending as Brexit fears linger. | The number of orders to online takeaway service Just Eat grew by 21% globally in the first three months of the year. Orders in the UK, where the firm is based, grew by 7.4% to 31.9 million in the three months to 31 March – a slowdown from growth of 27% in the same period last year. However, growth in Ireland, Canada, Italy and Switzerland saw orders outside the UK increase by 40% to 29.5 million. | President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to businessman and former senator Feargal Quinn, who has died at the age of 82. Mr Quinn, who was best known as the founder of Superquinn, died peacefully at his home following a short illness. He also served as a member of Seanad Éireann for over 23 years for the National University of Ireland constituency.   |||