Grocery wholesaler and retailer Musgrave Group has topped the Business Plus Top 50 ranking of Irish-owned private Cork companies for 2022, holding its position from last year.

The Cork Top 50 ranking is published in the June-July edition of the Business Plus magazine, which was launched at a special event at the Dean Hotel in Cork, where the attendance heard about plans to expand the reach of Ireland's leading B2B media brand.

Business Plus is part of the growing DMG Media group of Extra.ie, Mail Online, EVOKE, RollerCoaster.ie, OneFabDay, Geek Ireland, the Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday.

CEO of DMG Media, Paul Henderson, stated: “The addition of Business Plus to the DMG portfolio has allowed us to extend our audience reach from the consumer to the important business sector.

"Part of that strategy is regional growth, and for that reason focusing on the Cork business community is an important part of our mission. Through our annual ranking of the Top 50 privately owned companies in Cork, we look forward to tracking these Irish success stories as they continue to grow and expand.”

In Association with

The Cork Top 50 ranking is based on Shareholders’ Funds as disclosed in accounts filings in the Companies Registration Office.

Editor of Business Plus, Nick Mulcahy, said: “This ranking of the 50 top privately owned Irish companies in Cork city and county records remarkable consistency for the leading businesses in the region despite the challenges of the past two years. Nearly all the companies in the Cork Top 50 have increased their net worth. There have been some changes that perhaps reflect a more challenging business environment.”

The feature of the launch event was a panel discussion with EY’s Ronan Murray, recently elected President of Cork Chamber, entrepreneur Linda Green-Kiely, and DC Cahalane, who heads up the Republic of Work incubator in Cork and is involved with Dogpatch Labs, which manages the National Digital Research Centre.

Ronan Murray told the gathering that having Cork TDs, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and public expenditure minister Michael McGrath, at the heart of government has accelerated delivery of infrastructure for the city.

Murray added that that the provision of adequate, affordable housing, and the delivery of sustainable transport plans, are critical to attracting the talent required by Cork employers to grow to their full potential.

The well-attended launch event included Cllr Dan Boyle, Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City, and Carbery Group CEO Jason Hawkins and the company’s communications manager, Louise Kelly. Helena O'Keeffe, membership executive at Cork Chamber was also in attendance, as were Marianne Meehan and Claire O’Sullivan of Cork City Council.

Irish Rail was represented by chief financial officer AJ Cronin and Stephen Hackett, Iarnród Éireann’s business development manager for the Cork and Kerry area.

Stephen Hackett explained that the catering service on the Cork-Dublin InterCity route was a victim of Covid, as was the concessionaire. A procurement process for reviving the catering service is currently in progress but will not be concluded until later this year.

Professional services were well represented, with event attendees including Seamus Hayes of EY Private, Lorraine Sammon and Michael Lynch from KPMG, Gail Ellis of Roberts Nathan, and Nicola Quinn and Robert Gubbins of PWC.

Ibec was represented by commercial director Paula Cain and Anna Donegan, senior membership development executive.

The event drew strong interest from McCarthy Insurance Group, Ireland’s most successful indigenous broker. Executive director Paul Kavanagh, who is interviewed in the Cork Top 50 spread in the magazine, was joined by company founder and chairman Charles McCarthy, and MIG colleagues Sean O’Riordan and John Kingston.

Caroline Kennedy, operations manager at Republic of Work, and colleague Eshna Gogia were on hand to hear colleague DC Cahalane’s panel contributions, while Peter Loughnane of Trigon Hotels got a first look at the Cork Top 50 ranking, which includes the hotel group.

Other attendees included entrepreneurs Pat Kierans of Dyjaho and Mike McGrath of Kwayga, Maria Desmond of the Network Ireland Cork branch, Mark O’Sullivan of Provest, Aoife Ni Mhurchú from Springboard PR, and Ciara MacConnell of Travel Counsellors

DMG Media is one of the largest content producers in Ireland delivering content to 3.6 million Irish adults every month across the business’s newspapers, magazines, and international websites.

In 2021, DMG Media incorporated a purpose-built multi-media studio, SpaceTo a state-of-the-art digital media studio which is available to companies who wish to produce highly engaging and professional corporate communications.

Photo: Nick Mulcahy (left) with (l-r) Ronan Murray, president of Cork Chamber; entrepreneur Linda Green-Kiely; and DC Cahalane of Dogpatch Labs and Republic of Work. (Pic: Michael O'Sullivan/OSM)