Dan Sennett has acquired Irish Relocation in Dublin from Patrick Oman, the charismatic entrepreneur and past president of both OMNI and EuRA.

What is being called a ‘management buy in’ took place in August last year.

Dan Sennett was born into an expat family and, after being educated in England, serving in the army, and working as a merchant banker with Credit Suisse, he started a relocation business in Nigeria servicing the West African market. His wife is Irish so, when their children became of school age, the family moved to Ireland for the benefit of the children’s education.

Patrick said that Dan originally came to Irish Relo to ask about housing and schools. “But when I realised that he had the same client base as me I reckoned he would be either with us or against us in Ireland,” he said. “He wanted to invest in a business. When he put the plan to me I realised that I had taken Irish Relo as far as I could.”

Dan bought the whole company, including its Belfast operation. Patrick has stayed on as chairman, Paul Coy remains as head of finance and William Tye as head of moving. “From the customers’ points of view nothing much will change,” said Patrick. “All the existing staff they are used to working with will remain the same, including Michelle Preshaw in Belfast.”

Patrick has spent the last few months introducing Dan to the customers, including the major RMCs such as Cartus, Brookfield and Graebel. “It’s a great stepping stone for me to go on towards retirement eventually,” said Patrick. “Dan is a visionary who will take the company into the next generation. He’s already adding new relocation products including insurance, credit card services and temporary housing. Those three products alone will double the size of Irish Relo.”

Patrick is staying quiet about his personal plans. Although he talks about retirement, few of those who know him well expect him to be stepping back just yet.

Photo: Patrick Oman (left) and Dan Sennett.


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