Niall Quinn
CONGRATULATIONS TO former Irish goal-scoring machine Niall Quinn and his missus, Gillian, who have joined the movers and shakers by purchasing a rather large apartment in the K Club development. There has been rather less for Quinny to celebrate on the business front as losses mount at MoShoppa but the good news is that a new football venture in the US may prove more suited to his talents.
After his footie career ended, Quinn got involved in a number of businesses where success proved elusive. One of the more interesting projects was MoShoppa, which describes itself as “a leading-edge e-commerce platform that allows anyone to create their own marketplace that supports their tribe, club or community, and helps them to sell any product or brand they want, worldwide”. The business boasts that it “leverages e-commerce technology for the benefit of communities”.
MoShoppa was headed up for the first few years by Niall’s daughter, Ash Quinn, who opted to exit last year to become a senior exec at Rónán Ó Dálaigh’s Thriftify online charity shopping business, “empowering the world’s most ethical organisations to lead the sustainable shopping revolution”.
That adventure didn’t last too long, however, and six months ago Ash picked up her ball and decamped across the Atlantic to co-found Team Taca, “a new communication tool for US youth soccer that fosters community, education & inspiration through private podcasting”. Ash is CEO and her co-founder turns out to be her father.
Back here, Niall Quinn had originally invested a truckload of moolah in his MoShoppa operation but scoring in business proved harder than putting the ball in the net for the likes of Arsenal and Man City and there has been little sign of progress to date, apart from the snail’s pace of technological development at the digital platform.
According to the last filing for the operating company, Quinn’s shares are held in his own name and through Brookcom Ltd, a company 50%-controlled by Gillian Quinn, while Ash is still shown as one of a squad of small individual backers.
The accounts for the 12 months to April 2022, signed off last March, are relegation standard, revealing accumulated losses of a hefty €2.5m, with the company having dropped €443,000 during the year.
A note in the accounts states that MoShoppa had been funded through share capital and loans from directors, who are “hopeful that the company will have some income streams within the next 12 months. Until revenues commence, there remains a material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Niall Quinn advanced loans during the year of just on €300,000.
At least Quinny has been able to score on the property pitch and he and Gillian finally sold their sprawling 4,100 sq ft Straffan, Co Kildare, home for €1.4m this summer, having previously acquired a spacious new pad in the K Club’s Garden Courtyard development for €1m. In fact, the couple acquired two apartments that had been converted into one very large property by previous owner Sandra Williams.
