Novara, trading as Register.ie / Host.ie, is currently ranked Ireland's fifth largest provider of domain registration and web hosting services according to statistics from Whois Ireland.

Novara's chief executive Eoin Costello stated that they had been working closely with the Dublin City Enterprise Board for the past 18 months and that the input received from the enterprise board had been a critical element in Novara's success to date. He stated that this announcement is a sign that there are good long-term growth opportunities in the Internet services industry.

The investment in Novara will take the form of 50,000 cumulative redeemable preference shares of 1 Euro each with a conversion rate of 10% and a coupon rate of 5% There is an initial moratorium on repayments of two years. The funding will be used to underpin Novara's growth in 2004. The company expect to expand the numbers employed by the company considerably over the coming 24 months.

(from left to right) Eoin Costello Chief Executive Novara Fiona O Malley TD Gerry Macken Chief Executive Dublin City Enterprise Board

Mr. Costello stated that while the overall Internet services environment in Ireland is improving a number of obstacles remain for indigenous Irish providers. Amongst the obstacles remaining to growth in the Irish market are the late development in Ireland of high-speed Internet connectivity provided by DSL and its correspondingly low take-up and the high cost of registering an Irish domain name (with a wholesale price 5 times that of a .com).

He stated that over Euro 7 million per annum is being lost to the Irish IT sector through Irish companies and individuals using foreign providers for domain registration and web hosting services. He stated that this is costing the Irish IT sector hundreds of lost jobs.

According to Dublin City Enterprise Board's chief executive, Gerry Macken, there were a number of factors which influenced the board's decision to invest in Novara. The board felt that Novara had weathered the .com shake out well and were in an excellent position to benefit from future growth in the Internet services sector.

Mr. Macken stated that the investment in Novara made by the chief executive, Eoin Costello, both in terms of personal effort and financial resources, was very impressive. Mr. Costello took a courageous step in selling his successful retail jewellery business (www.costellojewellers.ie) to set up Novara. He stated that this kind of entrepreneurial spirit is what the enterprise boards want to foster and encourage. A further factor was the location of Novara's offices in a disused warehouse in the city centre helping bring high tech jobs to a designated redevelopment area adjoining O'Connell Street.

Fiona O'Malley TD attended the investment announcement. She stated small enterprises are the back bone of our economy and its great to see enterprise rewarded. This is an important vote of confidence in Novara and I wish them every success and continued growth. Eoin highlights important issues such as the high cost of registering an Irish domain name. This is a serious issue which needs to be addressed.

For further information please contact Eoin Costello 1850668272 This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

About Novara IT

Novara was incorporated in November 2000. It currently provides the following services:
* Domain Registration: Trade as Register.ie, 20% market share.
* Web Hosting: Trade as Host.ie, 7% market share.
* Web Promotion: Trade as Promote.ie.
* Secure certificates: Trade as Securecerts.ie

Current staff: 7

Funding of Euro175,752 was provided to date by the managing director, Eoin Costello.

Novara addresses markets that were typically dominated by US and UK companies and Novaras success to date has been due to the development of strong brands such as Register.ie and Host.ie

The company has always focused on product development and quality service. As a result Novara is now ranked 5th largest Internet Service Provider in Ireland according to Whois Ireland statistics This fact was recognised when Novara was winner of Irish Domain Registry Internet Champion Award 2002.

About Dublin City Enterprise Board.

The Aims of the Dublin City Enterprise Board are:
To support enterprise development in Dublin city, thus strengthening the sustainability of economies to provide employment opportunities within their own communities. In order to achieve these aims Dublin City Enterprise Board operates four programmes, each with specific measures and actions to help promote and support local entrepreneurship and community enterprise.