DML Capital Ltd.
DML Capital Unlimited Company is the ultimate owner of TheJournal.ie. The company is jointly owned by brothers Brian and Eamonn Fallon. DML Capital has shares in three main subsidiaries. It owns 89% of Journal Media Limited, 81% of the Distilled Media Group Limited and 38% of Distilled Limited.
The last of these, Distilled Limited, is a 50:50 joint venture with the Norwegian Schibsted group. Distilled Limited owns the leading online classified advertising websites in Ireland (Adverts.ie, DAFT.ie, Donedeal.ie and since February 2022 gumtree.ie). The joint venture was established in 2015 when Distilled pooled their ownership of Adverts.ie and Daft.ie with Schibsted’s 100% ownership of Donedeal.ie (which they had acquired from the site’s Irish founders in 2011) into Digital Media Ventures Limited (since renamed as Distilled SCH Limited and now as Distilled Limited).
The Irish operation grew out of DAFT.ie (Dublin Area Flats and Tenancies) a website established in 1997 when the Brian and Eamonn Fallon were still in second school and university respectively. Prompted by the emerging Celtic Tiger-related property boom, DAFT.ie hosted online property classified listings. Initially focused on the Dublin area and rentals, it expanded in 2003 to include property sales. Between 1997 and 2001, daft.ie ran on “auto-pilot” as the Fallon Brothers completed their education. Daft Media Limited was established In September 2001 to properly commercialize the operation.
In 2008 DML Capital took what appears to have initially been a minority stake in Boards.ie, the largest online community chat forum in Ireland. This became a majority stake no later than 2012 (according to the FAME database). The stake was disposed of in 2021 when Boards.ie was sold off.
Mother Company
DML Capital Unlimited
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Unlimited Company
Business Sectors
Media; Advertising
Individual Owner
Other Online Outlets
TheJournal.ie
The42.ie
Noteworthy.ie
Business
Classified Advertising Online; Property Advertising Online
General Information
Founding Year
2001
Affiliated Interests Founder
See profile.
Employees
62 (2021) (The subsidiary Distilled Media employs a further 134 staff as of end 2021.)
Contact
Tax/ ID Number
IE486725
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
€4.9m (2021) This somewhat understates the true revenues of the Group as a whole. The (separate) accounts for DML’s subsidiary Distilled Limited lists revenues of €33.7m for 2021.
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
€1.2m (2021). If treated as a standalone operation, DML would have recorded a small operating loss (€292,000) in 2021. However, the substantial dividend payment of €5.8 m from the Distilled Limited subsidiary meant that the Group as a whole recorded a 202
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Executive Board
The 2021 accounts for DML Capital list only Eamonn and Brian Fallon as directors without clarifying whether they are executive or not. However, Eamonn Fallon is the CEO of DML and the Distilled Limited subsidiary and we have no reason to think Brian Fallon is not also active within the company.
Further Information
Sources
“Eight firms secure a place on emerging entrepreneur shortlist” Irish Times June 21 2004, p .15
Arthur Beesley “Advisers value property site Daft. ie at up to £15m” Irish Times January 27 2006, p. A2
Grainne Faller “Starting something big: Several people have turned transition-year projects into the makings of a glorious career” Irish Times 15 November 2006, p. 15.