The Mercantile hospitality group is planning a a20m investment programme following the settlement of legal disputes between shareholders which sees the 11 venues in the group being split between the two sides. Former Chief Executive Frank Gleeson will take control of restaurants Green Hen and Marcel’s, Farrier & Draper bar, and two suburban Dublin pub sites. The majority shareholders of Mercantile, including US-Irish building magnates Maurice Regan and Michael Breslin and Danu Partners, will take full ownership of the rest of the group. The bulk of the investment budget will be spent on a scheme to more than triple the number of bedrooms in the Mercantile Hotel on Dame Street to about 100. Work on the Mercantile is not expected to begin until September 2018. Opium is closing for a three-month period to facilitate a a2m refurbishment, and a further a1m will be spent refreshing Whelan’s and the George. Up to a3m will be spent on a major upgrade of Café en Seine.