It is understood that Kane is about to announce plans to reverse Ship (Shared Home Investment Plan) into an AIM-quoted cash shell, to make it easier to access capital to fuel expansion in the Irish mortgage lending market.

Kane set up Ship in 2003 with actuary Ciaran Deeney, after leaving Irish Permanent.

The company, which focuses on the over-50s and over-60s mortgage market, has already carried out substantial private fundraising in the UK.

Ship's first product was a home reversion scheme under which the company buys a stake in a pensioner's home at a discount, while giving the person the right to remain in the property for the rest of their days.

Last year, the company moved into the equity release mortgage market, offering to give pensioners a loan mortgaged on their home, with all payments of interest and capital rolled up until the pensioner moves out or dies.

Equity release has huge potential as an aging population taps into the value of their hopes to plug serious gaps in pensions savings.

Already 600,000 people are over 60 years of age and their biggest asset is the estimated 180bn value of their homes.

Three other companies are active in the equity release market, which was estimated to be worth 50m last year. Residential Reversions, headed by auctioneer James Wyse, was the first to offer home reversion schemes.

Roll-up mortgages are provided by Bank of Ireland. The latest newcomer is Seniors Money, which is owned by New Zealand finance company Sentinel in association with IFG Group.

Recent market research by Seniors Money found a growing willingness by older people to dip into the value of their homes to supplement their pensions rather than struggling to keep their wealth intact for their children to inherit.

But equity release is a sensitive topic, especially as home reversion schemes are completely unregulated and Liam O'Reilly, chief executive of the Financial Regulator, has warned pensions to be careful.

Addressing the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service in January, he said: "We have concerns about the potential for mis-selling of home reversion products on the market due to the fact that they are unregulated."