Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies

In association with

NORTHERN IRELAND COMPANIES 2016

Our guide to the top profit-makers, employers and business people

Contents  INTRODUCTION 

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

3

04

Alastair Hamilton

06-07

Arthur Cox

08-11

John Simpson

12

Danske’s Angela McGowan

14

CBI’s Nigel Smyth

16

Women in the Top 100

18-21

Top 100 tables

22-29

Entries 1-20 profiled

30-44

Entries 21 to 100 profiled

48

Barclays’ Adrian Doran

50-51

Our biggest employers

52-53

Business Awards

60-61

Ann McGregor and Stephen Kelly look ahead PUBLISHED BY Belfast Telegraph 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim BT1 1EB ADVERTISING Jackie Reid – Senior Advertising Manager Tel: 028 90554685 j.reid@belfasttelegraph.co.uk TOP 100 Compiled by John Simpson EDITOR Margaret Canning mcanning@belfasttelegraph.co.uk DESIGN Robert Armstrong – INM Design Studio, Belfast COVER BY Raymond Estaban PRINTING INM, Newry

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elcome to the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies 2016 in association with Arthur Cox. We are proud that Arthur Cox is supporting our must-read guide to Northern Ireland’s most profitable businesses for the second consecutive year.

It’s also the second year in a row in which we’ve ranged companies in order of their pre-tax profits, giving a sharper indication of their contribution to the economy than our former method of ranking firms in order of employee numbers.

Our method embraces home-grown independent firms like Henderson, Norbrook and Randox and the broad range of international players which own Northern Ireland-registered companies.

It’s been a year for change for many of the top firms, from the departures of key CEOs like Gerry Mallon, John McCann and Bro McFerran, to some high-profile company and asset sales and acquisitions.

We’ve also celebrating a fresh stock

exchange listing for a top 100 company after Kainos took up residence in the London Stock Exchange during the summer.

Economic recovery at home is more strongly rooted than this time last year, and businesses are reinvesting their profits for the future. There may be some trepidation about the EU referendum to

decide our future position in the EU, but we think our Top 100 have the pragmatism to get through, regardless of the outcome on June 23.

The continued prowess of food companies in the Top 100, such as Moy Park and Hilton Foods, is apt during 2016, Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink.

We’ve had a resurgence in housebuilding at home, and our construction and engineering companies are still finding great success working on contracts in Great Britain.

While the economy is in improved shape at home, the global outlook is uncertain.

That is affecting our biggest manufacturers particularly badly, and difficulties at Bombardier in particular have been well-documented. Bombardier addresses its issues with commendable candour in its entry at number 11 — although since making its contribution, the company has had cause for celebration after winning a major order for its C Series jets.

Regardless of the pace of change in the world around them, our 100 companies demonstrate a drive to keep going and expanding, and that’s always a cause for celebration.

By Margaret Canning Belfast Telegraph Business Editor

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 FOREWORD  The head of the province’s economic development agency reflects on changes to our top companies

WHEN COMPETING AGAINST OTHER LOCATIONS WE ARE ABLE TO ADD TAX TO OUR EXISTING STRENGTHS

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s a result of our growing confidence and international reputation, Northern Ireland is the best performing region in the UK for foreign direct investment job creation on a per capita basis.

Belfast is now the number one destination globally for financial technology investment and Europe’s leading destination for new software development. It has also been named as the world’s most Business Friendly City of its size and in the world’s top 10 overall.

These accolades are a real reflection of Northern Ireland’s growing reputation as a location for innovative business, of its dynamic and highly skilled workforce and of its attractiveness as a place to do business in and do business with. The conclusion of a long running campaign for Northern Ireland to have the power to set its own rate of corporation tax has the potential to be a catalyst for further growth.

While the new rate of 12.5% does not come into effect until 2018, the firm date and rate means when competing against other locations for new inward investment we are able to add tax to our existing strengths of talent and value, and bid for new types of projects. This work has already begun with a new advertising campaign launched in the US, and Ministers participating in a multi-city visit programme helping to communicate this message at both a political and senior executive level.

As important, however, is the opportunity this reduced rate affords indigenous businesses. Reduced tax equates to more funds available to reinvest in the business, delivering further grow, both in output and in employment. The potential this affords our local companies to make crucial investments in skills, R&D, export and employment should have significant positive impact on our local economy.

As well as these highs, there has also been some lows for Northern Ireland business in the last 12 months.

The decision by three large manufacturing firms to either reduce their workforce in Northern Ireland, or to close their operations in full, has been a great shock to those facing redundancy, and a blow to confidence in our manufacturing base.

The impact of the loss of large manufacturing companies to Northern

Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest Northern Ireland Ireland cannot be downplayed, however as an organisation actively working with a large and diverse range of manufacturing businesses across Northern Ireland, there is evidence of growth.

Manufacturing covers a broad range of disciplines – from food to chemicals, pharmaceutical to transport equipment.

In some of these areas we have seen

significant challenges as a result of cheaper production costs and exports coming out of low cost economies; in other areas we are seeing strong signs of growth.

Materials handling company Terex, international food manufacturer Moy Park, electronics manufacturer Schrader (Sensata Technologies) and pharmaceutical manufacturers Norbrook and TG Eakin are

all examples of manufacturing companies continuing to grow, and as this latest Top 100 report by the Belfast Telegraph shows, retain their positions in the Top 20 companies in Northern Ireland.

In the 2014/15 financial year, Invest NI approved over 2,100 offers of support to manufacturing companies, totalling almost £81m in assistance. These offers will help invest just over £715m in our local economy and will create over 3,600 new jobs in the coming years when the projects are fully implemented.

When the time period is extended to include the last four and a half years, almost 12,000 new jobs were promoted within manufacturing based firms. It is hoped that our reduced rate of corporation tax will open up new opportunities for manufacturing investment into Northern Ireland, and in turn we will continue to see growth, investment and job creation amongst manufacturing based businesses throughout Northern Ireland.

Growing the Northern Ireland economy, and the diverse business base we have here, has been a continued focus for the Northern Ireland Executive. As the agency with lead responsibility for delivering against Programme for Government targets to grow the number of jobs in Northern Ireland, and the investment in our economy we remain committed to utilising all the tools available to support businesses.

Increasing exports remains a key driver for achieving both business and economic growth, it is also one of the more challenging areas. The value of Northern Ireland exports is heavily influenced by global factors that are beyond business and government control – currency fluctuations and political instability in export markets, for example, can impact both the volume and value of exports.

However, while there are challenges around exporting, with the right preparation, research and commitment there are also great opportunities. Of the four UK countries, only Northern Ireland and England saw an increase in exports over the latest rolling 12 month period (Jan 2015 to Dec 2015) – with Northern Ireland experiencing the largest increase of 5.9%, compared to 0.3% in England.

Indeed, the £6.31bn of manufacturing exports delivered by Northern Ireland’s companies in this latest period is the highest level since the pre-economic downturn peak in December 2008 (£6.35bn).

It is important that we continue to support our indigenous businesses to grow and achieve the scale required to take their place in future Top 100 companies.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

Catriona Gibson, Managing Partner at leading law firm Arthur Cox

Arthur Cox: A finger on the pulse of the Top 100 Catriona Gibson, Managing Partner at leading law firm Arthur Cox

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ith the European Referendum looming large, the minds of local business commentators and economists alike have been concentrated on the potential impact that ‘Brexit’ may have on the Northern Ireland economy.

This is understandable, and indeed it is hard to overstate the importance to local companies of ensuring their total preparedness ahead of the public going to the polls on June 23.

However, the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 provides a welcome opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the recent successes enjoyed by Northern Ireland’s highest-performing businesses.

Arthur Cox is therefore delighted to once again partner with the Belfast Telegraph

Emma-Jane Flannery, newly-promoted Employment Law Partner at Arthur Cox, launching a seminar on legal issues in manufacturing with Stephen Kelly, Manufacturing NI CEO Right: Alan Taylor,Chairman and Head of Corporate and Commercial at Arthur Cox,congratulates Catriona Gibson on becoming the first female Managing Partner of a top-tier law firm in Northern Ireland for what is seen by many as one of the pre-eminent business commentaries on the local market.

As adviser to many of the firms in the Top 100 league table, Arthur Cox understands the hard work behind their success. Excellence is central to the Arthur Cox ethos and the companies featured all pursue excellence in their respective fields.

Our expertise and global reach make us a natural adviser to the largest multinational and indigenous companies operating here – as well as many thriving SMEs – and ensures we are recognised as one of the foremost Corporate and Commercial practices in Northern Ireland.

This year marks Arthur Cox’s 20th anniversary in Northern Ireland, with our Belfast city centre practice now employing over 90 people and advising a national and international client base across a wide range of sectors.

Our track record is testament to Arthur

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

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William Curry, Corporate and Commercial Partner at Arthur Cox, addressing the 100-strong audience at a procurement seminar hosted by Arthur Cox in Belfast Cox’s absolute and ongoing commitment to the local market. To those companies listed in this year’s Top 100, may I extend my sincere congratulations on behalf of the firm.

Official figures released last month by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) revealed that the Northern Ireland economy grew by 1.4% in 2015, which is double the 0.7% growth rate recorded the previous year.

Many of the companies featured in these pages will no doubt bear testament to such growth. However, there is a wider context to bear in mind which underscores a continued challenge to Northern Ireland’s economic fortunes.

While the 1.4% growth enjoyed by the local economy in 2015 is to be welcomed, it must also be recognised that Northern Ireland as a region still lags significantly behind the UK as a whole, which expanded by 2.3% during the same period.

So, that’s what the statistics are saying – but what about the market experience on the ground?

As the go-to firm for major corporates and SMEs throughout Northern Ireland, as well as for banks and private equity funds, Arthur Cox has its finger on the pulse of the local economy.

We’ve seen at close hand the major emerging trends, one of which is an increase in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activity in Northern Ireland. The volume of M&A deals in 2015 rose by almost 60% amid a growing trend for local companies to get on the front foot and look to acquire, rather than be acquired themselves.

The entry into the local market of private equity funds and the widespread sales of loan and property portfolios by our banks has also been a significant development.

The loan acquisitions being made by the private equity firms have served as a major catalyst for the Northern Ireland property market, triggering opportunities for further transactional activity and boosting the ongoing recovery cycle of our banks.

Arthur Cox’s first-class reputation in the market is built on our client service delivery ethos of proactivity and

partnership.

We also form strong partnerships with leading business bodies and the organisations with whom we work through our Corporate Responsibility programme.

We are a keen supporter of the Institute of Directors (IoD), working closely with the organisation through a range of professional development projects which improve corporate governance by supporting, advising and setting standards for almost 1,000 business leaders in its membership.

In December 2015, we partnered with Manufacturing NI to deliver an in-depth briefing to member companies on how best to navigate sector-specific legal pitfalls. Led by our new Employment Law Partner Emma-Jane Flannery, the seminar provided expert market analysis on a range of topics such as the potential dangers of holding ‘off-the record’ conversations with staff, the National Living Wage and the use of zero hours workers.

In December 2015, Arthur Cox hosted a procurement seminar which examined what the practical experiences have been of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which came into force in February 2015.

The seminar provided insightful analysis for over 100 delegates in attendance.

On the subject of change, in February my colleague Alan Taylor assumed the roles of Chairman and Head of Corporate and Commercial at Arthur Cox after eight hugely successful years as Managing Partner of our Belfast office.

It’s a tremendous honour for me to now lead one of the most respected advisory teams in Northern Ireland - and we are strongly committed to the local marketplace as we celebrate our 20th anniversary.

Innovative, nuanced and pragmatic advice is what Northern Ireland’s most successful companies need – and it’s what the Arthur Cox team is synonymous for.

Finally, to those companies listed in the Top 100 – congratulations, once again. To the significant number of other growing businesses striving to make the list, we’ll hopefully see your name in there next year.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 ANALYSIS 

By John Simpson

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n 2015, the companies selected for the Top 100 all recorded pre-tax profits of over £1.82m.

In a surprise, there were more businesses reporting profits of over £1m than we had guessed.

One year later and after further research efforts, the threshold for inclusion in the Top 100 has risen to profits of at least £2.25m. Ten companies that would have qualified last year now find themselves below the new higher cut-off point. These 10 businesses are still valuable parts of the private sector but take less prominence in the larger business environment.

The biggest profit makers, in descending order, were:

Danske Bank NI Water NI Electricity Moy Park A.E.S. Schrader Electronics Belfast Harbour W&R Barnett

£140m £62m £61m £36m £45m £31m £29m £27m

Moy Park and Schrader have both moved higher in this listing.

A useful extension of the analysis of the Top 100 asks the question which companies added most to the level of economic activity in Northern Ireland. To approach an answer to that question, the profits and pay bill of the larger businesses were added together.

That gives an indication of the funds generated to add to local incomes, whether as pay or profit allocation.

This calculation does not take account of the indirect impact of supply chains or induced spending by employees etc.

The companies with the largest combined profits and pay bills were:

Moy Park Bombardier Danske Bank Almac group NI Water NI Electricity Norbrook labs Allstate NI Schrader Dunbia Ballyvesey hlds Terex GB John Henderson John Graham A.E.S First Derivatives Seagate Technology

£262m £213m £196m £143m £117m £86m £82m £81m £80m £80m £79m £78m £71m £71m £66m £64m £62m

For some businesses, the profits and pay bill overstate the local contribution where that business includes a number of employees based outside Northern Ireland.

Comparing the comparable profits of each of the Top 100, year on year, reveals that these Northern Ireland businesses increase their pre-tax profits in the most recent year by 10%, exceeding inflation and most pay settlements.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 ANALYSIS 

By John Simpson

How businesses were chosen for the Top 100

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ounds like a simple task.

Just look at the results for all the large businesses in Northern Ireland and then put them in rank order starting with those making the largest profits.

Not that simple and indeed immediately poses questions of what we mean by large ‘in Northern Ireland’ and what we mean by ‘profits’.

The first cautionary note lies in deciding whether a business is in Northern Ireland.

The easy and large part of the answer is that there should be a company registered in Northern Ireland which reports annually on its business results. Even then, some interpretation is added. There is a small number (three) of businesses owned and controlled by NI shareholders, although registered in England. There is a small number (one large company) of businesses registered in NI but with little direct NI control.

Most importantly, there are several (15+) businesses trading extensively in NI as branches of UK wide businesses, including

POTENTIALLY, THE SEARCH FOR THE FIRMS WITH THE LARGEST PROFITS STARTS BY DRAWING ON THE HUGE NUMBER OF NI REGISTERED COMPANIES. OVER SEVERAL YEARS AND DRAWING ON OTHER PUBLISHED INFORMATION, THE SEARCH HAS NARROWED DOWN TO 300+ BUSINESSES.

the large multiple retailers, for which there is no separate NI company report or trading data. They are excluded.

Potentially, the search for the firms with the largest profits starts by drawing on the huge number of NI registered companies.

Over several years and drawing on other published information, the search has narrowed down to 300+ businesses. The largest profit makers emerge from an admittedly imperfect and still incomplete data base. It is now large enough for a degree of confidence in its extensive coverage.

As last year, advice on any omissions will

be gratefully received.

The term ‘profits’ has been used to mean ‘pre-tax profits’. There are occasions when the choice lies between pre-tax or operating profits. Even with the risk of some distortion, especially if accounts are dramatically changed by exceptional items, the summary table relies on reported pretax profits.

One further clarification may help readers. Where a business reports can reflect either a parent company or a wholly owned subsidiary, as far as possible the data used is extracted from the consolidated results within NI.

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his is the second year in which the Belfast Telegraph has collected company information to assess, as far as possible, the Northern Ireland registered or based businesses which recorded the highest levels of pre-tax profits.

In order to identify just 100 at the upper end of the spectrum of results, a much larger number of company reports were studied.

The cut-off profit level to identify just 100 businesses was the result of the compilation of a long list of successful companies which were then examined in descending order of pre-tax profits. As will be appreciated, the cut-off level of profits is determined by the target of finding 100 qualifying businesses.

This year, businesses included in the list were those known to the research team which made pre-tax profits of at least £2.25m. Last year the same process meant that 100 businesses known to have pre-tax

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

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Which companies qualified for the chart? profits of over £1.82m were listed. Since this is a new project, inevitably the extent and reliability of the data has improved in the second full cycle of discovery. This has identified more companies in which an interest has been taken.

Compared with the results a year ago, in 2016 there are 25 changes in the businesses that are identified. For re-assurance, 75 of the businesses identified in 2015 also qualified for listing in 2016.

Since 2015:  10 profitable companies which had profits of over £1.82m were now excluded with profits below the new cut-off point, £2.25m.  9 profitable companies experienced a fall in

profits to below £1.82m

 3 formerly qualifying profitable companies more recently recorded a loss

 3 companies had either closed or re-

organised: comparable information not available

In 2016, 25 extra businesses qualify to be listed with pre-tax profits of over £2.25m  1 is added after a change of ownership  8 are added because their profit results have improved  4 are added because they now show profitable trading after making a loss  12 are added as a result of better research: some possibly previously overlooked A topic of particular local interest is the

degree to which the more profitable businesses are family owned, locally controlled, or owned by shareholders outside Northern Ireland. These distinctions are not necessarily precisely measured from the published information but following a closer examination this research suggests:  40 may be (mainly) family owned  18 seem to be locally owned  42 are externally owned, including some FDI [foreign direct investments] This classification does not include national or multi-national businesses operating in NI which do not need a separate NI company registration, including for example the large multiple stores.

Large employers relatively stable

The 50 largest private sector employers generated over 93,000 jobs in the most recent analysis prepared by the Equality Commission. Comparing the results of the same survey a year earlier points to some significant changes in individual businesses whilst the combined total changed only marginally.

In total, from one year to the next, the employment in the largest 50 businesses increased by 1,323 extra jobs. However, of the 50 firms, 28 recorded an increase in jobs, sometimes on a small scale, while 22 posted a decrease.

     

The largest increases were in: Four Seasons healthcare Noonan Services Group Concentrix Lloyds Banking Gp (inc Halifax) Wrightbus Citigroup

408 393 355 261 246 178

The largest decreases were in:  Firstsource Solutions  Next  A.I.B (First trust)  Caterpillar  Tesco

407 376 314 246 173

The largest 50 private sector employers accounted for almost 18% of all private sector jobs.

See page 50-51 for details

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 ANALYSIS  A leading economist on how fears over global growth are affecting our Top 100

BREXIT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC RISKS IN 2016

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his year’s celebration of Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies is set against a very difficult economic backdrop. Concerns about the strength of global growth and a possible UK withdrawal from the European Union combine to set a rather sombre tone for our annual salutation to Northern Ireland’s best businesses. The rising uncertainty once again reminds us that business performance in local companies is very much shaped by the external economic climate, not just the local one.

The International Monetary Fund in recent weeks has warned that the fragile global economic outlook provides no room for mistakes. The IMF also backed up economist fears that the Brexit referendum – which has already created uncertainty for investors – could also “do severe regional and global damage by disrupting established trading relationships”.

The so-called Brexit is undoubtedly one of the biggest economic and financial risks in 2016. It is a risk that will impact not just the Top 100 companies but which will extend further to all businesses and households because the decision to leave has the potential to trigger a technical recession in the UK in the second half of 2016 or early 2017. And, of course, a Brexit would have economic and financial implications for Europe too.

But regardless of the risks on the economic horizon, at Danske Bank we are determined that our business customers will survive any Brexit related slowdown.

All financial institutions and policy makers will hopefully bend with the wind in terms of providing support to the business community should the going get tough.

However, we must accept that when uncertainty and volatility rise, there is a huge difference between firms ‘surviving’ and firms actually ‘thriving’.

Fortunately today we can celebrate the fact that many local companies are prospering. Their ability to create profit and jobs is a sure sign of their success.

Of course, not all successful companies are listed here in the Top 100. We know that many smaller local companies across Northern Ireland are now on the recovery road and are making healthy profits again.

While they may not yet have reached sufficient scale to warrant a place in this Top 100, we should nonetheless give them a salute and celebrate the fact that they too create jobs, create wealth and play a significant role in raising living standards

By Angela McGowan, Danske Bank chief economist THEY [FORBES] CONCLUDE THAT THERE ARE SIX “CURIOUS HABITS” OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES. for Northern Ireland households.

It is also exciting to see such a diverse range of indigenous firms included in this year’s list. However a healthy mixture of home-grown firms and foreignowned subsidiaries is the most desirable combination for any region. For years now we have observed foreign direct

investors (FDI) making it on to our Top 100 list and this reflects Northern Ireland’s attractiveness as an investment location.

Levels of foreign direct investment will typically reflect our investment in a number of areas such as skills, educational institutions and infrastructure. In addition, our openness to trade and access to neighbouring markets is crucial too.

With our corporation tax rate now set to be lowered to 12.5% in 2018 (and assuming the UK remains in the EU), we might expect to see a greater number of FDI firms listed in the Top 100 in 2019/20.

But what actually makes a firm successful in the first place? When economists are asked this question they tend to talk about increasing productivity, innovating, engaging in exports and investing in skills and R&D. But a number of staff at Forbes magazine have carried out what they call “an unscientific analysis” of successful firms, which makes for more interesting reading. They conclude that there are six “curious habits” of highly successful companies.

In the first instance these companies have a mission – they know who they are, what they stand for and where they want to be. Secondly, they keep their employees happy. According to Forbes they also react very quickly to the ever-changing environment. Surprisingly many of the most successful companies are ‘old’ — many of them were founded more than a century ago. But old does not mean stale. These well-established firms are quick to embrace change and to move with the times. They also “work the long term,” spotting trends and opportunities early, and so are able to see beyond short-term challenges. These companies concede that they do not know what the world will look like a decade from now, but they adopt a strategy or a set of strategies that can be effective, almost irrespective of what the world will look like.

Forbes notes that successful companies refuse to act like islands. They connect, collaborate, and use outside advisors and consultants. They also actively play a role in their communities through philanthropy and volunteer programmes.

In Northern Ireland we want to see more and more of these types of companies embedded in our economy. But we all have a role to play in terms of making Northern Ireland plc a huge success. There is a role for government around ensuring that business conditions and local policy allows firms to flourish. There is also a role for investors, educational institutions, employers’ groups and of course employees to work together and towards a clear vision of how we can make this region an economic success story.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 ANALYSIS  The Top 100 celebrates its 21st year of publication this year. Nigel Smyth, outgoing regional director of the CBI in Northern Ireland, considers some of the changes the chart has seen over the years

TECHNOLOGY IS IMPACTING ON EVERY BUSINESS

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hile not attracting the media and public’s attention as much as the recent profiling of political leaders tax returns I am confident that the Belfast Telegraph’s Top 100 will be of keen interest to the business community and wider stakeholders in Northern Ireland and beyond.

I’m particularly interested in our larger companies as one of our greatest challenges is to secure the growth and development of more companies into larger entities. Every economy is a ‘small firms’ economy (typically over 95% of companies will be defined as small ie employing less than 50 people) but Northern Ireland stands out by having around half the number of large companies as other countries. So having a good range of profitable and growing medium and larger companies will be a good measure of success.

While there is little change in the position of top companies in recent years I’ve used this article to reflect on some changes over the last 15 years or so — though direct comparisons with similar top 100 lists then are difficult — as the Belfast Telegraph used the number of employees as the judging criteria then compared to a profit assessment now.

Reviewed over this longer timeframe does indicate that significant changes have taken place, many driven by innovation and technology, and by the impact of globalisation. Over the last 15 years or so three notable trends stand out for me: growth of our medium sized businesses (MSBs - defined as companies with a turnover between £10m and £250m), the impacts of technology, and the restructuring in our economy that has taken place over this period.

It is encouraging to see the strong growth of MSBs both in turnover and profitability over this period and from a diverse range of sectors. Some of these can no longer be described as MSBs as they have grown so large, eg, Moy Park, Fane Valley, Hilton Foods, Grahams, and Almac, while others are now part of larger organisation,s eg Old Bushmills, Chain Reaction Cycles and Lagan Technology,

something I will return to.

The strong growth of MSBs has been driven by innovation and a relentless focus on exports — growth enablers that will remain key drivers of the Northern Ireland economy over the next decade.

Notable companies in this area including Devenish Nutrition and Manderley Food (owner of Tayto) in the food sector and our fast growing health technology businesses: Norbrook, Randox and TJ Eakin.

The IT sector leads the way with two listed companies (something Northern Ireland continues to fall short on), First Derivatives and Kainos Group highlight the potential of this sector. The engineering sector has strong contenders with strong growth in Wrightbus, relative newcomer Thompson Aero and Retlan (better known as SDC Trailers) in recent years. The construction sector also has

a strong representation of MSBs, largely driven by their success in Great Britain, including FP McCann, Carnbane House (O’Hare and McGovern), Creagh Concrete, Haldane Shiells and others.

Secondly technology is impacting on every business. From a top 100 perspective the presence of a significant number of technology companies now is taken for granted. In addition to our indigenous companies we have major employers in Allstate and Liberty IT. But technology over the last 15 years has also created new business models which have provided enterpreneurs with new opportunities.

Chain Reaction Cycles has been a massive growth story over the last decade, while in the energy sector new players including Lissan Coal and Budget Energy have grown strongly.

Northern Ireland is fortunate to have

leading global technology companies such as Seagate (using nano-technology) and Schrader Electronics (over 90% of its products manufactured in Northern Ireland are patented) in our top 100. And while technology has created thousands of jobs over the last decade in some areas, customer use of digital technology has resulted in fewer jobs in other sectors, as reflected in the banking sector.

The third trend reflects a slow but steady re-structuring in our economy and the impact of takeovers. Fifteen to 20 years ago the textiles and clothing sector would have been more prominent in our top 100 with Desmonds employing over 2000 people at the start of the millennium.

I ‘m delighted that some highly efficient and innovative companies in the textiles sector still make it into the top 100 with Ulster Carpet Mills and Cooneen by Design featuring. Other key sectors notably food and drink, engineering and construction remain well represented.

The other key aspect is how takeovers can shape our economy. Some of our largest companies have new international owners: Danske Bank, Moy Park, NIE, Schrader, Old Bushmills, Lagan Technology and FG Wilson, with Chain Reaction Cycles the most recent company to have a new owner. Attracting international capital is clearly good news, particularly when it reflects on successful companies, and can bring new investment and new opportunities. It is also encouraging to see more Northern Ireland companies do the acquiring to help build their capabilities and create stronger companies. SHS Group has a long and successful track record of acquiring companies outside of Northern Ireland.

But several other companies have been scaling up through the acquisition route too, including First Derivatives, Westland Horticulture, TJ Eakin, Dunbia and Manderley Food. Hopefully a trend which will gain momentum.

As for the future, I am confident that many of the newer names to the top 100, compared with a decade ago, will continue to move higher up the list driven by new business models and ambitious and strong management teams. I am also confident that the importance and impact of our growing medium-sized Companies will feature more prominently in the years ahead.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 OPINION  Women lead three of our top five firms, from Moy Park to NI Water, but one business leader describes why we need more women in the Top 100 in order to reflect the world around us

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his year’s list of Top 100 companies and employers is a tribute to the dedication, commitment and vision of entrepreneurs, managers, leaders and teams across the country. While economists are suggesting that our business landscape is stagnating as we await the outcome of the EU referendum, the fact that our top 100 are surviving profitably at all is great news.

But what would be even greater news would be to see some growth in the number of women leaders among this club. Women leaders account for 7% of the list. This is not a result of men stopping women from taking positions of leaderships. Rather, it’s a reflection of the continuing reluctance of big society, of men and women, to accept that a greater contribution by women will inject new vigour and success into our economy.

Why else would the top corporates in the USA adopt a minimum target of 30% women in senior management teams and at board levels? It’s not for cosmetic reasons, nor is it to look good in front of politically-correct policy makers. It’s down to success and profitability.

Women remain uncomfortable with ambition and drive. They don’t want to be seen as so-called ‘ball-breakers’. Nor do they want to be the butt of trolling, jokes or criticism. Where a male leader might be seen as passionate, his female equivalent is too often seen as highly strung. Better in the face of a male-dominated work place to keep the head down, then.

But Women in Business, which now represents 2500 members, is beginning to show men and women that there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to ambition and drive.

The good news is that increasing numbers of young women see no reason why they should not be as motivated as their male colleagues to do what’s best for their organisation. Looking at the

WOMEN LEADERS ACCOUNT FOR 7% OF THE LIST

By Roseann Kelly, chief executive of Women in Business 2500 members, these women are not only entrepreneurs but leaders in corporate public and voluntary sectors, too.

The impact of women wherever they can play a full role is positive and welcomed by those organisations. Which is why Women in Business is calling on the next Programme for Government to include programmes and policies which encourage women to be ambitious, confident and equal. Our recommendations include four key components of economic success which can only be achieved by greater diversity.

Our first recommendation is to instil in

THEY DON’TWANT TO BE SEEN AS SO-CALLED ‘BALLBREAKERS’. NOR DO THEY WANTTO BE THE BUTT OF TROLLING, JOKES OR CRITICISM.

primary school children a fundamental understanding of business and how it works. Our second is to encourage entrepreneurship among women by introducing clauses in government grant awards. Thirdly, the need for greater diversity and better child care support will quickly make life easier for those skilled women who want to stay in the work place. Most contentiously, possibly, Women in Business calls for increased immigration. We need more international perspective on business and greater input from people outside of Northern Ireland to help us compete internationally. We are on the geographical periphery of Europe.

Therefore we have to bring Europe to us.

We are of course thrilled to see an increase of women leaders in the Top 100, from six to seven – and that three of those are in the top five.

But until we start thinking more in terms of a diverse business community, we will remain stuck in a mid-twentieth century mindset and watch the rest of the world, and investment, gallop past us as they head towards forward-thinking economies.

Can the Top 100 start looking a bit different from now on? We could, for instance, use a Women in Business Diversity Charter system and track firms which qualify for such a charter against profitability.

There are plenty of models of easilyimplemented policies which could transform our view of a successful economy through a greater number of women in leading positions. Most of these require family-friendly inputs, and these do not just affect women but their male partners too.

The idea of a gender-blind outlook is not the answer. Men and women are equal but different. As we make progress in our bid to accommodate greater diversity the issues currently preventing women from playing their leadership roles will dissipate. But we need to help accelerate this transformation before our reputation as a crusty old economy gets the better of us.

18

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

1-25 Yr. end

Pre-tax profits £’000

Pretax pr.

Year ago £’000

% Change

No. Employees

Pay bill £’000

1

Danske Bank

Bank

12.15

139,700

102,200

37%

1,263

56,000

2

N.I.Water

Utility

3.15

62,058

56,143

11%

1,253

54,767

3

N.I.Electricity

Utility

12.14

61,500

70,000

-12%

1,251

24,300

4

A.E.S [2 cos]

Utility

12.14

45,388

61,107

-26%

271

21,026

5

Moy Park

Poultry

12.15

35,700

46,100

-23%

9,230

226,500

6

Schrader Electronic

Tyre systems

12.14

31,281

22,189

41%

1,277

48,402

7

Belfast Harbour

Port

12.14

29,435

27,291

8%

122

6,500

8

W&R Barnett

Grain imports

7.14

26,984

22,280

21%

286

17,664

9

Terex GB

Engineering

12.14

22,787

42,464

-46%

1,638

54,947

10

Norbrook Hlds

Veterinary

7.14

22,194

20,700

7%

2,045

60,293

11

Bombardier

Aerospace

12.14

22,100

17,700

25%

5,005

190,700

12

Old Bushmills Dis.

Spirits

6.14

22,052

20,128

10%

100

4,180

13

John Henderson

Distribution

12.14

21,206

18,358

16%

2,585

49,375

14

Lissan Coal

Distribution

9.14

19,330

14,048

38%

179

4,765

15

First Derivatives

IT

2.15

17,476

7,947

120%

999

46,439

16

UTV Media

Broadcaster

12.14

17,245

16,951

2%

1,010

35,323

17

SHS Group

Distribution

12.14

17,108

19,415

-12%

758

28,209

18

TG Eakin

Medical devices

3.15

15,808

19,077

-17%

58

1,467

19

Montupet

Engineering

12.14

15,520

14,178

9%

585

18,414

20

Randox Holdings.

Medical tests

12.14

12,743

12,923

-1%

1,081

27,865

21

Almac Group

Pharmaceuticals

9.14

12,623

19,197

-34%

3,297

130,398

22

Progressive Build

Financial

12.14

12,622

5,657

123%

155

5,106

23

F.P. McCann

Construction

12.15

12,340

10,151

32%

1,027

32,692

24

Sangers NI

Distribution

9.14

11,975

6,927

73%

223

6,582

25

Kainos Software

IT

3.15

11,837

7,056

68%

612

30,954

Top 100 – The largest profit-earning Northern Ireland registered companies Data as available at 20 March 2016

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

19

26-50 Yr. end

Pre-tax profits £’000

Pretax pr.

Year ago £’000

% Change

No. Employees

Pay bill £’000

26

Wrights Group

Bus manufacture

12.14

11,638a

4,014

190%

1,552

46,052

27

Seagate Tech.

IT

6.14

11,691

12,395

-6%

1,336

49,752

28

Dunnes Stores

Distribution

1.15

11,359

13,893

-18%

1,592

17,428

29

Hilton Foods [NI]

Meat processing

12.14

11,214

8,003

40%

16

3,565

30

Thompson Aero S

Engineering

3.15

10,643

6,112

74%

223

9.980

31

Carnbane House

Construction

12.13

10,578

4,035

162%

99

3,769

32

Coca-Cola HBC

Drinks

12.14

10,528

7,051

49%

517

23,392

33

SSE Airtric Energy

Utility

3.15

10,202

13,560

-25%

26

969

34

Viridian Gp. Invest

Utility

3.15

9,600

4,500

113%

465

25,100

35

Charles Hurst

Distribution

12.14

8,749

6,034

45%

929

27,470

36

Harland & Wolff

Engineering

12.14

8,662

(4,395)

Profit rest

207

10,331

37

Retlan Manuf.

Engineering

3.15

8,525

6,328

35%

848

22,982

38

Magir

Retail chemist

8.14

8,064

(283)

Profit rest

504

9,654

39

Allstate NI

IT

12.14

7,769

4,572

70%

2,171

73,116

40

Gardrum Hlds

Auctions

12.14

7,685

7,746

-1%

100

3,096

41

Bemis Healthcare

Paper manufacture

12.14

7,627

9,707

-21%

267

7,055

42

John Graham

Construction

3.15

7,435

5,681

31%

1,645

63,598

43

Cooneen by Design

Textiles

11.14

7,263

8,663

-16%

149

5,088

44

Kilwaughter Chemicals

Lime

4.15

7,233

6,583

10%

119

4,456

45

Manderley Food

Snacks

6.15

7,216

6,269

15%

1,378

34,563

46

Ulster Carpets

Textiles

3.15

7,103

6,532

9%

532

18,758

47

Tennent’s NI

Drinks distribution

2.15

6,913

5,541

25%

78

3,373

48

Fane Valley Co-op

Agriculture

9.14

6,765

8,719

-22%

2,312

52,549

49

Firstsource Solutions

Call centre

3.15

6,639

4,693

41%

3,371

52,292

50

Dunbia

Meat processing

3.15

6,565

4,611

42%

3,605

73,760

Top 100 – The largest profit-earning Northern Ireland registered companies Data as available at 20 March 2016

20

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

51-75 Yr. end

Pre-tax profits £’000

Pretax pr.

Year ago £’000

% Change

No. Employees

Pay bill £’000

Furniture

12.14

6,058

4,614

31%

326

7,307

Building material

12.14

5,759

3,045

89%

797

26,784

Animal feed

8.14

5,671

5,206

9%

182

7,552

51

O & S Holdings

52

Brett Martin Hlds

53

B.H.H

54

Liberty Info.Tech.

IT

12.14

5,620

5,387

4%

401

19,389

55

Westland Hortic

Garden supplies

12.14

5,540

6,598

-16%

475

15,461

56

Devenish (NI)

Feedstuffs

5.15

5,326

4,115

29%

294

14,606

57

H&A Holds (NI)

Construction

5.15

5,095

2,972

71%

n.s

n.s

58

Lagan: White Mtn.

Construction

12.14

5,041

5,658

-11%

196

7,096

59

Chain Reaction Cy

Online retail

12.14

4,807

4,833

-1%

540

14,103

60

Delta Print & Pack.

Packaging

6.15

4,762

5,343

-11%

257

7,968

61

Springvale EPS

Manufacturing

6.15

4,597

1,652

178%

113

3,741

62

Lagan Const. Gr

Construction

3.15

4,586

4,834

-5%

510

23,303

63

BSG Civil Eng.

Construction

12.14

4,373

5,010

-13%

52

1,722

64

Heatons (NI)

Distribution

4.15

4,368

2,895

51%

498

5,017

65

Elite Electronic Sy.

Electronics

3.15

4,252

6,753

-37%

183

3,531

66

Tobermore Conc

Manufacturing

4.15

4,208

3,003

40%

192

5,130

67

Northstone (NI)

Construction

12.14

4,168

6,093

-32%

986

36,909

68

Multi Packaging

Packaging

6.14

4,158a

4,685

-11%

177

6,104a

69

BI Electrical Serv

Contractor

12.14

4,046

3,986

2%

56

3,768

70

Buttercrane Cen etc

Property

10.14

3,907

(7,311)

Profit rest

n.s

n.s

71

Huhtamaki (Lur)

Paper

12.14

3,884

3,287

18%

212

7,144

72

Caterpillar Corp

Engineering

12.14

3,810

28,707

-87%

1,883

79,338

73

Budget Energy

Electricity

6.15

3,649

627

482%

42

1,100

74

Tullymore House

Hotels

10.14

3,529

2,379

48%

317

4,829

75

Severfield (NI)

Steelwork

3.15

3,486

1,142

205%

284

10,218

*

Top 100 – The largest profit-earning Northern Ireland registered companies Data as available at 20 March 2016

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

21

76-100 Yr. end

Pre-tax profits £’000

Pretax pr.

Year ago £’000

% Change

No. Employees

Pay bill £’000

76

Aghareany

Engineering

12.14

3,445

2,032a

70%

63

1,884

77

BHC

Engineering

3.15

3,431

2,529

36%

309

10,818

78

Decora Blind Sy

Manufacture

12.14

3,405

2,336

46%

441

8,855

79

Western Building S

Manufacture

4.15

3,362

2,115

59%

53

1,932

80

Ballyvesey Hld

Transport

9.14

3,284

4,262

-23%

2,582

76,078

81

Creagh Concrete

Manufacture

3.15

3,087

(1,866)

Profit rest

430

13,161

82

DCC Energy

Energy fuel

3.15

2,980

2,180

37%

167

5,484

83

Lamex Foods Ire.

Food

3.15

2,911

2,264

29%

8

2,767

84

Andras House

Hotels

4.15

2,910

2,603

12%

220

4,165

85

Golf Holdings

Drinks

12.14

2,862

8,653

-67%

1,567

21,313

86

Macnaughton Blair

Distribution

12.14

2,796

895

212%

474

12,804

87

Larne Harbour

Port

12.14

2,776

2,727

2%

30

1,068

88

Haldane Shiells

Distribution

12.14

2,749

1,823

51%

465

12,122

89

Gordons Chemist

Distribution

4.15

2,696

1,384

95%

645

10,475

90

Natural world prod.

Recycling

12.14

2,575

2,459

5%

80

2,204

91

Coolkeeragh ESB

Power station

12.14

2,553

12,063

-79%

Nil

Nil

92

Jenkins Shipping G

Transport

4.15

2,543

2,155

18%

180

4,857

93

Copeland

Electrical

9.14

2,537

2,615

-3%

188

5.254

94

Lagan Technologies

IT

12.13

2,514

724

247%

346

16,686

95

MJM Marine

Fit-out

12.14

2,387

1,414

69%

145

5,087

96

Charles Tennant NI

Chemicals

12.14

2,346

1,928

22%

60

2,648

97

Uni-trunk

Engineering

12.14

2,328

2,682

-13%

171

5,144

98

GE Grid Solutions [ex-Kelman]

Engineering

12.14

2,311

11,380

-79%

146

7,243

99

BA Kitchen Comp

Wood units

3.15

2,280

1,719

33%

232

6,293

Distribution

10.14

2,255

3,645

-38%

340

8,355

100 Lynas Foodservice

Top 100 – The largest profit-earning Northern Ireland registered companies Data as available at 20 March 2016

1

22

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

Danske Bank Chief executive: Kevin Kingston Pre-tax profit: £139.7m Employment: 1,263 Pay bill: £56m Donegall Square West Belfast BT1 6JS Tel: 028 9024 5277 www.danskebank.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND’S

TOP 100

COMPANIES IN PROFILE

D

anske Bank is one of the leading retail banks in Northern Ireland serving the needs of personal, business and corporate customers. It is part of the Copenhagen-based Danske Bank Group and has a network of 46 branches and 4 regional Finance Centres across Northern Ireland.

Danske Bank has consistently reported strong financial performances since 2013, when it returned to profit, ahead of other local banks. Against the backdrop of an economy still in recovery, the bank reported a pre-tax profit of £140m for 2015, reflecting a combination of improved revenue performance, ongoing cost control and continuing impairment recoveries.

A key priority for Danske Bank in 2015 was growing its mortgage business via its branch network and, increasingly, through mortgage brokers. Growth was primarily driven by home movers, a reflection of improving consumer confidence in a more buoyant housing market.

Wealth management was another area of growth for Danske Bank in 2015, with customers responding positively to its new independent advisory service.

The consumer trend towards digital channels continued at pace, with Danske Bank reporting over 3 million monthly digital logons via online, mobile and tablet banking. The bank continued to invest in these channels, launching new apps for Windows Phone, Android Tablet and an app for Apple Watch users.

Total lending to SME customers increased substantially and a significant number of new SMEs became Danske Bank customers. Lending to larger corporate businesses was back to prerecession levels, with demand stronger in the first half of 2015. The bank was active in the commercial property sector and maintained its position as one of the leading finance providers for the social housing sector. Danske Bank has been particularly successful in recent years in attracting new corporate customers to the bank and this trend continued. A third of new lending in this sector was to support new customers.

Former chief executive Gerry Mallon left the top position late last year, and was replaced by his deputy, Kevin Kingston.

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

23

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

2

NI Water Chief executive: Sara Venning Pre-tax profit: £62m Employment: 1,253 Pay bill: £54.8m Westland House 45 Old Westland Road Belfast BT14 6TE Tel: 08457 440088 www.niwater.com

E

stablished in April 2007, NI Water delivers water and sewerage services to 825,000 homes and businesses right across Northern Ireland. Everyone in Northern Ireland depends on high quality drinking water and the safe return of wastewater to the environment.

NI Water says it “plays a key role in safeguarding public health”. It is also a vital link in the local supply chain providing dependable services to industry and business including the agri-food sector. NI Water said it has “a vital role in protecting and enhancing the natural environment, both abstracting raw water and safely disposing of wastewater. This is essential to keep Northern Ireland and its surrounding coastline rich in natural beauty and an attractive tourist destination”.

NI Water provides 563 million litres of fresh drinking water and takes away 316 million litres of wastewater which it treats before returning to the environment.

Thousands of assets, with a value of £2.2bn, are operated and maintained to provide these services to every home, hospital, school and business.

NI Water has reduced its annual operating costs from £213m in 2009/10 to £184m in 2014/15. This equates to an overall reduction of £28.5m or £69m if inflation is taken into account. NI Water

said its non-domestic customers are paying 12% less, on average, for their water and sewerage services than they did four years ago, again when taking into account inflation. The efficiency gap with the leading companies in England and Wales has closed from 49% to 13%.

NI Water has developed a business plan for the period to 2021 known as PC15. The six-year plan sets out how the company will continue to improve services for customers today while investing to

safeguard services for future customers. NI Water is committed to working with local government to secure the medium term funding necessary to underpin the delivery of investment in better services for all its customers.

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Ms Venning said she was proud of the company’s successes. “We’re public sector and have delivered a lot. The water is clean and it’s safe and the environment is protected.”

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

24

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

3

NI Electricity Managing director: Nicholas Tarrant Pre-tax profit: £61.5m Employees: 1,251 Paybill: £34.3m

N

120 Malone Road Belfast BT9 5HT Tel: 03457 643 643 www.nie.co.uk

orthern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (NIE Networks) is the owner of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Northern Ireland.

These networks transport electricity from generators (including wind farms and other renewable generators) to homes and businesses.

NIE Networks is responsible for building and maintaining the electricity networks and operating and planning the distribution network. It connects domestic and business premises and generators to the electricity grid. The company also provides electricity meters to around 860,000 consumers in Northern Ireland and provides metering data to the electricity supply companies and market operators to enable wholesale and retail settlement.

In 2015, NIE Networks increased network investment by around 20% to £88.3m, primarily the refurbishment and replacement of worn transmission and distribution assets to improve the reliability of electricity supplies and ensure the safety of the network.

The total network investment also included £24.6m to facilitate connection of additional renewable generation.

During the year there was a significant increase in the number of applications for renewable generation connections and an additional 96MW of renewable generation was connected, comprising two large scale projects, several hundred small scale projects and several thousand microgeneration projects, and by the end of 2015 there was a total of 846MW of renewable generation connected representing around 24% of total generation in Northern Ireland. A key priority for 2016 is delivering the generation connections pipeline.

The company is regulated by the Utility Regulator and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and operates under agreed price controls which determine network investment and the network prices it can charge. It is currently developing its investment plans for 2017-2024 and has spent the last year talking to home and business owners and other stakeholders about how they would like to see the grid develop.

AES President UK and Ireland: Carla Tully

Moy Park Chief executive: Janet McCollum

Pre-tax profits: £45.4m

Pre-tax profits: £35.7m

Employees: 260

Employees: 9,230

Pay bill: £21m

Pay bill: £226.5m

Kilroot Power Station Larne Road Carrickfergus Co Antrim Tel: 028 9335 1644 www.aesukireland.com

ES UK & Ireland is part of The AES Corporation, a Fortune 200 energy company with a global portfolio of businesses operating in 17 countries worldwide, employing 18,500 people. AES says it “improves lives by providing safe, reliable and sustainable energy solutions in every market we serve”.

AES directly employs around 260 people, plus 140 contractors, in the Mid and East Antrim area. As well as its Northern Ireland presence, it has a business development team in Great Britain focused on growing the business across the UK and Ireland, building on AES’ global and local track record in energy storage, renewables, and thermal generation.

AES has operated in Northern Ireland

independent business within ESB with its own board of eirectors, management and staff.

5

4

A

NIE Networks is part of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), based in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). NIE Networks is an

since 1992. It is Northern Ireland’s largest electricity generator, owning and operating Ballylumford and Kilroot Power Stations.

In 2015 AES provided 69% of Northern Ireland’s dispatchable generation capacity, providing reliable power for the All Island Electricity System. Environmental upgrades to both plants throughout 2015 to meet new emissions standards enabled AES to continue to play an important role in supporting security of supply for homes and businesses.

The Kilroot Advancion® Energy Storage Array is the largest battery energy storage facility in the UK and Ireland, reducing system costs by enhancing grid stability and unlocking the value of existing renewables. The Advancion Array was built and operates at no additional cost to Northern Ireland consumers. AES has an active energy storage development pipeline across these islands, including late stage plans for the second phase of energy storage at Kilroot, targeting the installation of an additional 100 MW in late 2017.

The Food Park 39 Seagoe Industrial Estate Craigavon BT63 5QE Tel: 028 3835 2233 www.moypark.co.uk

M

oy Park is a £1.4bn business employing 12,000 people across facilities in the UK, Ireland, Holland and France.

The company is one of the UK’s top 15 food companies, Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of Europe’s leading poultry producers. In 2015, Moy Park joined the JBS Group – the world’s largest protein company and second largest global food business.

Moy Park is a vertically integrated business processing 5 million fresh chickens per week sourced from 800 local poultry farmers. Although best known for poultry, Moy Park is a major European producer of beef products, vegetarian products such as spring rolls and onion rings, as well as desserts including donuts

and apple pies – a full range from starters and main courses to desserts.

Moy Park continues to grow its business with significant investment in its industryleading operations including a major £20m investment at its primary processing facility in Dungannon, £4m in its ‘Ready to Eat’ facility in Craigavon, £10m investment in its Ashbourne factory and hatchery in England, and an £8m investment in a strategic multi-year skills programme with the support of Invest NI to deliver a comprehensive suite of training and learning initiatives across the entire company workforce.

Moy Park has been recognised with a number of leading accolades including the UK Food Manufacturing Company of the Year at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, Meat & Poultry Processing Awards for Processing Business of the Year, Retail Processor of the Year and Product Developer of the Year. The company’s focus on its people has successfully won the IGD Learning & Development Award and a RoSPA Health & Safety Award.

26

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

6

Schrader Electronic General manager: Graeme Thompson Pre-tax profits: £31.3m Employees: 1,277 Pay bill: £48.4m 11 Technology Park Antrim BT41 1QS Tel: 028 9446 1300 www.schraderinternational.com

S

chrader in Antrim specialises in the development and manufacture of remote tyre pressure monitor systems (RTPMS) and other electronic sensing technologies for use in cars. It’s the number one supplier of tyre pressure monitoring systems says it’s hoping retain its 50% market share in the market as legislation requiring TPMS is adopted around the world. Since October 2014 the company’s ultimate parent undertaking has been Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. Schrader has carried out manufacturing on the site since 1996.

Sales covered in its most recent accounts – for 2014 – rose from £193.3m in 2013 to £259m in 2014.

The company said it continues to invest heavily in future growth both in capital expenditure and in research and development. The firm said investment was vital to the company as it continues to develop its RTPMS and related products and apply technology to reduce unit and operating costs and the company continues to invest over 6% of sales in that area. The company has strong links with technical colleges and Northern Ireland’s universities, as well as a graduate development programme and technical apprenticeships.

9

Terex GB President, Terex Materials Processing Pre-tax profit: £22.8m Employees: 1,638 Pay bill: £54.9m Terex Materials Processing Drumquin Road Omagh Co Tyrone BT78 5PN Tel: 0845 0305 200 www.terex.com/en/materials-processing/

T

erex GB is the American-owned and Northern Ireland-registered company which purchased Powerscreen plc. It is part of Terex Corporation, a NYSE-listed global organisation. Terex GB is part of Terex Material Processing, one of five divisions of Terex Corporation.

Terex Material Processing designs and manufactures mobile crushing, screening and washing equipment and the material processing group’s main product lines include Powerscreen, Terex Finlay, Terex Mineral Terex, which employs nearly 16,000 people worldwide, bought JMF in Ballymoney in June last year. It said it had bought the smaller company in anticipation of expansion in its Terex Washing Systems (TWS) and Terex Environmental Equipment divisions. In the year to December 31, 2014, Terex had pre-tax profits of around £22.8m – down from £42.6m. Powerscreen will mark 50 years in business later this year with major celebrations in Dungannon.

7

Belfast Harbour Chief executive: Roy Adair Pre-tax profits: £29.4m Employees: 122 Pay bill: £6.5m

8

W&R Barnett Chief executive: William Barnett Pre-tax profits: £27m Employees: 286 Pay bill: £17.7m

Harbour Office Corporation Square Belfast Tel: 028 9055 4422 www.belfast-harbour.co.uk

Clarendon Road Belfast BT1 3BG www.wrbarnett.com

B

W

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elfast Harbour describes the scale of its economic activity within the harbour, and its positive impact on Northern Ireland’s wider economy, as “highly significant”. The Harbour and its port customers now handle 70% of Northern Ireland’s seaborne trade and circa 20% of that of the entire island. It is also Northern Ireland’s most active property developer commiting more than £85m to projects across 2015 and 2016.

The Harbour is Northern Ireland’s leading logistics and distribution hub delivering high-end infrastructure, built assets and services to support exporters and importers, ferry and cruise ship operators, companies providing services to shippers and cargo owners.

The Harbour is a key facilitator of economic activity throughout the region with over 30% of Northern Ireland’s gross domestic product supported by its activities. In 2015 Belfast Harbour handled 23m tonnes, including a record 400,000 freight vehicles. There was particularly strong growth in sectors such as energy and construction materials, and tonnages handled at the port are now seven million tonnes higher than the recession’s low point. In recent years the Harbour has invested £130m to support capital investment projects.

Norbrook Holdings Chief executive: Liam Nagle Pre tax profits: £22.2m Employees: 2,045 Pay bill: £60.3m Newry BT35 6QQ Northern Ireland Tel: 028 3026 4435 www.norbrook.com

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orbrook Holdings Limited, headquartered in Newry, is a global leader in the development and manufacture of veterinary and animal health medicines. Founded in 1969 by the late Lord Ballyedmond, Norbrook has a presence in 120 countries, with facilities in the UK and Ireland, Europe, the US, Africa and Australia, and is one of the largest privately owned veterinary pharmaceutical companies in the world.

The company is focused on enhancing animal health through the provision of high quality, cost effective products for livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep), pet and equine markets.

In the year to August 1 2015 Norbrook grew its revenue by 9% to £216m, outperforming the market in most regions, driven by strong organic growth and a number of new product launches (in North America and Africa). North America is now the company’s largest trading region.

The company is investing heavily in the business and its facilities in Newry (£15m in the next 12 months) including the construction of two new laboratories.

Norbrook invests a significant proportion of its revenue in research and development.

&R Barnett is the holding company of a diversified group of international commodity trading, storage, agribusiness and industrial companies.

The company is a global trader of molasses and related liquid commodities, and the leading trader of grain and non-grain animal feed commodities in Ireland. The company is also a prominent independent supplier of bulk liquid storage facilities to the UK food, feed, industrial and energy sectors with over 400,000 cubic meters of storage assets located on the Mersey, Humber, Thames and Avonmouth. Through its subsidiary, John Thompson & Sons, the company is the largest manufacturer of animal feed in Northern Ireland.

Turnover fell in the year reflecting the fall in global commodity prices, whilst profits were improved by the one-off sale of listed investments.

In November 2015, W&R Barnett acquired the Logson Group of corrugated packaging companies. The Logson Group, which is headquartered in Coalville, employs over 850 people and turns over £185m annually. Alex Kelly, the chief executive of Logson Group, has joined the board of W&R Barnett.

Bombardier Managing director: Michael Ryan Pre-tax profits: £22.1m Employees: 5,005 Pay bill: £190.7m Airport Road Belfast BT3 9DZ Tel: 028 90458444 www.belfast.aero.bomardier.com

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here has been good news recently for Bombardier.

Its C Series aircraft, the advanced composite wings for which are produced in Belfast, won a landmark order from US carrier Delta Airlines. Delta has entered into a deal to receive 125 of the narrow-bodied jets, in a contract worth up to $5.6bn (£3.8bn). But as it reflected on 2015, Bombardier Belfast said: “Last year was an extremely challenging year for Bombardier Belfast, and these challenges continue as the company is faced with ongoing global competitiveness issues. The Belfast operation has been actively contributing to the corporation’s global efforts to improve competitiveness and drive down costs.

“The ongoing review of workforce requirements led to the release during 2015 of over 300 contractors — members of the company’s complementary labour force — as well as a small number of core management employees who left on voluntary packages.”

The tough global challenges it’s facing notwithstanding, the recent Delta deal has done much to restore some positivity to Bombardier, one of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE Old Bushmills Distillery Chief executive: Juan Domingo Beckmann Pre-tax profits: £22m Employees: 100 Pay bill: £4.2m

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John Henderson Joint MDs: Geoff and Martin Agnew Pre-tax profits: £21.2m Employees: 2,585 Pay bill: £49.4m

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Bushmills Distillery 2 Distillery Road Bushmills Co Antrim BT57 8XH Tel: 028 207 33218 www.bushmills.com

Mallusk Newtownabbey BT36 4RT Tel: 028 9034 2733 www.henderson-group.com

16 Churchtown Road Cookstown Co Tyrone BT80 9XD Tel: 028 8676 5588 www.lcccoal.com

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Lissan Coal Managing director: Michael Loughran Pre-tax profits: £19.3m Employees: 179 Pay bill: £4.8m

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orthern Ireland’s best-known whiskey maker enjoyed a bumper year in 2014, according to its most-recently filed accounts. The year ending June 30 2014 was also its final year under the ownership of drinks giant Diageo, before Bushmills was taken over by Mexican drinks giant Jose Cuervos. But in the year reflected in 2016’s Top 100, the company had pretax profits of £22m, up 25% on the year before. A strategic report accompanying the accounts for the year ending June 30 2014 said growth had been due to the successful of its new Bushmills Honey combination. The report said: “In the Russian and Eastern European market, Bushmills is one of the leaders in the Irish whiskey category and demonstrated steady growth in both volumes and sales.”

The company said marketing initiatives had contributed to the growing success of the brand, especially in Eastern Europe. Last year the brand’s new owners filed a planning application for a major expansion of the Bushmills facility in a bid to double production capacity.

First Derivatives Chief executive: Brian Conlon Pre-tax profits: £17.5m Employees: 1,500 Pay bill: £46.4m 3 Canal Quay Newry Co. Down BT35 6BP Tel: 028 3025 2242 www.firstderivatives.com

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irst Derivatives employs over 1,500 staff and provides software products to the world’s largest finance, technology and energy institutions to meet their data management challenges. The company also provides associated consulting services within capital markets, where its customer base includes investment banks, brokers, exchanges, regulators and hedge funds.

Since it was established over 20 years ago, FD’s consulting business has built a reputation as one of the leading niche capital markets consulting companies in the world. The firm said it’s “committed to helping our clients reduce the total cost of their mission critical systems by providing lower cost, high quality solutions that meet their key requirements”.

Its Kx technology enables decisions to be taken in real time based on the analysis of events as they happen and its world class capabilities are evidenced by the fact that it is used by all of the top 10 global investment banks. It also provides software products in areas such as market surveillance, trading, regulatory reporting, transaction cost analysis and algorithmic testing. Its technology can also be used in the connected world of Internet of Things and other vertical markets.

he Henderson Group’s activities embrace wholesale, retail and property with four companies, Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Group Property and Henderson Foodservice. It has owned the Spar franchise, which originated in Holland, since 1960 and the symbol retailer has long been Northern Ireland’s biggest convenience store operator. And the company is fresh from winning the Overall Business of the Year in the 2016 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in Association with British Airways.

Joint managing directors Geoffrey and Martin Agnew are the great-grandsons of the founder John Henderson, who started the business as a bread and milk wholesaler in St George’s Market in 1897. There are 322 Spar stores in Northern Ireland – 280 in the Spar convenience store format and 44 in the larger Eurospar supermarket guise.

Out of that portfolio, the Henderson Group fully owns 76 stores, of which 60 are Spar and 16 Eurospar. All Spar shop owners are in a supply agreement with Henderson.

In addition, there are 77 Vivo/Vivo Essentials stores – another retail franchise in the Henderson family.

UTV Media Executive chairman: Richard Huntingford Pre-tax profits: £17.2m Employees: 1,010 Pay bill: £35.3m Havelock House Ormeau Road Belfast BT7 1EB Tel: 028 9032 8122 www.wirelessgroupplc.com

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t’s been a tumultuous year and a half for UTV Media plc, now known as Wireless Group plc. At the beginning of 2015, the company launched UTV Ireland, a dedicated TV channel for the Republic of Ireland. But the channel has met a disappointing reception from viewers, advertisers and critics – ultimately costing its Belfast-based parent company £14m, four times earlier estimates. UTV Media plc then sold its TV assets – both its Northern Ireland TV channel and UTV Ireland – to ITV in a £100m deal. That deal closed at the end of February this year. Long-standing chief executive John McCann also announced his retirement, to be replaced by existing chairman Richard Huntingford in the newly-created role of executive chairman. But the company also launched three new digital radio stations in recent months – talkSPORT 2, Virgin, talkRADIO – adding to its existing portfolio of 22 analogue radio stations. The company results included here are its last as UTV Media plc, prior to the sale of the TV assets.

CC Group is based in Cookstown in Co Tyrone, and is made up of LCC Coal, LCC Oil, the newlyrenamed Go Power and a number of other companies.

Profits are largely derived from overseas bulk trading activities in countries as far afield as South Africa, Columbia and across Europe. Go Power has risen to hold a prominent share of the Northern Ireland business power market, with the high profile announcement of government and council contracts to supply electricity.

LCC Power has grown from employing seven people in 2012 to close to 179. LCC’s oil division was established in 1997 to expand the range of fuels available to customers.

Meanwhile the company has also seen good development in its ‘Go’ brand of petrol stations which are now a noticeable feature across Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The company has 35 Go Forecourts. Last year the company announced a new partnership with Ulster Rugby.

SHS Group Chief executive: Elaine Birchall Pre-tax profits: £17.1m Employees: 758 Pay bill: £28.2m

SHS House 199 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel:028 9045 4647 www.shs-group.com

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ounded in 1975, the SHS Group is a major player in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, employing over 700 people throughout the UK and Ireland and turning over £400m per annum.

From its Belfast headquarters, the group provides a strong financial base and central resources for it’s divisions operating within brand ownership and sales and marketing.

The company owns brands such as WKD, Shloer, Bottlegreen and Merrydown Cider and distributes brands including Colgate, Nivea, Nurofen Finish, Jordans, Tunnocks and Mars Drinks. In addition the group is the largest supplier of own label herbs and spices and condiments in Great Britain. During 2015, the company snapped up a final share of 5% of Woodchester Enterprises – the company behind cordial Bottlegreen – after buying a majority shareholding in the firm in 2011.

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

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TG Eakin Managing director: Paul Eakin Pre-tax profits: £15.8m Employees: 58 Pay bill: £1.5m

Montupet Managing director: Jim Burke Pre-tax profit: £15.5m Employees: 585 Pay bill: £18.4m

15 Ballystockart Road Comber Co Down BT23 5QY Tel:028 9187 1000 www.eakin.eu

The Cutts Dunmurry Belfast Co Antrim BT17 9HN Tel:028 9030 1049 www.montupet.fr

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G Eakin is a Comber-based company which makes medical skincare products for use in stoma and wound care. With a turnover of £28m, the family-run Eakin Group is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest success stories in the health sector. The firm’s biggest market is the US but its products are sold in 40 countries around the world. In 2014, the company invested £12m extending its Comber manufacturing facility to over 100,000 sq ft.

It also acquired English firm Cliffe Medical, which owns Respond Plus in Larne, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of Cliffe was TG Eakin’s first since 2007, when it took over Pelican Healthcare in Cardiff.

The company was founded by Tom Eakin and is now run by his sons Paul and Jeremy.

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ontupet has been in Northern Ireland since 1989 and is now part of the largely familyowned Canadian industrial group Linamar, based in Guelph, Ontario. The Montupet Group was purchased by Linamar through a “friendly” acquisition in February 2016. This acquisition was to add a leading player in the design and manufacture of complex aluminium light casting to the Linamar capabilities. The larger group now consists of 57 manufacturing plants worldwide with a total workforce of 23,000 employees and total turnover of CAN $5.2bn, and net earnings of CAN $440m. The product range encompasses engine, transmission, driveline components and assemblies, and the brand Skyjack manufacturing scissor lifts and telescopic booms.

The Dunmurry plant manufactures cast aluminium cylinder heads for petrol and diesel engines used in engines for Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, GM, Volvo, Fiat, Mazda, and JLR vehicle applications. It’s been operating here since 1989.

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Randox Holdings Managing director: Dr Peter FitzGerald Pre-tax profit: £12.7m Employment: 1,081 Pay bill: £27.9m 55 Diamond Road Crumlin Co Antrim BT29 4QY Tel: 0 28 9442 2413 www.randox.com

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andox is a global leader in healthcare diagnostics.

More than 5% of the world’s population receives medical diagnosis using Randox products each year. Randox is the largest diagnostic company from the UK and exports over 95% of products worldwide.

Randox says its diagnostic products and services “save and improve lives across the globe”. Its portfolio includes food diagnostics, alcohol and drugs testing, and a comprehensive test menu of markers for disease diagnosis and risk.

With a major focus on research and development, Randox scientists work on research into a range of common illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s Disease, and up to 16% of turnover is reinvested in R&D. Randox has more new tests in development than any other diagnostic company, and has developed world leading biochip multiplex testing, allowing multiple tests to be conducted simultaneously.

It recently signed a deal to become the main sponsor of The Grand National and Jockey Club.

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Almac Group Chief executive and chairman: Alan Armstrong Pre-tax profits: £12.6m Employees: 3,297 Pay bill: £130.4m

Progressive Building Society Chief executive: Darina Armstrong Pre-tax profits: £12.62m Employees: 155 Pay bill: £5.1m

FP McCann Managing director: Eoin McCann Pre-tax profits: £12.3m Employees: 1,027 Pay bill: £32.7m

Sangers Managing director: Peter Surgenor Pre-tax profits: £12m Employees: 223 Pay bill: £6.6m

33 to 37 Wellington Place Belfast BT1 6HH Tel: 028 90244926 www.theprogressive.com

3 Drumard Road Knockloughrim Magherafelt Co Londonderry BT45 8QA Tel: 028 7964 2558 www.fpmccann.co.uk

2 Marshalls Road Belfast BT5 6SR Tel:028 9040 1111 www.mckesson.com

Almac House Seagoe Industrial Estate Craigavon BT63 5QD Tel: 028 3833 5815 www.almacgroup.com

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he Almac Group is a pharmaceutical contract development and anufacturing organisation providing services from research through pharmaceutical and clinical development to commercialisation of products for over 600 global biopharma companies.

The private company is headquartered in Craigavon with additional operations in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Singapore and Japan.

Last year brought many developments including a deal with biotech corporation Genentech Inc and the acquisition of Arran Chemicals, and expansion into Charnwood Campus in Loughborough, England.

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rogressive Building Society is Northern Ireland’s largest locally owned financial institution.

Employing 160 people across 12 locations in Northern Ireland, Progressive forms an important part of the financial services industry in the province. It was recently awarded Investors in People Standard in recognition of the commitment to its staff. Over the past 100 years Progressive has maintained the values of a traditional building society, providing value-based products to enable members to fund local home ownership in Northern Ireland.

Despite the testing economic climate over the last number of years, the society has maintained a well-structured balance sheet and produced strong financial results.

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ajor infrastructure contracts and strategic acquisitions in Northern Ireland and Great Britain powered a surge in turnover, profit and employment at the Magherafelt construction company FP McCann. It’s been in business for more than 70 years and is run by the McCann family. Last summer, the company bought over the Co Fermanagh quarry and construction firm P Clarke and Sons after it went into administration. In December, it added to its precast concrete arm with the acquisition of Buchan Concrete Products, a long-established firm employing 300 people in Cheshire and Staffordshire.

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angers has been part of the Amercian McKesson Corporation since April this year. It was sold off by United Drug plc, parent company of Alchem as part of the disposal of its UDG Healthcare supply chain services businesses. Sangers (NI) is largest local wholesale supplier of drugs and pharmaceutical supplies in Northern Ireland. The company distributes pharmaceutical products to the mainly independently-owned high street chemists and hospital pharmacies. It also has an established comprehensive and frequent daily delivery schedule to maintain (and supply) products that may be needed in chemist outlets at short notice. It operates from two depots, in Belfast and Omagh.

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Kainos Software plc Managing director: Brendan Mooney Pre-tax profits: £11.8m Employees: 612 Pay bill: £31m

Wrights Group Managing director: Mark Nodder Pre-tax profits: £11.6m Employees: 1,552 Pay bill: £46m

Dunnes Stores Chief executive: Margaret Heffernan Pre-tax profit: £11.4m Employment: 1,592 Pay bill: £17.4m

4-6 Upper Crescent Belfast BT7 1NT Tel:028 9057 1100 www.kainos.com

Galgorm Industrial Estate Fenaghy Road Galgorm, Ballymena Co Antrim BT42 1PY Tel: 028 2564 1212 www.wrightbus.com

Seagate Vice-president of operations: Dr Brian Burns Pre-tax profit: £11.7m Employment: 1,336 Pay bill: £49.8m

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ueen’s University spin-out Kainos has had an epic 2015 after floating on the London Stock Exchange last summer — making it the third of three NI listed companies. The company, led by Brendan Mooney, provides information technology expertise to global clients in government, financial services and healthcare, provides software design, support and implementation services, and project management.

Kainos currently employs more than 700 staff across its Belfast, Londonderry, London, Bristol and Gdansk operations.

Earlier this year it annoucned plans to double its workforce there. Kainos said rapid growth in the volume of global projects had led to the expansion.

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rights Group, based in Ballymena, and is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of accessible public transport vehicles. Formed in 1946 and still in private ownership, Wrights Group has earned a reputation for innovative vehicle designs, a large and innovative product portfolio and investment in advanced engineering.

The company continues to expand its product range and markets. And it recently secured a contract to build 200 iconic New Routemaster buses for operation in London, bringing to 1,000 the total number of the buses it’s supplied to Transport for London.

1 Disc Drive Springtown Industrial Estate Londonderry BT48 0BF Tel: 028 7127 4000 www.seagate.com

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eagate is the industry leader in hard disc drives and storage solutions. The company offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disc drives, solid state drives and hybrid drives, as well as an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses.

At its wafer fabrication facility in Springtown, Londonderry, the company develops and manufactures recording heads, which write information onto and read information from the recording disk inside a hard drive.

The Springtown facility, which last year celebrated 20 years in Northern Ireland, is the largest factory of it type.

46-50 South Great George’s Street Dublin 2 Tel: 00353 1 475 1111 www.dunnesstores.ie

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rish grocery and clothes multiple Dunnes Stores operates one Northern Ireland-registered company. Dunnes Stores (Bangor) consolidates the trading figures for all of the Dunnes Stores in Northern Ireland as well as a smaller number of outlets in England. The group describes its main business as the retailing of textiles, grocery and houseware goods.

It has closed stores in east Belfast’s Connswater Shopping Centre and Park Centre in the west of the city, as well as Antrim, Ballymoney and Portadown.

Around 10 stores remain in Northern Ireland. The directors of the UK firm, Frank Dunne and Margaret Heffernan, are the driving forces behind the Dunnes Stores success story of the modern era.

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NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

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Hilton Foods (UK) Ltd Executive director: Nigel Majewski Pre-tax profit: £11.2m Employment: 705 Pay bill: £3.6m

Thompson Aero Seating Chief executive: Gary Montgomery Pre-tax profit: £10.6m Employment: 223 Pay bill: £10m

Carnbane House Managing director: Eamon O’Hare Pre-tax profits: £10.6m Employees: 99 Pay bill: £3.8m

Coca-Cola HBC General manager: Matthieu Seguin Pre-tax profits: £10.5m Employees: 517 Pay bill: £23.4m

c/o PwC Waterfront Plaza 8 Laganbank Road Belfast BT1 3LR Tel: 028 9024 5454 www.hiltonfoodgroupplc.com

51 Seagoe Ind Est Portadown Co Armagh BT63 5QE Tel: 028 3833 4000 www.thompsonaero.com

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Knockmore Hill 12 Lissue Road Lisburn Co. Antrim BT28 2SZ Tel: 028 9264 2000 www.coca-colahellenicireland.com

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hompson Aero Seating makes airline seating and says it is “recognised for cutting edge design, engineering and manufacture of premium businessclass, full flatbed airline seating”. To meet increased demand Thompson’s first production facility was secured at the Seagoe Industrial Park, Portadown in 2011, and the manufacture of the first Thompson Vantage seats began.

Customers include Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines. In 2014, the company announced a £10m investment, creating 85 new skilled manufacturing jobs.

Carnbane House Shepherds Way Carnbane Newry BT35 6QE 028 3026 4662 www.ohmg.com

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SSE Airtricity Energy Managing director: Stephen Wheeler Pre-tax profits: £10.2m Employees: 26 Pay bill: 969

Viridian Group Investment Chief executive: Ian Thom Pre-tax profits: £9.6m Employees: 465 Pay bill: £25m

Charles Hurst Operations director: Colin McNab Pre-tax profits: £8.7m Employees: 929 Pay bill: £27.5m

Harland & Wolff Chief executive: Robert J Cooper Pre-tax profits: £8.6m Employees: 207 Pay bill: £10.3m

SSE 3rd Floor Millennium House 17-25 Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7AQ Tel: 0345 601 9093 www.sseairtricity.com

Viridian Group Greenwood House 64 Newforge Lane Belfast BT9 5NF Tel: 028 9038 3757 www.viridiangroup.co.uk

62 Boucher Road Belfast BT12 6LR Tel: 0844 659 7230 www.charleshurstgroup.co.uk

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd Queen’s Island Belfast BT3 9DU Tel: 028 9045 8456 www.harland-wolff.com

ilton Foods, which changed its name from Hilton Meats last year, is part of the Hilton Food Group plc group of companies. The group supplies major international food retailers from facilities in the UK. The company buys is meats from a global base of suppliers, which it then processes and packs in large scale meat-packing plants for distribution by third-party hauliers to customers.

The company says its plants operate at “high volume levels necessary to produce competitive unit packing costs, whilst achieving the levels of hygiene, food safety assurance, shelf life and product quality”.

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SE Airtricity is Northern Ireland’s second largest energy provider, supplying electricity and natural gas to more than 300,000 homes and businesses. Since 2008 SSE has invested £0.5bn in sustainable energy infrastructure. In Northern Ireland SSE generates 88MW of renewable energy powering 75,000 homes each year. In order to help meet the Stormont Executive’s 2020 renewable energy targets, the company has a further 166MW of new wind farm capacity in the pipeline. Projects included the 73MW Slieve Kirk Wind Park in Co Londonderry, which represented a £125m investment. Since 2008 SSE has created 98 direct and 120 indirect full time roles in Northern Ireland.

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iridian is one of the biggest energy companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic. It was recently sold by owners Arcapita to I Squared Capital.

Viridian consists of Power NI, the supplier of electricity to around 600,000 homes and businesses across Northern Ireland.

Its power procurement business manages 600 MW of contracted generation capacity here. Viridian also owns Energia Group, an all-island energy business supplying electricity and gas to business customers in Northern Ireland and homes and businesses in the Republic. Viridian has an approximate 20% share of the domestic electricity market Ireland-wide.

arnbane House is the parent company of Newry building firm O’Hare & McGovern. It was the main contractor on the £35m revamp of national football stadium Windsor Park in south Belfast and the Olympia Leisure Centre project. And like other major building firms in the province, it’s also turned to Great Britain for work.

Deals there include a contract to build a school in Boroughmuir, Edinburgh and an apartment block contract in West London. It has also worked on new student housing at John Bell House in Belfast, and on a centre for experimental medicine at Queen’s University.

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harles Hurst Group is Northern Ireland’s largest car retailer. A division of Lookers plc, one of the UK’s principal automotive retail and distribution groups, Charles Hurst represents 20 automotive brands across seven sites. It offers a wide choice of new and used vehicles, parts and servicing.

Founded in 1911, its headquarters are located in Belfast on a 20-acre site, making it the largest automotive retail park in Europe.

It recent expanded to open a new Vauxhall showroom at its site in Mallusk, taking its number of Vauxhall retail units to four.

The new showroom represented an investment of £250,000 and 20 new jobs.

oca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland is a member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, a franchisee of the Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola HBC has been operating in Northern Ireland since 1939. From its manufacturing plant at Knockmore Hill in Lisburn and office facility in Dublin, it produces, distributes, markets and sells a wide range of soft drinks to an all-Ireland market. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes Deep RiverRock water, Fruice fruit juice, Powerade and carbonated soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke and Fanta.

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arland and Wolff’s activities continue to focus on the maritime and offshore energy sector – oil, gas or renewable energy. The company said its ship repair and conversion sector continues to perform well with a mixture of long-term repeat and first time customers. The low oil price and the consequent lack of capital expenditure by the oil majors has resulted in difficult trading conditions that have been felt across the industry. H&W’s activities in offshore renewables have been boosted by a series of successful projects, which the firm said “have established H&W as one of the UK’s premier fabricators to the offshore renewables sector”.

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

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Retlan Manufacturing Managing director: Mark Cuskeran (SDC Trailers) Pre-tax profits: £8.5m Employees: 848 Pay bill: £23m

Magir Ltd Managing director: Michael Guerin Pre-tax profits: £8m Employees: 504 Pay bill: £9.7m

Allstate NI Managing director: John Healy Pre-tax profits: £7.8m Employee numbers: 2,171 Pay bill: £73.1m

Gardrum Holdings Managing director: Derek Keys Pre-tax profits: £7.7m Employees: 100 Pay bill: £3m

116 Deerpark Road Toomebridge BT41 3SS Tel: 028 9446 0898 www.sdctrailers.com

Medicare House 44 Montgomery Road Belfast BT6 9HL Tel: 028 9070 8800 www.medicare-group.com

Allstate (NI) 9 Lanyon Place, Belfast BT1 3LZ Tel: 028 9067 8023 www.allstate.com

72 to 74 Omagh Road Dromore Co Tyrone BT78 3AJ Tel: 028 8289 8262 www.euroauctions.com

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llstate NI was established in Belfast in 1999 to provide high quality software development services and business solutions for parent company, Allstate Corporation. Allstate Corporation is the US’ largest publically held personal lines, property and casualty insurer.

Allstate NI is Northern Ireland’s largest IT company with over 2,300 employees across three sites in Belfast, L’Derry and Strabane.

Last year it won planning permission for a new building beside the former Maysfield Leisure Centre in east Belfast.

Allstate NI plays a strategic role in developing, transforming and maintaining the various technology platforms used within Allstate Corp and supports its day to day busines

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Bemis Healthcare Director of European operations: Keith McCracken Pre-tax profit: £7.6m Employment: 267 Pay bill: £7m

John Graham Group executive chairman: Michael Graham Pre-tax profits: £7.4m Employees: 1,645 Pay bill: £64m

Cooneen by Design Director: Mike Coles Pre-tax profits: £7.3m Employees: 149 Pay bill: £5m

Kilwaughter Chemicals Managing director: Simon McDowell Pre-tax profits: £7.2m Employees:119 Pay bill: £4.5m

Campsie Industrial Estate Co Londonderry BT47 3GQ Tel: 028 7181 4000 www.perfecseal.com

Ballygowan Road Hillsborough Co Down BT26 6HX Tel: 028 9268 9500 www.graham.co.uk

1 Dark Lane Ardwick Manchester England M12 6FA Tel: 0161 273 5213 www.cooneen group.com

9 Starbog Road Larne BT40 2TJ Tel: 028 2826 2144 www.K-Rend.co.uk

etlan Manufacturing is a holding company with interests in a number of engineering companies specialising in the manufacture and sale of commercial trailers – SDC Trailers – as well as the sale of commercial vehicle and trailer parts. The group is registered in Toomebridge and has been trading successfully in recent years. SDC’s production plants at Toomebridge and Antrim as well as Mansfield in England are among the most modern trailer manufacturing facilities in Europe.

From its foundation in 1978 the business expanded with the acquisition of Neville Charrold in Nottinghamshire in 1994 and the integration of MDF in 1998.

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emis Healthcare – also known as Perfecseal – is a world leader in the design and manufacture of medical packaging and pharmaceutical packaging.

As a global supplier with singlesource capabilities, the company continuously innovate, improve and perfect the healthcare package to meet the industry’s complex medical packaging and pharmaceutical packaging needs.

Parent company Bemis, which is based in Wisconsin, is a major supplier of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materials used by leading food, consumer products, healthcare, and other companies worldwide. Founded in 1858, the company is included in the S&P 500 index of stocks.

agir Ltd operates a chain of around 50 retail pharmacies, known as Medicare, and is the biggest of Northern Ireland’s home-owned pharmacy chains. The company also has a 60,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre on Montgomery Road in east Belfast. The results for Magir Limited for the year to August 31 2014 were affected by an exceptional gain of £7.5m, while underlying profit was just £500,000.

The company’s accounts state that the gain was as a result of “debt forgiveness on refinancing”. In November 2013 the company agreed a refinancing deal with certain lenders including £37m from a new bank syndicate.

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raham Holdings works across the UK and Ireland. It operates in the building, civil engineering, interior fit-out, facilities management, environmental and energy management and highway maintenance markets. Recent project handovers include the £32m A138 Chelmer viaduct in Essex.

And it recently won a deal to work on the Scottish Canals framework and on the transformation of Murrays’ Mills in Manchester into apartments.

At home, it will work on an acute services block for the Ulster Hospital and the Randalstown to Castledawson dual carriageway.

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ooneen by Design (formerly Cooneen Textiles) and its subsidiaries are based n Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, and its registered office is in Broughshane, Co Antrim. It is a successful manufacturer of children’s character clothing and has attracted a number of established high street brands as customers. The Cooneen group also includes Hawk Holdings in the USA, a supplier of specialist clothing.

A recent addition was Images at Work, a distributor of specialist clothing. The group’s principal activity is described as the design, supply, manufacture and distribution of specific clothing to a global marketplace.

ardrum Holding’s main business is conducting off-site and onsite machinery auction sales and valuations throughout Europe, trading as Euro Auctions. It’s the biggest auctioneer of construction machinery in the UK. Some group companies hold properties for use within the group or for development and resale. Its first auction took place in Dromore, Co Tyrone in 1998, before holding its first auction outside the province in Wetherby, Yorkshire in 2000.

It branched out into holding auctions outside the British Isles in 2006 with an event in Dormagen, Germany. It now has five permanent sites around the world, including Brisbane in Australia.

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ilwaughter employs around 120 people across two sites in Co Antrim and Co Cork. The company was set up in 1938 and now focuses on construction, industry and agriculture and landscaping. It makes market-leading K Rend and is the UK’s largest independent premixed silicone render manufacturer.

Kilwaughter Lime has been an established mineral and quarry processor since 1939.

Quarrying and production facilities are in Larne. Kilwaughter quarry produces the much sought after Co Antrim white limestone used in the construction and agricultural industries. A subsidiary supplies materials to the Irish construction and landscaping industries.

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Manderley Food Group Managing director: Paul Allen Pre-tax profits: £7.2m Employees: 1,378 Pay bill: £34.6m

Ulster Carpets Managing director: Nick Coburn Pre-tax profits: £7.1m Employees: 532 Pay bill: £18.8m

Tennent’s NI Managing director Tom McCusker Pre-tax profits: £6.9m Employees: 78 Pay bill: £3.4m

Fane Valley Co-op Chief executive: Trevor Lockhart Pre-tax profits: £6.7m Employees: 2,312 Pay bill: £52.5m

Tayto Castle Tandagree BT62 2AB Tel: 028 3884 0249 www.tayto.com

Castleisland Factory Craigavon BT62 1EE Tel: 028 3833 4433 www.ulstercarpets.com

6 Wildflower Way Belfast BT12 6TA Tel: 028 9038 0500 www.candcgroupplc.com

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Fane Valley Co-operative Society Ltd Alexander Road Armagh BT61 7JJ Tel:028 3752 2344 www.fanevalley.co.uk

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anderley Food Group is the holding company for the Hutchinson family’s crisps and snacks manufacturing business which includes Tayto, Golden Wonder, Mr Porky, REAL Crisps and Jonathan Crisp.

The business operates from four sites in Great Britain and its historic headquarters of Tayto Castle in Tandragee. It manufactures a wide range of products including crisps, snacks, tortillas, hand-fried crisps, poppadums and prawn crackers, and has an increasing export business.

The company said the business is “largely debt free and is currently in the process of rolling out a multi-million strategic investment plan”. This year marks the company’s sixtieth anniversary.

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ennent’s NI is a manufacturer, owner and distributor of drinks brands, combining strong distribution, wholesale and marketing capabilities, bolstered by a dedicated sales force.

The company recently announced an investment of £1.2m to create 25 new jobs within two years and form a commercial business support centre in Belfast. The company’s brand portfolio includes Magners, as well as beer, wine and soft drink brands. Beer offerings include Tennent’s, Becks Vier, Stella Artois, Staropramen, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Heverlee and more recently the new additions of Clonmel 1650 and Corona Extra.

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lster Carpets in Co Armagh posted an increase in profits in the year ending March 31 2015. The company said: “Whilst the global economy remained in an uncertain state, Ulster Carpets enjoyed the benefits of its continued investment programme in all parts of its business. The Danish company Danfloor (part of the Ulster Group), achieved record profits again for the year, focusing primarily on the Scandinavian and health care markets. “For the first time since the recession the company has seen sustained growth and confidence in its domestic market.”

The company is progressing its major investment programme in its headquarters in Portadown.

ane Valley Group is one of Ireland’s most progressive agri-food businesses, with interests in dairy processing, red meat through Linden Foods and Kettyle Irish Foods, feed compounding, agricultural supplies, breakfast cereals and renewable energy. Its dairy business was recently taken over by Lakeland Dairies. Formed in 1903, Fane Valley remains 100% farmer-owned and has employees at sites in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England and Belgium. Fane Valley Dairies has its roots in milk processing as far back as 1933.

Firstsource Solutions Dunbia Managing director and chief executive: Chief executive: Jim Dobson Rajesh Subramaniam Pre-tax profit: £6.6m Pre-tax profit: £6.6m Employee numbers: 3,605 Employee numbers: 3,371 Pay bill: £73.8m Pay bill: £52.3m Granville Industrial Estate Springtown Business Park Granville Road Londonderry Dungannon BT48 OGY Co Tyrone Tel: 028 7130 4600 Tel: 028 8772 3350 www.firstsource.com www.dunbia.com

O&S Holdings Managing director: Peter O’Donnell Pre-tax profits: £6m Employee numbers: 326 Pay bill: £7m

Brett Martin Managing director: Laurence Martin Pre-tax profits: £5.8m Employee numbers: 797 Pay bill: £26.8m

106 Syerla Road Dungannon Co Tyrone BT71 7ET Tel: 028 3754 9190 www.osdoors.com

24 Roughfort Road Mallusk Co Antrim BT36 4RB www. 028 9084 9999 www.brettmartin.com

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irstsource Solutions began operations in Northern Ireland in 2006 and currently employs more than 2,000 people across three sites in Belfast and Londonderry.

The company is a leading global provider of customised business process management (BPM) services to companies in the healthcare, telecoms and media and banking and financial Services space.

The company employs more than 26,000 people in 46 centres with operations in India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, the UK and the US. They have been a major recipient of Invest NI grants to bring employment to the north-west.

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unbia describes itself as “a shining example of a home-grown entrepreneurial success story” and marks 40 years in business this year.

Brothers Jim and Jack Dobson started up un 1976 and have grown the company to a food manufacturing operation with 11 sites across the UK and Ireland, trading in 36 countries worldwide, with turnover of £830m. Last year it indicated that it may sell part of the company, and has been linked to a joint venture in red meat with 2 Sisters, as well as a possible sale of its pork operations. Dunbia said its growth was down to “a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisition”.

&S Doors started out as a kitchen fitter before its founders developed a niche in making and fitting PVC, vinyl-wrapped doors. Its bedroom and kitchen doors are now made and shipped around the UK and Europe. It also makes drawers and components. In a strategic report, the firm said its performance in 2014 had been strong. But it added that the Northern Ireland, UK and European manufacturing industries were “highly competitive, particularly in the production of furniture components, where our business is focused”. But it vowed to continue expanding in the UK and Ireland, recently adding new premises in the Republic.

rett Martin is Northern Ireland’s biggest thermoplastics manufacturer.

Recent deals include stadia work at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Etihad Stadium, Ashton Gate and Anfield. The privately owned-firm has operations at seven UK sites and exports to around 70 global markets. Its main competencies include plastics extrusion, injection moulding and rotational moulding. Its main market sectors include construction, fabrication, print and display. It’s best known in Northern Ireland for underground and aboveground PVC drainage systems but also makes rooflight sheets and conservatory roofing.

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BHH Chief executive: William Barnett Pre-tax profits: £5.7m Employees: 182 Pay bill: £7.6m

Liberty IT Managing director: William Hamilton Pre-tax profits: £5.6m Employees: 401 Pay bill: £19.4m

Westland Horticulture Managing director: Edward Conroy Pre-tax profits: £5.5m Employees: 475 Pay bills: £15.5m

Devenish Nutrition Executive chairman: Owen Brennan Pre-tax profits: £5.3m Employees: 294 Pay bill: £14.6m

Clarendon Road Belfast BT1 3BG Tel: 028 9032 5465 www.wrbarnett.com

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Granville Industrial Estate Dungannon Co Tyrone BT70 1NJ Tel:028 8772 7500 www.gardenhealth.com

Lagan House 19 Clarendon Rd Belfast BT1 3BG Tel:028 9075 5566 www.devenishnutrition.com

HH, through its subsidiary companies, is Ireland’s largest manufacturer of animal feeds and a major supplier to all sectors of the vitally important livestock industry. The company also manufactures fertilisers at a new plant in Lisahally.

The company has continued to invest in modern plant, seek efficiencies and deliver enhanced service where possible. The company is jointly owned by W&R Barnett Ltd and Origin Enterprises plc.

Subsidiaries include John Thompson & Sons, as well as Independent Fertilisers and Precision Analysis.

Adelaide Exchange Adelaide Street Belfast BT2 8GD Tel : 028 9044 5500 www.liberty-it.com

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H&A Holdings Managing director: Hugh McWilliams Pre-tax profits: £5m Employees: 379 Pay bill: £9.2m

Lagan: White Mountain Managing director: Mark Kelly Pre-tax profits: £5m Employees: 196 Pay bill: £7m

Chain Reaction Cycles Managing director: Chris Watson Pre-tax profits: £4.8m Employees: 540 Pay bill: £14.1m

Delta Print and Packaging Managing director: Terry Cross Pre-tax profits: £4.8m Employees: 257 Pay bill: £14.1m

28 Five Mile Straight Draperstown, Co Londonderry BT45 7EE Tel: 028 7962 7220 www.hamechnicalservices.com

11 Sheepwalk Road Lisburn Co Antrim BT28 3RD Tel 028 9250 1000 www.whitemountain.co.uk

Unit 1 Balmoral Plaza Boucher Road Belfast BT12 6HR Tel: 028 9068 2703 www.chainreactioncycles.com

Delta Packaging Ltd 10 Kennedy Way Blackstaff Road BT11 9DT Tel: 028 9062 8626 www.deltapack.com

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ugh and Anne McWilliams set up H&A in 1993 as a mechanical services firm employing six people.

Now it has a payrole of over 300 and has expanded into new areas such as building works, kitchens, bathrooms, refurbishment, external cyclical maintenance, electrical and renewable energy.

The family-run company said its client base had now widened to deliver private one-off installations, social housing projects, commercial schemes and government schemes for combating fuel poverty. It has offices in Draperstown, Co Londonderry, in Mallusk in Co Antrim and in Clane, Co Kildare.

iberty IT develops IT solutions exclusively for U.S. parent company, Liberty Mutual Insurance. It uses cloud technologies, agile engineering and disciplined practice to develop its solutions. The company employs nearly 500 people between its headquarters in Belfast and an office in Blanchardstown.

It employs people in development, Test, DevOps, Analytics, UX, Infrastructure and Cyber-Security.

Liberty IT said it “plays a key part in Liberty Mutual’s wider IT operations which employs almost 5000 IT professionals worldwide”.

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hitemountain is part of Lagan Group and a major operator in contracts and materials.

Its original quarry activities go back over 50 years and it’s now a leading contractor in quarry materials, asphalt, surfacing, airfield maintenance, highway maintenance and civil engineering sectors.

It’s a major exporter of aggregates and surfacing products to major UK and European–based contractors. oles, consistently aiming to deliver for all parties. Parent company the Lagan Group is one of Ireland’s most successful and diverse construction and civil engineering companies. White Mountain is an independent trading company within the group.

estland Horticulture is a leading firm in the sector and produces gardening, wild bird care and pet care products. It was set up in 1990 and now delivers branded goods to consumers across the UK, Republic of Ireland, and more recently, Europe. It has built up the Gro-Sure, Aftercut, Resolva and Peckish brands to become regular household names. There are an average of three Westland manufactured products in UK and Irish homes. The company said its Aftercut and Resolva are now the fastest growing lawncare and weedkiller brands, while Peckish Complete range is the leading branded bird food.

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hain Reaction Cycles’ growth from a small cycle shop to a top global player in online cycling accessories retail has been remarkable — and it’s merged with rival Wiggle since its results were filed.

The continued popularity of cycling pushed the Ballyclare-based retailer to sales well over £150m for 2014, and its mail order operations have made it Parcel Force’s biggest customer in Northern Ireland.

The company was founded by George and Janice Watson as a small bike shop in Ballynure in 1984 and their four children run the company.

nimal nutrition firm Devenish is an agri-technology company working in the research, development and manufacture of quality feed and speciality products for the livestock and companion animal sector It has businesses headquarters and research and development centres in Northern Ireland. But it also has manufacturing sites in the rest of the UK and Irleand, and the US, as well as offices in Dubai and India. The company currently exporting to more than 25 countries worldwide.

Earlier this year the company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of the growth and success of Devenish Nutrition International.

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elta Packaging is one of the UK and Ireland’s biggest independent carton packaging groups, with operations in Northern Ireland and Poland. Established in 1981, Delta supplies packaging to global companies in food, consumer electronics, household goods, dairy, pharmaceutical and food service sectors. Delta says that within its industry, it’s as a big a name as the brands it works with – McDonald’s Corporation, Kellogg’s, Nokia, KFC, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Greiner Pkg, Nestlé, Guinness and many others.

Around 18 months ago it announced a £40m investment programme to increase sales. It recently built a new factory in Gliwice, Poland.

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Springvale EPS Chief executive: Gene Murtagh Pre-tax profits: £4.6m Employees: 113 Pay bill: £3.7m

Lagan Construction Group Chief executive: Conor Loughran Pre-tax profits: £3.6m Employees: 510 Pay bill: £23.3m

BSG Civil Engineering Chief executive: Seamus Gillan Pre-tax profits: £4.4m Employees:52 Pay bill: £3.7m

Springvale EPS c/o Cleaver Fulton Rankin Solicitors 50 Bedford Street Belfast BT2 7FW Tel: 028 9024 3141 www.crh.com

Rosemount House 21-23 Sydenham Road Belfast BT3 9HA Tel: 028 9045 5531 www.laganconstructiongroup.com

6 Bank Square Maghera Co Londonderry BT46 5AZ Tel: 028 7964 3610

Heatons (NI) Deputy executive chairman: Mike Ashley Pre-tax profits: £4.4m Employees: 498 Pay bill: 5,017 38 Market Street Lurgan BT66 6AH Tel: 028 3832 7408 www.heatonsstores.com

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Elite Electronic Systems Director: Jonathan Balfour Pre-tax profits: £4.3m Employees: 183 Pay bill: £3.5m

Tobermore Concrete Managing director: David Henderson Pre-tax profits: £4.2m Employees: 192 Pay bill: £5.1m

Northstone NI Chief executive: Eamonn Sweeney Pre-tax profits: £4.2m Employees: 192 Pay bill: £5.1m

Multi Packaging Operations director: Alan Porter Pre-tax profits: £4.2m Employees: 177 Pay bill: £6.1m

Lackaghboy Road Lackaghboy Enniskillen Co Fermanagh BT74 4RL Tel: 028 6632 7172 www.elitees.com

2 Lisnamuck Road Tobermore Co Londonderry BT45 5QF Tel: 028 7964 2411 www.tobermore.co.uk

99 Kingsway Dunmurry Belfast BT17 9NU Tel: 028 90551276 www.northstone-ni.co.uk

Hightown Industrial Estate Enterprise Way Newtownabbey BT36 4EW Tel: 028 9080 4000 www.multipkg.com

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pringvale is one of the largest and most experienced manufacturers of expanded polystyrene in the UK and is part of Irish building materials firm Kingspan. Material from Springvale EPS is used for insulating walls, floors and roofs in everything from new homes to schools and commercial buildings.

A strategic report by the company’s directors said it had grown turnover by 9% to £25.8m through “successfully replacing other insulants in building applications”.

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lite Electronic Systems provides contract electronics manufacturing (CEM) services to market leading companies in the UK and Ireland, as well as internationally.

Elite employs more than 250 people across facilities in Northern Ireland and South Carolina in the United States, offering over 25 years of experience and ISO 13485/ISO9001 certification in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, cable and wiring assembly, complete systems assembly, and test solutions.

agan Construction Group works across Ireland, the UK and overseas.

The third-generation family business carries out infrastructure, capital and maintenance projects for public and private organisations. It now turns over around £200m every year, growing through re-investment and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Its civil engineering division has recently been awarded its first major road scheme for Highways England. Lagan Construction International and Lagan US have started work on major airport projects in Cyprus, Gibraltar, Florida (USA) and North Dakota (USA). Last year it acquired H&J Martin.

obermore, which marks its 75th anniversary next year, specialises in the concrete paving and walling products for commercial and domestic markets in the UK and Ireland. Managing director David Henderson is the third generation of his family to run the business. He said the company tried to set itself apart with “superior product quality, our innovative manufacturing processes and our first class customer service”. Mr Henderson said the company wanted to continue its growth in the UK and Ireland as the sector continues to improve. He said the firm had added around 40 new jobs.

SG Civil Engineering Ltd in Maghera has developed from a civil engineering contractor to a construction company with a turnover of approximately £45m of which 90% is based in the design and build sector. NI Water is its principal client.

The company has also acquired and developed property, and is recent strategic report states that acquiring, developing and reselling property is the group’s objective.

The company recently joined the team at NI Water team to celebrate winning a major civil engineering ward for its work to upgrade a pumping station at Luke’s Point, Ballyholme in Bangor.

orthstone (NI) Ltd, a subsidiary of CRH plc, provides goods and services to the construction industry through Farrans Construction, Cubis Industries and Northstone Materials.

Farrans Construction is a major operator in conventional contracting, design and build and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the education, healthcare, utility and infrastructure sectors. It also builds houses. Cubis Industries manufactures and supplies utility chambers and preformed structural products to the communication and utility industries. Northstone Materials is Northern Ireland’s leading provider of quarry products.

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alue department store Heatons (NI) was founded in 1946 in Athlone, Co Westmeath. Today it has grown to 54 Heatons stores, including 10 stores across Northern Ireland and 28 SportsWorld stores. The Heatons group is now one of Ireland’s fastest growing department store businesses and Ireland’s third largest non-food retailer, employing more than 2,000 people.

Newcastle United boss and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley turned his majority share in Heatons into full ownership last year. Through SportsDirect Ashley has built up an enterprise with a market value of £2.4bn.

ulti Packaging Solutions Belfast was originally named Chesapeake Belfast and, going further back, was part of the former locally owned Boxmore companies which were bought by the US Chesapeake Corporation. The facility was built in 1999 by Field Boxmore and acquired by Chesapeake in 2002. The company is based in Newtownabbey.

The facility produces self-adhesive labels and patient information leaflets for pharmaceutical products. It also manufactures more than 500 million folding cartons per year for various customers in Europe.

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BI Electrical Services Chief executive: Ian Humphreys Pre-tax profits: £4m Employees: 56 Pay bill: £3.8m

Buttercrane Centre Director: Patricia Henry Pre-tax profits: £3.9m Employees: n/a Pay bill: n/a

Huhtamaki Operations director: Philip Woolsey Pre-tax profits: £3.9m Employees: 212 Pay bill: £7.1m

Caterpillar (NI) Managing director: Robert Kennedy Pre-tax profits: £3.8m Employees: 1,883 Pay bill: £79.3m

11 Michelin Road Mallusk Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT36 4PT Tel: 02890 342478 www.bielectrical.com

1 Ballycregagh Road Cloughmills Ballymena Co Antrim BT44 9LD www.buttercraneshopping.co.uk

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Caterpillar (NI) Limited Old Glenarm Road Larne Co Antrim, Northern Ireland BT40 1EJ Tel: 028 2826 1168 www.cat.com

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uttercrane Centre Ltd is a property investment company with a portfolio including the Newry shopping centre of the same name. The company is based in Cloughmills, Ballymena. Of turnover of £11m, nearly £9.9m was from rent, £0.6m from car park income and the remainder from stock sales. According to a directors’ report for the year ending October 2014, the group “performed satisfactorily in a difficult market and achieved a trading profit for the year”. It said a slowdown in economic activity, the “continuing downturn” of the property market and the availability of property bank funding were the main risks facing the business.

1 Inn Road Dollingstown Lurgan Co Armagh BT66 7JN Tel: 028 3832 7711 www.huhtamaki.com

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Budget Energy Chief executive: Eleanor McEvoy Pre-tax profits: £3.6m Employees: 42 Pay bill: £1.1m

Tullymore House Directors: Paul Smyth Pre-tax profits: £3.6m Employees: 317 Pay bill: £4.8m

Severfield (NI) Director: Ryan Davis Pre-tax profits: £3.5m Employees:284 Pay bill: £10.2m

Aghareany Director: Martin O’Neill Pre-tax profits: £3.4m Employees: 63 Pay bill: £1.9m

Energy House 30-32 Ballinska Road Derry BT48 0LY Tel: 0800 012 1177 www.budgetenergy.co.uk

Fenaghy Road Ballymena Co Antrim BT42 1EA Tel:028 2588 1001. www.galgorm.com

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Fisher House Main Street Ballinamallard Co Fermanagh BT94 2FY Tel:028 6638 8521 www.severfield.com

12 Torrent Business Centre Donaghmore Dungannon Co Tyrone BT70 2UD Tel: 028 8772 3489 www.stricklandtracks.co.uk

.I. Electrical Services is wellestablished electrical engineering company based Mallusk and with international operations in China and Saudi Arabia.

The company said its recent growth was down to winning a steady stream of public sector tenders and private sector contracts in Northern Ireland and London.

Ian Humphreys founded the company and now runs it in partnership with Andrew McClenaghan, who started as an apprentice at the age of 18.

The company offers facilities management, electrical contracting and design and build services.

ondonderry-based Budget Energy was launched by Eleanor McEvoy five years ago as a challenger to established suppliers in the electricity supply market. The firm is also planning to launch in the Republic of Ireland. It now has 61,500 customers here, spread across the province but with a large number in Belfast.

Budget Energy is Ms McEvoy’s third business, after starting out with a vending machine firm and then Phonecard Warehouse.

She describes Budget as the “Ryanair of the energy business” and says the company’s success is down to her own talent, and sticking to a low-cost base.

ullymore House is the family-run company behind top Northern Ireland hotel, Galgorm Resort and

Spa. The company has recently invested millions of pounds in updating the spa at Galgorm, outside Ballymena, while a subsidiary company has also been set up to establish a new hotel at the former Scottish Mutual Building in Belfast city centre.

The Galgorm Resort & Spa recently won an award for its marketing achievements at the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in association with British Airways. Its recent £11m expansion created nearly 80 new jobs and included a new thermal spa and nearly 50 new rooms.

innish packaging company Huhtamaki operates from 71 manufacturing units and 23 sales offices in 34 countries. Huhtamaki (Lurgan) Ltd manufactures egg packaging and cup carriers, serving all the major retailers and food service operators including McDonald’s. The firm said the free range egg market had seen strong growth in recent years as healthy eating trends and focus on animal welfare increases. The company launched a new premium product range, NestPack, and a new grass-based product aimed at Waitrose. It’s also started a £5m capacity expansion.

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he Co Fermanagh steel construction firm formerly known as Fisher Engineering is now part of a UK-wide plc. The firm more than doubled pre-tax profits to over £3m in the 12 months to March 2015.

The firm has worked on projects at Wimbledon Centre Court, the Shard and the 2012 Olympic Stadium. Severfield (NI) which employs around 280 people in the design, fabrication and installation of steel structures, was known as Fisher Engineering Ltd until a rebrand last year.

In a strategic report, Severfield (NI) said the year had been a “more successful period” than in 2014.

aterpillar (NI)s Europe’s largest manufacturer of diesel generator sets and recently has expanded operations to include production of wheeled material handlers and articulated truck axles.

The company has a product portfolio including material handlers used in forestry, dockside and scrap applications; and axles, a key component in Cat articulated trucks. Design, manufacturing and sales take place in Larne, Monkstown and two facilities at Springvale in Belfast.

The Northern Ireland operations are the largest in the electric power division.

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he company is part of the O’Neill Manufacturing Group, which also owns Strickland Tracks in Worcestershire, England.

Aghareany produces crawler track systems used in a number of differnet types of vehicles.

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BHC Managing director: Brian Hewitt Pre-tax profits: £3.4m Employees: 309 Pay bill: £10.8m

Decora Blind Systems Managing director: Stuart Dickson Pre-tax profits: £3.4m Employees: 441 Pay bill: £8.9m

Western Building Systems Chief executive: Martin McCloskey Pre-tax profits: £3.4m Employees: 53 Pay bill: £1.9m

Ballyvesey Holdings Managing director: Wilson McClelland Pre-tax profits: £3.3m Employees: 2,582 Pay bill: £76m

6 East Bridge Street Enniskillen Co Fermanagh Tel: 01555 840006 www.bhc.ltd.uk

1 Ferguson Drive Lisburn BT28 2FL Tel:028 9266 3600 www.decora.co.uk

11 Mountjoy Rd Dungannon Co Tyrone Tel:028 8774 0740 www.westernbuild.com

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Creagh Concrete Chief executive: Seamus McKeague Pre-tax profits: £3m Employees: 430 Pay bill: £13.1m

DCC Energy Managing director: Pat O’Neill Pre-tax profits: £3m Employees: 167 Pay bill: £5.5m

Lamex Foods Europe Chief executive: David Dalzell Pre-tax profits: £2.9m Employees: 8 Pay bill: £2.8m

Andras House Managing director: Lord Rana Pre-tax profits: £2.9m Employees: 220 Pay bill: £4.2m

Blackpark Road Toomebridge Co Antrim BT41 3SL Tel: 028 7965 0500 www.creaghconcrete.co.uk

111 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel: 028 9045 4555 www.emooil.com

River House Castle Lane Coleraine Co Londonderry BT51 3DP Tel: 02870 350 550 www.lamexfoods.eu

Andras House Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7BB Tel: 028 9087 8787 www.andrashouse.co.uk

HC – formerly known as Brian Hewitt Construction – focuses on the design, fabrication and erection of structural steelwork. Its directors are husband and wife Brian and Marjorie Hewitt.

Much of its business is in Scotland and farther afield. Its weekly production capacity has increased from 30 to 600 tonnes per week. It produces structural steelwork services for retail, residential, commercial and industrial construction projects. The company is a subsidiary of Medwyn Holding Ltd, which is registered in Norhtern Ireland. Much of its business is conducted from Lanarkshire, Scotland.

In its most recent report, the company said its order book remained “solid”.

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reagh Concrete was set up in 1974 in Creagh, Toomebridge to manufacture concrete blocks, and has grown into one of the biggest concrete manufacturers in the UK and Ireland. The family firm said it made a “significant turnaround” in 2015 as it reported pre-tax profits of £3m compared to £1m losses last year.

Turnover fell from £72m to £57.2m but the firm cut distribution costs and administrative expenses. Company chief Seamus McKeague said it had improved its performance and taken investment in sales and marketing, as well as revising its pricing strategy.

amily-run Decora Blind Systems has been in business manufacturing its own products for 35 years. It has become one of the biggest blinds producers in the UK, with brands including Santa Fe Shutters and Sunwood Blinds.

Managing director Stuart Dickson – whose parents founded the company in 1979 – said it had enjoyed consistent growth in the past five years. Last year it announced it would be creating 80 new jobs over the next two years as it grows at home and overseas. The company is one of the main suppliers of components, fabrics and made-to-measure blinds to trade customers and window blind manufacturers around the UK and Ireland.

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CC Energy Ltd is a subsidiary of DCC plc, a sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group headquartered in Dublin. DCC plc’s energy division is an oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution business in the UK and Ireland and one of the leading oil distribution businesses in Austria and Denmark. The company operates two main terminals in Belfast importing oil and LPG into Northern Ireland. Its oil products are marketed under the Emo brand and its LPG products under the Flogas brand. It also operates a boiler servicing division and is the authorised distributor for Castrol in Northern Ireland.

estern is a major construction firm delivering traditional, panelised and modular build projects inthe UK and Ireland.

It has worked on projects in sectors including health, industrial and technology, education, office and residential.

It has worked on facilities in hospitals in the Republic such as Beaumont and Our Lady of Lourdes, and on office and amenity facilities at Harland & Wolff in Belfast.

Education projects include Luttrellstown Education Campus and Portlaoise Education Campus. It was founded by Martin McCloskey in 1982 as a flat roofing company.

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amex Food Group is one of the world’s largest privately owned frozen and chilled food importers/exporters.

Lamex Foods Europe – a change of name from Lamex Foods Ireland – was opened in Coleraine in January 2007 when David Dalzell and Leif Koch left Grampian Country Food Group.

They have since built up a major business supplying sales and logistics to pork manufacturers and farmers.

Lamex Ireland is now one of the major suppliers of pork in the UK and EU markets. Globally, the company also supplies seafood, fruit and vegetables, honey and juices.

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allyvesey Holdings is a diverse group of over 26 companies in different parts of the freight transport business and vehicle sales. It now includes subsidiaries, which are variously a recruitment agency in Poland, a local metal recycling business and a trailer manufacturer.

Well-known names include Montgomery Transport and car retailer J E Coulter.

The group is owned by a local set of family shareholders and now has its headquarters in Doncaster. Its network extends across Great Britain and Northern Ireland and into Europe. Brands include Montgomery Refrigeration.

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stablished by Lord Rana in 1981, Andras House is the parent company for a number of business activities in Northern Ireland. Its primary businesses are property investment and the provision of accommodation and hospitality services.

The group operates hotels under licence from international hotel brands including Holiday Inn – formerly DAYS Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Belfast city centre, IBIS city centre Belfast and IBIS Queens Quarter Belfast. It also owns the flagship Ramada Plaza at Shaws Bridge in south Belfast. Work is also starting on a new hotel under Hilton’s Hampton umbrella on Hope Street.

42

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

85

86

87

88

Golf Holdings Chief executive: Patrick Hunt Pre-tax profits: £2.9m Employees: 1,567 Pay bill: £21.3m

Macnaughton Blair Chief executive: Peter Kearney Pre-tax profits: £2.8m Employees: 474 Pay bill: £12.8m

Larne Harbour General manager: Roger Armson Pre-tax profits: £2.8m Employees: 30 Pay bill: £1m

Haldane Shiells Chief executive: Ian Haldane Pre-tax profits: £2.7m Employees: 465 Pay bill: £12.1m

Duncrue Industrial Estate, Belfast BT3 9BU Tel: 028 9074 6274 www.winemark.com

10 Falcon Road Belfast BT12 6RD Tel: 028 9038 5363 www.macblair.com

G

acnaughton Blair is a major supplier of building materials to the construction and DIY sectors and part of Grafton Group.

The group also includes specialist brands such as MB Architectural, MB Civils, MB Hire, Watershed Bathrooms and Moffett Thallon Doorways. Across the group, there are 19 branches in Northern Ireland, eight in England and one in the Isle of Man. Pre-tax profits for 2014 were more than double those of 2013 – which the company’s strategic report said coincided with overall economic improvements in business activity, employment and exports, as well as improvement in the housing market.

M

9 Olderfleet Road Larne Co Antrim BT40 1AS. Tel: 028 2887 2100. www.portoflarne.co.uk

Shepherd Way, Carnbane Industrial Estate, Newry BT35 6QQ Tel: 028 3026 3201 www.haldane-fisher.com

L

H

89

90

91

92

D Shannon Stewart/Gordons Chemists Managing director: Robert Gordon Pre-tax profits: £2.7m Employees: 645 Pay bill: £10.5m

Natural World Products Managing director: Caolan Woods Pre-tax profits: £2.6m Employees: 80 Pay bill: £2.2m

Coolkeeragh ESB Chief executive: Pat O’Donerty Pre-tax profits: £2.55m Employees: 0 Pay bill: 0

Jenkins Shipping Group Director: Eddie Irvine Pre-tax profits: £2.5m Employees: 180 Pay bill: £4.9m

74 Scarva Road Banbridge BT32 3QD Tel: 028 40 669000 www.gordonsdirect.com

32 Glenside Road Dunmurry BT17 0LH Tel: 028 90 600145 www.nwp-recycle.co.uk

2 Electra Road MaydownLondonderry BT47 6UL Tel: 028 7186 4700 www.esbi.ie

13 West Bank Road Belfast BT3 9JL Tel: 028 9074 8912 www.jenkins-shipping.com

G

N

T

J

olf Holdings is the parent company of a number of firms involved in the drinks and hospitality industry in Northern Ireland.

These include Wine Inns, Winemark, and James E McCabe.

Wine Inns has an extensive portfolio of some of the most popular bars and clubs in Belfast and surrounding areas, while Winemark is the brand name of a chain of off-licences. James E McCabe is one of the longest established and best known wine companies in the province.

Wine Inns recently revamped its Chelsea Wine Bar in south Belfast and the nightclub once known as the M-Club — now renamed Alibi.

ordons Chemists began as a single pharmacy more than 30 years ago in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland.

Today, its runs more than 60 pharmacies on the high street and in shopping centres across Northern Ireland and Scotland.

In the most recent year to March 2015, the company further developed its business by further acquisition of extra outlets while consolidating the acquisitions of earlier years. The company also has an online store, Gordons Direct. A strategic report by the company’s directors which accompanied its most recent results said that they were satisifed with performance and did not expect any major changes.

atural World Products is a major waste management and recyling firm and works with public and private sector clients. It works to a number of recycling and landfill diversion targets.

In recent years the company has been exporting alternative fuels out of Northern Ireland and has sent over 200,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel to energy from waste plants in Europe. It said its “vision and innovation” had allowed local authorities and ratepayers to avoid penalties for failing to meet recycling targets. It sold its general waste division last year and now specialises in treating and recycling organic waste streams or ‘biowastes’.

The company has facilities in Belfast and Keady, Co Armagh.

arne Harbour belongs to ferry company P&O Ferries, which operates a link to Cairnryan in Scotland from the port. P&O also owns Cairnryan A strategic report for the company accompanying its last set of accounts described the results and trading prospects as “satisfactory,” adding: “Economic conditions, as Northern Ireland has lagged behind the UK recovery, have meant that there has been little growth (in its core ferry business).” The port has benefited from the updating of the new dual carriageway from Belfast, which cut the journey to Larne to 20 minutes.

he Coolkeeragh ESB gas-fired electricity generating plant, owned by the Irish parent company ESB, is the second largest source of electricity generated in Northern Ireland.

The Londonderry-based company has shown healthy profits for most of the last seven years and has reduced its outstanding borrowing.

The company is unusual as it reports that it has no employees. This may mean that the cost of employees is carried through another company in the group and is a cost through inter-company transfers.

The company trades as part of the allisland Single Electricity Market.

aldane Fisher a major leading supplier to the construction industry in the UK and Ireland, serving trade customers, self builders and the general public.

Haldane Fisher is part of the Haldane Shiells Group, made up of Haldane Fisher NI, Haldane Fisher Isle of Man, and GE Robinson in North West England.

The business has grown organically and through acquisition since it was founded by Bob Haldane in 1946. The group supplies everything from building materials to plumbing and heating, home improvement products to internal finish such as kitchens, bathrooms, doors and floors.

enkins Shipping Group is a privatelyowned company which has been operating in the ports industry for 30 years. Ex-Formula 1 driver Eddie Ervine is a part-owner of the firm, a holding company for a number of subsidiaries operating in shipping, warehousing, distribution of paper and timber products, and a labour agency for port services.

In a strategic report, the company said it was confident that sales would increase in the most recent financial year, thanks to the maintenance of current margins and growth for new business.

The company also has bases in Liverpool, Hull, Newry, Bristol, Sheerness in Kent, Sunderland and Manchester.

44

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE

93

94

95

96

Copeland Managing director: John McAfee Pre-tax profits: £2.5m Employees: 188 Pay bill: £5m

Lagan Technologies/Verint Director: David Moody Pre-tax profits: £2.5m Employees: 346 Pay bill: £16.7m

MJM Marine Chairman: Brian McConville Pre-tax profits: £2.4m Employees: 145 Pay bill: £5m

Charles Tennant NI Managing director: Robert Peden Pre-tax profits: £2.3m Employees: 60 Pay bill: £2.6m

Ballyreagh Industrial Estate Sandholes Road Cookstown Co Tyrone BT80 9DG Tel: 028 8676 0100 www.emerson.com

Concourse II Queens Road Queens Island Belfast BT3 9DT Tel: 028 9078 8300 www.verint.com

Carnbane Business Park Newry Co Down BT35 6QH Tel:028 3025 8450 www.mjm-group.com

9 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel: 028 9045 5135 www.ctni.co.uk

L

M

C

97

98

99

100

Uni-trunk Managing director: Marcus Morrow Pre-tax profits: £2.3m Employees:171 Pay bill: £5m

GE Grid Solutions (ex-Kelman) Vice president of digital energy: John Lavelle Pre-tax profits: £2.3m Employees: 146 Pay bill: £7.2m

BA Kitchen Components Managing director: Brian McCracken Pre-tax profits: £2.3m Employees: 232 Pay bill: £6.3m

Lynas Foodservice Managing director: Andrew Lynas Pre-tax profits: £2.26m Employees: 340 Pay bill: £8.4m

Derryloran Industrial Estate Cookstown Co Tyrone BT80 9LU Tel: 028 8676 4600 www.byba.co.uk

Loughanhill Industrial Estate Gateside Road Coleraine BT52 2NR Tel: 028 70 350662 www.lynasfoodservice.com

B

L

opeland Ltd is based in Cookstown and is part of Emerson – a $22.3bn (£15.2bn) US corporation which has approximately 130,000 employees and 240 manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Copeland specialises in machining and assembly of scroll compressors for the refrigeration, air conditioning and renewable heat pump market segments.

The Cookstown facility was opened in 1997 to supply more than 300 European customers a range of regionally optimised compressors at short lead times. Parent company Emerson offers products and services for industrial, commercial and consumer uses.

C

4 Altona Road Lisburn BT27 5QB Tel: 028 92 625100 www.unitrunk.co.uk

U

ni-trunk started out 50 years ago as a family-run engineering company. It then developed a specialised division manufacturing cable management systems in 1984.

Its growth continued, and in 2000, it expanded and increased its cable management services when it acquired Vantrunk in Runcorn.

The company provides complete cable management solutions and products from site survey, design, and manufacture to local distribution and international export.

Its clients range from small local companies to multi-nationals. A strategic report with its most recent results said the company had “traded satisfactorily”.

agan was founded in 1994 and was acquired by KANA Software in 2010.

The company develops and markets customer service software products for sale to government and commercial customers.

In 2014, the company’s ultimate parent company was acquired by Nasdaq-listed firm Verint Systems. In accounts filed for the 13 months ending January 31 2015, pretax profits dropped to £997,467.

In a strategic report accompanying the more recent results, the company said it expected its general level of activity to continue, and said it would keep investing in its people.

Lissue Industrial Estate Lisburn BT28 2RB Tel: 028 92622915 www.gedigitalenergy.com www.gegridsolutions.com

G

E Grid Solutions – formerly Kelman – is an energy technology company in Lisburn which is owned by global company GE. It was founded by Northern Ireland man John Cunningham in 1994 and acquired by GE 14 years later.

GE is one of the world’s leading providers of power generation equipment.

The Lisburn operation develops technology for electricity grids and has developed a new type of transformer.

JM was founded in Newry around 33 years ago, and has grown into a major business renowned for the refurbishment of cruise liners, ferries, yachts and buildings.

Its marine arm has had a string of major successes, with turnover expected to reach £50m. In 2014 it carried out a multimillion project on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Sea. It has also carried out work for Carnival Cruise Lines, Residensea’s The World, P&O Cruises and Star Cruises. Brian McConville was named Businessperson of the Year at this the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards In Association with British Airways.

A Components was set up in 1990 in Magherafelt and now operates from three large production facilities in Cookstown, Doncaster and Rotherham.

It was set up by Brian McCracken and his twin Kieran and has grown into a multi-million pound business employing nearly 300 people. It supplies products to 24 countries around the world. It manufactures high-quality kitchen and bathroom components and has grown substantially in the last 10 years. In January it acquired a facility in Belgium which allows assembly without tools.

That company is now being moved to Rotherham. BA said it’s looking forward to its next 25 years.

harles Tennant NI is a firm operating in a number of different business areas, including the distribution of chemicals.

It currently trades as four divisions within Charles Tennant & Co (NI) Ltd. That includes bitumen, building products, chemicals and fertiliser.

It is part of the Tennant Group, which is currently active in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, United States, Canada and China, mainly in the manufacture and distribution of chemicals. Charles Tennant was a weaver by trade who patented the process of using lime and chlorine gas to bleach linen in 1788. It opened an office in Belfast in 1805, to capitalise on the linen trade, and has operated here ever since.

ynas Foodservice in Coleraine now supplies over 6,000 different products throughout Ireland and has built on its range to include tableware, cleaning and hygiene and specialist food categories Asian and Mexican. Lynas also offer an in house meat brand in Causeway Prime and has opened outlets in Coleraine, Belfast and Londonderry, extending its supply network.

The company has grown significantly over recent years and rebranded in 2015, adopting the brand promise ‘delivering you more’. It also launches a new online platform this year, with the aim to remaining at the forefront of its sector.

48

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 OPINION 

Black clouds and silver linings

A

cursory glance through the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 companies highlights the volatility in profitability that our largest companies have had to deal with over the past couple of years, at home and overseas.

We normally associate large companies with stability and relatively subdued changes to profitability from one year to the next. Yet, over 75% of the companies in this year’s listing have had double digit swings in profitability (both up and down) over the past 12 months – quite an incredible statistic.

A closer look reveals that over 50 companies have seen their profits increase over the year, with the remaining 25 or so experiencing profitability declines. Such volatility should be no surprise as it simply reflects the mixed external environment that our largest companies face. Being up or down quite often depends on what sector you are operating in; whether you are export driven or focused on the domestic economy; or if you have exposure to global risk factors such as the fall in global commodity prices.

The first quarter of this year has just ended, and if we look at the starting and end points of the FTSE 100 index, a good proxy for the health of the UK’s largest companies, you might be forgiven for thinking it was a relatively quiet three months. The FTSE closed at 31 December

By Adrian Doran, Barclays’ head of corporate banking in Northern Ireland at 6,242 and closed on 31 March just below that level at 6,174.

Within this period however the stock market at one point had fallen by over 12%, one of the largest drops in the past 5 years.

These falls were triggered by a variety of factors such as; a potential slowdown of growth in the Chinese economy (the world’s second largest economy and a major contributor to global growth) and a collapse in oil prices to less than £30 a barrel. Despite interest rates being at historically low levels, many are concerned that the world’s major central banks are running out of ammunition to stimulate

STERLING IS NOW AT LEVELS LAST SEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN MARCH 2009.

global growth.

Whilst the market has largely recovered from these losses at the start of the year, there is now major uncertainty over “Brexit”, which could potentially trigger yet more volatility in currencies and the stock market. On the day Boris Johnson announced his intention to back the Brexit campaign, sterling suffered its biggest one-day fall in over 5 years – which makes one wonder what might happen on the day of the actual vote! Sterling is now at levels last seen in the middle of the financial crisis in March 2009.

Against this backdrop, it is pleasing that the majority of the Top 100 has continued to prosper over the last 12-18 months.

Despite global growth being slower than anyone would ideally like, there are no real signs of a recession in either the UK or the US economies, and after many years of relative stagnation, the Eurozone appears to be finally showing some tepid growth.

Those local companies exposed to GB or ROI economies (still our two biggest export markets) have seen reasonably strong growth, reflecting the relatively positive economic news coming out of these

economies. Companies in sectors such as property and construction, engineering or manufacturing have, in the main, seen good growth over this period. Meanwhile, many companies in the energy sector, such as NIE and AES, or those exposed to the mining sector, such as Terex or Caterpillar, saw falls in profitability.

Closer to home, the Northern Ireland economy has continued to grow, largely on the back of the continued recovery in the property market. This is in turn bolstering consumer and business confidence including that of our major banks! We have also had a strong performance in Foreign Direct Investment, which is adding high paying jobs to our economy on a monthly basis. Many of our largest companies are also looking forward to a cut in corporation tax from April 2018.

So there are lots of reasons to remain optimistic. Indeed, one hopes that once the EU referendum is out of the way at the end of June, a major cause of uncertainty will have been removed – as we all know, there’s nothing the markets hate more than uncertainty.

In the equivalent article last year, I noted the “black clouds” of the UK and assembly elections that were hanging over our local economy. Our local executive also had yet to decisively tackle the thorny issue of welfare reform, which was paralysing our local executive. Thankfully both those clouds passed. Hopefully, the Brexit cloud will pass in an equally uneventful way!

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

50

1-25 Largest private sector employers In Northern Ireland

Main activity

Number employed

Retailer

9,585

Engineering

5,022

Retailer

4,519

Poultry processing

4,309

1

Tesco

2

Bombardier (Shorts)

3

Asda

4

Moy Park

5

Four Seasons

Nursing care

4,216

6

Teleperformance

Call centres

3,028

7

Marks and Spencer

Retailer

2,616

8

Sainsbury’s

Retailer

2,591

9

BT (NI)

Telecommunications

2,396

10

John Henderson Holdings

Wholesale and retail

2,388

11

Ulster Bank

Banking

2,368

12

Resource Group

Services

2,243

13

Allstate (NI)

IT services

2,214

14

Boots

Retailer

2,197

15

Firstsource Solutions

Call centres

1,916

16

Almac [seven companies]

Pharmaceuticals

1,865

17

Lloyds Banking Group

Banking

1,778

18

Caterpillar NI

Engineering

1,683

19

Danske Bank

Banking

1,633

20

Wrightbus [two companies]

Engineering

1,576

21

Norbrook Laboratories

Pharmaceuticals

1,545

22

Golf Holdings

Drink retailer

1,521

23

Stream Intelligent Contact

Call centres

1,442

24

Dunnes Stores

Retailer

1,440

25

Seagate Technology (Ireland)

IT equipment

1,364

Top 50 – Largest employers in Northern Ireland

Source: Drawn and adapted from the monitoring report prepared by the Equality Commission (2014) List drawn from all companies with 500 or more employees, full or part time.

Excludes: Universities, Charities, Housing Associations and Recruitment Agencies

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

51

26-50 Largest private sector employers In Northern Ireland

Main activity

Number employed

Retailer

1,305

Financial services

1,285

Call centre

1,247

26

Next

27

Citigroup

28

Concentrix

29

Santander (UK)

Financial services

1,228

30

Dunbia

Meat processing

1,201

31

Graham Holdings

Construction

1,143

32

Schrader Electronics

Engineering

1,126

33

G4S

Services

1,123

34

Bank of Ireland

Banking

1,048

35

Robinson Services

Services

1,022

36

Iceland Foods

Retailer

972

37

NIE Network Services

Electricity utility

966

38

Mount Charles Catering

Food services

964

39

Terex (two companies)

Engineering

947

40

AIB (First Trust)

Bank

944

41

Noonan Services Group

Services

914

42

Primark Stores

Retailer

908

43

Musgrave Group (two companies)

Retail and wholesale

891

44

Michelin

Tyre manufacture

889

45

Linden Foods (Fane Valley)

Food processing

870

46

B&M Retail

Retail

864

47

PwC

Financial services

860

48

Homecare Independent Living

Personal services

841

49

Northstone (NI)

Construction

829

50

B/E Aerospace

Engineering

806

Top 50 – Largest employers in Northern Ireland Source: Drawn and adapted from the monitoring report prepared by the Equality Commission (2014) List drawn from all companies with 500 or more employees, full or part time.

Excludes: Universities, Charities, Housing Associations and Recruitment Agencies

52

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 AWARDS OVERVIEW 

The biggest awards celebration in Northern Ireland’s corporate calendar took place in the Culloden Hotel on April 21: The Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in Association with British Airways.

It was the fourth consecutive year in which British Airways supported the awards.

Here is a reminder of the winners of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious business accolades

Brian Spence from Veratta Ltd is presented with the award for Excellence in Technology

by Paul Convery, Head of Business of category sponsors BT, along with Jayne Deasy and Christine Wright

Catherine McKernan and Eimear O’Brien from Galgorm Resort & Spa are presented with their award by Stephen Roycroft Managing Director of category sponsors RLA

Bronagh Henderson of Henderson Group received theExcellence in Innnovation Award from Wilfred Mitchell of FSB

Ciara Lagan presents Judith Totten of Upstream with best SME award, while Richard McClean Connaire McGreevy of CTS Projects was given the award for Young Businessperson of the (above right) presents Martin Agnew of Henderson Group with Overall Business of the Year Year by John McQuaid of sponsor Almac, along with Christine Wright and Jayne Deasy

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

53

Left, Louise Moss and Natasha Hamilton Brown from Ground Espresso Bars are presented with their trophy by Paul Greenfield of category sponsors ABC Council

Below, Philip Polly from CosyRoof and Stephen Brennan from Engage are presented with the award for Best Use of Social Media/ Digital by Sheridan Pennel of category sponsors Saville Audio Visual

Left, Aine Brolly of Cpl received the award for Excellence in Management and Leadership from Employment Minister Dr Stephen Farry

Restaurateur Niall McKenna is presented with the award for Best Contribution to Tourism/ Hospitality by David Boyce of sponsor Tourism Ireland, Christine Wright and Jayne Deasy

Graeme Purdy from AJ Power Limited is presented with the Award for Excellence in Exporting by Mike Roche of category sponsors FedEx

Businessperson of the year Brian McConville is presented with his award by Keith Chuter of British Airways, as Jayne Deasy and Christine Wright looked on

54

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 HIGHLIGHTS 

Northern Ireland’s top companies have had a busy year as a swirl of corporate activity – from the departures of key personnel to previously inconceivable acquisitions and disposals – took place Margaret Canning gives a recap of the highlights for some of our top names 1: Danske Bank saw changes at the top

when Gerry Mallon announced he was leaving to head up the Irish operation of Ulster Bank. Mr Mallon was replaced as chief executive by his former deputy Kevin Kingston, a well-known figure in the business world thanks to his presidency of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

5: Moy Park found itself in demand with yet another Brazilian firm. Defying speculation that Marfrig might float its prized European asset, it in fact opted to sell Moy Park to compatriot company JBS. 8: W&R Barnett was on the acquisition trail, and in November last year took over the Logson Group of corrugated packaging companies, headquartered in Coalville.

11: Bombardier candidly describes itself in these pages as having had an “an extremely challenging year,” adding that those challenges continue. Happily, the company has had some good news since crafting that statement, winning a major deal to build 125 C Series jets to Delta Airlines, headquartered in Atlanta.

15: First Derivatives has made several acquisitions in the last 12 months or so, making it the most acquisitive company in the chart.

It’s snapped up Affinity Systems and ActivateClients, as well as Prelytix LLC and QuantumKDB. 16: UTV Media plc makes its last

appearance in its traditional form in a Top 100 this year. After the costly launch of a new venture, UTV Ireland, in January last

year, the company decided to sell its TV assets, including Ulster Television, to ITV in a £100m deal.

Now the brand UTV is part of ITV, while the radio stations formerly run under UTV Media plc are part of a new company, Wireless Group plc.

Long-serving chief executive John McCann has now retired, and is replaced at the head of Wireless Group by Richard Huntingford.

19: Montupet was another company

involved in merger and acquisition activity (M&A) in recent months.

Its French parent company was taken over by family-run Canadian firm Linamar in a “friendly acquisition” – making it Northern Ireland’s second big Canadian-owned manufacturer after Bombardier Shorts.

21: Almac bought Arran Chemicals in

the Republic and took over Charnwood Campus in Loughborough in England to expand its formulation and analytical development services. The Craigavonbased firm had an acquisitive year.

25: Kainos, a Queen’s University IT spinout, made a splash when it floated on the London Stock Exchange – becoming only our third listed company after First Derivatives and UTV Media/Wireless.

39: Allstate also saw change at the top — like Top 100 companions Danske and UTV Media plc — when chief executive Bro McFerran retired, to be replaced by Citigroup’s former head John Healy.

34: Viridian, the power company which owns electricity supplier Power NI in Northern Ireland, and Energia in the Republic, was sold to I Squared Capital.

family — company which has created much employment in Ballyclare and Belfast – becoming Parcelforce’s biggest Northern Ireland customer along the way.

48: Fane Valley saw more change as a wave

60: Delta Print in west Belfast continued to thrive, and opened a new business in Giliwice in Poland. Founder Terry Cross has also welcomed new flights to Poland courtesy of Ryanair from Belfast as beneficial to Northern Ireland business

of consolidation swept – and continues to sweep – the agri-food indusry.

What started as a plan for a dairy joint venture with Lakeland became a straightforward takeover of Fane Valley’s dairy by Lakeland.

50: Dunbia provided us with many topics

23: FP McCann has also grown significantly, buying over the Co Fermanagh quarry and construction firm P Clarke and Sons after it went into administration.

And in December, it added to its precast concrete arm with the acquisition of Buchan Concrete Products in England.

for discussion during the year after the Belfast Telegraph revealed that at least part of the meat giant would be put on the block. It later emerged that its pork business could be sold to Cranswick or Danish Crown, and a red meat joint venture formed with 2 Sisters. But all’s been quiet over the last few months at the Co Tyrone company.

24: Sangers was taken over by Fortune

59: Chain Reaction Cycles provided some

500 firm McKesson – which also owns Lloyd Pharmacy – after former owner UDG Healthcare in Dublin sold its drug distribution units for more than £300m.

BOMBARDIER CANDIDLY DESCRIBES ITSELF IN THESE PAGES AS HAVING HAD AN “AN EXTREMELY CHALLENGING YEAR”

of the biggest business headlines of the year when the online cycling accessories retailer was taken over by its larger rival, Wiggle. It marked the end of an era for a

64: Heatons (NI) saw a major boardroom

shake-up which may yet result in changes to its stores in Northern Ireland. Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley took a step further on Ireland’s corporate stage when his business bought out the Irish department store. Mr Ashley also snapped up a shopping arcade in Belfast.

99: BA Components in Cookstown, Co

Tyrone, run by the McCracken brothers, branched out with the purchase of new Belgian technnology. It’s now taken over production and sales of Uniclic® technology for furniture – developed by UNILIN – to allow panels to be clicked together without the use of tools.

60

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

 LOOKING AHEAD  The leader of one of our main business groups says there is ‘cautious optimism’ among members

SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY IS BY NO MEANS GUARANTEED

A

s we head into the election period proper, after which there will be discussions around – and hopefully agreement on – a Programme for Government, this is an appropriate time to assess where we are in Northern Ireland and to pose some questions which our incoming Executive will have to answer very early into their new term.

So is our glass half full or half empty?

Among the members of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber) there is a sense of what could best be described as a cautious optimism. Yes we are now in a post-recession period, but in its very early stages. Companies are reporting an increase in activity and, in most sectors, a modest increase in export sales. Given the emphasis which we in NI Chamber put on export as a means of business growth, those trends are very welcome. When we add to the mix the imminent reduction in corporation tax, the signs do look positive overall.

All of those ingredients do not, however, add up to a guarantee of a sustainable economic recovery and for many of our member businesses there are a number of global issues which give cause for concern.

Uncertainties around a potential UK exit from Europe alongside concerns about international trends have contributed to a slowdown in the UK economy since the start of this year. Across the UK industrial output suffered its sharpest fall for four years, as reported in February. The price of oil has been falling significantly, from $65 a barrel this time last year to under $40 now.

We engage with our members and the business community on an ongoing basis, including through our quarterly economic survey. There are other pressing concerns which arise across businesses of different sizes and different sectors.

For instance, cuts to university funding are coming at a time when many businesses want to increase the size of their workforce and employ people with the requisite skills and knowledge. NI Chamber has worked with a range of incoming companies and we know the mix and ability of our employee pool is absolutely vital to them.

Overcoming the challenges of new developments such as the National Living Wage, the apprenticeship levy and holiday pay is another concern. These will all impact on costs which can’t be passed on.

It means that businesses that are already leaner because of the recession will have to consider the impact on their supply chain.

The uncertainty created by the

By Ann McGregor, chief executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry

referendum on Europe – notwithstanding the actual outcome – does create an unstable environment and between now and the end of June there will be a nervousness amidst the business community. There are practical difficulties too in the fluctuating exchange rate which hampers long-term financial planning and export activity.

Recent remarks from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on ‘Brexit’ have caused currency market fluctuation with the euro to pound sterling and euro to US dollar exchange rates both experiencing movement.

Access to finance remains a concern for companies and we do need to see the expressed sentiment of the main banks translated into the actual freeing up of cash in order to support investment, research and development and business growth.

Of deep concern is the state of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector, which has seen a number of high profile casualties recently. The future closures of JTI Gallaher’s and Michelin and the substantial job losses at Bombardier have all had a very negative knock-on effect.

While the global economy has had its part to play in causing difficulties for local companies, the price of energy is another factor challenging many firms and is one of the most pressing issues facing NI Chamber members.

The recent group, of which NI Chamber was part, established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry (DETI) to examine the issue of energy supply and cost has recently reported and the issue must occupy a priority slot on the agenda for the incoming Government.

Freedom of movement for customers and potential customers has emerged as a cause for concern, albeit one which emanates from the UK Government rather than our own Assembly. We are aware of local businesses who have been frustrated at failed attempts to meet potential customers from overseas due to visa issues.

That is a trend we want to see reversed.

Access to external customers and markets is absolutely key to business growth and the less barriers in the way the better.

So we are not without our problems and challenges. At the same time though, there remains an underlying confidence that the worst of the global crisis is behind us and that the cycle of economic growth is in its early, if tentative, stages.

We are looking forward to the reduction in corporation tax and suggest that the Programme for Government focuses on capacity building among our workforce and improving our physical and communications infrastructure. Slowly and surely we are putting economic levers in place – the next five years represent an opportunity to make them work for us all.

TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016

Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, reflects on what the Top 100 has told us about the state of manufacturing in Northern Ireland

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nce again, the Belfast Telegraph’s Top 100 highlights the importance of our manufacturing sector to both wealth and work creation. But the results confirm our analysis that the sector remains brittle and that our new Executive should answer our call and commit to a cross-government Manufacturing Strategy.

Profitability is demonstrably in decline for many. This should be a concern for us all. Profits in manufacturing are reinvested in plant, machinery and people as well the development of markets at home and abroad. Where manufacturers invest in plant and machinery makes them ‘sticky’ as these are large investment which are only recovered over a long period.

Manufacturers can’t simply set up with a laptop and power supply, it takes time and a commitment to place.

It is no surprise to anyone in manufacturing that the Top 100 is largely

headlined by energy and utility firms.

We know we already pay the secondmost expensive energy in the EU – both in gas and electricity – and this must be addressed by the incoming Executive by commiting to the proposals in the recently published Energy in Manufacturing Advisory Group report commissioned by the outgoing Enterprise Minister.

Manufacturing NI entered this election period by calling on all parties to commit to continuing industrial derating, delivering energy prices at a European average for manufacturers and a manufacturing strategy whose aim would be to deliver Europe’s ambition to have manufacturing represent 20% of GDP. Our recently published analysis from Oxford Economics unveiled the contribution of manufacturing to the NI economy. This showed that there are some 214,000 direct and supported jobs – one in four of all jobs in the economy – dependent on the manufacturing sector, with its impact outside of Belfast being particularly pronounced.

It showed that the total contribution to the economy was just shy of £10bn, that exports totalled some £6bn, almost twothirds of all export sales, manufacturers invested some £254m in R&D in 2014, accounting for over 60% of total business investment and that it attracted £900m in foreign direct investment etween 2010 and 2014.

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And the perpetual problem of productivity is best repaired through manufacturing. Productivity at £55,700 is 38% higher than NI average with advanced manufacturing contribution 27% more.

The only realistic way for the Executive to increase productivity is by boosting our manufacturing sector.

But, this is against a headwind of cost competitiveness disadvantage of around 15% to the UK. This gap will widen with National Living Wage and the Apprenticeship Levy for some. This makes action on other cost areas that much more important.

Investing and supporting local manufacturing has the ability to move from representing 14% of our economy to meeting the EU target of 20% and in turn transform our economy and the lives of families across Northern Ireland. This is a great opportunity for the Executive and its agencies. But, it needs a plan to get there.

We should be proud of our manufacturers – those in the Top 100 and others on their way up. We need to celebrate but also cherish those who are contributing so much to our economy and to jobs. Despite the cost of doing business challenges we are world beaters in many industries thanks to innovative companies with great leaders and productive and committed staff. The challenge for the Executive is to create the condition in which they can thrive.

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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2016