Ulster Business Top 100 2021

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Contents 10 News

68 Out of Office

159 Motoring

The latest news and exclusives from across the world of Northern Ireland business

In our new feature we find out what business leaders do in their spare time

Pat Burns gets behind the wheel of a new topend French motor and a no-drama Scandi

30 In Focus

69 Top 50 Employers

164 Photocall

John Mulgrew chats to Par Equity about its investment plans for Northern Ireland

We take a look at the largest employers across the world of business here

A wide look at what’s been happening across Northern Ireland this summer

32 Top 100 analysis

116 Interview

174 Travel

Analyst Jonathan Cushley breaks down all the figures from this year’s Top 100 Companies

Ulster Business speaks to Colin Bennie about John McAslan + Partners’ expansion into NI

Whatever you’ve missed most about Dublin, Lucy White’s guide to its treats has you covered

37 Top 100

124 Podcast

176 Technology

The annual list showcasing the biggest businesses in Northern Ireland

We look back at some of the highlights of the Ulster Business Podcast with Calibro

Is it time to take a punt on Bitcoin? Or is it all a big Ponzi scheme waiting to collapse?

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EDITOR’S COMMENTS

Top 100 bellwether for the NI economy

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here’ll hopefully be a time ahead in the not-too-distant future, where we can reasonably comfortably speak about the Covid-19 pandemic in the past.

We aren’t quite there yet, but in terms of economic recovery, we’re certainly on our way.

Writing this intro 12 months ago, we were emerging from our first major lockdown, but also emerging into an entirely unpredictable environment, whereby we we had no protection and insufficient understanding of just how virulent this virus could be, both in terms of the health impact and its ability to spread across our communities. Now, and with a hugely successful vaccination programme being

rolled out across almost all age groups, the prospect for a long-term reopening and recovery looks considerably stronger, one year on.

cover the period in which the pandemic took hold. Some have seen a boost in business, due to the changing market demands, while others, a softening.

Welcome to this special double-edition of Ulster Business. The Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2021, with A&L Goodbody, is once again an insight into the fortunes of the biggest and brightest businesses which we have here, and a bellwether for the private sector in general.

But one thing they all share in common is resilience and an ability to pivot and evolve in order to stay sturdy and afloat.

Thanks once again to all of those supporting this edition, and others, in the last year.

This year’s edition features dozens of news stories, profiles, analysis, interviews and more, and showcases some of the rising stars of the list, including those making it for the first time.

There’s a lot of positive news in this Top 100 edition of Ulster Business, and given some of the announcements on the horizon and conversations I’ve had with companies, many more are likely to follow in the coming months and years ahead. ■

Many of the accounts on this year’s list

John Mulgrew

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TOP 100

A year is a long time in business

By Michael Neill, head of Belfast office, A&L Goodbody

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aving said famously that “a week is a long time in politics”, I wonder how Harold Wilson might describe a year in a global pandemic, were he with us today. So much has happened since the last Top 100 edition of Ulster Business was published a year ago, yet so little has changed.

At the time of penning this same foreword last July, we had just emerged from the first lockdown period and were – perhaps naively – tentatively optimistic that the end of the pandemic was in sight.

At that time I described Northern Ireland’s Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies as “the constant amid the chaos” that is Covid-19.

Fast forward 12 months and the same remains true – because, despite feeling like we can predict so little at present, we can always

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anticipate with some certainty how the Top 100 list will shape up from year to year.

This year, it is encouraging to note the continued strong performance of the familiar faces at the top end of the list – many of whom have retained their spot during the six years that ALG has supported the Ulster Business Top 100 Companies edition.

As always, it is also positive to track those companies scaling up the rankings year on year, and to welcome new entrants for 2021 – Lidl and Mzuri Group.

Over the past 12 months, at ALG we have been working closely with many of these companies to support them as they navigate through a wide range challenges and legal considerations stemming from Covid-19.

However, it is also encouraging to see that investment and transactional activity has not been subdued by the pandemic. In fact, we are seeing the opposite.

In parallel, we have continued to advise on a wide range of Brexit-related legal matters – be it country of origin and the labelling of goods, supply chain review or considerations around the movement of people. One of the greatest challenges for many of the Top 100 Companies remains the continued lack of clarity around Brexit issues – such as how data will be handled between the UK and Europe from 2021 onwards, or the validity of professional qualifications and regulatory certificates in the services sector.

Our offices across Belfast, Dublin, London and the US remain poised and committed to supporting domestic and international clients in overcoming the many challenges facing the business community and realising opportunities for sustainable recovery and growth.

On behalf of our 120-strong team of lawyers and business support professionals at ALG in Belfast, congratulations to each of the Ulster Business Top 100 Companies. π

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NEWS

summer Top 100 firms see sales IN numbers rise but profits stall A

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The number of businesses making this year’s Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies, with A&L Goodbody.

4.3%

The increase in sales among this year’s Top 100 companies, rising to £26.7bn.

0.3%

The small fall in average profits across this year’s Top 100 Companies list.

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The number of years which poultry giant Moy Park has topped the Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies list.

Michael Neill, head of Belfast office, A&L Goodbody with Ulster Business editor, John Mulgrew

orthern Ireland’s biggest businesses have seen a small bump in sales but profits have stalled, Ulster Business can reveal.

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six years that ALG has supported the Ulster Business Top 100 Companies edition,” Michael Neill, head of Belfast office, A&L Goodbody, said.

The flagship Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2021 list, with A&L Goodbody (ALG), shows that topline sales increased by 4.3%, year-on-year, to £26.7bn.

“On behalf of our 120-strong team of lawyers and business support professionals at ALG in Belfast, congratulations to each of the Ulster Business Top 100 Companies.”

But the list of the leading 100 firms here also showed profits fell marginally among those businesses by 0.3%.

John Mulgrew, editor of Ulster Business, said: “In the 12 months since the last Top 100, many of our biggest companies have had to pivot, evolve and deal with operating in an ever-changing environment.

The list has showcased the performance of the biggest firms from right across Northern Ireland, ranked by turnover, for more than 30 years.

There are a number of newcomers this year, including German discount supermarket giant Lidl, which is now filing full accounts in Northern Ireland, and blinds maker Mzuri Group, based in Lisburn.

And poultry giant Moy Park has topped the list for the 10th year in a row.

Ulster Business has partnered with corporate law firm A&L Goodbody for the last six years with the Top 100.

“This year, it is encouraging to note the continued strong performance of the familiar faces at the top end of the list – many of whom have retained their spot during the

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“But as the Top 100 shows, many have actually increased sales and profits in the middle of this pandemic, while others have faced sizeable challenges to their way of working.

“It may be another year before a clearer picture of the true impact of Covid-19 on our private sector, but there remains resilience and strong results among many of the companies making the 2021 list.”

Speaking to Ulster Business as the business topped the Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies list, Moy Park director Justin Coleman, said: “There is a sense of pride being top of the list and it’s a proudly headquartered in Northern Ireland business and will remain so.”

NEWS

‘Strong trading year’ for Moy Park

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oy Park says it’s had a strong trading year with sales “slightly” up.

Speaking to Ulster Business as the firm topped the Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies list, with A&L Goodbody, for the 10th year in a row, director Justin Coleman said: “Trading and demand is still strong for fresh British chicken. It’s a protein that is in demand.

“The mix and the channels are changing slightly. Retail is softening slightly, but QSR (quick service restaurants), food service, eating out is coming back. The total demand for chicken is probably the same, and in growth.”

And according to Mr Coleman, the next results are due to be improved upon again, when filed.

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Justin Coleman

The company’s latest filed accounts put its turnover at £1.58bn, while it posted pre-tax profits of just over £70m, for the end of 2019.

Justin, who heads up agri-business and live production services, says the next accounts,

which cover much of the period of Covid, are slightly ahead of the current results.

“It was a strong trading year, all things considered… the overall performance was really good.”

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NEWS

Willy Mayne

Quotes OF THE summer “No one could have anticipated the economic contraction that we witnessed last year. Thankfully, many companies survived with government support and indeed some are now thriving as the economy takes an upward turn.

The companies on this Top 100 list have demonstrated tremendous resilience, resolve and agility.”

CBI NI director Angela McGowan writing in the Top 100 edition of Ulster Business.

“The idea of King’s Cross, Sydney and Belfast – there is a certain lineage you can find as a thread through them which is about really integrating the facility, not just the city.”

Colin Bennie of John McAslan + Partners speaking about plans for the new Belfast Transport Hub.

“While we have made good progress in the recovery, I know there is much work still to do. But I believe we can look ahead with optimism. Our business community has shown levels of creativity and resilience that give me great confidence that Northern Ireland is forging a path to a positive economic future.”

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons speaking shortly after his recent appointment.

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Brewery owner to open new Belfast beer bar

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elfast looks set to get a major beer bar as a brewery owner opens a new spot close to CS Lewis Square as part of an overall £500,000 investment, it can be revealed.

Bullhouse Brewery owner Willy Mayne will open the doors to Pioneer on the Newtownards Road this autumn, creating around six new jobs.

It’s set to boast a new fully-licensed beer bar, focused around the local community, and will include a beer garden which looks on to CS Lewis Square.

Pioneer will include 16-20 independent beer taps – including many from its own brewery – and is set to open its doors ahead of Christmas.

And according to Willy, the beer selection will be among the biggest in Northern Ireland.

He’s also expanding his brewery at the Boucher Road in the south of the city, and building a new brewhouse which will be ready by February 2022.

And he says it’s also the first new bar licence to be granted in the area for a number of years.

“The plan is that it will be a neighbourhood and community focused bar, with no late

licence, serving bar snacks and food in the long-term,” he said.

“We will have a beer garden onto CS Lewis Square, which is sort of the final piece of the puzzle in that area.

“East Belfast in general is lacking in good quality evening economy. There are plenty of restaurants but a lack of bars.”

He says that could include home-brew and kombucha making classes, beer yoga, and a long-term plan to create a cycling club.

“It’ll be authentic. A lot of bars in Belfast are selling the experience, rather than the product.

We are going to be focusing on the products to drive the experience.”

Pioneer will also be able to sell beer to take away, and Willy says he plans to source beer directly from the rest of the UK and elsewhere in Europe – boasting one of the biggest selections in Northern Ireland.

The new spot will sit close to Boundary Brewing, which operates weekend taprooms from its Portview Trade Centre site.

Willy says he’s hoping the new addition will create a “hub of beer” in the area over the long-term, and bring more visitors into the area.

Venture capital company ‘to invest £20m in NI firms’

NEWS

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venture capital firm says it will invest up to £20m in burgeoning Northern Ireland tech firms in the next couple of years, Ulster Business can reveal.

Edinburgh-based Par Equity has already invested £9m in six firms here, along with a total of 63 across the UK as a whole.

Some of its investments here include PathXL and Datactics.

“We have a good broad range of portfolio companies which are doing very well,” founder Andrew Noble says.

Andrew Noble

“I think the market in Northern Ireland right now is very interesting.”

“To date it’s about £9m into Northern Ireland so far. Fundamentally, we want to be investing probably another £10 or £20m over the next two or three years.

“We see the equity gap in Northern Ireland being that £1m to £3m cheque size. We want to do more of that. At a slightly later stage, there is quite a big gap with companies that want to raise proper series A money.

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The firm’s first investment into NI was PathXL back in 2012. That then led to an exit in 2016 to Philips Healthcare.

Par Equity was established in 2008, based out of Edinburgh, and remains of the most active seed to series A investors in the UK. Read the full interview on page 30-31

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NEWS

Belfast ‘could become green city like Copenhagen’

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elfast could become a modern green city such as Copenhagen or Helsinki and see a “massive increase in its competitiveness” on the world stage due to its unique position post-Brexit, the former chair of the BBC Trust has said.

Sir Michael Lyons is heading up a commission examining how Belfast and Northern Ireland can grow and expand.

And Sir Michael says while it has outlined a number of areas to fuel growth, that he’s not in favour of slashing our corporation tax rate, saying “it produces a race to the bottom”.

But speaking about the latest flare up in political instability and trouble here over the last few months, Sir Michael says while it remains a risk in our ability to attract foreign investment it is “set against a very different climate as a result of the peace process”.

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Sir Michael Lyons

“We are very optimistic about the future of cities in general, and Belfast in particular,” he told the Ulster Business Podcast, sponsored by Calibro.

“It has the opportunity to put itself ‘on the map’ by focusing on quality of life and quality of environment.”

NEWS

SHS Group ‘eyeing acquisition opportunities’

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orthern Ireland consumer goods giant SHS Group will continue to eye further investment and acquisitions here in a bid to expand further, its chief tells Ulster Business.

Elaine Birchall says while it may take at least another year before we are able to envisage a return to a base level, across the economy, the firm is still eyeing up potential expansion opportunities, when they arise.

She said while the firm saw certain sectors falling significantly during the pandemic, other areas of grocery off-set that due to a surge in demand.

The Belfast-based firm produces brands such as Shloer, WKD and Sunny Jim firelighters.

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“We were on an acquisition trail shortly after I joined and we have continued to invest in those teams and those market places,” Ms Birchall said. “In the last year we haven’t had the right amount of time to focus on international markets, so getting back to a more stable view of the world.

“We have learned a lot about what fits our business and we have a really nice balanced portfolio… we keep an eye on those opportunities.” “(As for when it will be rebased) I think it would probably be at least a year away from now before you really know where the rebase is, and which businesses are still thriving and which businesses need more help from government packages etc.”

Elaine Birchall

Read the full interview on page 120-121

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NEWS

NI output suffered fall at start of 2020

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orthern Ireland’s economy saw a contraction of 1.6% over the start of this year as lockdown and restrictions continued to hamper business, official figures show.

While surveys in the last few weeks have shown a surge in activity, the beginning of the year saw a slump up until March, based on the previous quarter. That’s according to the Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index.

The index shows the decrease in economic growth over the quarter, year and rolling annual average to quarter one 2021 was largely driven by the decline in the services sector.

NI economic activity and UK GDP decreased at a similar rate over the quarter, however over the year NI economic activity fell at a slower rate than UK GDP.

The production and construction sectors contributed to negative growth over the quarter and rolling annual average, but contributed positively over the year, according to the figures from the Northern Ireland

Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA).

Overall, economic output in the year to March 2021 decreased by 0.6% in real terms compared to the same period a year earlier.

Northern Ireland leading way in UK for retail turnaround

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hopping habits here may be bouncing back better than other UK regions, but missing office workers are still a big loss to the high street, according to one trade body.

According to a report by the NI Retail Consortium, footfall in shops was down 20.6% in June compared to the same month two years ago in 2019.

But that level of was above the UK average of 27.6% compared to 2019, leaving Northern Ireland with the shallowest decline in any region.

However, our footfall slump in June was 5.7% worse than May. The trade body and Sensormatic IQ now compare the latest retail footfall figures with statistics from 2019 to measure present day shopping habits with the pre-pandemic era.

It found that footfall in shopping centres here was down 16.9% during June compared to 2019. That contrasts with a more shallow fall of 4.2% in May. In Belfast footfall was down 22.3% compared to June 2019, which was also a two percentage point decline from May.

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Aodhan Connolly

NI Retail Consortium director, Aodhan Connolly, said: “Although Northern Ireland still leads the pack in footfall bounceback across the UK, we are still five percentage points worse than in May and 20% down on the last comparable year, which was 2019.”

NEWS

Lidl ‘aiming for 10% market share’ says boss

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erman discounter Lidl is aiming to secure a 10% share of the market here in the next few years as it continues strong-double digit grow, its boss here has said.

Speaking to Ulster Business, Conor Boyle said while market share is still just 6.7%, it has ambitious plans to grow that to 10% over the next few years.

“We have an internal target of an 8% market share by 2025. If we don’t exceed that I’ll be really disappointed,” he said.

Conor Boyle

“I think we can get closer to 10% by then, given what we have in the pipeline. We don’t have a systematic competitor. We are the only full assortment discount retailer in Northern Ireland.”

GB it accounts for 13-14% or maybe more, so why not be aiming for solid double-digits,” he says. “We are confident in investing that £30m a year and we want to get over that 10% mark.

It’s seen continued significant double-digit, year-on-year growth, and is investing around £30m a year in its estate – with six new or revamped stores, annually.

“You will see a significant increase in turnover and an increase in profitability as well.”

Read the full profile on page 84-85

“In Germany, discount food retail accounts for 30% of the market, in

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NEWS

Northern Ireland sees fastest private sector growth in seven years N

orthern Ireland has seen its fastest pace of growth across the private sector in almost seven years, according to one fresh survey.

Economic output and new orders have risen at their fastest rate here across the private sector since the third quarter of 2014.

Meanwhile, employment growth is also rising at its fastest rate in almost the same period,

according to the latest Ulster Bank purchasing managers’ survey for June. However, the growth is coming from a low base, following protracted lockdowns and a shutting down of much of the economy last year.

“The end of the second quarter of the year saw further strong increases in output and new orders as the loosening of Covid-19 restrictions continued,” the latest report said.

“Inflationary pressures intensified further, however, with input costs and output prices both rising at the fastest rates on record.”

Those responding to the survey said the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and higher new orders were behind the expansion in activity. The services sector registered the fastest increase in activity, closely followed by manufacturing.

“Northern Ireland has witnessed its best quarter for private sector growth – both in terms of output and orders – since quarter three 2014 and the fastest rate of employment growth since quarter two 2014,” Richard Ramsey, chief economist Northern Ireland, Ulster Bank, said.

“Looking specifically at June’s survey, firms once again recorded strong rates of growth in output and employment in the month, albeit the pace of expansion eased relative to May. “All sectors saw their rates of job creation ease, with construction’s staffing levels falling.

But services was the only sector to report a pick-up in business activity in June.

Richard Ramsey

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“Services firms reported their fastest rate of growth in business activity in over seven years.

This was not unexpected given that June was the first full month that the hospitality sector

has been open since lockdown restrictions were eased.

“The robust rates of growth look set to continue in the short-term with order books filling up fast. New orders increased at their fastest pace in almost seven years, led by the services sector. Construction also posted its first rise in orders in seven months.”

Looking ahead however, while business sentiment dipped to a three month low in June, firms remained strongly optimistic that output will rise over the coming year, with the further reopening of the economy post-Covid.

However, it was also the worst quarter for inflationary pressures in the PMI survey’s history.

“Rising demand coupled with ongoing supply chain disruption led firms to increase their backlogs of work at the fastest pace in the survey’s 19-year history,” Mr Ramsey said.

“Suppliers’ delivery times lengthened significantly in June with Brexit invariably cited for these delays. Meanwhile inflationary pressures continued to intensify with firms’ input costs – raw materials, wages, shipping costs – rising at a record rate.

“This has been an all too familiar story during 2021. Firms in the construction industry posted the steepest rates of input cost inflation with the index hitting 97.5. Businesses are passing these increased costs onto their customers at record rates. Once again, construction firms, followed by retailers, are posting the steepest price hikes. It is expected that supply chain disruption and significant inflationary pressures will be a feature of the business environment for the rest of the year and well into 2022.”

BUSINESS SHOWCASE WITH ULSTER BANK

Further acquisitions ‘constant’ part of Totalmobile expansion It’s been a busy year for Totalmobile, with a number of acquisitions and continued levels of growth. The business has continued that upward trajectory and is doing so with the help of its banking partner Ulster Bank along the way

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otalmobile took on four businesses in the year and a bit since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jim Darragh

And according to its chief executive, Jim Darragh, the acquisition trail will remain a “constant” part of the firm’s continued strategy and growth trajectory.

The firm now boasts a workforce of almost 350, and is a specialist in field service management and mobile workforce management.

It works with a host of companies and sectors, including local government, housing and property, health and social care, and utilities.

“We are significantly over 1,000 customers now,” he says. “We have acquired six companies in the last three years which has helped us boost that. “(We’ve grown) through our own organic efforts and building, and then adding through very acquisitions over the last couple of years.

We aim at growth half and half – organic and new customer acquisition, and about half is from really targeted M&A. And one fuels the other. We never lose sight that we have to do both.”

Its latest takeover was Cognito iQ, a Newbury-based provider of cloud-based mobile workforce management and analytics technology solutions.

Ulster Bank has provided a comprehensive funding solution to Totalmobile, which has added real-time performance analytics capabilities to its technologies through the acquisition.

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“We went virtual on March 17, 2020. We didn’t really miss a heartbeat,” Jim says.

“We had to adjust because we had to look at our business and say ‘what is going to be negatively impacted and what will continue as normal, or might have an uptick.

Some of the pandemic-related changes to business included the addition of software for St John’s Ambulance, around timing the availability of delivering Covid jabs.

“The biggest delivery company in the UK is a customer of ours.

“We had some directly related Covid work.

Having said that, our recurring revenue without the acquisition is still growing in the high 20%.”

“They have done pretty well. They have 50,000 drivers on the road each day and their volumes have done well, and we have benefited from that.”

The firm now has turnover between £40m and £50m, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of around 30%, according to Jim.

BUSINESS SHOWCASE WITH ULSTER BANK

is the model we are keen to replicate with customers across our business portfolio.

Key to success in all of this has been the unique leadership style from Jim who has been at the helm of Totalmobile since July 2016.

Jim stands out as being an agile leader and his ability to adjust to challenges with speed and confidence has been a crucial element of the firm’s expansion to date.

We are committed to playing a key role in helping companies grow

By Kenton Hilman, head of corporate and property, Ulster Bank

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orthern Ireland’s tech sector is having a moment. A recent report published by the British Business Bank shows that this industry alone was responsible for securing 67% of total equity investment in 2020 and at the time of writing, significant announcements from Learning Pool and PwC will create an additional 800 jobs for the sector.

In my view, the fact that we are continuing to see investment and funding injections against the backdrop of a challenging economic climate is testament to the wealth of talent and ambition which exists here.

Our homegrown successes are branching out further into new market sectors and regions while our capable and skilled graduates make Northern Ireland an attractive location for international technology companies seeking to invest.

“In the five years I’ve been here, you’re taking £10m to mid-£40m. We will put on a good chunk of growth this year… our own organic, recurring revenue, is still growing the high 20%.

“We make good acquisitions, we try very hard at the customer piece, we are very vertically focused… and we are very much still routed in

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At Ulster Bank we recognise the valuable contribution this industry can make to postpandemic recovery and how crucial a role it will play when it comes to driving future economic growth and job creation. This is why our teams are passionate about supporting our tech sector customers; be they emerging startups enrolled on our Accelerator Programme, established SMEs or some of NI’s largest tech employers.

Totalmobile is one example of the work we are doing in this area. Having tracked the company for some time, we have gotten to know the team and developed a clear understanding of their plans for future growth. This proximity has enabled us to participate in a complex funding structure, enabling the company to successfully complete a number of high-profile acquisitions. We’re proud of the close working relationship we have established, and this

Belfast. Our headquarters, our biggest number of staff, is always going to be Belfast routed.”

And on its long-term relationship with Ulster Bank, Jim says the bank has been “part of the growth” story and success of the company along the way.

“We have worked with Ulster Bank for quite

Those who are familiar with Jim’s work will not be surprised to learn that he has been named as a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year and is being recognised across the island of Ireland for his strategic vision and continued investment in people.

If the tech sector in Northern Ireland is to continue to grow at pace, then we need to embed a culture of agility within the industry, especially as the world adapts post-pandemic and new policies and challenges begin to emerge.

Workers with the ability to take risks, to learn and be agile can enjoy long and fulfilling careers in this sector and we should all be doing our utmost to put the right measures in place to hold on to and develop this talent.

Understanding this mindset and method has the power to transform the tech sector here and ensure it is supported to make Northern Ireland a world class centre for innovation.

We must look to leaders such as Jim and those around him and learn from their resilience and can-do attitude. Ulster Bank is committed to playing its role and to providing the help or capital firms need to meet their growth ambitions and lead the way on a global stage.

some time, and they have been incredibly supportive along the way – pulling people in to help and offer advice and guidance.

“They have been part of the growth story for us, no doubt. I have a really high level of relationship with them and a high level of loyalty to them, given what they have done over the last few years.” π

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PROFILE

Rebecca, Fiona, Michael and Clare Kelly

Glandore: marking 20 years in business T his year marks Glandore’s 20th year in business as one of Ireland’s leading providers of flexible workspace. Throughout this time, it has provided a space to land and expand in Dublin, Cork and Belfast for some of the most successful domestic and International businesses across the island of Ireland, and are extremely proud to have been a part of their success.

Glandore would like to sincerely thank its members, alumni, business partners and suppliers for supporting their growth over the past 20 years and look forward to prosperous times ahead for all.

Founded by the Kelly family in 2001, Glandore is an Irish, family owned and managed real estate business run by Michael Kelly and his three daughters and directors Fiona, Clare and Rebecca, offering high-end, design led serviced offices, flexible workspace, co-working space and virtual offices.

Sharing the values that have been instilled by the Kelly family throughout the years, Glandore treats the companies and individuals that it houses as their own. Glandore’s mission

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is to create a dynamic, supportive and friendly community in which every individual and company can grow. The everyday goal is simple, offer world-class support and show that they genuinely care every day. Bringing over 30 years of work experience with them, the Kelly sisters have helped their father to streamline Glandore’s continued growth and expansion. Since 2001, the Kelly family has seen the operation grow from one employee to nearly 80 employees, and from offering 75 desks to now offering over 3,500 desks in nine buildings across Dublin, Belfast and Cork.

Over the past number of years, and like many SME and family businesses, Glandore has built a fantastic team of industry experts renowned for their professionalism, service and flexible can-do attitude. As a family business, Glandore cares deeply about building long term connections and relationships with its staff, members and partners.

Glandore always encourages and facilitates connections and networking between its member businesses in Northern Ireland, as many are starting out their journey in Northern Ireland and carving out their position in their industry. Glandore hosts a range of exclusive

member events on a monthly basis to help emerging businesses build their network and culture.

As many of us have been adapting to various ways of working. Glandore sees that the future of many businesses means adapting more towards a hybrid model, whereby one or two days a week will be spent working in a collaborative space and the rest of the week spent in a more structured environment in an office or remotely. To meet this need it has added a number of collaboration/project workspaces to our offering.

Collaborative workspace works in many different ways. From giving you the right kind of space for delving into a project with your team, to finding a quiet space to map out some plans and present your weekly agendas.

The beauty of collaboration spaces is that you can tailor the space to suit your day to day needs. The word collaborate means to work jointly on something.

Glandore envisages the next 20 years to be full of productivity, growth and prosperity for all of our members and the wider Glandore Network. π

EDUCATION

Apprenticeships for the next skilled generation T raditionally, apprenticeships are associated with sectors like building and construction. However, in recent years, employers in areas like accountancy and IT are taking on apprenticeships to provide new pathways for talented young people to join the workforce.

This is achieved through Higher-Level Apprenticeships which offer students the opportunity to learn on the job while also receiving an accredited qualification, meaning they are skilled and work-ready when entering the workforce.

The six further education colleges work with thousands of employers across Northern Ireland to offer a wide range of Higher-Level Apprenticeships in disciplines like accountancy, IT, health care, life sciences and engineering.

The Department for the Economy’s recent 10X Skills Strategy highlights the future undersupply of skilled individuals in key economic sectors. In response to this emerging issue, the further education sector is working to create new and innovative ways of addressing the skills gap including Higher-Level Apprenticeships. Many of these work-related qualifications have been co-designed with employers to tackle skills disparities and provide participants with clear routes through to employment.

As chief executive and principal of Belfast Met, Louise Warde Hunter knows all too well how instrumental Higher Level Apprenticeships will be in creating a skilled workforce for a changing economic landscape and views the further education sector as the skills engine of our local economy.

“The further education sector continues to adapt and develop as the skills requirements of the Northern Ireland workforce changes.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing demand in those wishing to train in sectors such as accountancy, financial services, IT

24

Louise Warde Hunter

and health care, but may not be seeking the traditional academic route of university. The further education colleges are pleased to work in partnership with employers to provide learners the opportunity for a more practical based qualification which gives them the route to a career in their chosen professional service through a Higher Level Apprenticeship.

“Northern Ireland has a strong reputation for delivering talented young professionals in skilled services such as IT and accountancy, and the six further education colleges offer a range of courses that will get learners the qualifications they need to enter the workforce.

“We are reaching out to young people as they move on from school and are considering their choices in third level education.

Apprenticeships provide a strong foundation, rooted in real-time practical learning in the working environment, while also ensuring that learners have the access to information and support required to obtain the credentials to progress in their career.

“The Higher-Level Apprenticeships are also fantastic opportunities for employers in these

sectors to mould learners in the very early stages of their career and help shape the next generation of skilled experts. I would urge any employer thinking about taking on Higher Level Apprentices to go for it – it will work for you and the economy.”

Zara Malcolmson, recently completed a Higher-Level Apprenticeship in accountancy at Southern Regional College and believes the skills it gave her have been valuable in pursuing her dream career.

“Doing my Higher-Level Apprenticeship in accountancy was one of the best things I could have done,” she said. “I really enjoyed the work and being in the office four days-a-week allowed me to gain huge experience, while also getting the academic skills required to progress into an accounting career.

“The learning and skills I gained from study modules were very applicable to the work I did in my apprenticeship and the work experience made study more enjoyable too. I would strongly encourage anyone leaving school who is interested in maths or finance to consider taking the apprenticeship route at a local college.” π

Grainia Long, chief executive NI Housing Executive, Suzanne Wylie, chief executive, Belfast City Council, councillor Áine Groogan, chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and Ann McGregor MBE, chief executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry

GROWTH

Commission outlines fresh proposals to help grow Belfast and beyond

T

he Belfast Innovation and Inclusive Growth Commission, chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, former chairman of the BBC, has this summer published forward-looking, pragmatic proposals for NI and Belfast to press the reset button on how prosperity and growth is delivered.

In its independent ‘Reset for Growth’ report, the commission was tasked with focusing on inclusive growth which benefits the whole community. Climate change was also a central consideration for the commission in setting up Belfast for long-term global success, mirroring other cities and examples of international best practice, especially after the impacts of Covid-19.

Sir Michael was joined by global, national and local experts including the World Economic Forum, CBI, and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce, in taking evidence on challenges and opportunities here over a two-year period.

The ‘Reset for Growth’ report stresses that urgent and radical action is needed to turn around Northern Ireland’s struggling economy and deliver better future opportunities for people living here.

The Belfast Innovation and Inclusive Growth

26

Commission has set out a wide range of propositions to amplify the city and region’s future success under focused action areas:  More globally relevant: Belfast and the region needs to up its game in supporting trade and investment successes. The opportunity exists for the region to punch well above its weight, but it must seize it.  Immediate action on climate change and turning this into an economic opportunity: the report recommends starting with retrofitting homes across the region and decarbonising transport to reduce demand on fossil fuels, with a target for Belfast to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The commission also believes that Belfast needs to grow its ‘green tech’ industries at pace.  Housing development: Housing development needs to sit at the core of the city’s renewal plans. The provision, quality and affordability of housing is a key ingredient to a city’s attractiveness as well as offering a significant economic benefit.  Stronger core city: Belfast and other economic hubs need investment to bounce back from Covid-19 and other underlying economic and social challenges if they are to drive the region’s recovery.

 A laser focus on building worldrenowned business clusters: through large scale investment in research and innovation and developing capability and talent.

“The commission was challenged to come up with actions that would promote the growth of investment and jobs for Belfast and beyond,” Sir Michael said.

“We have consistently focused on practical measures, especially those which will serve to protect the environment and address existing inequalities. We have done this against the backdrop of the Covid crisis which has further damaged the city’s economic fabric. We are confident that our recommendations, taken together, offer a serious plan to reset the city’s prospects over the next 10 years.”

Councillor Áine Groogan, chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee said: “Council is very impressed with the Commission’s report and will be making its own specific delivery commitments over the next few weeks. It is very much in line with The Belfast Agenda, the aspirations of the Belfast Region City Deal and the brilliant work of the Innovation City Belfast partnership. π A copy of the report is available by emailing bccmedia@belfastcity.gov.uk

NEWS

Belfast city centre

Commercial property investment hits £147m for start of 2021

C

ommercial property investment so far this year has already surpassed 2020’s tally by hitting nearly £150m in the first six months, according to a report.

Investors have shelled out £147m for assets from the all-new office block at Merchant Square to retail parks.

That compares to a total of £136m for 2020 when much business activity was stalled in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gavin Elliott, senior director at capital markets at CBRE NI, which compiled the report, said: “Given that we have already secured more than the 2020 investment total in the first half alone, we are expecting that transaction volumes will double by the end of 2021.

“While real estate on the whole is not immune from wider economic and market forces, as an asset class it continues to offer relatively stable income and capital appreciation, which is attractive to investors at this time,

28

Merchant Square

especially given the current low interest rate environment.”

At £87m, the sale of Merchant Square by developer Oakland Holdings to a Middle Eastern fund was the biggest office deal in Northern Ireland.

Retail parks have been a big draw to investors, with Balloo Retail Park in Bangor to Supermarket Income REIT for £24.8m.

Other investments in the first half of 2021 included Lisnagelvin Retail Park in Derry, which sold for £9.7m and Kilroot Business Park in Carrickfergus to Wallop Estates for £9.35m.

However, Ballymena’s Fairhill Shopping Centre is understood to have fetched less than the £10m asking price in its sale to NI firm Magell – six years after selling for £46.5m.

“It is very positive to note the continued new entry of established and international investors to Northern Ireland,” Mr Elliott said.

“In particular, Supermarket Income REIT, which made its first Northern Ireland acquisition in Bangor, and the Merchant Square sale are both helping demonstrate that Northern Ireland is still considered as an attractive investment location.

“This injection of investor confidence in the local real estate sector is fantastic news and we expect similar if not higher transactional volumes in the second half of 2021.

“The industrial and logistics sector has performed well throughout 2021 so far, and we expect a strong second half of the year.

“The growing requirements for ‘last mile delivery’ hubs, manufacturing space and warehousing will contribute to the expected bounce back in overall investment levels this year.” π

IN FOCUS

Ronnie Geddis and Andrew Noble

‘We want to be investing £10m or £20m in NI over two or three years’ Since its first investment here almost a decade ago, Par Equity is now upping the game. It’s invested around £9m here but has ambitions to do £20m over the next couple of years. Founder Andrew Noble and Ronnie Geddis sat down with John Mulgrew for a chat about the road ahead

A

ndrew Noble is planning to undergo an ambitious cash injection and investment into burgeoning Northern Ireland firms to the tune of £10m to £20m over the next couple of years.

30

He’s head of Par Equity, an Edinburgh-based venture capital business which has already invested around £9m in six firms here.

And across the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Par Equity has invested in

some 65 businesses.

“I think the market in Northern Ireland right now is very interesting,” Andrew says.

“Our first investment into NI was PathXL back

IN FOCUS

“That includes firms working across artificial intelligence, big data, nano technologies, photonics, cyber-security and genomics – there’s a whole range of different types of technologies which interplay with that.

“Par Equity was established in 2008, based out of Edinburgh, and is one of the most active seed to series A investors in the UK. We are writing equity cheques anywhere from £500,000 to £3.5m into companies across different rounds and maturities of businesses.

“Today we have backed 63 companies across the UK, around 90% of those are in the north of the UK.” Here, its investments have also included working with medical tech firm Culumlus, Datactics, PlotBox – mapping software for graveyards – and TriVirum.

The latter is a California-based medical business which Par Equity helped bring to Northern Ireland.

Andrew, who competed for Team GB in alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, says there are a lot of “opportunities” on the horizon for further investment into Northern Ireland. in 2012. That was a successful exit in 2016 to Philips Healthcare. We have increasingly stepped up our interest in Northern Ireland, partly because a lot of the similarities between NI and Scotland exist.”

That includes the types of firms and the “ecosystem” around it, according to Andrew.

The firm is focused on emerging technology firms, especially those innovating and involved in ‘hard tech’, as well as software.

“We tend to back companies which would be B2B deep tech,” he says. “That’s companies selling into small or large enterprises, and companies which are developing or have made some innovative step in technology that is solving very real scientific or engineering problems.

AUGUST 2021

“Where we stand out as a venture capitalist versus other investors is we have a high percentage of our portfolio as hard tech. A lot of VCs like software as it is very scalable.

The sort of stuff we invest into includes a lot of healthcare, medical diagnostic tools in particular. They take a little longer to get to market.”

probably another £10 or £20m over the next two or three years.

“We see the equity gap in Northern Ireland being that £1m to £3m cheque size. We want to do more of that. At a slightly later stage, there is quite a big gap with companies that want to raise proper series A money.

“Over the last years we have built a profile for Par Equity which is hopefully increasing as a good investor to partner with.

“We naturally get some inbound deal flow that is unsolicited through our website. We have set it up that way as we realise the VC industry is quite insular and you need to be able to create clear pathways for anybody to reach out for finance. We also get a lot of deal flow through our network.”

Ronnie Geddis is chair of the network in Northern Ireland, and the man on the ground seeking out opportunities here. A former sales and marketing director with Consilium Technologies, he says raising awareness is key to getting firms interested in investment.

“You can only get so much out of the grants which are available,” he says. “You need an injection of cash to build a sales team out, or take a product to the next level and get access to markets.

“A lot of people aren’t aware. It’s about educating the market as to what’s available to help grow your business.”

In Northern Ireland, it’s eyeing further growth and a demand for equity in the £1m to £3m realm in particular.

And Andrew Noble says the organisation is continuing to see “an increasing number of deals which are in our sweet spot”.

“Companies which have created something which is really transformational to their market,” he says.

“We have a good broad range of portfolio companies which are doing very well,” Andrew says.

He says a key part of the investment process is the expert advice given to firms from those who know the sectors well.

“To date it’s about £9m into Northern Ireland so far. Fundamentally, we want to be investing

“(It’s about) pairing them off with people in the network with the correct expertise,” he says. π

31

TOP 100

Modest sales but top profits begin to see dip This year’s Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies with A&L Goodbody shows the success stories over the last 18 months, while shining a light on some of the more immediate impact the Covid crisis has had on bottom lines.

Our analyst, Jonathan Cushley, who compiled the list with data from Dun & Bradstreet, breaks down the numbers, trends and results

T

he latest compilation of the Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies, with A&L Goodbody, reconfirms the demanding environment the province’s leading companies have experienced over the past few years.

Various challenges, including Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have seen the leading businesses succeed in increasing their topline sales figure to £26.7bn a modest but more than acceptable jump of 4.3% on the corresponding prior year – £25.6bn.

Worryingly, however, the leading company’s profitability has stagnated and actually shows an overall decrease on the preceding year of 0.3% to £930.2m.

The Ulster Business Top 100 Listing is compiled by taking details from audited accounts filed at Companies House and reflect financial years ending 2019 and 2020.

In some cases, companies’ results will be affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic, it would be anticipated that the full effect of Covid-19 won’t be fully reflected in business performance until 2020 and 2021 accounts are filed in their entirety – already a number of the leading companies have extended their financial accounting dates and deferred filing accounts until well into 2021.

TURNOVER Turnover is the primary key identifier of performance within the Ulster Business Top 100 and has been utilised as the key measure since the inception of the listing in 1989, in

32

Jonathan Cushley

this current listing turnover has increased to £26.7bn from £25.6bn an increase of 4.3%.

This figure, while encouraging, must be tempered by the fact that two new entrants to the Top 100 have not filed comparative figures for their prior year performa

nce – Lidl Northern Ireland Ltd (29) posted sales of £278.2m and Eakin Healthcare Group Ltd (89) posted first year sales of £88.8m – combined this accounts for £367m or 1.4% of growth. As with any ranking of this sort, there both positives and negatives – Energia Customer Solutions NI Ltd, the electricity supply company saw turnover decrease by

Top 100 Sales (£b) 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

TOP 100 TOP 10 MOST PROFITABLE COMPANIES Company

Pre-tax profit £m

Profit margin %

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd

92.7

30.1

Northern Ireland Water Ltd

84.5

19.7

Moy Park Ltd

70.0

4.4

Almac Group Ltd

63.4

9.4

Queen’s University

63.4

16.8

Terex GB Ltd

59.2

13.8

W&R Barnett Ltd

43.5

3.8

Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd

42.3

29.8

Encirc Ltd

39.6

12.1

Schrader Electronics Ltd

37.7

12.8

PROFIT The economic challenges currently being experienced have impacted the Ulster Business Top 100 most noticeably when profitability is evaluated. This year has seen the top companies report a profit of £930m, against a corresponding figure of £933m for their previous financial year – a nominal but important decrease of 0.3%.

Conor Boyle

64% to £85.5m primarily due to the transfer of the energy supply business to Power NI Energy Ltd whose turnover correspondingly increased by £82m.

Moy Park Ltd continues to lead the way as number one ranked business, W&R Barnett Ltd remains in second position, John Henderson (Holdings), LCC Group and John Graham Holdings make up the remainder of the top five. Dunbia Ltd, a stalwart of the Top 100 listing, has dropped out of the listing altogether following Dawn Meats Ltd taking control of the business in late 2019.

A further stark indicator of the challenges facing local business entrepreneurs is that 37 of the Top 100 companies actually saw

AUGUST 2021

a reduction in sales during their latest filed financial figures (19 in 2019 figures).

The profit figure of £930m represents a pre-tax profit margin of 3.5% against a corresponding figure of 3.6% prior year.

As with the quirks within the turnover performance, there have been a number of challenges with regards to profitability – Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (37), posted a loss of £65.4m, Thompson Aero Seating Ltd (48) losses of £144.5m and Glen Electric (11), losses of

Top 100 Profit (£m)

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

33

TOP 100 TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE COMPANIES Rank

Company

Tangible Net Worth (£m)

1

Northern Ireland Water Ltd

1,070

2

Queen’s University

629.7

3

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd

407.2

4

Almac Group Ltd

406.8

5

Encirc Ltd

322.9

6

Glen Electric Ltd

322.1

7

Seagate Technology (Ireland)

315.3

8

Moy Park Ltd

302.3

9

W&R Barnett Ltd

271.3

10

Ulster University

249.6

£36.3m. In all, 15 companies within the Top 100 posted pre tax losses in total amounting to £330m.

The strongest profit performing company is Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd (27) which posted profits of £92.7m, closely followed by Northern Ireland Water Ltd (19) with £84.5m.

Jeremy Eakin

TANGIBLE NET WORTH (SHAREHOLDER VALUE) The final measure of a company’s success which we are disposed to look at is the companies value to its shareholders – in its simplest form it is calculated as the shareholders funds (issued capital) and retained profits – intangible assets.

An intangible asset is a resource that has no physical presence but has a long-term value for a business, goodwill, trademarks and patents are examples.

Increasing the tangible net worth/ shareholder value is of prime importance for the management of a company. So, the management must have the interests of shareholders in mind while making decisions.

The higher the shareholder value, the better it is for the company and management.

The value of the Top 100 companies to their shareholders has risen to £7.9bn.

The shareholder return for the Ulster Business Top 100 equates to profit/tangible net worth and as a percentage sit at 11.7% The sales-to-equity ratio defined as turnover/ tangible net worth provides an indicator of how many pounds are generated by the business with each pound invested, for the current Top 100 this amounts to 3.37.

In the 2021 edition of the Top 100, only four businesses show a negative tangible net worth in their latest filed accounts. Short Brothers plc (Spirit AeroSystems) showed a currency adjusted negative of £199.5m and Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company a negative net worth of £120m. The four companies showed a combined negative tangible net worth of £426.7m.

34

TOP 100

Top 100 Shareholder Value (£m)

fair and accurate comparisons. However, due to the fluid nature of the Top 100 listing year-on-year comparatives are based upon current and prior year results provided by the companies within the listing in any given year.

9000 8000 7000 6000

1 Mac-Group Holdings Ltd (53) and Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd (57) have both filed accounts for an 18-month period.

5000 4000 3000

2 Short Brothers plc and Schrader Electronics Ltd continue to file figures in US dollars, Lakeland Dairies Ltd file figures in euro – to allow for fair comparison their financial results have been converted to their currency value in pounds at their financial year end.

2000 1000 0

2014

2015

2016

2017

EMPLOYEES Within the Ulster Business Top 100, a total of 101,792 people are employed, a decrease of 2.3% from the prior year’s listing of 104,210.

LOCATION The location of businesses within the listing have remained fairly static, year-on-year, with 67 businesses based in the east of Northern Ireland, Belfast, Co Antrim and Co Down – a difference of one from 2019’s edition at 66.

2019

2020

SECTORS Manufacturing remains the largest sector within the Top 100 with 24 companies, followed by energy utilities with 14 companies and construction, 13.

Each employee within the listing accounted for £261,922 of turnover and £9,138 of profit.

Moy Park Ltd (10,126) remains the employer with most staff, followed by Almac Group Ltd (5,466), Queen’s University (4,375), Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (4,218) and John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd (4,171).

2018

NOTES A date of July 4, 2021 has been used as the cut off for the filing of accounts enabling inclusion in this year’s Ulster Business Top 100, with A&L Goodbody.

The listing has been compiled using a combination of data sourced from Dun & Bradstreet’s information database and company filings retained by UK Companies House.

When compiling the Ulster Business Top 100 Listing every effort has been made to provide

Sectors 30

30 20

22 15

15 10

14 9

7

5 0

3

Antrim

Armagh

Down

Fermanagh Tyrone Londonderry Belfast

% of Businesses

AUGUST 2021

4 James E McCabe Ltd & Philip Russell Ltd are both subsidiaries of Golf Holdings Ltd. Consolidated accounts for Golf Holdings Ltd are not filed at Companies House.

5 EP Kilroot Ltd & EP Ballylumford Ltd are both subsidiaries of EP UK Investments Ltd. The latest filed accounts for EP UK Investments Ltd do not provide consolidated financial figures.

6 Musgrave Retail Partners Ltd and Musgrave Distribution Ltd are both subsidiaries of Musgrave Investments Ltd, Musgrave Investments Ltd do not file consolidated financial figures.

35 25

3 Seagate Technology (Ireland) is registered as a foreign company at Companies House. The company, while registered in Grand Cayman, is domiciled in Northern Ireland. Company accounts are filed in US dollars to allow for fair comparison their financial results have been converted to their currency value (£) at their financial year end.

7 Both Eakin Healthcare Group Ltd and Lidl Northern Ireland Ltd have entered the Top 100 for the first time, neither company has provided full comparative figures for prior year.

8 Energia Customer Solutions NI Ltd (92) and Power NI Energy Ltd (9) are both subsidiaries of Energia Group NI Holdings Ltd – EGNIH Ltd does not file consolidated financial figures.

9 A number of companies within the Top 100 have extended their current accounting period, delaying the filing of later accounts. π

35

TOP

2021

Profiles by John Mulgrew Photography by Press Eye

Sponsored by

1-20 Rank

Rank

Company

2021

2020

Activity

1

1

2

2

3

6

4

-

5

8

6

7

7

10

8

9

9

12

10

11

11

3

12

13

13

14

14

-

15

15

16

16

17

17

18

22

19

18

20

20

Moy Park Ltd

Poultry processor

W & R Barnett Ltd

Grain importer

John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd

Food wholesale and retail

LCC Group Holdings Ltd Fuel wholesaler

John Graham

Construction

Ballyvesey Holdings Ltd

Commercial vehicles

Almac Group Ltd

Pharmaceutical manufacturer

Short Brothers (Spirit AeroSystems)

Aerospace

Power NI Energy Ltd

Electricity supplier

Charles Hurst Ltd Motor retailer

Glen Electric Ltd

Electrical manufacturer

SHS Group Ltd Wholesaler

McLaughlin & Harvey Holdings Ltd Construction

Isaac Agnew (Holdings) Ltd Motor retailer

Caterpillar (NI) Ltd

Generator manufacturer

P&O Ferrymasters Ltd Freight transporters

Dale Farm Ltd Dairy processor

Terex GB Ltd Engineering

Northern Ireland Water Ltd Utility

Northstone (NI) Ltd Building materials

Year ending

Turnover £000s Latest sales

Profit/loss Prev profit Net worth

Previous sales

£000s

£000s

£000s

31/12/2019

1,580,444 1,567,151

70,033

67,303

302,327

31/07/2020

1,135,843 1,355,474

43,472

46,457

271,332

31/12/2020

970,000

918,062

28,500

32,340

244,000

30/09/2019

924,104

942,028

32,107

19,674

214,474

31/03/2020

853,257

735,008

11,293

8,188

65,106

30/09/2019

754,025

620,186

1,006

4,432

118,252

30/09/2020

677,254

634,280

63,550

47,646

406,766

31/12/2019

671,344

641,389

-23,131

-31,300

-199,537

31/03/2020

662,200

579,900

24,600

28,800

83,900

31/12/2019

660,537

622,660

5,454

7,107

66,612

30/09/2020

659,439

742,074

-36,260

-14,594

322,132

03/01/2020

569,981

548,800

19,566

18,395

50,578

31/12/2019

513,445

422,710

11,486

11,322

54,968

31/12/2019

496,236

470,336

13,042

14,899

39,922

31/12/2019

488,053

509,262

-13,615

-8,617

134,467

31/12/2019

458,257

454,443

5,101

3,282

10,687

31/03/2020

446,038

446,312

9,724

11,133

61,308

31/12/2019

429,490

368,050

59,232

49,822

36,170

31/03/2020

429,114

416,442

84,466

80,670

1,070,477

31/12/2019

385,506

374,546

10,643

7,511

86,515

Data provided by Dun & Bradstreet T: 0800 001 234 38

21-40 Rank

Rank

Company

2021

2020

Activity

21

21

22

23

23

26

24

19

25

29

26

25

27

19

28

24

29

-

30

30

31

32

32

39

33

38

34

41

35

37

36

33

37

34

38

31

39

65

40

42

Year ending

Queen’s University

University

Foyle Food Group Holdings Ltd Meat processor

Encirc Ltd

Glass manufacturer

Donnelly Bros Garages (Dungannon) Ltd Motor retailer

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd Electricity generator

Schrader Electronics Ltd

Tyre pressure gauge manufacturer

McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd Construction

Nicholls' (Fuel Oils) Ltd Fuel distributor

Lidl Northern Ireland Ltd Retailer

Musgrave Retail Partners Ni Ltd Food wholesaler

FP McCann Group Ltd Concrete engineers

First Derivatives plc

Financial services software

Lakeland Dairies (NI) Ltd Dairy processor

Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland Drinks manufacturer

Devenish (NI) Ltd Animal nutrition

SSE Airtricity Energy Supply (NI) Ltd

Electricity supplier

Northern Ireland Transport Holding Co Public transport

Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd

Dairy processor

Randox Holdings Ltd Medical testing

Ulster University

University

Turnover £000s

Profit/loss Prev profit Net worth

Latest sales

Previous sales

£000s

£000s

£000s

31/07/2020

376,997

372,266

63,382

-63,998

629,694

31/12/2019

370,737

361,435

5,179

2,573

27,769

31/12/2019

326,959

313,288

39,602

40,635

322,903

31/12/2019

311,861

311,126

-2,659

-362

17,226

31/12/2020

302,200

276,300

92,700

72,900

407,200

31/12/2019

294,744

315,872

37,679

71,961

111,395

31/12/2020

290,054

340,404

8,685

13,741

51,289

31/05/2020

278,633

348,996

6,087

2,307

79,638

29/02/2020

278,194

2,077

-35

28,411

28/12/2019

277,105

274,666

1,100

1,394

17,462

31/12/2020

259,320

264,023

-4,832

18,230

177,495

29/02/2020

237,790

217,351

18,250

16,677

8,745

28/12/2019

235,371

215,319

206

67

-9,127

31/12/2019

232,100

213,491

8,651

11,522

88,236

31/05/2020

226,425

228,505

-5,824

757

1,209

31/03/2020

226,395

243,885

10,677

2,541

43,425

29/03/2020

225,851

238,484

-65,426

-19,544

-120,099

28/12/2019

219,132

270,024

-5,534

-4,236

9,765

30/06/2020

218,406

118,351

-16,377

167

21,184

31/07/2020

214,619

218,318

16,577

-28,860

249,631

Data provided by Dun & Bradstreet T: 0800 001 234 AUGUST 2021

39

41-60 Rank

Rank

Company

2021

2020

Activity

41

36

42

45

43

44

44

57

45

43

46

40

47

47

48

54

49

49

50

46

51

50

52

48

53

-

54

80

55

55

56

52

57

99

58

71

59

59

60

-

Norbrook Holdings Ltd

Pharmaceutical manufacturer

Maxol Oil Ltd Fuel distributor

Linden Foods Ltd Food processor

Westland Horticulture Ltd Horticulture

Tayto Group Ltd Snack manufacturer

Greenfields Ireland Holdings Ltd Dairy producer wholesaler

Herbert Corporate Holdings Ltd Head office activities

Thompson Aero Seating Ltd Aircraft seat manufacturer

Kainos Group plc

Digital services

Lamex Foods Europe (NI) Ltd Food distributor

SDC Trailers Ltd Manufacturer

Gilbert-Ash Holdings Ltd Construction

Mac-Group Holdings Ltd Office fit-out

Creagh Concrete Products Ltd

Concrete manufacturer

Fane Valley Co-operative Society Ltd Dairy processor

Gardrum Holdings Ltd Auctions

Lynn's Country Foods Ltd Food manufacturer

Severfield (NI) Ltd Engineering

Coolkeeragh ESB Ltd Power generator

Brett Martin Ltd

Construction supplier

Year ending

Turnover £000s

Profit/loss Prev profit Net worth

Latest sales

Previous sales

£000s

£000s

£000s

31/07/2020

211,716

236,990

4,232

8,042

140,958

31/12/2019

209,442

206,553

4,016

3,172

21,233

26/09/2020

208,958

200,684

2,282

1,653

21,730

31/08/2020

208,034

182,382

14,531

10,170

55,932

27/06/2020

207,157

207,814

1,523

1,428

57,182

31/12/2019

201,662

216,153

760

257

5,076

29/12/2019

190,458

182,751

29,833

9,593

24,756

31/12/2019

180,993

141,094

-144,487

-27,685

-97,931

31/03/2020

178,778

151,294

23,150

21,125

51,945

31/03/2020

178,151

183,380

1,697

268

12,590

29/12/2019

176,228

175,240

2,683

6,021

45,897

31/12/2019

163,089

179,426

5,602

7,372

21,459

31/12/2019

161,550

108,861

-5,889

3,416

7,168

30/09/2020

157,384

95,570

77

155

15,537

30/09/2019

155,429

135,793

7,204

11,578

83,002

31/12/2019

143,741

145,073

25,177

20,091

108,154

28/02/2020

141,978

77,985

42,343

5,500

63,268

31/03/2020

139,263

100,712

16,488

16,057

28,818

31/12/2019

137,419

129,833

26,470

-13,000

19,513

31/12/2019

136,236

141,344

5,539

4,857

43,164

Data provided by Dun & Bradstreet T: 0800 001 234 40

61-80 Rank

Rank

Company

2021

2020

Activity

61

53

62

-

63

61

64

66

65

64

66

78

67

84

68

68

69

67

60

76

71

56

72

-

73

69

74

58

75

60

76

82

77

83

78

74

79

62

80

85

Diageo Northern Ireland Ltd

Drinks manufacturing

Seagate Technology (Ireland) Hard drive manufacturer

Haldane, Shiells and Company Ltd Building producer distributor

Allstate Northern Ireland Ltd Software development

McCloskey International Ltd Engineering

MJM Marine Ltd

Fit-out and manufacturing

Cranswick Country Foods (Ballymena) Meat processor

Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd Retailer

Stena Line Irish Sea Ferries Ltd

Freight and passenger ferries

Balcas Timber Ltd Timber manufacturer

A H Fuel Oils Ltd Fuel distributor

R & H Hall Trading Ltd Animal feed

Heron Bros Ltd Construction

SONI

Electricity distributor

EP Kilroot Ltd

Power generator

Savage & Whitten Holdings Ltd

Wholesaler

Musgrave Distribution Ltd Grocery wholesaler

Firmus Energy Energy supplier

EP Ballylumford Ltd Power generator

Macnaughton Blair Ltd

Construction machine distributor

Year ending

Turnover £000s

Profit/loss Prev profit Net worth

Latest sales

Previous sales

£000s

£000s

£000s

30/06/2020

134,030

144,036

2,590

3,447

15,690

03/07/2020

133,543

136,746

11,358

13,306

315,254

31/12/2019

130,643

127,688

4,821

5,006

35,659

31/12/2019

125,519

114,789

10,716

4,281

57,546

30/09/2019

121,576

111,847

3,432

8,860

29,780

31/12/2019

116,615

97,725

17,974

17,447

29,386

28/03/2020

115,458

93,457

9,857

2,975

16,641

28/12/2019

113,611

107,238

-661

700

47,305

31/12/2019

112,005

111,433

22,149

23,172

23,881

31/12/2020

108,671

97,990

7,790

5,468

18,998

31/12/2020

107,749

140,560

1,871

963

5,364

31/07/2020

107,647

114,543

521

696

7,819

28/02/2019

106,988

74,586

5,433

8,552

81,941

30/09/2020

106,006

131,360

-617

14,318

19,595

31/12/2019

105,092

127,446

-1,122

96,903

25,960

31/12/2019

103,410

95,088

2,919

3,245

5,189

28/12/2019

100,741

94,735

320

-536

496

31/12/2019

99,474

99,628

4,277

-868

6,714

31/12/2019

97,055

138,117

-3,609

-9,984

83,912

31/12/2019

96,748

93,336

6,162

5,189

9,048

Data provided by Dun & Bradstreet T: 0800 001 234 AUGUST 2021

41

81-100 Rank

Rank

Company

2021

2020

Activity

81

75

82

63

83

90

84

73

85

98

86

87

87

-

88

-

89

-

90

-

91

93

92

35

93

-

94

81

95

-

96

86

97

96

98

89

99

92

100

100

Year ending

James E McCabe Ltd

Drinks distributor

MRP Land Ltd

Activities of holding company

McKibbin Holdings Ltd Holdings company

Kingspan Water & Energy Ltd Building supplier

Raalse Holdings Ltd (TBF Thompson) Holding company

N & R Gordon Ltd Pharmacy

McBurney Transport Group Ltd Freight

Whitemountain Quarries Ltd Construction materials

Eakin Healthcare Group Ltd Medical manufacturing

Mzuri Group Ltd (Decora) Manufacturer

Seatruck Ferries Ltd Ferries

Energia Customer Solutions Ni Ltd Electricity utility

Unilin Distribution Ltd Flooring retailer

Linamar Light Metals Belfast Ltd (Montupet) Motor parts manufacturer

The Sycamore Avenue Company Ltd (Keystone) Activities of holding company

Capita Managed It Solutions Ltd IT systems

Philip Russell Ltd Drinks distributor

Ryobi Aluminium Casting (Uk) Ltd Motor parts manufacturer

Strathroy Dairy Ltd Dairy processor

Morgan Fuel & Lubes Ltd Fuel sales

Turnover £000s

Profit/loss Prev profit Net worth

Latest sales

Previous sales

£000s

£000s

£000s

31/12/2019

96,685

98,438

2,753

5,737

53,235

30/09/2020

96,410

73,471

28,182

36,341

158,411

31/12/2019

96,206

85,734

226

1,524

4,089

31/12/2019

95,742

99,909

4,528

5,070

58,084

31/12/2019

94,325

78,963

2,236

2,057

5,366

30/04/2020

92,639

89,161

6,235

6,574

21,925

31/12/2019

92,048

89,708

3,777

3,139

25,343

31/12/2019

91,518

76,565

9,331

6,438

66,278

31/03/2020

88,761

31/12/2019

87,795

72,728

6,644

4,057

27,827

31/12/2019

87,582

83,297

973

7,470

11,434

31/03/2020

85,505

236,996

8,215

7,410

53,631

31/12/2019

84,843

69,117

1,956

1,637

15,312

31/12/2019

84,495

95,406

14,250

13,922

68,896

31/12/2019

83,729

6,637

5,857

648

34,309

31/12/2019

82,510

89,476

6,971

12,094

67,221

31/12/2019

81,924

82,279

2,056

2,123

19,929

31/12/2019

81,678

86,372

2,465

-20,203

786

31/07/2020

81,037

83,565

584

519

7,801

31/03/2020

78,456

76,904

295

216

879

22,749

64,166

Data provided by Dun & Bradstreet T: 0800 001 234 42

INVESTMENT

I

t is widely known that, globally, private equity investors have record levels of capital to deploy.

What has been perhaps less well documented is the significant level of investment activity in Northern Irish businesses, and the growing interest from international investment funds in actively deploying their so-called “dry powder” in this market; in particular, to high growth Northern Ireland based technology businesses.

In the past year M&A activity remained strong, especially in the local technology sector, with record interest in NI businesses from Irish funds, international private equity funds as well as strategic trade buyers. In quarter one of 2021 there were 54 deals recorded in NI, up 59% on the number of deals announced in the same quarter of 2020 and the technology sector was the principal source of those deals with 20 transactions.

NI tech businesses capitalising on significant investor dry powder

By Andrew Johnston, associate director, Deloitte

44

INVESTMENT

Northern Ireland has a particularly vibrant indigenous technology market, with worldleading talent and innovation, and we are seeing lots of exciting start-ups and scaleups making headlines well beyond these shores. Many of these NI tech businesses have grown despite the challenges of the past year, as Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation wave and powered their rapid scaling. This has also rendered them particularly attractive from the perspective of investors.

This trend is not something that has surprised us at Deloitte. NI companies consistently feature highly on Deloitte’s Fast 50 list, with 12 local businesses on the 2020 list, all growing at exceptional rates and we are consistently impressed at the quality of the management teams and the pace of growth.

Companies such as Kainos, Learning Pool and First Derivatives who have all featured in the Fast 50 rankings in the past, have shown it is possible to build a world-class, global organisation from Northern Ireland.

Deloitte has a team focused on advising both owner managed businesses and private equity funds on transactions in the Northern Irish market and was recognised as Ireland’s M&A Financial Advisor of the year in 2020 by Mergermarket.

Most recently we advised Belfast-based AquaQ Analytics on its private equity investment from private equity fund Sovereign Capital and another Belfast-based software business Totalmobile on its private equity investment from London fund Bowmark Capital. Both deals provide great examples of private equity investors backing ambitious local technology firms and demonstrate the value that can be achieved by running a tailored investment process that shows the true potential of a business.

Other recent landmark transactions include the investment by US fund Marlin Equity in Learning Pool (post an earlier investment from Dublin based Carlyle Cardinal), and the investment from Five Arrows in TextHelp.

AUGUST 2021

Trade sales are also becoming more common, with Version 1 set to acquire Belfast-based digital services specialist Neueda and US firm Intapp’s proposed acquisition of local content management services provider Repstor (a company that has been in the top 10 of the Fast 50 in recent years).

These are all significant transactions involving impressive Northern Irish businesses and reflect both the quality of technology businesses in this market as well as the appetite from overseas investors to back NI based management teams on their growth journeys.

In the current market, technology businesses are attracting particularly strong valuation multiples, largely driven by the acceleration of digitalisation and the resilient performance of these businesses in the face of global and economy challenges, with many benefiting from strong recurring revenue models.

Deloitte has a team focused on advising both owner managed businesses and private equity funds on transactions in the Northern Irish market and was recognised as Ireland’s M&A Financial Advisor of the year in 2020

by Mergermarket With significant capital in the market and interest from both local and international investors, we are also seeing NI technology businesses attracting interest earlier in their lifecycle, so preparation and being ready for these discussions when the time is right is key to delivering a successful transaction outcome and achieving a premium valuation.

Private equity investors are typically looking to invest in a business to double or triple the valuation over a three-to-five-year period.

When engaging with private equity, companies will therefore need to present a clear business plan and strategic vision for the business to ensure that they are positioning the business and the growth opportunity in the most favourable light and that the business plan is attractive and likely to underpin an equity story for investors.

The business plan will need to be supported by KPI analysis and a suite of financial information.

Time is critical in a deal-making process and to drive competitive tension this information needs to be investor ready from the outset.

Preparation also allows a company to preempt potential challenges and perceived risks, allowing the business to essentially control the narrative for any investment process. One current issue is the impact of Covid-19 on business performance, with some companies performing very strongly and others experiencing some level of impact to underlying revenues, profitability, working capital and cash flows. Demonstrating the sustainable profitability and performance of the business in ‘the new world’ will be really important, and carefully articulating this message can have material impact on valuation.

Preparation also allows business owners to structure both the company and their personal affairs in a tax efficient manner prior to investment; which again is critical to maximising net proceeds from any transaction.

I believe it is a unique and exciting time for NI tech companies. There have been a significant number of deals in the technology sector over the last number of months, which has heightened interest from investors in considering opportunities in the NI market.

This combined with the unprecedented level of private equity dry powder has driven more activity.

Investors respect the talent pool here and the deal pipeline suggests there will be strong M&A activity levels over the course of 2021 with a continued investor focus on ambitious Northern Irish technology businesses with potential for growth. π

45

1

Moy Park

Justin Coleman

46

P

oultry giant Moy Park has been a familiar sight at the at the head of the Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies list for a decade.

In numbers, Moy Park processes six million fresh chickens each week, 600,000 turkeys a year, along with 200,000 tonnes of other ‘added value products’.

The firm, which is part of US-owned Pilgrim’s Pride, has held the number one spot for 10 years in a row.

This time last year, the company was face-toface with the huge challenge of maintaining production across its sites, including its main base in Craigavon, continuing processing while also keeping its thousands of staff safe.

And according to Moy Park director Justin Coleman, the next results are due to be improved upon again.

The company’s latest filed accounts put its turnover at £1.58bn, while it posted pre-tax profits of just over £70m, for the end of 2019.

“Trading and demand is still strong for fresh British chicken,” Justin told Ulster Business.

“It’s a protein that is in demand.

“The mix and the channels are changing slightly. Retail is softening slightly, but QSR (quick service restaurants), food service, eating out is coming back. The total demand for chicken is probably the same, and in growth.”

Justin, who heads up agri-business and live production services, says the next accounts, which cover much of the period of Covid, are slightly ahead of the current results.

“It was a strong trading year, all things considered… the overall performance was really good.”

AUGUST 2021

“Covid was challenging across the whole business, be it in Northern Ireland, England or France,” he said. “Our primary driver was keeping people safe and coming to work and creating an environment where people were comfortable that we were doing everything we could, from a safety standpoint.”

He said the company spent around £10m in keeping the factories and supply chains safe for workers.

“We didn’t ever lose a day’s production because of Covid,” he said. “We had to manage it, as did every other business.”

And asked about how long the current health and safety provisions around Covid would be in place at its sites, he said: “I would say it would ebb and flow, but keeping people safe and comfortable to come to work, it will be there as long as is required.”

Speaking about the market and where demand

is likely to shift in the coming weeks and months, he said: “Given the fact that we operate in the food sector, and we operate in a protein which has generally been in demand, it doesn’t generally go up and down very quickly.

“People eat chicken a number of times a week whether they are at home or going out. The mix in the channel will change, but the actually poultry consumption still remains in growth. It’s not hugely volatile.”

And on taking the top spot on the Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies, with A&L Goodbody, he said it remained an important part of the firm’s history.

“There is a sense of pride being top of the list and it’s a proudly headquartered in Northern Ireland business and will remain so.

“Our heritage is here, our 75 years of history. We have huge integration in NI and England, and it remains a properly Northern Ireland headquartered business.”

As far as further growth goes and the prospect of potential mergers and acquisitions, he said the company is “always looking at things which are complementary to the business”. π

47

12 SHS Group S

ince its inception in 1975, SHS Group has evolved from being a traditional family-run sales and marketing company into a multi-national operation with a turnover of £570m, headed by chief executive, Elaine Birchall. Employing over 1,000 people and operating in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector the company’s growth is driven by innovation, new business, brand investment and acquisitions.

What products are within the company portfolio?

The SHS Group owns brands such as WKD, Shloer, bottlegreen, Merrydown Cider and Rocks squash drinks, Meridian nut butters, and Sunny Jim, Zip and Maguire & Paterson ignition products. It also distributes a portfolio of well-known brands including Jordans, Ryvita, Pot Noodle, Finish, Mars Drinks and Colgate. In addition to its extensive brand and agency portfolio, SHS Group is a market leader in the supply of own label herbs and spices in Great Britain, manufacturing a range of branded and private label condiments and sauces.

How has business been over the last year amid the pandemic?

In 2020, despite the economic and societal challenges presented by Covid-19, SHS Group had a solid performance. As the business was deemed essential, operations continued throughout the pandemic and the growth experienced in the Grocery and convenience sectors across the portfolio was partially offset by the closure of the out of home and foodservice sectors. Online sales grew significantly through our established retail partners and new routes to market.

With pandemic related disruption to its Asian supply chain in 2019 the SHS Group initiated timely contingency planning for Covid-19’s arrival to the UK and Ireland. Pandemic teams were established across its operating divisions, with rigorous health and safety assessments and preparation for new ways of remote working. With staff safety a priority, modifications to the Group’s manufacturing sites was rapidly implemented and technology advanced to enable home working for office-based people. Rigorous attention to health and safety ensured manufacturing sites remained open throughout. Robust policies, dedicated teams and rapid communication, in line with relevant public health agencies, played a key role in keeping people safe.

Which areas have been strongest over the last year?

Growth in the grocery and convenience sectors was partially offset by the decline in out of home sectors. Working closely with our retail partners we responded rapidly to changes in channel demand patterns across grocery and online, with a number of the Group’s categories benefiting from people not only staying at home but cooking at home.

Within the condiment and sauces division, a great deal of energy was invested in working with retailer brands to develop and launch spice blends and cooking pastes in response to the newly invigorated wave of home cooking.

The Group also attracted new brand owners to its traditional agency division and delivered organic growth in its branded drinks and private

48

Elaine Birchall

label food divisions through innovation and agile channel management.

In 2020, SHS Group relaunched the Meridian nut butter brand and introduced new WKD Dark Fruits and Lemon variants.

When do you see a return to a more normalised business environment?

The safety of SHS Group’s people and the wider community has been a priority for the company throughout the pandemic we will continue to leverage the investments in technology and security to enable people to work safely and stay connected. New working practices introduced in response to Covid-19 will remain with a phased return to a hybrid working environment for office-based staff in the autumn.

Over the course of the last 12 months SHS Group has navigated numerous business challenges, including preparing for and managing changes associated with Brexit, supply and inflationary pressures transport shortages and the continued impact of Covid-19 on our global supply chains. The resolve of the Groups’ people and teams to deliver has remained constant throughout this turmoil – they have been simply amazing. As the Group prepares its next strategic plan the future is looking promising. π

PROFILE

Five ways to make your working life easier The last year and half has brought unparalleled changes as to how we work, live and socialise. BDO NI’s five partners talk about some of the ways in which they can help improve the lives of businesses and business owners right across Northern Ireland

T

he Covid-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons about what is truly important. Over the last 16 months we have all learnt that one of the greatest gifts we have is our time. For employees and employers alike, our time commitments have changed considerably in both our personal and professional lives.

It has been challenging for many businesses to factor in these time commitments as they plan for recovery. As companies look to the future it is essential they make the best use of their time to deal with the issues they face. This is where the expertise and market insight of BDO NI comes to the fore.

The role of any business advisor is to not only meet their client’s needs but ultimately to save them time and to make their lives that little bit easier.

Brian Murphy, BDO NI managing partner Brian Murphy believes businesses must approach the next year with cautious optimism and use it as “an opportunity to rethink and restructure through innovative and creative working while still managing the legacy of the last year”.

Brian leads BDO’s corporate advisory business, specialising in value creation and improving business performance. Looking towards the future, Brian said: “The momentum that has already been achieved by NI businesses is impressive indeed and it is a testament to the resilience, drive and determination of entrepreneurs here.

“As the recovery has evolved, the BDO team

has been working with companies to help them set out new strategic plans to enable them to maximise the opportunities that are out there. After all of the uncertainty in the marketplace in recent years, the clarity, peace of mind and focus that this planning process brings to business owners has been very much welcomed.”

A further example of this type of engagement is the Rethink and Restart Insight series for the Northern Ireland hospitality industry, which focuses on opportunities that may arise as the recovery builds momentum. Brian is also chairman of the Hospitality Industry Response Group, which has been a lifeline for many within the hospitality sector who spent a large part of 2020/21 with their doors closed.

Michael Jennings, advisory services partner With over 30 years’ experience in NI, five Partners and over 150 staff, BDO NI specialises in supporting local businesses of all sizes and across a range of sectors in their pursuit to grow, develop and navigate opportunities and challenges.

Looking ahead, the uncertainty regarding Brexit and the Protocol, alongside Covid-19 regulations, continue to pose such challenges.

In this piece, BDO’s five partners illustrate five of the ways they can help make the lives of local business people easier.

50

Michael Jennings has extensive experience across a wide spectrum of industries in commercial advisory, business restructuring and insolvency, M&A work and in his role as expert witness as head of forensic accounting.

“As businesses start to open, their operating costs will grow which inevitably puts more pressure on their financial situation, at least in the short term. Cashflow, for example, has remained a significant concern for many businesses in Northern Ireland.

Although its positive to see more industries start to operate at fuller capacity, Michael believes it is at this critical moment that many of our business community will need the most support.

“With the need for financial support during the last year, businesses now need to strategically plan how they will manage their growth prospects while paying back loans that were a necessity at the time. This is where banks and other lenders will play a key role in the

PROFILE

The five BDO NI patners: Nigel Harra, senior partner and head of audit, Laura Jackson, audit partner, Maybeth Shaw, tax partner, Michael Jennings, advisory partner, and Brian Murphy, managing partner and head of advisory

stimulation of the local economy – supporting businesses out of debt and towards resilience.”

Michael highlights that this is a two-way relationship, finding that whilst lenders are keen to work with existing clients and build on trusted relationships, they will want to see a commitment to cut costs and streamline.

“We work with our clients to explore all strategic options available to their business and its funders, in order to formulate a recovery plan and lay the foundations for future success.”

AUGUST 2021

Maybeth Shaw, tax partner business with those of the family.

Family owned businesses employ over 52,000 people locally. Maybeth Shaw specialises in providing tax compliance and consultancy advice with a key focus on advising family businesses. How they recover from the pandemic will play a significant role in NI’s future economic output.

Maybeth said: “Family businesses are the backbone of the local economy, with stability and leadership a key component of their success. Added to the usual complexities involved with managing any business, they have the added challenges associated with balancing the ambitions and needs of the

“Many family businesses struggle to effectively manage the overlap between the business and the family in areas such as succession planning (for both management and ownership), management of the family wealth, good governance and appropriate communication processes and forums. Support is required to enable them to maximise their commercial opportunities whilst maintaining the family element that makes them unique.

“BDO’s expertise in the family-owned sector helps these companies succeed by providing tailored solutions, enabling these businesses to survive and flourish.”

51

PROFILE

Climate change and sustainability has become a central issue for businesses globally with a key focus on developing a sustainability agenda which can also play a key role in their future growth prospects.

Laura Jackson, partner, audit department Laura highlights the increased focus on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda and how businesses can align this with their overall business strategy. Laura believes this can create real value for a business.

“Our central purpose at BDO is ‘helping you succeed’ and at the core of this aim is societal purpose; there is no greater alignment than the climate change agenda.

“Businesses are increasingly adopting and articulating clear operating principles, aligned to their broader ESG agenda. This is a critical element in providing them with their ‘social licence’ to operate which is ever more important to shareholders, investors, and wider communities.

“Incorporating your ESG agenda into your business strategy can provide real tangible value to your business. Whether this is through optimising more sustainable products, reducing operational costs through As more and more companies start to work to full capacity again, there is an expectation that more businesses will embrace the flexible working model.

As we emerge from the pandemic, it is vital that businesses learn the lessons of Covid. The

52

Nigel Harra, senior partner, head of audit and assurance Nigel Harra highlights the need for companies to be flexible as we move beyond the pandemic and embrace new ways of working that can be beneficial for both the business, it’s bottom line and employees.

of businesses to continue to invest in innovation and technology. This goes beyond the latest virtual meeting technology and will include consideration of what ‘smart buildings’ and ‘smart workforces could look like.

“We recognise that not all businesses are able to offer a flexible hybrid model of working and that is by nature of their business, but we have seen many sectors embrace this new way of working. As a result, many businesses have reported an increase in productivity, reduced costs, and a better work life balance for employees as just some of the benefits.

“At BDO NI we have embraced this new flexible hybrid model of working, viewing it as key to attracting and retaining our staff, and ultimately therefore the future success of our business. By investing in new client collaboration and communication tools this has also allowed us to service our clients in more innovative ways. While focusing on transparency and delivering client value, this investment in technology makes the service we provide totally unique to each client and their requirements.”

“How we reimagine the office environment will also depend on the commitment

lower energy consumption, attracting talent through a strong social reputation, creating a priority for a unifying organisational culture, or investing in sustainable equipment for example.”

these opportunities. The experience of the BDO team gives businesses the confidence that whilst they get on with their day job, their team is identifying opportunities that places their business at the forefront of this agenda.

For many businesses there is an acknowledgement that this issue can in the future play a part in their ability to attract and retain investment. The issue for many local companies is the lack of resources, and in some cases, expertise in the area to maximise

Laura is currently working with Belfast Chamber on a Sustainability Awareness Survey initiative which will provide further analysis on how businesses in NI are currently prioritising this commitment and will look to evaluate best practice.

one thing every employer and employee has in common is that we only have 24 hours in a day and none of us can afford to waste this.

BDO understands this better than most and whether it be though planning for the future; cashflow management; managing the family

business dynamic; sustainability initiatives; or new flexible ways of working, it has a highly experienced team focused on delivering solutions. As professional advisors, its BDO’s job to work in partnership with its clients to help them grow and to make their lives that little bit easier.

20 Northstone

John Wilson

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to make our processes more efficient, and we will see the positive impact of that from 2021 onwards.

It’s part of the listed Dublin-headquartered business CRH plc – a company employing more than 76,000 people across 29 countries.

“This year has been strong for Northstone Group, despite the impact of the pandemic.

National site shutdowns and overhead reductions have meant that we have had a lot of operational change in a short period of time, and as leaders we have faced tough decisions at the hands of the pandemic.

hile Northstone is one of Northern Ireland’s largest construction and buildings materials firms, it’s also the local arm of a global giant in the industry.

Here, Northstone includes construction giant Farrans – a firm with more than 500 staff working across the UK and Ireland, Northstone Materials, which supplies concrete and quarry products, and Cubis Systems.

The latter is a global leader in network access and cable protection solutions. It exports to over 30 countries worldwide and employs 900 people from nine manufacturing sites in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

The overall firm comes in at the number 20 spot on this year’s Top 100 list, with a turnover of £385.5m, up from £374.5m a year earlier.

During the same accounting period for 2019, the company posted pre-tax profits of more than £10m.

“Our group performance in 2019 was steady as we continued to look at innovating to develop our product lines and growing our presence in each of our target markets,” John Wilson, chief executive of Northstone Group, told Ulster Business.

“We believe that we are improving our business as a whole at the moment, with a number of large-scale changes taking place

AUGUST 2021

“We always placed the health and safety of our people at the heart of these decisions and now we are looking forward to the future with optimism. We must not allow the challenges to overshadow the many positives which have also happened during this time.”

And in its recent history the company has added new managing directors to its individual business arms.

That includes Darren McMillan, as managing director of Northstone Materials, and Dominic Lavery, who now heads up Farrans.

“We have entered a new chapter in the Northstone Group journey with the appointments of Dominic Lavery and Darren McMillan to the managing director roles for Farrans and Northstone Materials,” John says.

“This has brought a renewed sense of energy and clear strategic vision. We are working closely alongside each other to ensure greater alignment within the group and to promote a shared commitment to maintaining a best practice approach. We have emerged from the pandemic a leaner, stronger and more agile

group. We are working smarter and appointing the right people for the right jobs.

“Our strength has been found through putting our people first and continuing our authentic approach to doing business. We always endeavour to do what we have promised to do and that is essential to building a long lasting, excellent reputation. This has earned us the trust and respect of our clients and colleagues.

“As we steady our business from the uncertainty of Brexit and the impact of the pandemic, we are facing well-documented material and labour supply shortage. This has been as a result of Brexit and an exodus of EU workers, combined with the tax changes around IR35 which has taken many out of the industry.

“However, as part of the wider CRH Group we are buffered to some degree from wider challenges and continue to work closely with our subcontractors and supply chain to provide a consistently high quality of products and service.

“This industry is in the middle of a wave of culture change and we are embracing fresh initiatives to combat climate change, to make positive impacts in the communities where we are working, to encourage greater diversity and inclusion within construction and engineering and to improve mental health and wellbeing within our workforce.

“We are pleased to be playing our part in the positive evolution of the construction sector to deliver a more sustainable future for everyone.” π

55

RECRUITMENT

Recruitment specialists GenTech invest £100,000 to support continued growth

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tuart Mowatt and Joe Reid, directors of Lisburn based GenTech Specialist Recruitment Solutions have invested £100,000 as part of its latest expansion, creating brand new headquarters in the city centre, introducing a new senior team; and investing in the latest training and HR support for candidates.

Stuart Mowatt and Joe Reid

GenTech specialises in building relationships between candidates and clients. Having experienced a 50% year on year growth since its inception in 2017, GenTech has helped hundreds of people find employment and supported businesses to fulfil their employment needs.

By committing this investment, it will ensure a positive future for the recruitment agency enabling it to deliver its mission of offering an honest and supportive approach, through providing a highly professional service and a “working together” ethos to place the right people in the right jobs.

GenTech specialises in tailor-made services for clients including HR employment services, specialist training certificates and occupation health and wellbeing support. With local knowledge and sector expertise, GenTech offers a 360 degree approach to recruitment and business services.

The recruitment specialist prides itself on doing things differently in supporting its clients, candidates and staff. With ethical values at its core, GenTech has gone above and beyond to ensure candidates gain employment in roles that are best suited to their needs, not just professionally, but personally. This supportive approach aligns with GenTech’s values, while ensuring that the client gets the best possible

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staff suited to a role, with the intention that they will have a long-term impact.

During what has been a challenging year for employment, GenTech has introduced novel ways to help people secure jobs, including purchasing bicycles for candidates to help them get to work, and even offering to drive people to places of employment. These personal touches and experiences are central to the GenTech ethos and positive culture that is key to candidate success.

Stuart and Joe have both worked in recruitment for over two decades collectively and experienced what it is like to be a candidate seeking a new job. They knew GenTech had to be different.

“Our goal is ensuring we offer a personal and approachable service to candidates,” Stuart says. “We take time to listen to people’s wants and needs, enabling us to provide a role suitable for them. We want people to be happy at their work. There is a stereotype that recruitment agencies are like a conveyor belt of candidates. At GenTech, we support and nurture people to get them to where they want to be.”

And Joe says: “We are fortunate to have a very loyal clientele who rely on us to get the best people matched to the right roles. We have extensive knowledge of the sectors we engage with and we are proud of our unique recruitment approach which has been the key to our business success to date.” π

TRAINING

SureSkills: leading the way in learning and certification for 20 years Training and learning services business SureSkills has grown its operations in Northern Ireland over its 20 years here, innovating and staying ahead of the curve along the way. Its senior management team look back at the years gone by and what’s in store for the bright future ahead

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t’s been a stellar success story and growth journey for SureSkills over the last two decades.

As it marks its 20th anniversary in Northern Ireland, the learning services, IT and training business has expanded, innovated and grown alongside some of the biggest public and private sector clients.

The company has also been ahead of the game with remote-learning – embracing and further developing its blended working in the last few months.

It works with a variety of clients including the various arms of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, health trusts, the PSNI, and a host of giants of industry here, such as Moy Park, Translink and Kainos.

“When we launched in Northern Ireland we were trying to introduce a level of personal service that would differentiate us – we certainly feel we have achieved that,” Mark Egan, chairman of SureSkills, said.

training. It’s quite sophisticated operations that we are able to do.”

And he says as the company has expanded and developed over the years, as expectations, and the types of technology, have continued to change and grow.

“To carry out virtual training 20 years ago, you needed fairly expensive equipment, and not everyone would have a PC with the capability or the software,” he said.

“Today, from an infrastructure perspective, people expect files to be on demand and expect systems to recover within minutes, the work the IT department is doing has changed immeasurably.

“Even the way we run the business now, we have lots of automated systems to rule out human error.

“For example, we trained the PSNI on its case management system, and the Northern Ireland Civil Service on Records NI.

“For example, when there’s an online training course, our training management system automatically books a Zoom room and sends out the notes to delegates, as well as notifying the trainer. At the end of the course it will also send certificates and any follow-up documentation.”

“We would learn the software which clients were rolling out and then develop the course and the exercises, before delivering the

Gemma Morgan is sales manager for SureSkills here, and was the firm’s second staff member in Belfast.

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“We had existing relationships and were working in the business, offering our services within training across both public and private sectors,” she said.

According to Gemma, one of the key reasons SureSkills is still going strong is due to the relationships which it has forged with customers over many years.

“I am dealing with the same people in some organisations that I dealt with more than 20 years ago,” she says. “We are very good at keeping and building relationships here in Northern Ireland. It’s much more than a business transaction.”

Clients such as the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service continue to work hand-inhand with SureSkills to this day.

It’s also about being able to pick up the phone and speaking to someone directly in the firm’s support centre. “We are a very direct and supportive operation because that is the business model we are in,” Mark says.

Brian Kinsella, chief executive, says the development of the company’s services in recent years – and in particular since the pandemic – have meant it’s able to extend its reach outside our shores.

“Because of Covid and remote-learning we aren’t just delivering to Northern Ireland

TRAINING

The SureSkills team: Susan McCullough, David Curry, Gemma Morgan, Chris Brolly, Ryan O’Reilly, Marie-Louise Cushnahan, Damien McCambridge and Peter Branagh

customers any more,” he said.

That means a trainer in Belfast could be delivering high-quality courses in the early hours of the morning here, as far afield as Japan and the US. Speaking about some of the projects it’s been involved with over the years, Kevin Reid, chief technical officer, said: “For example, we were part of a consortium which was involved in delivering large change projects into some very significant public sector bodies, including the PSNI. “For years, we were a core part of their IT operations. It was a very successful operation during our engagement with those projects.”

He said SureSkills has grown its penetration into the training market “considerably over the last 20 years”.

“We have started placing people into Belfast who offer support to, not just the Northern Ireland market, but the wider markets.

AUGUST 2021

“And the skilled workforce we have here in Northern Ireland makes that extremely advantageous.”

working will be with us forever, face-to-face learning will continue be in demand across a range of different sectors.

The company has expanded into creating courseware for a range of big name platforms, such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

“Moving forward I think virtual training will be here forever,” she said. “But I do think that there will be some people who want to go back into the classroom, depending on the type of course, which lends itself better to that face-to-face approach. I hope things will open up and we can offer that.”

And the Belfast team is now helping support around 200,000 people across a range of large organisations with their learning management systems.

SureSkills had already moved to a blended working model before the pandemic struck, but that was accelerated by Covid – moving most training online.

“And moving to virtual training, you aren’t tied to Northern Ireland any more. You now have a much wider audience, and that’s been great for the company,” Kevin said.

Looking ahead to the future, Gemma says while it’s likely digital, video and remote-

And speaking about the firm marking its 20 years in business in Northern Ireland, Brian said: “We are so proud and grateful to our entire team and to our customers who have been so loyal and supportive over the past 16 months and for the past 20 years.

“When we established the SureSkills Northern Ireland business we could never have imagined the extent of upheaval and change that has just occurred. And we couldn’t have have imagined the progress that Ireland has made since the Good Friday Agreement.” π

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PROFILE

We have scope to grow further… there is a lot more work to be done Mills Selig has expanded and grown its litigation team over the last three years, bringing together top legal talents, headed by stalwart Emma Hunt. Marking 20 years with the firm, she says demand has remained strong throughout the pandemic and there remains scope for further growth and expansion across the practice

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fter a two decade career with one of Belfast’s leading law firms, Emma Hunt is marking her anniversary as head of a litigation team which has grown by 50% in just three years.

And in that time, Emma’s grown from the ground up as a young trainee fresh out of university, to now heading up the commercial law firm’s burgeoning department.

“There is scope to grow further,” Emma says. The firm has expanded its team by 50% in the last three years, boasting a total of six dedicated and experienced lawyers working across a range of legal and litigation specialities.

Emma is a specialist across a range of disciplines, including dispute resolution and litigation, debt recovery, judicial review and public procurement, media and defamation and professional regulation.

“We are very broad in what we react to and we react very quickly to what our clients need,” she says.

“The strength and breadth of the team is really important. We have very experienced members, and one of the biggest teams in Northern Ireland for regular litigation.

“We have had some very complex and high value cases across a range of companies – from

62

Emma Hunt

blue chip clients through to smaller companies in Northern Ireland. We can act for the whole breadth of clients.”

The team includes Maeve Fisher, partner, Kirsten Magee, partner, Mark Thompson, senior associate and solicitors Rebecca Logan and Katie Major.

Some of the team’s recent successes span a range of areas, including property litigation, along with media – representing broadcasters

and newspapers, and a global social media company.

Despite the unease and difficulties facing much of the economy over the last 18 months, Emma says the workloads have continued, and remain steady.

“When the pandemic started it was a bit uncertain as to how it was going to pan out.

Litigation has been steadily busy across the areas. More recently we have seen a bit of

PROFILE

The Mills Selig litigation team: Katie Major, Maeve Fisher, Emma Hunt, Kirsten Magee, Mark Thompson and Rebecca Logan

an upsurge in disputes between landlords and tenants – a range of property issues,” Emma says.

“Some of that has been held at bay because of the Government’s allowances, such as the moratorium around forfeiture, which, in Northern Ireland is going to last to end September 2021. That will continue to grow and coming in to 2022 we will see that more often.”

And while landlords are currently limited in what they can do at present, with the bankruptcy courts not processing winding up petitions, Emma said there is “going to come a time when there are real challenges to be faced by tenants”.

“Generally, things have been very busy, even on the transactional side with M&A – that work is still continuing.

“We haven’t seen a downturn yet in the level of activity in the market. Although there is strong feeling that there may be an onslaught of insolvency and restructuring going in to 2022, and we are gearing up for that possibility.”

Emma says the process of litigation and dispute resolution, while never a particularly “nice process” for a company, remains a

AUGUST 2021

key and important element in the world of commercial law.

world tries to keep up with the development of technology.”

“I try to turn that on its head – it’s about supporting that client through the difficult time and getting to know what they want to get out of the process and try and achieve that for them,” she says.

Emma is marking 20 years with Mills Selig, and has spent her career with the firm since qualifying from Queen’s University – beginning as a trainee back in 2001.

“Mediation is a growing trend in Northern Ireland and I think it’s going to take even greater precedence now with Covid and the slight delay of getting things done in court – you have to think about different ways of solving it. We have been extensively involved in mediations and even more so, this year.”

While the economic environment and sands continue to shift as we begin returning to a level of normality, and a changed landscape, Emma says a number of areas are likely to see greater demand in the coming months.

“I would think property issues, data breach and cyber issues as well,” she says. “We have given a lot of advice on fraud and how you control that in a remote environment, as well as that we are advising on Business Interruption Loan Scheme claims against some insurance companies, for businesses, as to whether they are covered for Covid.

“Media will continue to be a feature as the

“When I first came here, it was always a great place to work in terms of people being approachable, a very down to earth and friendly place,” she says.

“What attracted me to Mills Selig in the first place was the quality of the work it had, and the client base. The reason that I’ve stayed is primarily down to the people. It’s a great team, and you can’t do this job alone.

“It’s also about the culture which has developed. We now have a majority female board, which is great and unusual from when I entered the profession 20 years ago.”

And looking ahead, Emma says there remains further scope for growth across her department, and across the firm as a whole.

“In the last few years we have grown the team by 50%. I’d like to develop certain areas of the practice on a wider basis, so there is a lot more to be done. The firm as a whole has a real ambition to grow.” π

63

PROFILE

Returning to the heart of a burgeoning Belfast city centre Belfast is starting to bloom once again, as workers return to the city and shops and hospitality reopens. And one of those paving the way to return and help build back is PwC, with around 2,500 workers due to call its flagship £87m Merchant Square office home. We hear about its new plans, creating pivotal breakthroughs in technology, and what’s in store for the company this year

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the island of Ireland. Then finally in July, PwC opened the doors to its new office paving the way to bring the might of its 2,500 people back into the city when circumstances permit.

Behind the scenes, builders brought together three separate buildings, transforming the space with leading technology, LED ribbons of colourful light, floor-to-ceiling windows and the biggest video screen of its kind on

At a time when it seemed offices were a thing of the past, some questioned the firm’s decision to open PwC’s biggest office outside London. But the regional market leader Kevin MacAllister is confident the firm made the right decision.

or a time while the streets of Belfast were emptied of vibrant city life, work on one of the most important developments in the city in recent times went unnoticed by all but the birds.

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“While we’re opening our office with full Covid-compliance measures in place, to provide our people with somewhere safe where they can work if they can’t do it effectively from home, we’re also thinking about supporting this city,” he says.

“When we announced that we’d be moving into the building, all the adjacent units were taken up. That matters. That’s helping to secure jobs and businesses. We’re collaborating

PROFILE

On the ninth floor of this impressive building sits the Frontier Space, a top tech hub that’s fully accessible by clients who come to work with PwC’s technologists as well as experts from other parts of the business. It’s also where the UK firm decided to locate its Advanced Research and Engineering Centre, a £40m investment from PwC supported by Invest NI, to create pivotal breakthroughs in technology for its clients. This alone will create over 100 software engineering jobs initially with the prospect of adding a further 660 within five years.

The investment was part of the firm’s commitment to supporting the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda, improving prospects and boosting prosperity across the UK. “One of the fastest growing sectors in Northern Ireland today is technology and as a firm, this is core to all that we do,” Kevin says.

“Having Belfast as the base for the Advanced Engineering and Research centre places the city at the heart of PwC’s future technology strategy and creates incredible career opportunities for people here.”

Kevin MacAllister and Cara Haffey

with nearby retailers to make sure that we can help promote them to our people. We’re passionate about helping others to succeed, too.”

Kevin says, together with his other partners, welcoming staff into the office was one of the proudest moments of his career. When restrictions allow, the space will accommodate up to 3,000 people.

“It’s fantastic to be back in the heart of Belfast.

There’s a palpable energy and I look forward to seeing what it brings for our clients and business partners as we help them recover and grow from the impact of the pandemic.”

And it’s clear that PwC is focused on the future for businesses rather than merely getting back to how things were.

AUGUST 2021

The move is an evolution of what the firm’s been doing for some time now with its education partners. There are now two PwC degree apprenticeship programmes run with both of Northern Ireland’s universities which have a digital focus, as does its work within the primary and secondary school sector and the Assured Skills Academies which are run with Belfast Met and the Department for the Economy.

Next month, PwC will once again help to showcase the best of our tech firms and talent in its role as main sponsor of Digital DNA, the leading cyber conference in Northern Ireland, for the fourth year running. As well as helping to attract inward investment, the firm is focused on supporting local businesses to adapt and thrive in a digital environment.

“Every sector understood the advantage of technology when we were going through the pandemic and the lockdowns – but not everyone was able to take full advantage of it as they focused on change and survival,” Cara Haffey, deals partner at PwC, says.

She’s tasked with leading the NI firm’s work

with private businesses and is keen to support them in this transformative period.

“Whatever size of business you lead, you will benefit from adopting a pro-tech approach.

“It can be daunting but the last year showed us that we just can’t do things the same way any more – companies need to have both a digital strategy and a workforce that’s sufficiently skilled to make it work.

“I encourage clients to consider digital investment in the same way as they should view investments in helping their business to become more sustainable in a net zero environment. Both are essential and what you’ll actually do is save yourself time and money in the long-run by building resilience into your recovery models.

“The organisations which engage with this now will be the ones that will more easily seize new economic opportunities and cost efficiencies.

“We have some amazing features as a region and we need to build on our best attributes and continue to develop our skilled and talented workforce.”

PwC is one of Northern Ireland’s most influential organisations and its commitment to the region through its new HQ and the technology centre is a powerful statement of confidence.

“I am very proud to have opened this office and to be leading the team here,” Kevin says.

There’s a lot of energy around, with deals, with transformation projects, and more generally in Northern Ireland. We all have a lot of work to do now but we’ve got a fantastic foundation from which to grow.

“As I look to the future, with the really unique ecosystem that exists here partnerships between business, universities and government, I am optimistic.

“And it says so much that we’re increasingly seeing local talent choose to stay here and others who are coming from elsewhere to make a career here. As we make more opportunities, the impact will be transformational for this part of the world.” π

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NEWS

Neueda chief executive Paddy O’Hagan and Version 1 chief executive, Tom O’Connor

Neueda bought by Dublin tech firm Version 1

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orthern Ireland digital services firm Neueda has been bought by a Dublin-based tech company.

Version 1, which recently announced it was adding around 180 new jobs to Belfast, has taken over the company for an undisclosed sum.

The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, is the 12th for Version 1 to date and will help it “meet ambitious growth plans, particularly in capital markets where the newly-acquired company Neueda specialises, and create one of the largest expert technology businesses in Northern Ireland”.

Founded in Belfast in 2002, Neueda has longstanding relationships with customers across the public and private sectors.

with operations in Ireland, the UK, Spain, and India.

“We’re delighted to sign this deal which reflects very positively on the quality and commitment of the Neueda business and team,” Neueda chief executive, Paddy O’Hagan, said.

“The acquisition is excellent news for our customers, with Version 1 and Neueda combining our technical capability across our mutual customers in Northern Ireland to continue to deliver excellent customer experiences, while tapping into the breadth of Version 1 resources and services to solve a wider variety of IT challenges and transformations.”

The company is a specialist in capital markets, working with banking giants such as JP Morgan, Citi and Credit Suisse.

The Neueda executive management team, including Mr O’Hagan, will join the Version 1 team, focusing on bringing technology leadership to grow its digital and cloud practice in Northern Ireland.

The combined companies will have almost 2,000 employees, more than 500 customers and projects revenue of £171m in the next year

Version 1’s latest takeover follows its acquisition of Singlepoint last year – a deal which was completed in 2020 during the global pandemic.

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Version 1’s chief executive, Tom O’Connor, said: “This deal brings to Version 1 a highlyskilled and specialised technology team with deep expertise in digital transformation, data analytics, trading, cloud services and other key technical consultancy areas which will enable Version 1 to further accelerate our customers’ businesses with IT and enable the public sector to reach citizens more effectively with key services.

“Neueda’s compatibility with Version 1 in terms of shared company values and a 19 year track record of excellence in delivery combined with a deep commitment to its people makes this an excellent match for Version 1. We are excited about the prospect of accelerating our growth ambitions as a combined entity, delivering real differences for our clients, and providing bestin-market career opportunities for the most talented technical minds.”

“This is a very exciting time for Version 1 and Neueda, our collective teams, customers and partners. Together we will provide marketleading digital, data and cloud services from our deep talent pool, through our enhanced IP and diversified customer base.” π

Dominic Mudge

PARTNER, KPMG IN NORTHERN IRELAND How much free time do you have outside of work?

There is no doubt that the last 12-18 months have presented a number of challenges in many different ways, one of which is unsurprisingly the blurring of the lines between work and home. I think this was inevitable given the remote working environment, and the importance of separating the two has never been more important. My aim has always been to have enough free time to do the things I want to do and that are important to me. Fortunately, this is not an issue.

Is it difficult separating your work and home life?

The separation of work and home life has been an issue, and I think anyone that has the definitive answer on how to resolve this should bottle and sell it as they would make a fortune.

I think there are a number steps you can take to help, including setting up a discrete working area, understanding the working hours that are right for you (this will be different for everybody) and, for me, putting a suit on. It always makes me feel better to look the part, even if working from home.

What do you do in your spare time?

My main interest, and what I use all my spare time for, is swimming, and specifically open water swimming. There has been a proliferation of this during lockdown and social media is full of pictures and stories of people taking this up for physical and mental wellbeing. However, I have been involved in open water swimming, and ice swimming,

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for a number of years. In 2020 I became Irish National Ice Swimming Champion (1km race in water temperature under 5C) and became the first ever person to swim an ice mile in Lough Neagh.

I also have the privilege of being part of a very special relay team, the Oa Giants, which, under the expert guidance and support of Infinity Channel Swimming based in Camlough, broke two world records last year for the fastest crossing of the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland and the first and fastest crossing of the Oa Channel from Islay to the Giant’s Causeway. We broke a further world record for the first and fastest crossing of the St George’s Channel between Ireland and Wales. All of these swims are skins only – no wetsuits.

Is there something you’d like to start doing or take up?

I know a lot of people have used the lockdown to take up new hobbies or find new interests, but in all honesty this isn’t something that has appealed to me, instead I plan to focus on new adventures that involve my love of the water.

It’s holiday time – where are travelling to (in normal times/when travel restrictions are eased)?

I think lockdown has given us the time and ability to appreciate what is on our own doorstep and not to have to go looking further afield. Having said that, I hope next year to compete at the World Ice Swimming Championships in February in Poland and in the European Masters in Rome in August, both the cold and sunny holidays. π

TOP E M P L O Y E R S

Sponsored by

TOP

Position

LARGEST EMPLOYERS

Company

Sector

Numbers of employees

1

Tesco

Retailing

10,779

2

Moy Park

Poultry processor

5,097

3

Queen's University

University

4,958

4

Asda

Retailing

3,736

5

Spirit AeroSystems

Aerospace

3,718

6

Henderson Group

Retailing

3,597

7

Teleperformance

Call centres

2,898

8

BT

Telecoms

2,854

9

Marks and Spencer

Retailing

2,792

10

Almac

Pharmaceuticals

2,677

11

Sainsbury's

Retailing

2,429

12

Ulster University

University

2,423

13

Allstate NI

IT

2,389

14

Boots

Retailing

2,344

15

Citi

Financial services

2,267

16

G4S

Support services

2,100

17

PwC

Financial services

1,964

18

Noonan

Support services

1,866

19

Lloyds Banking Group

Banking

1,831

20

Firstsource

Call centres

1,743

21

Ulster Bank

Banking

1,730

22

Terex

Engineering

1,618

23

Norbrook

Pharmaceuticals

1,611

24

Musgrave

Retailing

1,578

25

Golf Holdings

Drinks distributor

1,556

Information from the latest Equality Commission Employment Monitoring report for 2019

70

1-25

26-50 Position

Company

Sector

Numbers of employees

26

Danske Bank

Banking

1,527

27

Seagate

IT equipment

1,428

28

Robinson Services

Support services

1,426

29

TJ Morris

Distribution

1,393

30

Santander

Banking

1,386

31

Caterpillar (NI)

Engineering

1,342

32

Wrightbus

Bus manufacturing

1,253

33

Mount Charles

Services

1,210

34

NIE Networks

Electricity supply

1,203

35

Graham Group

Construction

1,198

36

Sensata Technologies

Manufacturing

1,194

37

Thompson Aero Seating

Aerospace seating

1,077

38

Primark

Retailing

1,074

39

Dunbia

Meat processor

1,060

40

Iceland

Retailing

1,057

41

Dunnes Stores

Retailing

1,055

42

Charles Hurst

Motoring

1,045

43

Northstone (NI)

Construction

1,034

44

Karro Food

Meat processor

963

45

B&M

Retailing

959

46

Concentrix

Call centres

953

47

Randox

Pharmaceuticals

951

48

Radius Housing

Housing

928

49

Bank of Ireland UK

Banking

888

50

Scotco NI

Food

856

AUGUST 2021

71

TOP 50 EMPLOYERS

Top employers in key sectors face skills challenges in year ahead

By John Moore, managing director, Hays NI

open to hiring talent in different locations and launching schemes to train their own, but there is still fierce competition for the existing talent pool.

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mployers in every sector have faced an array of new challenges over the past 18 months as the impact of the global pandemic rippled through the economy.

Construction is seeing a huge amount of Government spending being channelled into the market market and benefiting from the restart of projects put on hold during the pandemic. Although this is good news and a positive sign of recovery, we simply don’t have the availability to support existing and future projects as a result of a shortage of EU workers, coupled with a rapidly ageing workforce.

Businesses in some sectors have been fighting to stay alive, others have carried on more or less as normal and emerged largely unscathed and a few lucky ones have actually prospered under the new world order.

Many of these stories will be told in other pages of this special Top 100 Companies edition of Ulster Business and you can probably make an educated guess about which category the companies in the Top 50 Employers list found themselves in.

But as we take stock at the start of the second half of 2021, I’m pleased to say that some semblance of normality has returned to the recruitment market and in fact, in some sectors, demand is higher than it was in early 2020, with talk of skills shortages surfacing again. Roles across most areas in technology, construction, engineering, and marketing are in high demand.

In our business, we’ve certainly seen a shift in the intention to hire since the start of this year, and even more so in the last few months.

The shift has been compounded by the lifting of restrictions, existing skills shortages, and in some areas such as construction, workers returning to the EU as a result of Brexit.

HIRING INTENTIONS Hays runs a quarterly barometer survey which receives over 8,000 responses from employers and professionals across the UK, including Northern Ireland. In the last one we carried

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out in May, 63% of employers told us they are currently recruiting – up from 56% in February.

More than half of those surveyed (55%) said they were confident in the UK’s economic recovery in the next 6 months – a significant improvement from the 40% who were upbeat in February.

It’s likely that due to the high demand for staff and low levels of skilled talent we will start to see upwards pressure on pay rates in the coming months.

While these statistics bode well, of respondents to that same survey 75% of employers told us they don’t currently have access to the right skills.

With this in mind employers need to think carefully about how they will both attract and retain talent – covering not just pay but aspects such as offering flexible working, training opportunities and good work-life balance. All of these aspects are much more important to people than ever before because of what the world has gone through with Covid-19.

That three quarters of employers are struggling with this is, in some ways, shocking, but it’s worth bearing in mind that areas such as technology and construction had severe skills shortages even before the pandemic – so the increased appetite to hire has the potential to create real challenges.

A CANDIDATE’S MARKET? While we know it’s definitely not the case in every sector but in many of the professional sectors we work with, it has very quickly become a much more candidate driven market with multiple employers searching for skilled talent.

The pandemic has led to greater reliance on technology and this continues to fuel a sharp increase in demand for roles in cyber security, cloud solutions, data science, DevOps, software development and change management. Employers in the sector are

Our last quarterly survey showed that 63% of professionals have a positive outlook towards their job, which is a slight increase on earlier in the year, but interestingly 44% of professionals told us they anticipate moving jobs within the next six months.

TOP 50 EMPLOYERS

The pandemic gave us all time to reevaluate. Whether that was deciding how we want to spend our time out of work, what our future career path might look like, or what kind of organisation we want to work for.

STANDING OUT In this new environment, prioritising how to articulate your business and culture to prospective staff is essential.

Reasons for wanting to move still include the all-important salary, however aspects such as better flexibility, longer-term opportunities and better work-life balance are rated much higher in our recent surveys.

More than that, employers need to make sure their employer value proposition is portrayed consistently across all recruitment touchpoints, such as job adverts, websites and social media channels – and that what is described on the job advert is actually referred to in the job interview.

We’re seeing an increase in counter offers too and a rise in interview to placement ratios – which means its taking more interviews to get a placement because candidates are either staying in their jobs through a counter offer, or taking other jobs because they’ve had multiple offers.

So, employers need to appreciate how the pandemic has changed job seekers’ priorities and refresh their hiring strategies.

A key trend we’re seeing emerge is that people are increasingly being motivated to work for businesses which prioritise social responsibility, doing good and have a clear purpose instead of more traditional motivators such as salary and benefits. Opportunities such as offering volunteer days, supporting charitable organisations, and having a clear strategy for sustainability are all really important to prospective candidates.

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I’d also urge employers not to neglect the onboarding experience. Because of the increase of working remotely, the time to hire has quickened and as such staff can get virtually set up with their new company very easily. But it’s much harder to properly onboard staff remotely so you need to make sure you have clear processes in place for new starters.

This can be as simple as setting up virtual coffee meetings with key people or arranging more frequent one to ones with new starts. In our survey, more than a quarter of the people who moved jobs in the last six months said their onboarding experience was average to poor.

Even for the organisations in the Ulster Business Top 50 and Top 100 lists, retention is going to be a major challenge throughout the rest of 2021 and those who focus on what employees want stand the best chance of success. π

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TOP 100

Support still needed to carry us through all of this A year on from the Top 100 in 2020, which happened following the easing of restrictions amid the first phase of the pandemic, CBI NI director Angela McGowan looks at what’s changed in the last 12 months, returning to some form of economic growth and stability, and the support still required along the way

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t’s has been quite a remarkable year since I last sat down to write my thoughts for Ulster Business on Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies.

The turmoil that we have faced over the last 12 months with the pandemic and uncertainty regarding UK/EU trade has provided such a challenging backdrop for chief executives.

But one year on, I think it is fair to say that things have improved quite dramatically with UK growth expected to rise rapidly in quarter two, as restrictions are eased and we move cautiously towards greater economic activity over the summer months.

No one could have anticipated the economic contraction that we witnessed last year; thankfully, many companies survived with government support and indeed some are now thriving as the economy takes an upward turn. The companies on this Top 100 list have demonstrated tremendous resilience, resolve and agility.

In the last month or so local firms have been reporting that pent-up demand is coming through, order books are full, global supply chains are improving and there is a lot more positivity on the horizon. The NI Protocol provided plenty of challenge at the beginning of the year, and it’s good to see that for many companies a number of these issues are

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ironing out. While trade is flowing much more smoothly since January, there are nonetheless a number of problems that still need resolved and local firms are keen to see further progress on this issue in the months ahead.

It is hard sometimes to extrapolate the difficulties that have been caused by the Protocol from those caused by Covid, global supply chain and shipping issues or wider Brexit trade problems that firms in GB have also encountered. The business community continues to work with Government on a list of issues that are yet to be resolved. But it is the CBI’s view that these issues can be resolved if the UK and EU collaborate.

We all need to think innovatively about solutions so that Northern Ireland’s economy and peace process work for business and citizens. We hope to see some of the international shipping and global supply pressures ease in August and September as new shipping fleets come to the market and hopefully this helps to lower container prices for firms and improve trade flows.

It is always interesting to scan down the list of Top 100 companies in Northern Ireland. Clearly our strengths in food production and general manufacturing stand out and we should be very proud of that.

The number of large and highly successful

construction companies on this list demonstrates our strength in this sector too. The region’s reputation for high quality manufacturing and construction is important for winning business not just in Northern Ireland but right across the UK and across the globe.

Retail is also well-represented on the list along with transport and distribution – these sectors are also significant employers in the local economy; and we all know that their ability to continue working during the pandemic is a testament to workforce determination, great leadership and commitment to this region.

TOP 100

Angela McGowan

Although many big firms are in growth mode, we cannot forget that certain sectors have been left behind in the 2021 recovery. The CBI is adamant that for sectors such as aerospace and tourism, targeted support will need to continue. Smaller firms also continue to pay the price for restricted trading, for example, hotels and restaurants are limited by restrictions on customer capacity and therefore the implementation of the Department for the Economy’s Economic Recovery Action Plan is critical.

A relentless focus on the drivers of economic growth will support all firms regardless of size

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or sector. For CBI members the priority area is skills – with shortages in every sector ranging from IT to lorry and van drivers.

be critically important too. There may also be merit in assessing the impact of the UK’s new immigration policy on the NI economy.

Firms complain that they cannot make most of the economic recovery and meet the new customer orders because they have not got enough people. Some companies in Northern Ireland are now reporting vacancies in the hundreds.

Getting the supply of skills right will not just be critical to economic growth, but will be essential for achieving net zero. But adequate skill supply must also be balanced with investment in digital solutions. We know from previous CBI reports such as ‘Ostrich to Magpie’ that there is a huge prize for companies who do. Therefore government policies to incentive this shift will be beneficial to all firms across Northern Ireland regardless of whether or not they are in this Top 100 list. π

The Department for the Economy’s 10X Skills Strategy contains great initiatives for building the pipeline for skills, upskilling and reskilling.

Attracting people to the region is also going to

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RETAIL

Owners of SPAR Coagh, Graham Johnson and Andy Davis celebrate the store being the 300th SPAR to open in Northern Ireland, with Henderson Group joint managing director, Martin Agnew

From a challenging year to one of growth I

f 2020 was the year of challenge, then 2021 is the year of growth through learnings from those challenges, particularly for grocer and retailer, Henderson Group which reported an increase of 6% in turnover to £970m in 2020.

recovery for the foodservice business which suffered due to closure of the hospitality industry across Ireland.

“While our retail and grocery business grew in 2020, the closure of hospitality had a huge effect on Henderson Foodservice. The new larger storage facility has enabled the business to offer their customers an expanded product range with greater efficiencies in terms of goods in, order processing and picking, providing an overall enhanced supplier and customer experience.”

The Group now employs almost 4,500 people across Northern Ireland throughout its core retail, foodservice and wholesale businesses, and has just completed phase three of the multi-million pound regeneration of its Mallusk complex with the opening of a £16m warehouse – the new hub of operations for Henderson Foodservice.

Paddy Doody, sales and marketing director at Henderson Group, says this is the start of

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Paddy Doody

While the after-effects of Covid continued, so did Brexit which brought more opportunity for the Group as they entered an agreement with Sainsbury’s to supply several fresh and frozen products to plug a gap in the supermarket’s

Gareth McAnlis, food development manager at Henderson Wholesale with chef Carl Johannesson, head chef at the Henderson Kitchen with the new products from the new-look The CHEF range

supply chain. For a number of years, but no more so in the most recent months, Henderson’s Brexit team have been quietly working with government bodies, farmers, suppliers and unions to bring solutions around the continuing Irish Sea border conversation and objections, modelling their local sourcing as best practice for the future.

On the increase in sales, Paddy says despite all the challenges, it is hugely encouraging.

“It is a tribute to the strength of our brand, entrepreneurial retailers, suppliers, management and our contingency plans, strategies, robust systems and teams across the board that we have been able to continue our growth through the most challenging year in our history.

“Technology has played a big part in adapting to the changes we’ve faced to create safer places to work and shop, from contactless solutions to electronic footfall counters, electronic shelf-edge labels, self-checkouts, cash management systems and home delivery apps – we have responded, almost overnight in most cases, thanks to the quick thinking and creativity we have on the ground.”

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RETAIL

Of course, necessity is often the gateway to invention, and the Group is best placed to lead the industry with their innovation and the collaboration between their companies.

it is an outlet that is providing a completely customised experience for the village – and the only supermarket experience, convenient to locals,” Paddy said.

“Our teams will continue to build the business with this innovative lens, and indeed, the new stores we have opened this year, including SPAR’s 300th store in Northern Ireland, all display new ways of thinking borne from data and tech innovation.”

“The £3.7m new-build has been designed and built with a data driven approach to provide a mission focused customer proposition tailored for local shoppers, a concept developed

by SPAR UK and SPAR International we are trialling locally.”

SPAR’s 300th store opened in Coagh, hitting a landmark number for the brand during a milestone year – its 60th in Northern Ireland.

William Agnew, father of current group chairman, John Agnew, brought SPAR to NI in 1961, knocking on doors to form a new collaboration between wholesaler and retailer. It means Henderson Wholesale now supplies to more than 500 stores throughout the company owned and independent network including SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO brands here.

“EUROSPAR Doagh has recently opened as Henderson Retail’s 100th store, but more-so,

This is a first for Northern Ireland, but certainly won’t be the last as the Group forges on with plans to open a total of 13 new stores and supermarkets this year.

“Store and product growth is high on our agenda – 2020 saw food-to-go stall due to the pandemic, so there is fresh thinking for that category around our Daily Deli and own brands The CHEF, SPAR enjoy local and The Kitchen, which, in 2020 brought in over £14m alone,” Paddy said.

“There is so much opportunity to reinvigorate our industry with fresh thinking and we will be leading the way.” π

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INSURANCE

Stephen Carlisle and Maurice Boyd

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nsurance business Global Risk Partners (GRP) has bought over the commercial risk and broking business of Willis Tower Watson in Northern Ireland.

That will see the £57m portfolio integrated into ABL Group, GRP’s Northern Ireland brokerage, with ABL’s chief Maurice Boyd heading up the combined organisation.

The value of the deal has not been revealed.

“This is a fantastic deal for ABL and GRP. Not only is the portfolio made up of high-quality commercial business and an excellent team, it underlines the importance the group attaches to Northern Ireland and our confidence in the future prospects for Northern Ireland business and the economy,” Mr Boyd said.

“The acquisition follows a number of recent deals completed by ABL, which combined with organic growth has taken total GWP to well over £50m. We have now smashed through the £100m GWP barrier and we have every intention of building on that with the strength and muscle from the new combined business.”

The deal does not include any part of Willis Tower Watson’s human capital and benefits

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Insurance firm Global Risk Partners taking over Willis Tower Watson risk and broking business business in Northern Ireland or any operations in the Republic of Ireland.

Brian Curtis, head of Ireland, Willis Towers Watson, said: “I’m impressed by ABL’s vision for the business, their commitment to our colleagues, and their focus on giving clients the very best product and service proposition.

I am confident our clients and colleagues will benefit greatly from the strengths of ABL and the wider GRP group.”

And GRP’s group chief executive, Mike Bruce, said: “As well as being a coup for GRP, this is a great deal for Maurice and ABL and will give them the leading position in Northern Ireland broking.”

“There is no waning in our M&A appetite and we remain very focused on our acquisition strategy across the UK and Ireland.

“The pandemic and subsequent disruption has challenged our ambitions, but through a combination of single-minded determination, client focus and astute deal-making we continue to generate powerful momentum and excellent results for our investors and insurer partners.”

ABL Group is a leading broker in Northern Ireland, headquartered in Belfast, looking after more than £50m in premium income.

ABL is led by Maurice Boyd, and managing director, Stephen Carlisle.

In 2015, ABL became a part of the GRP Group, one of the largest independent brokers in the UK. ABL has experience in integrating acquired teams and significant books of business, having previously acquired brokers Digney Grant and McGrady Insurance. π

RICHARD CAMPBELL NORTHSIDE GRAPHICS

How is business?

Business is positive, despite the current economic climate and the associated challenges this brings. Being an e-commerce company, we have continued to grow even through the lockdown period as the move to online accelerates. We have been getting busier every month since last summer and are hoping that trend will continue without any more interruptions.

How did you get started in the industry?

Completely by chance. Despite a university offer to study music (which I declined), I decided to pursue a job immediately after leaving school – mainly because I couldn’t wait to work, and I’d had enough of academia by that stage. I spent 15 years in the ‘traditional’ litho side of the printing industry before moving into the digital sector in 2007 – the best move I ever made. Northside launched DigitalPrinting.co.uk and DigitalPrinting.ie in 2013 and we have seen very fast growth from then.

Typically, who are your clients or customers?

We really have two sets of customers who both, rightly, have the same exacting requirements. We have our traditional B2B offline customers in Northern Ireland who mostly deal with Northside Graphics and then we have our e-commerce customers, located all over the UK and Ireland who make their purchases online through DigitalPrinting.co.uk or DigitalPrinting.ie. Our aim is to live up to our mantra of digital printing excellence and to stand out from our peers. The customer is always our number one priority and we have over 10,000 independent reviews, being rated ‘excellent’ on Trustpilot, so we are confident we are doing quite a lot right.

Do you enjoy what you do, and what in particular?

Yes, I do, and every day is different and fast paced. The two main aspects of my role are the customers and the employees.

I get tremendous satisfaction from seeing over more than jobs a day go out the door from a very hard-working team who are completely focussed on quality and ensuring the customer’s complete satisfaction. Ensuring

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Entrepreneur of the Month we excel in our quick digital turnaround times, alongside our real time production techniques and e-commerce expertise, keep my analytical eye firmly occupied at all times.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

I don’t find any particular aspect of my role difficult but there are people who I have worked with over the years that I miss seeing every day. It was also difficult to have to furlough staff at the start of the pandemic, but the upside was the joy at welcoming them back over the course of the next few months as we got back to normal production levels.

Our recently launched recruitment strategy will see us welcome the next generation of talent into the industry in the comings months, which is very exciting.

What are the challenges facing your sector, and the economy in general?

The market for print overall is shrinking, possibly accelerated by lockdowns and new working practices. Shorter print runs are more prevalent now, which is actually a strength for us but not for many others in the industry. The Northern Ireland economy and the business landscape will likely be very different as post-Covid normality slowly returns, and this change will only be further compounded as the impact of Brexit becomes more apparent.

Thankfully, while there may be challenges, our websites are driving sustained growth in our business. We are investing in people, new equipment, and technology to facilitate our increasing online sales to ensure we keep growing profitably. π

TRANSPORT

Translink: the new ticketing system which will revolutionise how we travel in Northern Ireland Translink is undertaking its biggest investment and upgrade to how its customers buy tickets and pay for travel across its network in a generation. Paddy Anderson, Translink’s chief financial officer, outlines what the huge £43m scheme will mean for passengers – bringing simplicity and integration to the fore

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or Translink, the significant investment in its network has simplicity, convenience and integration at its heart. It’s taking the mass roll-out of its’ new ticketing system – right across the business – very seriously.

As part of its’ continued transformation of public transport in Northern Ireland, Translink is developing customer-led, innovative ticketing solutions with a focus on ease of use, integration, convenience and value.

This year, we’ll see the next significant steps on this journey, with the entire roll-out throughout the bus and train network completed by the end of 2022, thanks to this investment in modernising how the system operates, and how we all travel.

What it will mean is a ‘tap on, tap off’ way of travelling – working across everything from the Metro bus network in Belfast and Derry~Londonderry to Ulsterbus services, and NI Railways. This will dovetail with the first stage of the transformation, which came in 2018 with the introduction of the Ticketing system to support the successful Glider service.

It centres around the operation of an accountbased Ticketing system, similar to what customers may have experienced in London or other major cities. You simply tap on to the network with a debit or credit card or dedicated card and continue your journey elsewhere across the network before tapping off.

At the end of each day, your total fare will be worked out, taking into consideration

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everywhere you have travelled and “capping” your fare if or when any offers, promotions or cheaper tickets are applied to the overall journey.

For Translink, Covid has brought its own challenges. Along with considerably fewer people using its network, the issue of reducing contact came to the fore.

Paddy Anderson, Translink’s chief financial officer, is the man in charge of making the public transport operator’s dreams a reality.

Paddy says the major roll-out of the new Ticketing system is continuing as part of Translink’s post-lockdown build back and along with its’ ‘Ready for You’ campaign, working to ensure customers feel safe and secure while using public transport across Northern Ireland.

“We want to remove any complexity in the minds of travellers,” he said. “Our ultimate aim is that by the end of 2022, we will have the account-based ticketing, or tap on/tap off, system in place across the network – facilitating more people to shift to more convenient, ticketless travel.

“You will be able to pay for travel by simply tapping onto our network with a debit, credit card or Translink ‘Oyster-style’ card.”

The grand plan was seeded with the introduction of the successful Glider system – linking east and west Belfast, and utilising a pre-pay system with contactless options, whereby passengers tap a sensor before boarding the vehicle to register that they have a suitable ticket or card for the journey.

“The Glider project was complex as it was the first time we had moved Bus ticketing off board,” Paddy says. “Our core objectives are simplicity, convenience, speed and integration – those are the cornerstones of this project.”

That will see a total of 4,500 new ticketing machines and other hardware introduced as part of the £43m roll-out.

Translink is working ‘hand in glove’ with the French supplier Flowbird to ensure the new system is rolled out smoothly across the network.

The investment will also see around 300 new ticket vending machines introduced across bus and train stations, Belfast city centre and other locations – still offering customers hard copy

TRANSPORT

Paddy Anderson

tickets as an option – along with the new ‘tap on, tap off’ technology onboard vehicles and at new electronic gates positioned at main railway stations.

still want to buy tickets in cash. We serve a very broad demographic and while we are keen to move to less cash, we will still provide options for those without debit or credit cards.”

According to Paddy, customers will be able to top-up their pre-pay cards, or use their own debit and credit cards to pay for journeys and can check their payments and account online.

The next step this summer will see the introduction of new hand-held ticketing devices on NI Railways.

“We are really excited about this huge project,” he said. “We want to start getting messages out to customers now, as they increasingly expect contactless travel options.

“Our customers want simplicity and ease of use, and not having to worry about the complexities of a fare structure.

“Our new system will know where and when you board and disembark and automatically compute the appropriate fare. Customers will also be able to access their own account – managing it and seeing how discounts are applied, for example.

“We will still have our ticket vending machines, with the latest technology for customers who

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Then, later this year, in advance of the new account-based ticketing system, every Metro bus will have new contactless capability installed – allowing customers to pay using a credit or debit card.

For Paddy, with the success of the Glider’s first phase, he’s confident the major improvements across the network – speeding up boarding time and reducing complexity – will have a positive impact on increasing passenger numbers.

“The Glider confounded all of our expectations,” he says. “It shows that if you offer an attractive solution which offers simplicity, then people will use it and flock to it.

This is a really big part of our plan to help build back greener and better as we emerge from the pandemic.”

The capital investment in infrastructure has increased substantially since Paddy joined Translink in 2015.

“Then, it was around £35m a year – this year it will be in excess of £200m.”

That includes work on the new Belfast Transport Hub at Weavers Cross in the heart of the city centre.

“If we combine a modern ticketing system with the best fleet, facilities, frequency and fares, then you have all the ingredients for growth.”

Paddy says. ‘‘These enhancements will help us reach our goal to increase passenger journeys towards 100 million a year, accelerating action on the climate crisis and delivering an effective and successful public transport network, vital for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our society.” π

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29 Lidl N

orthern Ireland’s favourite German discounter is having something of an ongoing stellar rise right across the

and not enough supply. Also, there was a period of time from a customer and staffing point of view that there was a lot of nervousness.

region.

While market share is still just 6.7%, it has ambitious plans to grow that to 10% over the next few years, Conor Boyle, director of Lidl Northern Ireland says.

“It would certainly be a goal,” he told Ulster Business.

“We have an internal target of an 8% market share by 2025. If we don’t exceed that I’ll be really disappointed.

“I think we can get closer to 10% by then, given what we have in the pipeline. We don’t have a systematic competitor. We are the only full assortment discount retailer in Northern Ireland.”

Lidl has grown into a business with more than 40 stores and an 1,100-strong workforce across Northern Ireland.

“We saw a significant increase in basket spend, but a significant decrease in customer numbers – the number of baskets.

“Things are more like they were two years ago, than last year. There is more confidence in the market.”

Looking towards the investment in its store network, and its targets for growth, Conor says the company has a goal of achieving at least an 8% market share in the next four years. Some of its recent new stores include Portadown and Derry’s Buncrana Road.

“We are aiming for six projects a year, of which two would be expansion or new stores, and four would be a knock-down and rebuild or relocation of an existing store.

It’s seen continued significant double-digit year-onyear growth and is investing around £30m a year in its estate – with six new or revamped stores, annually.

“I inherited a very old store portfolio and it wasn’t really fit for purpose. We are now in a position where we can expand. We are planning six projects, that’s in excess of £30m a year over the next five years.”

It comes in as a newcomer to the Top 100 this year, at number 29. The supermarket chain is now filing accounts for its Northern Ireland business as Lidl Northern Ireland Ltd.

Lidl’s 1,100-strong workforce is spread across its store network and logistics centre in Crumlin. “We pledged in January this year to add 170 people and we intend to exceed that,” he says.

The latest filed accounts for the period ending February 2020 show turnover of £278m, with a pre-tax profit of just over £2m.

Conor says as the only “full assortment discount retailer” in Northern Ireland, there’s significant scope for growth here, with the region’s market share for the sector well behind other nations.

“Covid has had a positive impact on sales and grocery in general,” Conor says. While the accounting period doesn’t cover Covid, sales have been strong in the last year as grocery spend across supermarkets soared.

“In March last year there was panic buying,” Conor says. “We have a very streamlined and active supply chain. I would like to think that we were able to put ourselves back on track quicker than others.

“We had the perfect storm of extremely high demand

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“In Germany, discount food retail accounts for 30% of the market, in GB it accounts for 13-14% or maybe more, so why not be aiming for solid double-digits,” he says.

“We are confident in investing that £30m a year and we want to get over that 10% mark.

“You will see a significant increase in turnover and an increase in profitability as well.” π

Conor Boyle

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IT & TECHNOLOGY

OSG Cloud beats other cloud providers on performance and price WHY CLOUD? The cloud may not be the right fit for every business, but all businesses should as a minimum assess the potential benefits of a partial or full cloud strategy before discounting it. The cloud can be a powerful enabler for growth plans and digital transformation projects, offering security, scale and speed, to address the challenges we face today and importantly those we will face tomorrow. At its most basic level cloud computing offers high-performance servers and leading-edge technologies that maximise speed and capacity beyond the levels that most businesses can justify self-funding and beyond the expertise of most companies to fully exploit or manage in house.

OSG Cloud was created with the primary objective of addressing the common issues and shortcomings that other cloud providers have delivered to the market – all clouds are not the same. At its most basic level OSG Cloud delivers enterprise grade managed cloud infrastructure, with absolute guarantees and service-level agreement (SLAs) around performance, security, availability and an infinite amount of scale, business continuity and disaster recovery built in. Our solution offers the exacting standards for availability, performance, and security that is expected of infrastructures running hospitals

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and emergency services, which OSG Cloud is now making available to businesses of all sizes locally and internationally, with a range of fixed and/or variable pricing models to suit your business.

WHAT MAKES OSG CLOUD BETTER THAN EXISTING MARKET OFFERINGS? OSG Cloud is a multi-million-pound investment by the Outsource Group, designed jointly in partnership with some of the world’s leading cloud technology companies. Built on Dell EMC’s hyper converged infrastructure VxRail, underpinned with VMware’s cloud software and management tools and utilising Veeam for complete recoverability, this is a purpose built, true multi-tenant, highly secure cloud that is best in class. In addition to being ISO 27001 certified, the globally recognised gold standard certificate and the quality assurance marque for IT security and information governance, OSG Cloud has also been exclusively awarded Northern Ireland’s only ‘Dell Cloud Solution Provider’ seal of approval.

Supported by the experience and resources of the Outsource Group, OSG Cloud is led

by Brian McCrory, one of Ireland’s most experienced cloud experts and is proven to deliver an enterprise grade managed cloud infrastructure with a range of guarantees that

no other cloud provider can offer. OSG Cloud will work in partnership with companies to design and deliver the best solution for their business, but we will never compromise on: - Performance, security, and availability - Understanding customer requirements and delivering fit for purpose solutions - Technical support and customer service TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? CHALLENGE OSG CLOUD TO PROVE IT To prove the power of OSG Cloud we are offering business’ the chance to ‘try before you buy’ with our no strings OSG Cloud Challenge – run any workload for free, (preferably your worst performing workload to see the real benefits), and if you do not experience an improved performance and we cannot show you greater value for money than your current provider then you can run the workload for free for 12 months. We are confident that when you experience the benefits of working with OSG Cloud it will be a compelling proposition to support your business going forward. π Outsource Group is a cyber-security and technology partner delivering solutions to empower businesses across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, GB and Europe. Visit Osgcloud.co.uk, telephone 0845 6800250 or email info@osgroup.co.uk

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Hospitality reopens… but uncertainty remains for industry

By Mark Carron, director, Osborne King

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lmost a year and half into the Covid pandemic the hospitality industry has re-opened for most but unfortunately many establishments will not.

During the month of July, one of the busiest months of the calendar year generally, the mood for operators is good but hinged with nervousness as the pandemic continues to dominate the global community. Until the vaccine roll-out is universal this will restrict travel and ultimately lead to general uncertainty with further potential lockdowns.

With the re-opening of the pub, restaurant and hotel establishments’ feedback from clients is positive buoyed by the local market and strong cross border patrons who are fleeing the draconian restrictions that remain in place. With staycations becoming increasingly popular, the adaption for new trends such as outdoor facilities, food offering and overall leisure experience are key to survival.

Over the summer months the success of this period is also greatly dependent on the weather but beyond the summer, licensed premises will need to have the infrastructure to attract and sustain their revenue to maintain their livelihood. Outdoor areas within the property boundary and pavement seating have never been more important to assist in the recovery for food and beverage led businesses.

Over the Covid period the volume of market transactions have been limited with the market in deep freeze for much of the 2020 calendar year. One notable hotel sale last year included the Maghermorne Estate near Larne which comprised a Victorian mansion set within a 40 acre estate sold at the outbreak of the pandemic for approximately £1.5m.

The venue has now opened providing 35

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ensuite bedrooms and catering for the wedding, corporate and private occasions in collaboration with Jane’s Kitchen. Other more recent transactions include The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn which was recently acquired by the Galgorm Spa & Resort owners who have also added the Rabbit Hotel and Retreat to its expanding portfolio. The sale of the Hilton and Radisson Hotels in Templepatrick and Belfast city centre are also pending. All of the above showing the demand and confidence in the local hotel market.

we have sold three licences with values holding well over this Covid period. The supply of these continuing to emanate from weaker provincial pubs and re-emerging in convenience stores under the “surrender principle”.

There are a number of changes and challenges within the hospitality market and clearly the key to a positive future is the ability to trade.

Other issues continue to impact this industry such as Brexit, staffing resources, VAT and availability of credit.

Opportunities in the pub market are unsurprisingly quiet at this stage as one might have expected to see an influx of opportunities especially the weaker provincial outlets since the most recent re opening. That said we have a number on the market with good interest and have recently completed the sale of The Victoria Bar in Armagh. In addition we have recently marketed Ruby’s licensed complex in Strabane which is available for sale or to let and in mid Ulster we are selling the wellestablished Hanover House in the village of Coagh.

That said we are well placed to navigate our way through these challenges as long as there are no further lockdowns or tougher restrictions. Finally we are now seeing the evolution of the local licensing legislation which will see the extension of drinking times and Easter drinking restrictions lifted which should come into effect later this year.

Demand for good pub opportunities remains and I expect to see an increase in transactions occurring after the summer months. In terms of the sale of liquor licences, there is a good market for these with demand currently exceeding supply. In the last couple of months

Taking into account the global turmoil during the last 16 months I am pleasantly upbeat that generally the market is holding up well. π

These are good advancements which will assist the recovery and future proofing of Northern Ireland as a more attractive destination for leisure visitors as well as locals.

Mark Carron MRICS, director, mark.carron@ osborneking.com. www.osborneking.com

Denis Lynn

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57 Finnebrogue Artisan “H

e has left us with an incredible legacy,” Jago Pearson of Finnebrogue Artisan, says.

The founder of Finnebrogue, Denis Lynn, built the company into a meat giant serving the biggest supermarkets across the UK and Ireland. He then grew the firm into a nine-digit turnover business – doubling sales in a year – and investing tens of millions in meat-free alternatives.

His sudden death at the age of 63 came as a shock to the Northern Ireland business community earlier this year. An individual who, far from resting on the company’s laurels, had grown the business from a £3m turnover firm into one heading towards £150m, little over a decade later.

“Denis’s loss has been felt very hard by all of the Finnebrogue family,” Jago Pearson, chief strategy officer, told Ulster Business.

“He was our founder, leader and inspiration – and the list of achievements he leaves are exceptional. Denis created Finnebrogue not just to be a food business. We aren’t any old manufacturer. This organisation is a vehicle for creating positive change in the world, for challenging the status quo, for doing things better – for leaving a better planet for our children and our grandchildren.

“That’s what Denis got out of bed every morning to do – and it is what we are now all getting on with doing in his memory.”

The company, Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd, which trades as Finnebrogue Artisan, has shot up onto the Top 100 list this year. It rocketed from the 99 spot in 2020 an impressive 42 places to 57.

Turnover almost doubled, rising from £78m to £142m for the year ending February 2020. In

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that time, it posted pre-tax profits of £42.3m.

“We have had an extraordinary decade of growth, going from a turnover of £3m in 2009 to £150m in 2020,” Jago says. “We will step on again this year – and we now employ over 1,000 people across four facilities in Co Down.

“We have established ourselves as the leading maker of premium sausages in the British Isles.

We have revolutionised the bacon market with our groundbreaking, nitrite-free Naked rashers – now the biggest brand of bacon in the UK. “And amid a global pandemic, we have built Europe’s most advanced plant-based food factory, bringing our overall investment in the last six years to £90m.

“We are in such a strong place, with a clear strategy, phenomenal investment and a vision for what the food industry of the future should look like. As we tackle the plant-based arena and look to international opportunities for the first time, the future is bright. We know if we can make food the most nutritious, delicious, sustainable and affordable it can possibly be, we can be successful in almost any circumstances.

“Denis was the leading food entrepreneur of his generation. He has left us with an incredible legacy. And we now have the opportunity to further turbocharge our growth and finish the job he started. The Finnebrogue family is energised to do just that.”

The company has plans to invest up to £63m – creating 340 new jobs – in a huge new factory, aimed at ramping up production of “next generation” plant-based products.

The overall plans include is a massive 300,000 sq ft factory, with the first phase will including a 200,000 sq ft development, as part of a £32.9m investment. π

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Health Minister Robin Swann (third left) and former Economy Minister Diane Dodds (left) welcome announcement of 130 new jobs and £19m PPE contract for Denroy

NEWS

Co Down firm lands £19.5m face mask contract creating 130 jobs

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angor’s Denroy has landed a £19.5m face mask contract with the health service here – creating around 130 new jobs.

The new contract will see Denroy manufacture and supply FFP3 masks to the Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland (HSCNI).

Invest NI has offered the company £1.5m of support towards creating 130 jobs.

“Due to Covid-19, there has been an unprecedented global demand for PPE,” former Economy Minister Diane Dodds, said.

“Very early on in the pandemic Denroy took decisive action and repurposed to manufacture PPE. The positive impact of this decision is clearly demonstrated by today’s announcement of new jobs and a contract that will provide PPE to our healthcare workers.

“The company has moved quickly and has

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already recruited all 130 jobs and hopes to grow further. These new roles will contribute £3.7m in additional annual salaries to the local economy. Not only is this great news for the Ards and North Down Borough Council area, but also for the wider Northern Ireland economy.”

Health Minister Robin Swann said: “At the outset, the Covid-19 pandemic caused us to think very differently about how to tackle many issues. We had to urgently consider how best to meet the challenge of protecting our health and social care staff while safely treating Covid-19 patients.

“The demand for PPE in the first surge of the pandemic placed tremendous strain on the health service in Northern Ireland. My procurement officials put a call out to local manufacturing, with Invest NI, to support the supply of critical PPE items. I am delighted that Denroy answered this call, particularly with a

proposal for a new high grade respirator mask for those staff on the frontline treating Covid patients.

“To develop a brand new product, create prototypes and have it tested, certified and considered fit for purpose within six months is quite remarkable. While I applaud Denroy for its innovation and vision, I must also recognise the work of key health staff who worked closely with Denroy innovators to refine the mask and robustly test new prototypes to get this mask in production.”

And Kevin McNamee, chief executive of Denroy Group, said: “We are proud of our staff and of our ingenuity over the last year, and the contribution we made during a time of national crisis. As well as helping with the emergency need for PPE, we have invested over £3m in a new manufacturing facility, created over 130 jobs and secured this £19.5m contract with HSCNI.” π

CLIMATE CHANGE

Action to achieve net zero in farming and the food sector

Cranswick Country Foods in Ballymena has become the first agri-food manufacturer in Northern Ireland to be awarded an internationally recognised specification for carbon neutrality. Its site director Tony Demaine looks at the challenges facing the sector as we head towards carbon neutrality

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t is a challenge to rethink how we produce our food, however it is an absolute must. There are numerous opportunities throughout the agriculture and food supply chain to help achieve net zero and bring environmental benefits, including targeted measures to reduce emissions, carbon capture and the shifting of operations towards renewable energy.

Tony Demaine

Change takes time but once businesses and their employees start to see the benefits, the momentum grows – I’ve spoken to many farmers and business colleagues who view it as a positive challenge, particularly the younger generation.

I am driven by the fact I have a young family and want to help make sure there is healthy planet and positive future for the next generation – and I understand that we cannot keep taking and not giving back. It is not just for the government to respond to, it is society’s collective responsibility.

The overall carbon footprint of our end products is influenced by every part of the chain and we aim to support the businesses we work with and our suppliers wherever we can, as they make their own journey towards net zero and greater sustainability.

On our own site, measures to help towards the journey to achieve net zero have included switching from oil to gas burners, purchasing renewable electricity, installing LED lighting and heat recovery systems to reuse excess heat. We are also collaborating closely with our transport and cold pork storage suppliers on new technologies to reduce energy use and move to greener electricity.

Our work with the wider supply chain means being prepared to support our suppliers in further improving their productivity and

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efficiency. For the farmers who supply us, this can include more targeted use of fertilisers, improved manure management to reduce nitrogen loss, protecting soil health or appropriate planting of trees.

There’s good collaboration in Northern Ireland between farmers, processors, government and the NI Pork and Bacon Forum. We have a working group where we can share common issues including the need to grow while committing to achieving net zero and securing labour.

Moving towards net zero is just one part of a bigger programme of work to improve resilience to long-term environmental and market challenges. It can range from helping protect biodiversity to energy saving and the well-being of the workforce. These all go hand-in-hand with maintaining product

quality, long-term consumer demand for our products and, ultimately, sustainability. There may be quicker, easier ways to achieve profits but Cranswick is focused on making sure our actions contribute to a quality, sustainable food supply, while making a tangible difference to the environment and the community. We enjoy supporting a wide range of initiatives in the local area from education to mental health, working with many different organisations, schools and charities.

Underpinning everything is the way we look after and involve our workforce, giving them a role in working out how we can improve things throughout the business and the freedom to be honest and challenge what we do – the team really understands and cares about Cranswick’s Second Nature sustainability plan. Skilled, motivated and healthy people are fundamental to making positive progress. π

NEWS

Chris Martin and Aisling Press, Danske Bank with James Dunlop, Carbon Trust

Danske Bank launches new carbon neutral mortgage

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anske Bank has launched the UK’s first mortgage to be certified as carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust.

The trust measured the carbon footprint of providing mortgages, which includes the emissions generated throughout the mortgage lifecycle.

“So the mortgages we’ll provide on greener homes won’t contribute to rising greenhouse gas emissions. That’s certified by the Carbon Trust.

Physical paperwork forms the largest part of the footprint but other activities taken into account include energy consumption in Danske’s offices, digital paperwork at each stage, paper waste generation and a welcome box provided to customers.

“Domestic homes generate an estimated 15% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, so improving the energy efficiency of our homes is crucial in the fight against climate change. As a leading mortgage lender, we have a responsibility to support customers who choose a greener home. We’ve therefore made the Carbon Neutral Mortgage our most competitively priced mortgage and launched a new cashback offer of up to £2,000.”

The bank says to secure its carbon neutrality, it has “committed to keep reducing this carbon footprint yearly and to offset any remaining emissions by investing in projects that reduce emissions by the same amount as those generated by providing our mortgages”.

First time buyers, home movers, and switchers, with a home Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) rating of A-C, are eligible to apply for Danske Bank’s Carbon Neutral Mortgage.

“At Danske Bank, we’re already carbon neutral in the heating and electricity we use in our branches and offices,” Aisling Press, managing director of personal banking at Danske Bank, said.

John Newton, associate director at the Carbon Trust Advisory said: “The Carbon Trust is pleased to certify Danske Bank’s mortgage service to the PAS 2060 Specification, demonstrating the carbon

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neutrality of the activities associated with the provision of the service.

“The initiatives that Danske Bank has undertaken to achieve this certification demonstrate the company’s commitment to continually reduce and offset the carbon impacts of their mortgage product.”

And Chris Martin, head of climate risk and strategy at Danske Bank, said: “At Danske Bank we’ve committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and have a strategy in place to achieve that target.

“We’ve already delivered significant reductions in the emissions produced through our own operations, for example through more energy efficient heating systems, LED lighting, solar panels and changing our company car policy.

We’ve also been providing sustainability training for employees and have developed a climate literacy programme with Business in the Community for businesses.

“But the mortgage is the first step in developing climate friendly products and services, and we’re excited about what’s still to come.” π

PROFILE

Noel Brady, chairman, Alison McFadden, managing director and Tom Hall, technical director

Continu: embracing changing energy demands N

Northern Ireland firm Continu has grown into a leading back-up power business in Ireland. But in the last couple of years the focus has widened to meet the growing demands in renewables and in particular, battery energy storage systems (BESS) across both the private and public sectors

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orthern Ireland firm Continu has grown into a leading back-up power business in Ireland. But in the last couple of years the focus has widened to meet the growing demands in renewables and in particular, battery energy storage systems (BESS) across both the private and public sectors

across the Northern Ireland Civil Service and health trusts.

What started off as a company helping lead the way in back-up power solutions, Continu is a firm now with its sights on the wider energy efficiency future of battery storage.

“It’s a crucial element for firms to protect their systems. Electricity coming into a building requires ‘filtering’ to ensure critical IT equipment is not damaged from power quality issues as well as total outages. The backup system is there to protect and safeguard as well as provide the business with ‘runtime’ and safe shutdown before generator kicks in or mains supply returns.

The company began life in 2010 – set up by Alison McFadden and Tom Hall. Since then, it’s provided back-up power (UPS) solutions for some of Northern Ireland’s biggest private sector names, including BT, SONI, NIE, Concentrix and Moy Park, as well as working

But it’s now branching out to new areas and sectors, in particular, the booming battery energy storage market. “backup Power is the real backbone of the Continu business,” Noel Brady, chairman, says.

Alison says: “In short we ensure our customers

Noel Brady, CHAIRMAN

PROFILE

Noel Brady has more than 45 years of experience under his belt, working across both the public and private sectors. Noel began working with Continu six years ago, and then two years ago he took over the role as chairman of the company.

Aside from his lengthy CV working across a wide mixture of sectors and industries, Noel also runs his own firm, Consult Nb1, specialising in a range of both public and private business consultancy. His primary aim is to work closely with clients to understand their vision and objectives and develop a professional and trusting relationship. Noel’s career also includes 17 years in the public sector, before heading

are fully prepared and protected against power problems and have a clean, stable and efficient backup power solution. We also provide software applications to remotely monitor the equipment, which forms part of our comprehensive service support.”

Noel began working with Continu six years ago, and then took over the role as chairman two years ago. “In that time, we successfully grew the business,” Noel says. “Then, around two years ago, we began looking at the battery energy storage market.”

That allows commercial and industrial customers the ability to manage their electricity consumption in a radically different way. For decision makers efficiency and environmental impacts are paramount.

“For example, a large energy user with perhaps on-site renewable energy such as solar or wind can store excess energy produced as well as use this energy at peak times,” Alison says.

“In other words, the business can consume electricity, flexibly. There are various mechanisms in place to allow the business to financially benefit from this through energy trading, however although the technology is advanced, the route to market is poorly understood and that’s where Continu can help.

“As back-up power experts, this area of technology was the next logical step for the company. I took over as chairman of the group to help drive the strategy forward.

“For most companies’ energy is a significant

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senior outsourcing roles.

He has also been a non-executive director with DVA, a Belfast Harbour Commissioner, and two years ago become the financial non-executive director of the South Eastern Health and Social Services Trust.

expense, that is where BESS can play a major role. To date the systems installed in Ireland are large ‘grid scale’ installations. However, our typical customer base are acutely interested in becoming ‘prosumers’ with a focus on reducing emissions, using less, earning more and buying better and that’s where we can help. We have BESS systems capable of rapid install from 0.5MW up to 50MW. “A battery storage system can work independently of renewables, by storing energy from the grid at cheaper times and using it when it is more expensive. This all helps to support the grid which is good news for system operators and contributes to green credentials. Northern Ireland is a world leading example of renewable energy penetration, but the next thing to consider is how we make the most of this renewable energy to ensure that we don’t continue to waste it.

“That is the driving force for us developing BESS, we are passionate about contributing to the potential NI success story as a worldleading energy country” “Recent advancements in back-up power and battery energy storage systems have paved the way for organisations to dramatically change their approach to energy management, create new income streams and improve resilience.

Continu was also recently awarded funding from the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) to undertake research for NI Water into battery storage technology.

“NI Water is a major user of energy and the largest single purchaser of electricity in

Alison McFadden, MANAGING DIRECTOR

Alison McFadden and husband Tom Hall spotted a gap in the market back in 2010 for a specialist firm, providing bespoke back-up power systems and ongoing service support. They started in an attic-based office with just one employee before expanding and scaling the business.

Following her completion of a degree in business studies and a postgraduate diploma in training and development, she began her career in London with a national training provider.

After working as a training consultant for six years with blue chip clients in London, she relocated to South Africa and set up a business consultancy practice. That saw her working with global multi-site companies in the areas of business development, sales, training and quality management systems.

She is a chartered member of the CIPD and responsible for managing the strategic direction of the company, business development, sales and marketing.

Northern Ireland. The utility has invested significantly in renewable energy sources and sees this exciting initiative as another step in its green energy strategy.

“Having successfully completed six months of feasibility research (phase one), we are excited to build on this further to develop our findings. This will identify opportunities to use battery energy storage technologies within NI Water in order to reduce energy consumption, reduce cost, improve resilience and generate income.” π

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Kirsty McManus, national director, Institute of Directors (IoD) in Northern Ireland, reflects on a tough 18 months for firms, what we have to help drive us forward, the impact of the NI Protocol and the opportunities ahead for us

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ovid-19, the pandemic, Brexit, the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol – I could go on. Reflecting on the past year and considering what the future may hold, it is easy to get bogged down in the very many challenges our businesses and economy have and continue to face.

mobile crushing and screening equipment and almost a third of all airline seats.

economic lockdown and identify silver linings – but there were some.

One-in-five of the world’s computer hard drives have parts that are made here while 10% of the global foreign exchanges market flows through Belfast every day – that’s about £360bn.

Among them, we saw businesses and company directors doubling down on their investment in leadership and management in response to the Covid pandemic.

While not intending to play these down as they are real and have made a lasting impact on countless organisations, individuals, and their families, we mustn’t forget that, by and large, living and working in Northern Ireland is a hugely positive experience.

As the outworking of the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to be played out, it is clear that Northern Ireland provides compelling investment options for businesses wishing to reconfigure supply chains and reduce bureaucracy, particularly those involved in the trade and distribution of high-tariff goods.

Despite the ongoing challenges, the overall story over recent years has been one of growth and of an influx of new investors, many of them creating entirely new sectors in the region.

No longer are we known simply for our industrial and shipbuilding heritage, but burgeoning sectors such as film and television production, data analytics and cyber-security make Northern Ireland an increasingly attractive place for international businesses.

We have some incredible companies, now established as leaders on a global stage while the ability of our manufacturers, for example, to continually innovate means that they continue to be a significant player in our economy and are a key element of the region’s resilience.

We’ve lots to be proud, much of which goes under the radar.

Foreign direct investment has remained strong in Northern Ireland since 2016 with the number of businesses operating in the region increasing year-on-year, with 6,000 more companies registered here now than five years ago.

Northern Ireland makes 40% of the world’s

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For companies wishing to explore opportunities in the UK, Northern Ireland’s dual status in both the UK and EU Single Market for goods makes the region very appealing in terms of foreign direct investment, particularly in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Two factors are consistent across all these opportunities – market and regulatory access.

In the next decade, we’ll see £1.3bn of government investment into four City and Growth deals which will fast track local economic activity with strategic ‘lighthouse projects’ that will further build on our recognised capability in artificial intelligence, manufacturing, life sciences and creative industries.

Key to much of this growth, and in attracting the sort of public financial backing previously mentioned, is the incredible leadership displayed by leading business and civic figures throughout our society.

Fostering strong, intelligent, innovative and forward-thinking leaders is a major element of the work of the Institute of Directors.

It’s hard to look at the experience of the

There was an understanding that to get through the difficulties and come out the other side ready to prosper, required a wide understanding of what it takes to lead a company.

As a result, the professional development courses we provide experienced one of their busiest periods, making Northern Ireland the most popular region for the IoD Academy outside London.

Operating online, the courses broke down geographical barriers and attracted a global audience, provided an international perspective from which our local leaders could also benefit.

Given the immensely positive experience, although we’re delighted to be returning to face-to-face tuition from September, we will continue to offer a hybrid model in the future.

Demand is high and it is clear that directors see that continued investment in leadership and management can ensure they have all the required tools in their toolkit for what may lie ahead.

As the world around us changes, we continually expand the courses we offer to include specific programmes in cybersecurity for non-technical directors and data governance among others.

More than ever, there is an appreciation of the importance of continuing professional development. If the past year has taught us anything, it is that we cannot and will not prosper without strong courageous leaders ready for whatever challenges they may face. π

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We are open for business again 102

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Simon Hamilton, chief executive of Belfast Chamber, says the city is very much open for business. The former Stormont minister says a plan is needed to re-inject life into Belfast, and towns and cities, across Northern Ireland

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elfast is definitely open for business again. We aren’t quite there yet. Not every business has been able to reopen. Most office workers are still working from home.

And the international tourists obviously haven’t returned. But things are better.

Much better. And life is slowly but surely starting to return to normal.

I recall a similar feeling this time last year as the city’s economy reopened after the first lockdown. There was an air of optimism that was followed by a good summer which created a hope that we were over the worst of the pandemic before that hope was extinguished by further lockdowns and new restrictions that we are only now starting to be released from.

What gives us all a sense of greater certainty that this time things will be different is, of course, the amazing success of the vaccination programme. In what is surely one of the finest ever examples of the public and private sectors working in partnership for the common good, we have witnessed a quite unbelievable roll out of the vaccine which has been the key to unlock the restrictions which had our economy teetering on the brink of collapse.

As we now begin to emerge from the pandemic it is crucial that the conversation focuses much more on recovery. That isn’t though to say that we completely ignore the ongoing effects that Covid-19 will have on businesses in Belfast and right across our region.

Belfast Chamber recently conducted a survey in partnership with Bauer Media NI. From surveying over 210 businesses from all sectors of our city’s economy, it is crystal clear that we will live with the legacy of the pandemic for quite some time to come.

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We found that 70% of businesses had already made redundancies with just over a third unsure whether they’d need to make more over the next six months. More than half of businesses had taken on more debt to deal with the effects of the pandemic. That may not be a major shock given the severity of restrictions on some sectors but the fact that 15% of respondents said that their debt had more than doubled is cause for some concern.

Nearly a quarter of businesses said that they felt it would take them more than two years to recover. When asked what they felt were the biggest challenges to their business’ recovery, ongoing concerns about public health and continued restrictions were both cited by a majority as what worried them most.

It is perhaps unsurprising therefore that with the effects of Covid-19 still very raw and very real for many business owners, that ongoing support such as rates holidays and the longerterm reform of the business rating system and continued grant support for businesses in those most impacted sectors were the top two needs for our survey respondents, far exceeding the level of support for interventions like skills development and infrastructure investment.

Our message therefore to the Government and the Executive is that even though we are reopening, now is not the time to abandon those businesses that we have helped to survive the pandemic. Indeed, it would be wrong to have spent so much to support them through the worst of Covid-19 only to waste that investment by failing to assist them as they recover.

The other interesting theme that came through strongly in our survey was the desire of businesses in Belfast to see the

city’s streets rejuvenated and regenerated.

When asked what physical or infrastructural intervention they thought would most help the city’s economy to recover, major public realm schemes in places like Royal Avenue, Donegall Place and High Street was most favoured by businesses, with an increase in city centre living a very close second. There was also strong support for improving public transport, creating more open and green spaces and building better cycling and walking infrastructure.

The events of the past year have, I think, confirmed to businesses based in Belfast city centre who, at times, had to endure the city’s streets looking more like a ghost town than the vibrant city we had become accustomed to, that in order to succeed long term, the city needs to change. Belfast is a great place to work in or enjoy a night out or study in, but we have to be honest and admit that large parts of the city centre have seen better days.

Hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment by the private sector is in the pipeline. The City Deal will help catapult us to become the creative city that we aspire to be. And the new Ulster University campus is about to open its doors. In spite of what Covid-19 has done to our city, Belfast Chamber believes that Belfast’s future is a bright one.

To maximise those opportunities and fulfil our massive potential, the city centre needs a plan that reimagines our streets, transforms how the city looks and feels and moves and helps injects tens of thousands of new residents right into Belfast’s heart. In short, we need a properly resourced plan for the city centre that matches the scale of ambition that we have for our economy and not only helps Belfast rebound from the pandemic but assists it to become the innovative and forward-looking city we know it can be. π

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62 Seagate I

f you’ve used a computer at some stage in your life, there’s every chance part of it originated in Londonderry at some stage.

Seagate began its life in Northern Ireland as a big win for foreign direct investment more than 25 years ago. The computer hard drivemaker came here in 1994 and invested around £50m in our second city.

As part of that came around 500 new jobs for Northern Ireland. Since then, it’s grown its headcount here to around 1,400. According to a recent report the US-based industry giant has invested more than £1bn in capital here.

Here, it’s headed up by Fergus O’Donnell, Seagate’s plant manager and site lead.

Seagate’s Springtown facility in Derry is recognised as one of the foremost wafer fabrication plants in the world.

It comes in at the number 62 spot in this year’s Top 100 list, with a turnover of £133.5m for the year ending July 2020. During that same period, it posted pre-tax profits of £11.4m.

The site has grown from an initial charter of world class manufacturing in the first decade of operations to adding development and product launch capabilities in the last decade years.

Seagate describes itself as a “world leader in

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data storage and management solutions”.

“The company crafts the datasphere, helping to maximize humanity’s potential by innovating world-class, precision-engineered data management solutions with a focus on sustainable partnerships,” it says.

It has continued to invest and expand its operations here. The latest major investment came in April 2019, when Seagate announced it was putting tens of millions into its plant here.

That was as part of further research and develop into nanophotonics, and was supported by almost £10m in funding from Invest NI. According to Seagate, its own investment stood at £47.4m. The funding is being focused on enabling further research and development in nanophotonics, creating 25 highly skilled new jobs.

“Technology innovation is the cornerstone of our success and the industry-leading innovation delivered by our facility in Springtown has been at the heart of our business strategy for the last 25 years,” Dave Mosley, chief executive, Seagate said during the announcement.

“The investment extends a successful, collaborative partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and will further strengthen our ability

to deliver customer-centric technology leadership for the data-driven future of the global economy.”

And Jeremy Fitch of Invest NI said: “Seagate first came to Northern Ireland in 1994, investing £50m and creating 500 new jobs.

Fast forward 25 years and the facility now employs 1,400 people and it is estimated that the company has invested in excess of £1bn in capital here.”

In its latest global market update, Mr Mosley said the company “delivered another quarter of strong financial performance driven by ongoing operational execution and record sales of our high capacity nearline drives. We grew revenue, expanded profitability…. our March quarter results underscore the strength of our HDD (hard disk drive) product portfolio and increasing demand for mass capacity storage”.

“These trends lend further support to our June outlook, including an anticipated return to solid year-over-year revenue growth in the June quarter and enhanced profitability.

“As the datasphere continues to grow in scale and complexity, our innovative technology, flexible product roadmap and mass data expertise make us well positioned to capture significant opportunities in our core HDD business and address customers’ emerging needs to move, secure and store data across a more distributed enterprise.” π

Fergus O’Donnell

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We are still no closer to dealing with next Brexit hurdle Our habits and demands have changed considerably in the last 18 months. That’s been no more evident than across our retail and big grocery sector. Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, takes a look at the challenges we’ve faced, and the work still to be done to ensure we’ve a smooth and steady trading landscape

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ix little words can summarise the year past, the present and the year ahead of us.

The last year can be summed up in two words, Covid and Brexit: this pair has made it the most challenging year in retail in living memory.

Retail, along with hospitality, was hardest hit

by Covid as anything that was deemed as nonessential was closed for large periods of the last 12 months. Even those who were allowed to open had greatly increased costs from social distancing measures, safety measures, extra staff to cover those who were shielding and even Perspex screens across thousands of shops in NI. Profit margins shrank significantly with these increased costs and the need to quickly adapt supply chains at the start of the pandemic.

The end of the transition period and the change in our trading relationship with Great Britain was always going to bring challenges as all changes in trading relationships do. That is the very nature of the protocol. I am on record

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on the day that the protocol was announced as saying that it showed that the Prime Minister had not listened to Northern Ireland business nor to Northern Ireland communities.

But it is in law and business has made its best endeavours to make it work.

We have seen the new burdens of customs declarations and certificates as well as the advent of full export health certificates for chilled meat preparations, and with all of these there are checks. All of those bring friction and all of those bring cost which neither the retail industry nor NI households can absorb.

Answers are still needed for these challenges.

All these challenges bring us to our second two words – leadership and resilience.

The business community has proved itself time and time again over the past year to be leaders not just in business but for communities. Retailers stepped up during the Covid pandemic to ensure that supply chains continued to function, while working with government and investing heavily to secure

deliveries for the most vulnerable in our society. In fact, some retailers are carrying out deliveries at a volume that they thought that they would be doing in eight years from now.

Similarly, business stepped up with the end of the transition period. In fact, it is a testament to the hard work of the retail, manufacturing and logistics industries among others that we coped so well with the major changes that came in.

Even more than that business has worked together to show leadership on this issue. The NI Business Brexit Working Group has met with the Government and the EU at all levels as well as individual members states.

They have conducted surveys, produced evidence and briefing papers and it has been my great pleasure to work with such

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knowledgeable people who want to make Northern Ireland work. And we have gotten results including the extension of the chilled meat grace period which was recently announced.

While it is good to see the EU and the UK co-operating on this issue and reaching agreement, chilled meats is, in trade terms, a peripheral matter. The most pressing issue is the fate of the thousands of food products moving daily from GB to NI, which will be subject to extensive controls when that grace period ends in October.

We are no closer to a decision by both sides on this. There is a grave frustration felt across business. We can see the technical solutions that are possible, such as a trusted trader scheme, yet there does not seem to be the political will to deliver them. We need both

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sides to live up to their commitments and find a pragmatic solution to ensure NI consumers continue to get access to both the choice and affordability in the food they need. Yet again the clock is ticking and yet again we are caught in a political quagmire when it should be a technical process.

EU. Not one penny was spent to tell them to get ready to trade with NI. And thirdly, they urgently need to tell business what the plans for the future are. Business is not light a light switch – we need time to adapt to new systems and processes, so we urgently need to hear their plans and to get a breathing space.

So, as we look forward to the next year, we can only wish that it is two new words that will encompass 2021/22 – urgency and opportunity. Both the EU and UK need to move urgently. First, to agree a trusted trader scheme and/or a veterinary agreement. Secondly, they need to educate GB businesses and EU businesses that it is possible and easy to trade with NI and that we want to do business with them.

If that happens then we will see the opportunities that come from the NI protocol and from Northern Ireland having access to both markets. We can only make the best of those opportunities if we have the asks that business has laid out for over a year, those being, stability, certainty, simplicity and affordability.

A small fortune was spent on telling GB businesses to get ready to trade with the

There is a light ahead of us. It is up to the EU and UK to decide whether that is the light at the end of the tunnel or a freight train of friction and cost coming towards us. π

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89 Eakin Healthcare A

s a family-run business on the acquisition trail, there’s a much longer-term and multi-generational outlook towards growth and success.

Eakin Healthcare Group is now made up of several businesses, including the Comber-based Eakin Healthcare headquarters.

It’s a newcomer to the Top 100 this year, coming in at number 89 – posting turnover of £88.8m for the year ending March 2020.

inquiry to the deal being done.

The firm produces respiratory systems, and thus, saw a huge increase in demand with the start of the pandemic here last year.

“We were approached in September, and the deal was completed in December,” he said.

“Before we acquired it, it very busy during the first wave (of the pandemic), then busy through acquisition, and through the second wave.

But it is its pre-tax profits which are the most impressive, from a numbers perspective, sitting at £22.7m.

“The international part of that business is pretty buoyant, but domestic is a bit quieter.”

“(It’s about) focusing on the long term,” Jeremy Eakin, managing director, tells Ulster Business.

Armstrong Medical’s sales grew by 33% during the pandemic, with profits up 39% to over £9m, according to its own latest accounts.

Eakin Healthcare produces wound care products for people who have major surgery.

“The really crazy time was this time last year,” he said. “It was a case of in that industry, two or three global leading companies.” He said some of them were unable to supply to the health service here, and therefore demand turned domestic and the firm was in the “right place at the right time”.

“The ostomy and stoma care products have done well, with repeat business through the pandemic,” Jeremy says.

But there has been little new patient business because of fewer operations. However, repeat business has been very much stable throughout.

Its latest high-profile acquisition was Coleraine’s Armstrong Medical. According to Jeremy, the process only took a few weeks, from the initial

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The firm has made a number of acquisitions in the last few years, and Jeremy says it has expanded its range and invested in R&D to help grow internationally.

“We have built a significant team here in Comber and in Cambridge,” he says. “That

helps to develop a flow of new products. We have expanded through acquisition.”

That includes taking on Pelican Healthcare in Cardiff. The company now has around eight offices across the UK, Netherlands, France and Japan.

“To be honest, we are ambitious and want to grow and develop,” he says. “We think very long term. We have been lucky that the pandemic has had some impact but not catastrophic. It’s been a bump in the road… we are still very much on a long term plan to grow the core business. We have a five year growth plan… sound foundations for generations to come.”

Jeremy says there will be pros and cons of the pandemic in how we look at health and its importance here.

“Realistically, there will be opportunity because health care is in the spotlight, but financially, the economics of having to pay for the cost of the pandemic for generations.”

And on Brexit, he says “we have weathered the storm really well”. “We were really well-prepared. We felt supported as we were represented on the CBI engagement process… giving us a steer on the direction of travel. (We were) buying a lot of raw materials, flooding channels (with stock), preparing processes internally for customs and administration work.” π

Jeremy Eakin

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CHARITY

British Heart Foundation: marking 60 years of life-saving work In the last six decades, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has played an instrumental role in research and helping save countless lives as a result. And it’s continuing to play that role across Northern Ireland and beyond, according to Fearghal McKinney, head of BHF NI his year the British Heart Foundation (BHF) is celebrating 60 years of funding life-saving research.

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In Northern Ireland, the BHF is appealing to local businesses to support the work of the charity and help fund the next 60 years of science.

Over the last six decades, the BHF has been instrumental in numerous life-saving discoveries.

Fearghal McKinney, head of BHF NI, said the charity’s role in amazing science discoveries has saved so many lives.

Its research has contributed to the first UK heart transplant, the development of pacemakers, the use of clot busting drugs to treat heart attacks, and the roll-out of genetic testing for inherited heart conditions.

“As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we’re incredibly proud of the work of our researchers and their pioneering and lifesaving breakthroughs down the years to help save and improve the lives of thousands of people with heart and circulatory disease,” he said.

In the 1960s, when the BHF was founded, seven out of 10 heart attacks in the UK were fatal. Now, thanks in part to research the public have helped fund, at least seven out of 10 survive.

A woman demonstrating how to deliver CPR on a dummy

“The BHF is the biggest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in Northern Ireland and in the UK, supporting the work of hundreds of scientists, currently

funding around £1.8m into science at Queen’s University.

“Here in Northern Ireland, we have supported the work of Professor Frank Pantridge who developed the portable defibrillator in the 1960s and just last year our researcher at Queen’s University Professor Andriana Margariti discovered a new gene linking diabetes and heart disease. There is life saving work happening right now in Belfast.

“Our research is only made possible thanks to the incredible generosity of the public, who raise vital funds for us by donating money, their time and much needed stock for us to sell in our shops across the country and online.”

But there is still more work to do. Since the BHF was established, the charity’s research and campaigning have contributed to the annual number of people dying from heart and circulatory diseases in Northern Ireland falling by half.

“This is something we can be extremely proud of,” Fearghal says. “But with the public’s help, we want to do more. Despite progress, heart and circulatory diseases still cause around one in four deaths in Northern Ireland.

“Right now, we have scientists in Belfast trying to find a cure for heart failure, investigating how heart cells change in people living with atrial fibrillation and just recently our funded researchers identified changes in heart cells that could offer hope for thousands of people who have dilated cardiomyopathy.

“The pandemic has shone a spotlight on

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CHARITY

Fearghal McKinney

the power of science and the impact it can have. Science that can save and improve lives.

Science funded by you. Our researchers are ready to face the challenges ahead, to move us a step closer to the breakthroughs we want to see.”

And the BHF doesn’t just fund medical research. Thanks to the charity’s free CPR training kits post-primary schools across Northern Ireland can train their pupils in life saving skills. They are currently working on the The Circuit, a system that will link a UK wide network of defibrillators to every ambulance service in the country and the public in a bid to help save more lives from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

The BHF welcomes working with corporate partners to power its life saving research. By choosing the BHF as your charity of the year they can build a bespoke calendar of engaging fundraising activities for employees.

There are also events throughout the year and bespoke partnership packages available.

Corporate partners can have access to the suite

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of BHF fundraising events like Dechox, cycle rides, ‘swimathons’ and MyMarathon. They could also work with your team to develop bespoke activities or virtual challenges to get everyone involved.

BHF NI’s seven local shops rely on selling donated items to raise money for pioneering research. If an organisation could donate stock at scale, through regular employee stock drive events, or even donating end of line and unsold stock, then BHF NI would love to partner. They also have volunteering opportunities for your staff in their shops across Northern Ireland.

Work can be stressful, but how many of your staff know your numbers when it comes to blood pressure and cholesterol? BHF NI can supply you with heart health literature so your staff know their numbers and can be heart healthy.

BHF NI can facilitate CPR training for your staff and enable your team to roll out training for future employees so every employee has the confidence and skills to save a life

Fearghal says it is only thanks to the support of communities across Northern Ireland that the charity can fund its lifesaving work.

“Your donations, time and tireless support have brought us a long since way since 1961.

And we need you like never before,” he said.

“Our goals for the next 60 years are even more ambitious. With your help, we will continue to fund groundbreaking research, backing the best ideas, the brightest minds. A world of cures and treatments that we can’t even imagine today.

“Whether you clock up miles on the bike, biscuits sold, items donated, or pounds raised – do it to celebrate 60 years of groundbreaking research. And help us stay on track for the next 60.” π To find out more visit bhf.org.uk/NI60. To fundraise for BHF NI contact fundraising manager Orla Clarke at clarkeo@bhf.org.uk or to partner on stock donation for the charity’s seven shops email Maureen McIlhatton at mcelhattonm@bhf.org.uk

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NEWS

Fibrus lands £23m public sector full fibre contract

Billy McClean, BDUK, Dominic Kearns, Fibrus and Cathy Mason, chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

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elecoms firm Fibrus has been awarded a £23m contract to deliver digital infrastructure on behalf of the organisation behind the expansion of high-speed fibre broadband here.

The Full Fibre Northern Ireland Consortium (FFNI) gave the job to Fibrus. Upon completion there will be over 900 publicsector buildings connected to a hyperfast broadband service across Northern Ireland.

The FFNI Consortium, which is made up of 10 councils outside Belfast and the Business Services Organisation (BSO), is led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

The project aims to expand the high-speed fibre broadband footprint in NI after securing funding from the Department of Digital Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) through the Local Full Fibre Network and Rural Gigabit Connectivity programmes.

Following the award of the contract, full fibre ‘gigabit capable’ broadband is now being installed in public sector buildings, such as council buildings, community centres, fire stations, GP surgeries and health clinics

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across Northern Ireland.

The aim of the project is to improve digital transformation across partners and use these public sector hubs to stimulate the acceleration and wider roll-out of faster, more reliable broadband to nearby residential and commercial properties through separate commercial investment plans.

Improved connectivity grew in importance during the Covid-19 pandemic, which made online, remote, and digital access a necessity.

UK Digital Infrastructure Minister, Matt Warman said: “This broadband boost for Belfast shows our plan to build back better is delivering for people and businesses, and I am thrilled to announce we will allocate £24m to replicate its success in every region in Northern Ireland.

“The upgrades will push down the throttle on internet speeds at thousands of homes, businesses and public buildings, and thanks to our £1bn deal with mobile operators, people will have access to fast and reliable connectivity on the move too.”

Fibrus chief executive, Dominic Kearns said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded this significant contract by FFNI. “The objectives of this programme directly align with ours – extending full fibre infrastructure into as many areas of NI as possible.

“Delivering this critical infrastructure to all these council and public sector buildings allows us to extend the network further into the surrounding homes and businesses that are in much need of our services.

“At Fibrus we are committed to playing our part in delivering the policy objective of achieving ubiquitous full fibre coverage as set out by the Government and this project will help bring that one step closer.”

And Cathy Mason, chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, said: “This project really demonstrates the value of collaboration across public sector organisations. Full fibre will supercharge our digital capacity and help deliver the best possible services to businesses and residents across the district.”

Work on the project is expected to be finished

by December. π

90 Mzuri Group

Stuart Dickson

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I

t may be on the Top 100 list for the first time, but according to Stuart Dickson, his company Mzuri Group is on course to more than double turnover to £200m in the next year.

Lisburn’s Mzuri Group, which includes Decora Blinds, has grown from a small firm to a group with a portfolio of nine companies, employing 1,400 people – 1,100 of which are based here.

The company’s turnover stood at £87.8m for the year ending December 2019, putting in at the number 90 spot. In that time, it posted pre-tax profits of £6.6m.

But according to the firm, it’s forecasting turnover of £200m for 2021.

“Over four decades we have stayed at the forefront of our industry by thinking further ahead than our competitors,” Stuart Dickson told Ulster Business.

“We strive to push the boundaries of every aspect of the business – from engineering, manufacturing, design, and e-commerce – maintaining the drive to think differently and think big.

“A key ingredient of our success has been assembling and nurturing a team who can execute the vision and sustain the level of excellence our customers have come to expect.

“The group is passionate about continued learning, improvement, and growth. We want to create inspirational window coverings that meet the evolving needs of today’s consumers.”

The firm is certainly active in expansion. It’s secured nine acquisitions in the last 15 months.

“We have made great progress in a short time but there remains a lot of opportunity for us in all of our markets and so with the combination of our extremely robust balance sheet and highly supportive shareholders and banks we expect to continue to build out the group and consolidate

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our position in the UK and Europe over the next few years,” Stuart says.

Earlier this year it completed the acquisition of the TCMM Shutter Group. TCMM, founded in 2002 boasts retail brands including Shutterly Fabulous and California Blinds.

Looking ahead to the future and the issues ahead, Stuart says “integration has been one of the key challenges we have faced through the acquisitions”.

“Each company had created its own systems and processes as it developed. The group has created a sound communication platform to ensure all people, systems and processes are integrated smoothly with every new acquisition.

“This challenge, however, has been turned into an opportunity as the group has extensively enhanced it team-working skills across the companies. It’s a team that we will continue to grow. This growth will present us with continued expansion into new markets, attracting additional quality companies into the group that have the same vision and entrepreneurial mindset.

“After the initial impact at the beginning of the first lockdown, we witnessed a surge in internet shopping as the home furnishings market thrived.

Today, the window blind industry is in a buoyant position across ecommerce, trade and retail platforms.

“Mzuri maintained the stability and growth over the year because of the commitment of our staff and we fully recognise that.”

Asked about making the Top 100 list for the first time, Stuart says: “It’s a great marker for the team as they have been instrumental in the group’s growth over the past number of years.

“Being on the same platform as the key players within the Northern Ireland business arena will boost recognition and increase the desire to enhance the group’s performance.” π

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INTERVIEW

‘We’re planning to grow in Belfast across a range of different areas’ Following the successes of transport schemes such as London’s King’s Cross and Sydney Metro, leading architectural practice John McAslan + Partners has spent the last six years working on the masterplan for Belfast’s own new transport hub. John Mulgrew speaks to Colin Bennie about opening its new office here, the next steps for Weavers Cross and what impact Covid will have on urban development

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he idea of King’s Cross, Sydney and Belfast – there is a certain lineage you can find as a thread through them which is about really integrating the facility, not just the city,” Colin Bennie tells me.

He’s associate director with John McAslan + Partners – architects which have been behind some of the biggest transport infrastructure schemes, globally, in recent years.

Here, it’s been working with Translink and Arup on the £400m masterplan for the Belfast Transport Hub – centralising bus and train connections in the heart of the city.

And as a result, the firm has now set up a Belfast office. “We will be looking to grow in Belfast not just in transport, but education, culture, commercial and urban landscape,” Colin says.

On the work it’s been doing in revamping, modernising and bringing public transport into the 21st century, he says “the existing transport facility really has reached its capacity to the point where something pretty significant has to happen”.

“We approach transport projects with a

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slightly different brief – what can transport-led development unlock?

“If you take King’s Cross, which we worked on, that has been operating for almost 10 years and it’s only now in 2021 that the masterplan around that station has been realised. It takes a very long time for these projects but (it’s) what they unlock… this is a similar story but on a different scale.

“We really think it’s not just pointing back to King’s Cross as a success and a template for how you do these things, it’s actually pointing to the future.

“When you then look post-Covid and what might happen. Our perception of green space will change, how we use the city will change and what it needs is as much green space and breathing space, if people are going to live in the space.

“Buildings built in the past five or 10 years… that typology will not continue, post-Covid. We need to rethink what our urban space is going to be.

“The idea of King’s Cross, Sydney and Belfast – there is a certain lineage you can find as a thread through them which is about really

integrating the facility, not just the city.

“In the case of Belfast, it’s a genuine multimodal transport interchange. Buses are as important, if not more important, than trains.

You have onward connections into the city with bus and a rapid transit system.

“What this hub will do is integrate everything together in a way which operationally the thing feels as one. Your ability to use it is different as it is at the moment. The whole direction of travel is going to be about being integrated travel. That takes a lot of planning upfront.

“For Translink with the Enterprise service as well, the whole thing will just feel as one integrated space, one integrated journey.”

That plans will include a grand new civic space being developed, which Colin says will be the “biggest new space in the city in a century”.

Speaking about the wider masterplan, which will see other third party development in and around the site, Colin says: “It strengthens some of the key principles. What will work is grade A office space and high end residential.

That will change the narrative of what people expect. More widely, the cascade of setting that benchmark and that quality that there will be an

INTERVIEW

Colin Bennie

expectation of higher quality.

“Our involvement is this long-term journey. It’s bottom-up consultation.

“How it is then procured specifically is a decision yet to be made. It’s likely things will go out to a competition and we would love to be involved.”

“Since the project’s inception, look at the number of planning applications that have come forward around the hub itself.

“The type of developments coming forward, there is a shift happening.”

Colin brings 20 years’ experience in delivery of complex infrastructure and mixed-use projects in the UK and overseas. Working across all project stages from feasibility to commissioning and

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handover, he had worked as lead architect on schemes including Stage Four, HS1 (St Pancras, Thameslink Programme), Farringdon West Ticket Hall design for Crossrail as well as delivery for contractor and client-side organisations including Network Rail and London Underground.

time. There isn’t a lot of public space. That’s the nature of how those industrial cities and towns grew up.

Speaking generally, attention is drawn to how we approach building development, urban landscapes, and the need for green space in our cities, post-Covid.

And looking towards its own expansion here, Colin says: “We want to build a local team with local expertise.

“Part of it is flexibility. There has already been a shift in how neighbourhoods work and how people use space. It’s to do with the maximum amount of urban realm, green space, people using parks in ways in which they haven’t.

“Belfast itself, the city core, gridiron Victorian layout, built over a relatively short space of

“What we are really focused on now is how do you integrate as much public realm space for people as you can.”

“Wherever we work, we like to set up, build a local team and support that local team, because that is a successful model for us. Those teams will be grown as projects come forward.”

The award-winning architects are opening an office in Belfast on the back of their work for the city’s new Transport Hub and Weavers Cross masterplan. π

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Beyond resilience: leaders who script the future Professor Karise Hutchinson of the Ulster University Business School looks at the resilience in our business leaders, and how that will help in battling back from the pandemic, along with boosting and assisting in key decision-making across the sectors

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ecovery and resilience – two words that dominate much of the government and business vocabulary about how to navigate

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this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the real price tag of the crisis is not yet known, for many leaders in Northern Ireland, exit from the EU and

the outworking of the Northern Ireland Protocol presents immediate and further challenges to how they lead and make decisions.

TOP 100 A more common or everyday use of the word resilience means to bounce back, or resume, an original shape after bending or stretching.

However, recent research points out leaders need more than just resilience to traverse the disruption of this pandemic.

Hope: where goal orientated determination of the leader meets proactive planning for the organisation

Likewise, my own international research study of crisis leadership during the pandemic with business organisations in Northern Ireland and the US, found resilience to be important in leadership, but the not the full answer.

Resilience: the leader’s ability to bounce back from stress or adversity

The evidence identified factors of resiliency that extended beyond the concept of bounce back such as personal and professional experience of crises, optimism, hope, faith and learning. Together, these factors fuelled the strength of the business owner in such a way that created an ‘anti-fragile’ leadership approach to decision-making.

In this soon to be post pandemic world, as market structures, business models, ecosystem relationships, and customer needs are being dramatically reshaped, business organisations today must take the path of transformation.

The profound change accelerated by the crisis means there is no destination by which leaders can plot a precise course.

If reports are true that the ever-accelerating pace of change will continue to mark the business landscape for the foreseeable future, then business leaders must not seek to bounce back or return to what was.

The challenge for leaders is what then and how? The answer rests upon the shoulders of business leaders and their teams to embed a positive attitude that embraces change for the long-term and into everyday decisions and behaviours.

Professor Karise Hutchinson

Taking into account the unique Northern Irish context, as well as the bigger issues transforming the business landscape like artificial intelligence, climate change, data privacy, cyber-security, and remote working, it is important for leaders to grasp what is really needed to plot the course for the future. In a business context, resilience has become a word to encompass financial, operational, strategic and psychological elements of leading an organisation through adversity.

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Many leaders understand the range of ‘capital’ in a business sense incorporating economic capital (finances and assets of an organisation), human capital (experience, education, skills, knowledge and ideas of their people), and social capital (relationships and networks inside and outside the organisation).

Less considered is the ‘psychological capital’ of the leader, which has been identified by recent positive psychology research as a key contributor to a healthy, engaged and highperforming organisation.

Otherwise more generally known as the HERO construct, it defines four inter-related areas of specific leadership personality traits as:

Self-efficacy: the leader’s confidence in their ability to achieve a specific goal

Optimism: realistic view of what can or cannot be done

Research evidence identifies HERO attributes in the transformation of organisations by helping leaders to adopt a fundamentally different mental model of business; one that embraces complexity, uncertainty, interdependent systems thinking, and a multi-timescale perspective.

A HERO leadership approach sets the stage for inclusivity by enabling employees to take responsibility for making the workplace better. The contagious nature of this type of leadership capital facilitates the setting of a culture where teams are encouraged to see and act on opportunities and challenges in new ways and quickly.

However, decision-making for transformation cannot be confined to the traditional boundaries within an organisation, but rather requires vertical and horizontal working across an ecosystem such as a supply chain to codesign a strategic destination, a new business model, or route to sustainable growth. In the words of John C Maxwell, leaders determine the lid of the organisation.

So, business leaders who lead with hope, optimism, resilience, and confidence will be better equipped to write a script for the future. I am not talking about HERO leaders with super powers or special suits, but those who are talented, collaborative, inclusive, and empathetic.

In Northern Ireland, there are many such business leaders we can be very proud of, many of which are showcased in this special edition of Ulster Business. π

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INTERVIEW

Elaine Birchall: building back and eyeing opportunities SHS Group is one of Northern Ireland’s largest businesses, with turnover in excess of half a billion pounds a year. Its chief executive, Elaine Birchall, speaks to John Mulgrew about pushing through the pandemic, when we could see some economic normality, facing tripling of some costs amid Brexit, but still keeping an eye on expansion opportunities

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he advantage of being one of Northern Ireland’s largest firms and having an extremely wide portfolio of products means you can pivot amid a pandemic.

Elaine Birchall, chief executive of SHS Group – a consumer goods and brands business which is Northern Ireland’s 12th largest company according to this year’s Top 100 – says while it may take at least another year before we are able to envisage a return to a base level, across the economy, the firm is still eyeing up potential expansion opportunities, when they arise.

“The last six months we were very much still in the clutches of the pandemic,” she told Ulster Business. “We all thought that last summer was going to give us a clear path to reopening but that just didn’t happen.

“We still experienced a radical reduction in out of home and food services as those sectors were shut down. That was more than compensated by grocery and convenience.

“In the backdrop of Brexit and the pandemic, a fairly well orchestrated season over Christmas.

The availability and supply chains really did hold up. That’s down to performance, team and collaboration – listening to customers and demand patterns.”

SHS Group works across a range of product lines with brands like WKD, Shloer and Sunny Jim firelighters.

Elaine says while the firm saw a radical

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reduction in areas such as home and food services, that was compensated by a surge in grocery and convenience, amid the pandemic.

is, and which businesses are still thriving and which businesses need more help from government packages etc.

And she says the surge in online also offered customers, of all ages, access to products which they would traditionally have purchased in a bricks and mortar store.

“The stimulus packages are really important.

In terms of a return to high street, it’s about helping businesses get ready to help their customers feel safe, that there is rates relief.”

“The advantage is a great new channel which has become available, particularly to the older generations. The downside is you don’t do the impulse shopping, the browsing of aisles and deals. We see a very different demand and buying pattern coming out of the pandemic.

Whether some of those will be re-established is yet to be seen.”

On Brexit, Elaine says while it was largely prepared for the challenges, in some cases it saw a doubling or tripling of transport costs and shipping times.

She says the ability to rebuild the economy post-pandemic is based around opening, and being able to remain open. She says it’s unlikely we will be able to envisage a return to a base economic level for at least a year.

“Those issues at the port, essentially, some of our suppliers saying it’s easier to do business with other countries, the cost and the fact that supply chains were taking longer meant that we had in some cases in our commodities, a doubling or trebling of some of the timelines, in a number of weeks, and costs of shipping and transport, just to get materials into our factories.

“We have stuttered, but we have stuttered because of the impact of the pandemic,” she says. “The favourable end of it is saying 6-7% (growth). I think that is determinant upon being able to open, and stay open.

“Secondly, for those businesses which have to re-establish a customer base, how are they going to essentially let their customers know that it is OK to come in to their locations on the high streets in a safe and secure way? “(As for when it will be rebased) I think it would probably be at least a year away from now before you really know where the rebase

“For us it was more our extended supply chains out of Asia and Europe and into GB,” she says.

“Have we had anyone walk away from the business? No. They have really leaned in to our skills and expertise which we have brought in. “… I’ve had a more difficult tenure in some of my overseas experience. I did work in west Africa which is not for the faint hearted.

“My team have been amazing, we have a pretty devolved structure. Our different divisions and units are run in a discrete way by

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Elaine Birchall

managing directors, and their pandemic teams as a collective. We have learned a lot from each other.”

back and needs more attention is just having that collective view on what those skills are and how they can be invested.”

Elaine, who has recently taken up her new additional role as vice-chair of the CBI in Northern Ireland, says reskilling and the skills agenda remains a key component of the wider economy’s ability to rebuild and start over.

And looking ahead, Elaine says while the firm is returning to stability, further expansion or acquisition remains on the table for the right opportunities.

“It’s a philosophy of mine that it’s never too late to learn,” she says. “What may hold us

AUGUST 2021

“We are returning to stability but that will really prove itself later on in the year with some of the return to office plans,” she says.

“We were on an acquisition trail shortly after I joined and we have continued to invest in those teams and those market places. In the last year we haven’t had the right amount of time to focus on international markets, so getting we’re back to a more stable view of the world.

“We have learned a lot about what fits our business and we have a really nice balanced portfolio… we keep an eye on those opportunities.” π

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FOOD & DRINK

Rabbit rillette at Shed Bistro

Shed Bistro: confident cooking served up with a serving of creativity

By John Mulgrew

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pending a chunk of change on a new restaurant revamp and expansion is a bold move at the best of times.

For husband and wife Jonny and Christina Taylor doing it in the middle of a pandemic was bolder still.

The pair own Shed Bistro on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast, and have spent more

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than 15 years in hospitality, with Jonny behind the stove at a range of spots, including for the previous owner before buying over the restaurant in 2018.

And last year they undertook a £150,000 refurbishment and extension of their spot.

However, additional Covid restrictions in early autumn meant postponing the reopening until May this year, and instead, focusing on their

hugely successful dining at home options.

The restaurant is now roughly double the size – growing into the former beauty saloon which it sat next to. There’s a host of smaller tables, racing red banquettes and booths – it feels considerably more airy than before, as it should.

With Shed, there’s a big push, as there is with

FOOD & DRINK

Christina Taylor, co-owner of Shed Bistro

most of our leading food spots these days, for sourcing locally and seasonality.

It goes as far as having a boxed off area on the menu to highlight where the various elements of produce have come from. It’s a welcome change from the ever-expanding and growing dish titles at some eateries – details so plentiful regarding the lineage and provenance of what you’ll be eating that you’re expecting to learn what star sign the duck was before it met its demise.

Rabbit doesn’t tend to make its way on to menus very often here, and that’s a shame.

It’s not a challenging flavour for nervous palates – think stringier dark meat chicken as a rough guide – but perhaps the idea of dining on Thumper causes unease in some minds.

It shouldn’t, though, as it’s a beautiful and subtle flavour, especially when in the right hands.

A lot of work has gone in to Shed’s rabbit rillette. Looking akin to a thick croquette, a light coating of crushed pistachios makes way for soft, luscious, rabbit, packed with rich, savoury flavour. It’s well-seasoned and has more than enough moisture and punch

AUGUST 2021

to make it work, cut by the sharp and sweet apricot jam. It’s a lot of boxes ticked and something worth returning for alone. It’s very confident cooking.

While there are bistro fan favourites – scallops, goat cheese and squid – dishes like the rabbit, seared tuna loin and sticky beef salad will certainly be sufficient to bring those looking for something a bit different.

Along with the a la carte, there’s a simplified lunch menu, which also has a selection of ‘quick’ options which are turned around for those popping in before heading back to their spare bedrooms, turned office.

Beef comes courtesy of meat mogul Peter Hannan and Lisdergan Butchery, based in Fintona in Co Tyrone, dairy from Draynes, Ewing’s provide fish with vegetables coming from North Down in Belfast.

While the pricier options include a dry-aged rump from Hannan, and the steakhouse staples of sirloin and fillet, a cheaper minute steak is on the ‘quick’ lunch menu.

It’s a far cry from anything you’ve picked up in the supermarket aisle when those chunky, marbled bone-in ribeyes looked too rich for a

mid-week protein fix.

While it’s lacking a decent sear (tougher to do on a thinner piece of meat while keeping it pink), there’s a deep, mineral beef flavour.

Although it’s just seasoned before going on the grill just the right amount of salt seems to have penetrated it, thus, there’s a tonne of flavour throughout.

Thin fries provide a suitable crunch of hot starch, while a garlic and shallot butter keeps what is a lean piece of meat moist and juicy while packing in more savoury notes.

Puddings include classics such as sticky toffee and chocolate fondant, along with a lemon tart and pineapple carpaccio. There’s also a solid and well-balanced wine list, with a decent drop of merlot and a punchy bargain primitivo.

There’s a lot to like here. The menu and the food has come on leaps in its newest iteration. There’s a menu which boasts enough interesting things to ensure a return visit or two is needed. It’s another feather in the cap for the Ormeau Road, which has seen its food credentials boosted significantly of late, with the addition of the nearby Stove Bistro and Indie Fude, while there’s more on the horizon for the team. π

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PODCAST

PODCAST The new look Ulster Business Podcast with Calibro is now live. We take a look back at some of the highlights over the last few weeks

EPISODE 45 - SIR MICHAEL LYONS

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SPONSORED BY

PODCAST

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elfast could become a modern green city such as Copenhagen or Helsinki and see a “massive increase in its competitiveness” on the world stage due to its unique position post-Brexit, the former chair of the BBC has said.

Sir Michael Lyons is heading up a commission examining how Belfast and Northern Ireland can grow and expand.

And Sir Michael says while it has outlined a number of areas to fuel growth, that he’s not in favour of slashing our corporation tax rate, saying “it produces a race to the bottom”.

But speaking about the latest flare up in political instability and trouble here over the last few months, Sir Michael says while it remains a risk in our ability to attract foreign investment it is “set against a very different climate as a result of the peace process”.

“We are very optimistic about the future of cities in general, and Belfast in particular,” he told the Ulster Business Podcast, sponsored by Calibro.

“It has the opportunity to put itself ‘on the map’ by focusing on quality of life and quality of environment.”

The Belfast Innovation and Inclusive Growth Commission has published a series of recommendations for the city and beyond.

That includes taking more action on climate change, increasing housing provision in the city centre, growing and focusing on burgeoning areas such as tech and cyber-security, as well as reskilling. “(Belfast) has many strengths but it needs to do more to compete with great European cities, and it has the opportunity to do that because it is in a splendid physical setting.

“I don’t think it’s impossible to look at cities like Helsinki and Copenhagen, they have many years lead, but they have attractive physical locations, they are cities which have emphasised their benefits and worked on them, kept a consistent strategy and encouraged innovation.

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“I think it offers the opportunities to attract people from elsewhere in Europe, bringing their businesses, to stay after they study here.

That’s been an issue for universities losing talent when people graduate, and generally, offering more opportunities for the existing population. This isn’t about just focusing on the incomers, it’s about improving the quality of life for everybody.”

Sir Michael says Belfast is still far too reliant on fossil fuels and “has a long way to travel to catch up with the UK target of carbon neutrality by 2050”.

Asked whether the pockets of violence seen in Belfast and elsewhere earlier this year, and the current political situation, is a threat to attracting foreign investment, he said: “Of course it is a risk… recent events, although newsworthy and covered across the world, are set against a very different climate as a result of the peace process.”

And on the post-Brexit environment, Sir Michael says we could see “potentially a massive increase in its competitiveness” given its unique position.

“The whole of NI is facing some severe problems at the moment, because you haven’t got things quite right… this is the situation in which we are living in, we now have new trading relationships with other countries and that really focuses on this unique position in NI,” he said. “(It’s a) relatively small area in which the two trading zones come together.”

Sir Michael said it is about “fleetness of foot, the ability to improve the regulations imposed by both trading zones, if you can get that right, then this offers Northern Ireland a really extraordinary opportunity.”

“Housing is a very important part of that. The

land exists, Belfast is well blessed with land which can be developed, so we are underlining the value of a strategic land and development partnerships and the creation of housing investment funds to increase the number of homes in the city core, and to make sure that those homes are available to all sections of the community – not just the gentrification, although providing attractive houses for managers and investors to live in has to be part of the package.”

But he said lowering Northern Ireland’s corporation tax to compete with other areas, including the Republic – something which has been on the agenda here for decades – is not the avenue to pursue.

“I think it produces a race to the bottom and you just keep on competing with others who might, for different reasons, be in a stronger position to do it.”

“Much more important in our location is investment will come to a place which is ahead of the game in terms of the carbon challenge.

It will come to places which offer attractive housing, a lively city centre and a ready supply of skilled young people.” “(It’s about) looking at a global future and recognising the very distinctive position that Belfast and NI occupies.

“Having strong relationships historically with the US, and indeed, having been quite a strong recipient of US investment, but also, we have argued there is much to learn from other cities.

“Belfast needs to put out a hand of friendship to other cities to see what can be emulated and done in conjunction.

“We aren’t just talking about great cities of London or the very important connections with Dublin, but looking for instance, at some of the lessons of the Baltic nations.” π

Listen to the podcast at www.ulsterbusiness.com/interview, on Spotify, SoundCloud and iTunes 125

TOP 100

A considerably more optimistic summer and new players getting in on the game It’s certainly feels like one of the longest years in a very long time. During this period in 2020 we had hoped for a building back for our economy, but were faced with another long-term lockdown. But as John Mulgrew examines this year’s Top 100 list, our firms have been through equally turbulent times before, and there remains some good news on the horizon for new players in the market 126

TOP 100

Looking at this year’s Top 100 list, I’m reminded of some of the standout success stories we’ve all enjoyed here in the last few years. Some of the companies were mere minnows just a short while ago. Now, they are pushing their way up the list, cracking the SME mark and becoming truly giants of industry in the near future.

This year has seen a few newcomers, notably a household supermarket brand, and a burgeoning manufacturer which has undergone both organic growth, and has also been on the acquisition trail.

German discount retail giant Lidl comes in, cold, at number 29. It’s now filing as a limited company in Northern Ireland, thus, giving us a true reflection of the size and scale of its business here.

Turnover sits around £278m, but as the boss here, Conor Boyle tells me in this edition, that’s going to be on the rise for the next set of accounts, along with the profits.

Meanwhile, Lisburn’s Mzuri Group – which trades its main brand as Decora – is a fresh addition to the Top 100, coming in at number 91. Earlier this year the blinds maker took on UK firm TCMM – one of the largest interior wood shutter distributors in the UK.

John Mulgrew

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remember writing the intro for last year’s Top 100 edition and thinking to myself, are we well and truly on the road to putting this pandemic in the rear view mirror?

On the whole, we certainly weren’t. A partial reopening in July then led to a tightening in September, a short two week spree in the Christmas run-up, and then an even more protracted period of lockdown.

I’m considerably more optimistic this time around. I’ve had two jabs in me, as have the majority of my friends and family, and there’s now a sense that we can deal with the continued challenges arising with that level of protection around us.

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Many of the results are for the year ending 2019, or the financial year ending in March 2020 – just before the pandemic impact would have been truly felt. Others, however, such as Fermanagh’s Balcas, FP McCann, Glen Dimplex (which files accounts as Glen Electric Ltd) have accounting periods which take in much of the most difficult and challenging periods amid Covid-19.

The representation of family-owned, and founded firms, remains a key component of the yearly Top 100 list.

Around half of those making the top 10 are still family founded or owned, with a significant number of others further down the list also in the same boat.

We only have two listed companies on the Top 100 – Kainos and First Derivatives. While we still only have a handful of plcs in Northern Ireland (losing a couple to takeovers), a couple

have listed in recent years, but haven’t yet generate significant turnover to make this year’s list.

There still remains an issue among our largest companies and employers in regards to the lack of female representation, right at the top.

A look at the list and we now appear to have only a couple of female chief executives or managing directors – a number which has actually fallen over the last few years, with leading business heads, such as Moy Park’s Janet McCollum, no longer in post.

Looking across the swathes of start-ups, micro businesses, SMEs, and across the world of sectors such as professional services, the number of women leading companies and businesses is definitely higher. So, there’s hope that can translate across our largest companies.

A scan across this year’s list and it’s clear those which are likely to improve their position by the time the 2022 list is compiled, and those which may drop – working in industries which have been hit directly by the pandemic.

But, regardless, our leading firms have been through it of late, and they have weathered those situations. From the impact of the Troubles on some of our longest running firms, the recession in 2008, the lead up to Brexit and the end of the transition period, companies of all shapes and sizes have come face-to-face with a raft of serious challenges and severe risks to their long-term future.

We’re eyeing economic growth of between 6-7% this year, with the latest Ulster University summer report pointing to Northern Ireland’s recovery back to its pre-pandemic base, getting there faster than the UK as a whole, and doing so by 2023.

Let’s hope that’s the direction in which we are all heading. As I’m writing this, there are a number of high-profile foreign direct investment plans on the horizon – including a US legal service giant and fintech firms. With those additional new players into the Northern Ireland economy, and the strength of our own indigenous firms, we are well-placed to come out of this mess better than we entered it, in the long run, economically. π

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FINANCE

How do you solve a problem like the housing shortage?

By Gary Ferris, senior business development manager, Close Brothers Property Finance

Gary Ferris

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ccording to the Construction Employers Federation, the country needs to build 9,000 new homes every year to keep pace with the surging demand to buy and move house.

However, the number of new homes being built has been steadily decreasing over the last two years and now sits over 2,500 short of that target.

When supply is constrained in this way and demand continues to grow, we risk seeing house price inflation, and prices in Northern Ireland have increased by 6% annually, the sharpest rise in five years.

POST FINANCIAL CRASH RECOVERY The pandemic has clearly impacted delivery over the last year, when sites were closed and we had to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our communities. But we still built 6,459 homes during that year, down just 9% annually from 7,085 according to Building Control and Land & Property Services data.

This figure is well below the level needed to sustain demand and, worryingly, it marks the continuation of a downward trend from a high of 8,424 in 2018-2019. It is also well below the dizzying heights of housebuilding pre the 2008 recession, of 15,581 homes (2005-2006), not that we are advocating a return to this level.

SUPPORTING SMES TO INCREASE DELIVERY In Northern Ireland small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the bedrock of the housebuilding sector, with 70% of development companies qualifying as SMEs in terms of turnover according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

This is music to my ears and great news for the wider housing sector, as there is a body of evidence which highlights the local economic

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benefits which SME housebuilders bring to supply chains and communities. SMEs also offer greater local employment opportunities for small contractors and are proven to employ and train more apprentices.

Supporting SMEs is clearly the best way to increase delivery, so understanding their barriers to growth is key. According to the most recent survey of this market in Northern Ireland, published by the National House Building Council (NHBC) in 2017, the planning process and availability of finance are the two main factors impacting growth. While planning is sadly beyond our control, providing development finance is something which we have been supporting the local SME market with since we opened our Northern Ireland office in 2018.

SUPPORTING THE SECTOR THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD Over the last three years Close Brothers Property Finance has agreed lending of over

£35m to SME developers and funded over 200 units funded across the country – primarily small developments of family homes. As part of the FTSE 250 Close Brothers Group we have the financial stability and resilience to ensure that our doors remained firmly open throughout the pandemic. When many retracted from the market, we have continued to grow our loan book; supporting local SME housebuilders to help address the housing shortage and support growing demand across the country.

As we emerge from this pandemic and return to the ‘new normal’, we look forward to continuing our support as a trusted financial partner, and reversing the decline in housing supply and supporting the wider national economy along the way. π If you are an SME housebuilder and would like to discuss development finance options, then please get in touch with Gary Ferris, senior business development manager on 07921068072.

AWARDS

Belfast Telegraph Business Awards: late agri-food firm founder was ‘innovator and a visionary’

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he late Denis Lynn has been described as “an innovator and a visionary” as he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in partnership with Ulster Bank.

Mr Lynn, who died earlier this year, founded Finnebrogue Artisan in Downpatrick, which has grown into one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of sausages to major supermarkets.

A socially-distanced presentation of the awards, the most prestigious competition of its kind in Northern Ireland, took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in south Belfast.

The awards mark their 20th anniversary this year. Carrickfergus automotive components supplier Ryobi, which is part of a Japanese company, was named Outstanding Business of the Year. The honour is given to the most impressive winner among all 14 awards categories.

Jago Pearson, chief strategy officer at Finnebrogue Artisan, accepted the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of Mr Lynn’s family.

Denis Lynn began his food career selling pizzas and pies from the back of a van.

Having founded Lynn’s Country Foods in 1985, he secured his first major breakthrough in 1988 when he discovered a new method for mass-producing chips. It wasn’t long before he became the biggest chip supplier to the Irish market.

Belfast Telegraph business editor, Margaret Canning, Simon Seaton, director of business banking, Ulster Bank and Jago Pearson, chief strategy officer, Finnebrogue Artisan

deer meat in the UK, with contracts to supply top restaurants and supermarkets.

of the judging panel, said Mr Lynn had been the unanimous choice of judges.

By 2006, Denis had expanded Finnebrogue into pork sausages, winning own-label contracts with customers such as Marks & Spencer and Asda.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award is a special award which recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual in business over a significant period in recent years.

Over the past decade, the business has led innovation in the bacon category with the launch of nitrate-free rashers and expanded into plant-based and meat-free products.

“It is a non-entry category which is decided by the judging panel. Since the panel was selected in March the task of each individual member was to identify over the ensuing months a worthy recipient of this prestigious award – an individual who would be regarded as a role model with proven performance and application of the highest standards.

This expansion, led by Mr Lynn, transformed Finnebrogue in 10 years from a small business with revenues of £3m into a major meat category player racking up £142m in sales

by February 2020 and employing more than 1,000 staff.

The proceeds from the sale of the food distribution arm of his business in 1991 gave Denis the resources to buy the Finnebrogue estate in Downpatrick.

It recently opened its fourth new factory in five years – a £25m dedicated plant-based facility in Co Down.

He then established Finnebrogue Artisan which became the largest farmer and processor of

Professor Mark Durkin, executive dean of Ulster University Business School and chairman

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“Denis was unanimously proposed and that this is the first time that this award has been made posthumously, points to a collective view amongst the judges that rather than having Denis’s incredible achievements commemorated they should instead be recognised and celebrated as a living example of excellence and a case study in entrepreneurial business practice.” π

NEWS

‘One of the most challenging years’ for Belfast Harbour The latest report for Belfast Harbour shows an organisation holding up amid tough times, and maintaining the bulk of revenues, while suffering the ill-effects of Covid on tourism, and the challenges that remain with Brexit, John Mulgrew reports

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elfast Harbour says significant risks and uncertainties remain around Brexit amid “one of the most challenging years” it has faced.

But the port says it managed to substantially recover most of its trade sectors by the fourth quarter of 2020, following the impact of Covid. But in that time, just one out of the scheduled 129 cruise ships made a call here.

It posted group revenue of £62.8m, which was down around 4.7% from the previous year.

During that period it posted pre-tax profits of £18.5m.

The harbour said its trade levels in 2020 were “positively impacted by businesses planning for the end of the Brexit transition period”.

“With stockpiling taking place in the last six weeks of 2020, trade figures were boosted, but with a consequent quieter start to 2021 trading.”

Overall port levels were down around 3%, to 23.5 metric tonnes, while bulk cargo was 2% up on 2019.

On investment, Belfast Harbour says it has a committed pipeline of £87.4m of schemes at year end.

“Without doubt, 2020 was one of the most challenging years in recent memory with the Covid-19 pandemic impacting on every part of our society,” Belfast Harbour chairman, David Dobbin, said.

“I am pleased to report that Belfast Harbour’s crisis and mitigation plans worked well

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throughout the pandemic, allowing us to keep the port open on a 24/7 basis throughout the entire crisis, with service and trade uninterrupted, and to deliver a solid set of results. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff and the entire port community, to whom I want to express my heartfelt thanks.”

Joe O’Neill

Belfast Harbour said the “Covid-19 pandemic impacted Belfast’s cruise business severely, with only one vessel making a call to Belfast in 2020, out of the 129 that had been originally scheduled”.

“We are working with our partners in Visit Belfast, to develop a Covid-19 secure plan and ensure we are ready for the safe return of cruise ships to Belfast in due course.”

substantially recovered by most trade sectors by the fourth quarter of the year and we are encouraged by the levels of trade seen in the first half of 2021.”

On Brexit, the harbour said that “significant risks and uncertainties remain, however, particularly from the ending of the grace periods, and Belfast Harbour will continue to monitor these risks”.

Looking ahead, the harbour says “Covid-19 restrictions have continued into the first half of 2021, with a consequential impact on port trade and estate revenues”.

In the last year, the port got the green light for the expansion of its Belfast Harbour Studios, and welcomed its first production from Netflix in 2020.

“The vaccination programme should allow a gradual relaxation in Covid-19 restrictions, allowing for the prospect of some recovery in the second half of 2021.

“Construction of the next development phase of the studios is currently undergoing a tender process,” it said.

“We are mindful however of the risk of new Covid-19 variants and further waves of the pandemic which make it difficult to accurately forecast activity for the year ahead.

Joe O’Neill, chief executive of Belfast Harbour, said that in spite of the “unprecedented challenges during 2020” the harbour produced a “solid and resilient financial performance”.

“Initial impacts from Covid-19 were

“Despite this risk, we anticipate that in 2021 trade through Belfast Harbour and estate activity will be ahead of 2020, with the potential for growth as the economy gradually reopens.” π

NEWS IN BRIEF

Ulster Bank reintroduces 95% mortgages Ulster Bank will introduce 95% mortgages in support of first time buyers in Northern Ireland as part of a wider product offering

by NatWest Group.

That will include products such as 95% mortgages and ‘green mortgages’ in support of young people and first time buyers.

These products will become available from July 23 through its direct channels including in branch, over the phone and online.

New and existing Ulster Bank customers will now be able to access green mortgage

Terry Robb

purchase products, which offers a preferential interest rate to customers who are purchasing a property with an energy efficiency rating of A or B. “We know it has been an uncertain number of months for people wanting to own their own home or to move property,” Terry Robb, head of retail banking, Northern Ireland at Ulster Bank, said.

“This move will help our customers in Northern Ireland through a wider range of competitive mortgage deals.”

Michael Harding, Jacques Hill, Claudine Owens, Sam Lynas and Chris Trotter

Haru secures fresh funding of £450,00 Tech start-up Haru has landed £450,000 of investment in a bid to expand and grow.

James Joyce, business development director, with Michael Stewart, director of hospitality

Haymarket bar opens in Belfast Belfast’s newest bar has opened its doors following a £250,000 investment in the heart of the city centre.

providing further space for outdoors dining and areas for guests to pre-book for celebrations or corporate meet-ups.

Haymarket on Gresham Street is taking over the former Hudson Bar site. It’s being run by pub stalwart, Michael Stewart, who was formerly a director of the Hudson several years ago.

Haymarket will also include a gin bar on first floor, with an expanded drinks menu will offer cocktails and claims it will “champion” local beer and spirits.

It says it’s creating around 50 new jobs.

Haymarket says it will serve up an all-day menu of street food “including loaded fries, nachos, pizzas, burgers and vegan dishes”.

It will include a large outdoor arcade

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“We are thrilled to bring a new and exciting offering to Belfast, which reinforces the hospitality sector’s determination and commitment to bounce back from the pandemic,” Michael Stewart, director of hospitality, said.

The e-commerce start-up secured the cash from the Covid-19 Equity Investment Fund (CEIF), Co Fund NI, and private investors through the Halo & Business Angel Network (HBAN) Ulster Network.

Belfast-based Haru offers charities and brands an online selling service. It has more than 115 charity shops from across the UK registered on the platform and expects that number to increase to 400 by the end of 2021.

“Although 2020 was not an easy time to raise funds, it did solidify the importance of our offering as more consumers than ever turned to online shopping,” cofounder, Jacques Hill, said.

“We are also seeing more shoppers than ever looking for a sustainable option and our service gives charities and brands the opportunity to provide that option.”

NEWS IN BRIEF Sara Venning and Nichola Mallon

UTV wins top environmental award UTV’s news and programmes have achieved Albert certification, awarded as a result of its environmental commitments and sustainable working practices.

£344m funding for NI Water More than £344m is being put forward to fund water and sewerage services here in the next year, it’s been revealed.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has allocated the funds to NI Water as part of her 2021/22 budget.

“The beginning of this £12m upgrade shows exactly why it is essential that NI Water continues to receive sufficient funding to enable the continued improvement of our water and wastewater system, and to deliver the infrastructure required for housing, jobs and economic growth,” she said.

Sara Venning, NI Water chief executive, said: “The investment at Derg Water Treatment Works is one of our biggest investments in the water infrastructure and is a great example of what can be done, when the necessary funding is in place.

“We were delighted to have the opportunity to show the Minister around the site where the upgrade will take place and look forward to forging ahead with our ambitious investment programme to deliver a world-class water and sewerage service.”

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Founded in 2011 and governed by an industry consortium, Albert is an environmental organisation aiming to encourage the television and film production industry to reduce waste and its carbon footprint. It supports everyone working in film and television to understand their opportunities to create positive environmental change, and to tackle environmental impact.

“We’re very proud that UTV as part of the ITV regional newsrooms are the UK’s first sustainable regional news team, having received accreditation in August 2020,” Simon Clemison, head of news and programmes at UTV, said.

“We all have a part to play in tackling climate change and achieving albert certification is an

Tony Curry, Simon Clemison, and Denise Smyth

important step forward in the way we produce and broadcast our news bulletins. We need to not only reduce the impact of our production, but truthfully communicate the climate agenda to our viewers as well.”

Business in the Community unveils member app Business in the Community has launched a new members app in partnership with Thrive.App to help transform communication with its members.

The partnership with Thrive.App has been formed to ensure Business in the Community members will have access to specialist member only resources, networking, opportunities, programmes and initiatives.

Lisa McIlvenna, deputy managing director of Business in the Community, said: “We wanted a more innovative, engaging and easily accessible way for our members to avail of our bespoke resources, networking and exclusive member only opportunities.

Lisa McIlvenna and James Scott

“The launch of our new platform will provide a way for us to future-proof our membership communications and engagement, with a central hub of resources and materials that are accessible to all members at any time from their own mobile devices and on desktop.”

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CONSTRUCTION

Construction faces ‘perfect storm’ which threatens to destabilise sector

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orthern Ireland’s construction sector is warning Stormont that a “perfect storm” of unprecedented surging material costs of up to 50% “threatens to rapidly destabilise the sector” and lead to delays across major schemes and job losses, it can be revealed.

With global shortages and delays, along with materials and costs rising at their “sharpest in a generation”, the sector has written to the Executive to call for an intervention to “prevent a complete market failure”.

It’s understood raw material costs are up around 15% this year – buoyed by Brexit and Covid – while some have soared as high as 50%, with others, unavailable, according to the Construction Employers’ Federation (CEF).

That’s making existing developments and tendered work – especially public sector contracts – increasingly expensive, with some firms getting to the point where they aren’t able to make money on deals.

Many public sector tenders do not take into consideration rising raw material costs, or other unforeseeable changes, in the overall agreed tender value.

And Northern Ireland could also be feeling the pressure worse than those elsewhere in the UK, with a chunk of suppliers no longer dealing with clients here, following the Brexit transition.

The CEF is calling on all publicly-funded clients to “engage with contractors and with us to discuss options to mitigate this product availability and cost phenomenon” which it says “threatens to rapidly destabilise the construction sector and lead to business failures and aborted/halted work programmes”.

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“The CEF has issued a letter to all public sector clients as well as the relevant Northern Ireland Executive ministers,” Mark Spence, managing director, CEF, told Ulster Business.

“In this, we have sought to draw to their attention the extraordinary pressures being borne by contractors in the current market conditions where there are significant material shortages and rapidly rising prices.

“Due to the complex mixture of Covid, global logistics, material shortages and resurgent global demand, we are seeing price increases in some materials of 50% since January on top of complete breakdown in materials availability which shows no sign of levelling off.”

The CEF represents around 800 firms here, employing 30,000 staff directly and a further 65,000 across the wider supply chain.

Mr Spence said the scale of rising costs “has never been seen before and the industry needs urgent intervention by the NI Executive to prevent a complete market failure”.

“Unlike selling goods over a counter, contractors must tender a fixed price now for work which may take them a number of years to deliver. It is simply impossible and unreasonable to ask them to price such risks which were completely unforeseeable even six months ago and which continue to be highly erratic.

“Government needs to agree a reasonable and independently verifiable mechanism to allow for such price fluctuations.”

In its letter to Executive ministers and departments, the CEF says members “report long delivery times are severely limiting their ability to meet deadlines and concerns about triggering contractual” performance indicators

and penalties”.

“Many contractors today are trying to complete works they priced several years ago, pre-Northern Ireland Protocol and Brexit, and pre Covid, and they are haemorrhaging money and at risk of collapse and losing jobs,” Mr Spence said.

“Government should not be content to stand by and watch this happen.”

It blames work lead times and delays in deliveries on Brexit and a “global issue currently arising from shipping freight logistics, shortages of key materials and resurgent demand in China and the US”.

The CEF also raises concerns over the prospect of “further product supply and costs pressures arising because of the requirement for GB manufactured product to be suitably certified for use in Northern Ireland”, under the existing EU testing measures.

It comes as 95% of manufacturers here reported increased material costs, with 79% also highlighting delays in supply chains, according to a survey from Manufacturing NI and Tughans. The letter to the Executive departments also cites the latest Ulster Bank purchasing managers’ survey. It says company output costs are increasing at the fastest pace since the survey began. π

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INTERVIEW

Kainos doubles profits with plans to hire 500 new staff Kainos has firmly cemented its place as one of Northern Ireland’s biggest and fastest growing technology firms. Its chief executive Brendan Mooney tells John Mulgrew about its further ambitious recruiting plans and doubling profits

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orthern Ireland IT giant Kainos has more than doubled pre-tax profits to £57.1m and plans to add another 500 jobs to its workforce this year.

Brendan Mooney, the company’s chief executive, told Ulster Business the large margins were down to a number of reasons, including a reduction in costs amid the pandemic due to a significant reduction in travel and events.

The company also saw sales rise by almost a third, increasing to £234.7m for the year ending March 31, 2021.

Kainos landed a few major NHS contracts last year around Covid-19 to help support the digital infrastructure.

Looking towards its sizeable profits in the last year, Mr Mooney said: “There is no travel. We booked our first flight in 14 months (recently). “(That) and in person events, training, conferences – which have switched to virtual.

That brings cost savings. The third thing is about profit improvement.

Mr Mooney says while the company’s offices across the globe are now open, around 97% of staff are working from home.

“All our offices are open, with 97% (of staff) working from home – that remains the clear guidance to them, until the vaccination programme is rolled out fully… the NHS is planning for a surge in September. We are being cautious putting people in harm’s way until everything is understood.”

He said the firm will likely return to some level of hybrid-working, with around 85% of workers in favour of a balance of office and home.

Mr Mooney said while a hybrid approach is likely to remain, people will also realise that the office environment can be a “much more pleasant working experience”.

Kainos has now grown its headcount to 2,024, up more than 300 on a year earlier. But Mr Mooney says the firm could hire a further 500 staff this year.

“People have forgotten what it’s like,” he said. “(With) certain parts of projects, it’s better to be in the room to build that rapport. We have signed a lot of big contracts over a Zoom call, clearly it can be done.”

“(There has been) underlying very strong demand in our markets and across all the sectors,” he said.

“It has had very little to do with Covid.

Healthcare went from £22m to £41m, but those programmes… track and trace, these things existed outside of the pandemic.”

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He said companies are now becoming increasingly aware of their social and environmental impact, which includes cutting down on non-essential travel.

Mr Mooney said following a four-month recruitment freeze at the beginning of the

pandemic, it took on around 300 new staff in the following six months.

And he said he expects to add a further 500 staff over the course of this year. The firm received 34,000 job applications last year over a period when it recruited just over 300 new staff, Mr Mooney revealed.

He spoke as the firm, NI’s only representative in the FTSE 250, announced it had more than doubled adjusted pre-tax profits to £57.1m in the year to the end of March.

It was the 11th year of growth in a row for the Belfast-based firm, with revenue up 31% to £234.7m.

Last year, the Belfast-based firm, which has offices across 15 countries, also continued to welcome new staff to the business, and also saw those join through its graduate intake this year, along with 150 vacancies for staff, right across the business.

“I think the people who have been working from home and supporting our clients have just done an amazing job,” Mr Mooney told Ulster Business last year.

“And customers have also been really supportive… it has been a surprisingly positive reaction across the organisation.

“We are currently advertising for 150 vacancies across the organisation, so these things point to a strong demand for digital services, and strong demand for digital talent.” π

INTERVIEW

Brendan Mooney

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TECHNOLOGY

Apple’s HomePod mini: great… but only if you’re part of the ecosystem Apple has released its more affordable smart speaker, the HomePod mini. Adrian Weckler takes a closer look at it and how it shapes up against the cheaper stalwarts already on the market

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pple’s HomePod mini offers a distinctly better sound than Amazon’s similarly-sized Echo Dot or Google’s Nest mini. It also integrates really well for smart controls with any iPhone, iPad or Mac that you have (including a useful role as quality external speakers for an Apple TV).

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On the other hand, it costs two to three times as much as its ‘mini’ rivals; you’ll get a larger Echo or Nest for the same price, both of which have more smart home functionality.

Is the combination of sound quality and integration with other Apple products and services a compelling reason to buy one?

I’ve been testing two HomePod mini speakers together for the last week and here’s what I’ve found.

First, design. The HomePod mini design is relatively attractive as smart speakers go. This is an item you can comfortably put on almost any living area shelf or surface and not feel

TECHNOLOGY

Price: £99 Pros: the best sound from a mini speaker, easy to add a second one, great iPhone integration Cons: it’s more expensive than rivals, doesn’t play Spotify natively, useless with Androids partially to its design, which manages the sound in such a way as to add more oomph.

When you pair two of them together, the audio becomes noticeably bigger and richer, rivalling bigger, more expensive speakers.

like you’re polluting the aesthetic with a tech gadget. It’s a pleasing spherical shape, finished in a nice mesh design, with a flat bottom and top. It’s almost exactly the same size (just over three inches high) and weight as its closest mini-speaker rival, Amazon’s Echo Dot.

But for me, it’s undeniably nicer-looking. The flat touch-sensitive top lights up in different colours depending on what the speaker is asked to do. (You’ll see bits of dust and fingerprints accumulate on the black models.)

You can tap it to change volume, pause something or start Siri. There’s no display here, but everything feels really premium. The latticed mesh finish all around the speaker looks and feels really nice.

The setup process is typically easy – you just bring your iPhone close to it and its sets up in much the same way a pair of AirPods would.

This can’t be underestimated as a selling point for HomePod mini – if you have an iPhone, you simply won’t struggle to set it up. The speaker’s unremovable power cable has a USB-C connection at the end of it. And yes, a plug does come in the box, something which can’t be taken for granted these days with small home-tech devices. There are lots of speakers you can buy. Apple’s HomePod mini is supposed to be a gateway into smart home functionality.

To get into this, you’ll need compatible accessories that work with Siri and ‘Homekit’ smart functionality (Apple’s version of Alexa or Google Assistant). There are plenty out there, from lightbulbs to thermostats to security cameras, even if it’s a small percentage of what the larger smart home ecosystems currently support. I connected a smartplug that allowed me to control whatever was connected to it using voice commands through the speaker.

One advantage that Apple’s smart home

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control has over its rivals is the comparative ease in adding new devices. Its ‘Home’ app is relatively idiot-proof.

You see this when you try to do things such as play music from more than one speaker at the same time, or connect your HomePod mini to, say, your Apple TV for better audio when playing a movie.

These things can take a while through Alexa or Google, with plenty of fiddling required. As for audio uses other than music, you’ll get a fairly full array of radio stations by asking for them individually (through TuneIn). Audiobooks and podcasts are a more mixed bag – apps like Audible have to be played manually (through AirPlay) from your iPhone.

Are there downsides to HomePod mini speakers? Cost might be one. For the same price as a Homepod mini, you’ll get a full sized Amazon Echo. And while the mini beats the smaller Echo Dot on audio, the larger Amazon device has it beat.

But the biggest downside is for Spotify users.

While you can play Spotify on the HomePod mini, it’s not ‘native’ – you can’t ask for tracks or albums or playlists over Siri. Instead, you have to manually do it from your phone over AirPlay. For now, this is really an audio companion to Apple Music.

A final point on compatibility: if you’re an Android phone user, this is not the smart speaker for you. Apple makes no bones about the fact that this is for the Apple ecosystem only. It doesn’t easily pair via Bluetooth, like most wireless speakers do, with other platforms or gadgets. That means no Windows laptop or Android phones or tablets – this is really just for iDevices. π

Smart functionality aside, one of the strongest selling points for the HomePod mini is the sound quality. I’m generally a fan of Amazon’s Echo speakers as the industry standard, but there’s no question that the Homepod mini has better audio quality than the corresponding ‘mini’ Echo, the Echo Dot. That comes with a big caveat – the Apple device is almost twice the price of the Amazon one without necessarily being twice as powerful. More on that below.

This is partially down to the tech inside and

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CONSTRUCTION

The Derry’s Cross development in Plymouth

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n just under 30 years, EHA Group has grown to be one of the UK’s leading full-service construction firms. Headquartered in the north west of Ireland, the fast-growing company also has offices in London, and Belfast, taking the lead in design and build, civil engineering, general contracting and specialist joinery projects across the UK. The company employs over 90 staff across these three locations, many of whom have more than 25 years’ experience in the construction industry, working in a wide range of sectors including private and social residential, commercial, retail, light industrial, student accommodation, leisure and hotels, and more.

In each of their projects, EHA Group prides itself on consistently delivering the finest properties in terms of quality and design, and to the highest health and safety and environmental standards.

“For each development, we always ensure to build strong working relationships between EHA, our design partners and our clients,” EHA Group founder and chief executive, Edward Allingham, says.

“This collaboration is fundamental to a projects’ success, and we always appreciate the feedback we get from our direct communication with clients. The biggest compliment a client can give is hiring us again, and we are proud to have developed several multi-project relationships over the past 29 years, with repeat clients making up circa 70% of our turnover annually.”

And recently, EHA contracts manager, Jordan Allingham, has been shortlisted for the prestigious UK Construction Manager of the Year Awards by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The Construction Manager of

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EHA Group leading the way in construction projects across the UK the Year Award recognises the achievements of construction managers who have shown exceptional skills to inspire, lead, and enable the delivery of particularly complex projects.

Jordan received this nomination for his work on the Derry’s Cross project in the heart of Plymouth city centre where he and his team transformed one of Plymouth’s much-loved buildings into a mixed-use block of hotel suites, retail units and student accommodation.

the former department store into a 500bed student accommodation block, an 110-bedroom, top-floor Premier Inn hotel and 14 individual retail and commercial units. With a gross internal area of over 300,000 sq ft, this was one of the most complex projects that EHA Group has undertaken.”

“Derry’s Department Store was once one of Plymouth’s best known landmarks which, after closing in 2010, left a gaping hole in Plymouth’s town centre,” Jordan says.

The project involved up to 300 personnel working on the site at once, with work commencing day-by-day on a variety of tasks including steelwork, cladding, foundations and fit out. Unlike a new build, where the sequence of work involves trades dropping off as time progresses, the Derry’s Cross project was consistently demanding on all fronts.

“The £45m design and build project involved demolition, alteration, and extension of

“One particular challenge we faced was sustainability, and we were determined to

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of Building (CIOB – the largest and most influential professional body for construction) in recognition of his excellent work).

The CIOB is well-recognised across the globe for their dedication to the highest quality and ethical values within building practices. Jordan has also been shortlisted by the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) for Construction Person of the Year and for Rising Star in the industry – which recognises construction workers who have been in the industry less than 10 years and have shown innovative thinking, astute business acumen, made a significant contribution to a project and acted as a role model for others in the industry.

As Jordan says however, this project involved a substantial group effort, with many requiring recognition for their committed and excellent work. achieve the BREEAM score of ‘Very Good’ for social and economic sustainability performance,” Jordan says.

Developing more than 150 species on the green and brown roof, against a report requirement of 30, was a significant contributor to the score.

“Attracting subcontractors from back home or central England to Plymouth was a real challenge due to the commute,” Jordan says.

“With the nearest airports in Exeter or Bristol, most site staff had long commutes, which was a struggle in itself, with people regularly travelling from Derry, Newcastle, London, Liverpool and Manchester.”

With the project located in the far south west of England, it faced significant challenges including connectivity and the availability of sufficient skilled construction resources for a project of the scale of Derry’s Cross.

After much hard work, the EHA Group team is delighted with the end-result, with the multipurpose building now a glowing feature in Plymouth city centre. Jordan has also recently been admitted into the Chartered Institute

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“The project involved a lot of long days, and despite the challenges we faced, our team can take pride in the fantastic project we’ve managed to create. I would like to thank everybody involved for their hard work and dedication.” π EHA Group is one of the UK’s leading construction firms based in the north west of Ireland. To get in contact email info@ehagroup. co.uk, visit www.ehagroup.co.uk call 028 7181 1634, or visit Allingham House on the McLean Road, Eglinton.

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ANALYSIS

NI to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023: report The latest report from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre points to a positive short-term picture for the economy here, with Northern Ireland returning to pre-pandemic economic levels by 2023 – potentially quicker than the UK as a whole, writes John Mulgrew

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orthern Ireland could return to pre-Covid economic levels by the middle of 2023 – faster than the UK – but following a sharper hit in the last 12 months.

The latest summer report from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre says overall “the short-term prospects for the local economy are positive”.

It’s predicting growth of 5.8% this year – slightly lower than some other forecasts, which point to around 6-7% of growth. That follows a contraction of 10.4% in 2020.

“Overall, a much more positive picture than was anticipated just a few months ago, but risks remain to broader growth,” it says.

Northern Ireland’s growth is predicted to slow to 4.1% in 2022, then to 2.2% in 2023 and 1.8% in 2024.

“Reliance on consumer spending is also very significant in the Northern Ireland economy and is another reason the local economy would have experienced a severe contraction on a scale similar to the UK. However, importantly it also suggests a sharp recovery as restrictions are lifted.

“This is good news in the short term, but the sustainability of any growth phase will depend on a wide range of other factors such as the strength of economic growth across our main trading partners.”

“Northern Ireland is ranked seventh out of the 12 UK regions in median household income after housing costs, 3.25% below the UK average.

Speaking about the true impact to the UK economy, and Northern Ireland, the report says the UK’s approach to calculating ‘real’ GDP had a “significant comparative impact” on how its overall performance was measured against other nations.

“This suggests that the level of additional savings and hence the boost to consumer spending may also be marginally lower in NI than across the UK as a whole, but importantly a boost should still be expected.”

“The very significant interruption to public sector output in 2020 (ie fewer operations undertaken in hospitals and fewer lessons delivered in schools) for similar or higher levels of public expenditure, technically resulted in a

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Gareth Hetherington

high level of public sector inflation,” it says.

“This in turn has significantly reduced ‘real’ GDP relative to ‘nominal’ GDP in 2020.

From a Northern Ireland perspective, Government spending represents a greater proportion of GDP than the UK average.

In previous recessions this would have cushioned the local economy from some of the more severe impacts but this time around the calculation approach should show an exaggeration of the UK impact ie, more severe contraction but faster recovery.

“However, posting strong economic growth numbers could have a positive impact on household and business confidence, which in turn could help sustain consumer spending and business investment. Whilst many economies are rebounding quickly as restrictions are lifted, the ability to sustain growth beyond the initial boost is critical to

ANALYSIS

Gareth Hetherington

DIRECTOR OF THE ULSTER UNIVERSITY ECONOMIC POLICY CENTRE

longer term wealth creation and importantly restoring the public finances.”

And on inflation, the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre says it “maintains a benign inflationary outlook over the short term”.

“But with the scale of global quantitative easing funding huge levels of government spending, the prospect of higher inflation is creeping back onto the economic agenda.

“Inflation currently sits at 1.5% and has been below 2.5% for most of the last 25 years, which may create a complacency and an under-appreciation of the risks of rising inflation. Commodity prices are determined in international markets, and with major economies such as the US and China quickly returning to growth, upward inflationary pressure is inevitable.” π

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“Economic prospects are much more positive than a few short months ago and as we enter a period where restrictions are now being eased, there is an increased sense that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The supports provided by both Westminster and Stormont have prevented an economic catastrophe and many businesses are showing significant resilience and returning quickly to growth.

The pathway to the new normal will have its challenges, but the recovery journey is underway.

“Although employers will have to start contributing to staff salaries in July 2021, since November last year, employers have had to meet the cost of National Insurance contributions and pension contributions for their furloughed staff. Intuitively, that would have been the point when firms would have started the process of letting staff go, therefore it is encouraging that a spike in unemployment did not occur at that time.

“In addition, vacancy rates are currently over 80% of 2019 averages and new hire data shows appointments running at approximately 90% of pre-Covid levels, so job opportunities will exist for those who are made redundant by their current employer.

“Inflation currently sits at 1.5% and has been below 2.5% for most of the last 25 years, which may give rise to complacency and an under appreciation of the risks of rising inflation. With rising global commodity prices alongside a tightening global labour market, all the signals point to increasing prices. This really matters because higher inflation means higher interest rates and that is a problem for both households and perhaps more significantly, governments who have borrowed huge sums and are running multi-decade high deficits.

“A combination of high government deficits and high interest rates would be very damaging for the global economy.”

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NEWS

PwC creating up to 770 new jobs in Northern Ireland

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ore than 700 jobs look set to be created as PwC expands and invest £40m in a new research centre here.

The investment will create 771 new technology and operational jobs over the next five years. The new centre is part of PwC’s Operate division, which is based in Belfast.

PwC is setting up its new Advanced Research and Engineering Centre will be based at its Merchant Square headquarters at Wellington Place in the city centre.

Invest NI is offering PwC £9.8m towards the new centre.

“Our goal is to turn amazing ideas into technology that’ll solve complex business problems into the next decade and beyond,” Ian McConnell, partner lead for PwC Operate, said.

“We’re creating a team of engineers and technologists who’ll work within a bigger innovation ecosystem, including government, academia and business, to help our clients take giant leaps, rather than incremental steps.

“It’s a huge statement of confidence from PwC UK’s Executive Board in both the Operate business and our local talent. The strength of our people has already enabled us to turn Operate into PwC’s fastest-growing division and I’m very proud that this gives us the opportunity to create hundreds more highly skilled jobs in Northern Ireland.”

And former Economy Minister, Paul Frew, said: “This significant investment by PwC is a vote of confidence in the talent of our local workforce and the success it has already achieved here. With almost £10m of support from Invest Northern Ireland towards the new centre, this investment will lead to the creation of almost 800 new jobs which will generate

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Ian McConnell, partner lead PwC Operate, Kevin Holland, Invest NI, former Economy Minister Paul Frew, and Deborah Stevenson, senior manager PwC Operate UK

approximately £25m in additional annual salaries for our economy.

Kevin Holland, Invest NI chief executive, said: “We’ve been working with PwC since 2011 and, with our support, the local management have successfully positioned NI as a key hub for PwC UK, helping to grow its presence in Northern Ireland from 650 employees to over 2,500.

Our goal is to turn amazing ideas into technology that’ll solve complex business problems into the next decade and beyond

“I am delighted that we have been able to secure the company’s further growth ambitions in Northern Ireland, with the Research and Engineering Centre as the latest outcome of our working relationship.

“PwC is an excellent example of a company recognising the importance of investing in research and development (R&D) and its people for future growth. Our R&D support will help it to develop new, innovative products and ways of working, streamlining processes for its people and providing a unique competitive advantage.

“Our support towards new jobs will help to build a world-leading Research and Engineering team in the heart of Belfast, while also securing PwC’s commitment to recruit a significant number of additional roles that will generate significant economic impact for Northern Ireland.” π

TOP 100

Our giants of construction are world leaders… but new challenges await Some of Northern Ireland’s largest firms making the Top 100 list work across the construction sector. And while it continues to support and cement the bedrock of our economy, Covid and rising costs have caused challenges for the industry, writes Mark Spence, managing director of the Construction Employers Federation

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he publication of the 2021 Top 100 reflects a construction industry that has largely overcome a global pandemic only to be faced with a global materials shortage. Yet it is clear our largest construction businesses are thriving not just in the local market but, critically, in GB and Ireland – once again showcasing their ability to deliver worldclass projects.

While much of the economy stalled during 2020, construction continued to support the configuration of vital health infrastructure, maintain utilities and develop logistics infrastructure.

As soon as safe site operating procedures had been implemented, this allowed a cautious return to sites last summer which was uninterrupted in the new year, unlike our colleagues in the Republic.

In Northern Ireland, this has meant that progress has been achieved in the built environment, whether that be the skyline in Belfast where the new Ulster University campus and student accommodation are repopulating a substantial area of the city or the many surface car parks that have been returned to use in efficient buildings to house flexible working and city living.

Our public transport has shown its ability both to repurpose existing historic buildings in the north west and to build a landmark modern hub in Belfast. Our further education colleges

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and leisure centres are leaders in terms of their energy efficiency and can start to deliver the societal benefits for which they were designed.

The local construction industry, by comparison with the rest of these isles, relies to an unusual extent upon government projects. This has been a lifeline as the commercial sector tentatively emerges into the post-pandemic environment and reassesses its requirements.

Meantime, through the delivery of muchneeded housing, school upgrades, hospital reconfiguration and road network upgrades, construction plays a full part in the steady improvement of the infrastructure we all require to lead our lives.

the establishment of the Executive’s new Procurement Board which brings together industry and public sector to jointly design procurement policy to ensure government contracts for quality services and suppliers are fairly treated and encouraged in aspects such as generating social value. A main work strand of this new board is the improvement in published pipelines of work to give confidence to the sector and allow it to plan and invest in skills and talent.

Many of the Top 100 construction companies have consciously sought growth beyond these shores and now account for the bulk of their turnover through work in GB, demonstrating how local expertise and know-how can deliver high quality work.

On skills, with latest projections suggesting opportunities for 5,000 new recruits up to 2025, the challenge for the industry is lifting the veil on the range of exciting, modern and often technology-focused roles that can compete with other career routes. In a recent EY survey, construction was behind only digital economy and healthcare in terms of sectors perceived to be driving the economic recovery and it is an exciting time of change for new talent.

There are challenges ahead which pre-date Covid and are seemingly more politically difficult to address. The chronic underfunding of our wastewater systems has never been the most attractive topic but, month on month as the scale of the impact on the delivery of housing, commercial premises and urban regeneration schemes of all types become apparent, our elected representatives need to be ambitious to solve a critical weakness in our economic strategy.

The pace of change of modern ways of working has been remarkable; progress that has been made in months would likely otherwise have been implemented slowly over many years. Yet here we are, many jobs have become completely separated from notional workplaces, many more regard the work office as somewhere to specifically engage with colleagues. Where does this leave construction, a job that necessarily is tied to site locations?

On a more positive note, the last year saw

It is not a straightforward comparison with

TOP 100

Mark Spence

other mainstream opportunities open to young talent. Construction sites of course have a beginning, middle and end, job locations are flexible and offer travel for those keen to pursue exciting opportunities, whilst retaining their employment in NI. Finding the balance has and always will be a challenge.

On climate change, we are building understanding and practice in environmental improvement on our journey to ‘Co2nstructZero’ and NI will again be leading the way on many critical initiatives.

Across the industry, there is a strong and united view that Northern Ireland’s political infighting has gone on for far too long. We

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look to the Executive and Assembly to move to a more mature stage of political debate and to work together on issues that are larger than any one ministry or party.

through innovation, productivity increases, ambition and tenacity, properties that have long characterised our industry and the individuals within it.

While capital budgets have held steady this year, there is less certainty about spending in the years ahead and, with inflationary pressure, what those budgets will deliver. However, there is growing confidence about the recovery of the economy and with that comes increasing demand for all types of construction.

Moving forward is also about ensuring the industry is fit for the future. We must focus on the growing skills gap and demand for talented young people to consider exciting careers in construction.

Our industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience and durability through many phases of political, social and economic crises and will no doubt survive the current circumstances

To drive opportunity, power entrepreneurs and empower our youth, our industry needs to do all we can to invest in attracting the best talent and skills and ensuring that construction companies remain prominent in the Top 100 for many years to come. π

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ANALYSIS

Pressures are eased

by NI Water plan As NI Water eyes a new longer development plan, John Simpson breaks down the numbers and takes a look at what this capital injection will mean, and how it will begin to ease pressures

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orthern Ireland Water is now on the cusp of implementing a new, much larger approved six-year development plan.

Water services capacity has emerged as a constraint on development projects in many places in Northern Ireland.

The new plans will gradually ease the tensions of recent years, caused by inadequate finances to extend and maintain the infrastructure needed by the water industry.

The annual cycle, dealing with frustrated ambitions in different parts of the construction industry seeking connections and services to building activity, has not yet gone away but readers of the draft determination plans for 2021-2027 will see the evidence of a more ambitious planning framework.

NI Water is a government-owned organisation whose development is monitored by the Utility Regulator.

A new price control plan for the period 2021 to 2017 has been in preparation for three years.

The draft business plan was outlined in January 2020, and, following detailed discussions with the Regulator, has been formalised into a draft determination which is now ready for final approval.

The new plan will continue the current financing arrangements which mean that water services for private households are paid for out of tax revenue accruing to Stormont.

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In contrast to the arrangements in England where each domestic household pays water rates, Northern Ireland continues to avoid domestic water charges. This system exists alongside direct water charges paid by businesses.

The financial arrangements are managed so that NI Water reports conventionally as a trading organisation with a revenue subsidy.

In turn the business pays interest on its borrowings and is able to pay a dividend to its shareholder, the NI Government.

Today there are over 100 places across Northern Ireland where limits on capacity, particularly to cope with drainage, waste water or sewerage disposal, can cause overflow or occasional flooding.

Property developers know that these capacity problems can still be a constraint to deliver approved plans.

The bottlenecks of inadequate annual funding to extend networks and increase capacity will not all disappear at once.

However, NI Water is confidently saying the new six year plan, agreed with the Utility Regulator, can be described as “starting to make things better”.

Year-by-year the plan shows a stable annual operating budget, marginally squeezed in the absence of annual inflation proofed allowances.

To say that the new regulator approved plan will start to make things better seems like a

potential understatement when judged on the basis of the financial commitments.

The critical feature, underpinning an ability to enhance capacity, reduce overspill and facilitate an improved housing programme, is a planned annual increase in capital investment.

The capital allocation will be:  2021-22 - £179m  2022-23 - £251m  2023-24 - £327m  2024-25 - £438m The capital budget will then, subject to evolving planning processes, remain above £400m for the final two years of the six year programme.

These spending plans, now accepted by the Utility Regulator, represent a major effort to compensate for several years where the capacity deficits on different parts of the water infrastructure were gradually increasing.

This led to serious constraints on many aspects of local economic development.

A series of major capital programmes is in preparation. Critical to this programme will be a large project in the Belfast area to ease the capacity constraints particularly to cope with areas vulnerable to flooding and also to enhance sewerage services.

More than £500m has been earmarked for a Belfast-centred Living With Water Programme.

NI Water describes its new business plan as challenging and ambitious.

ANALYSIS

It amounts to a capital delivery plan which will cost over £2bn. An emerging feature for water services planning is an awareness of the need for action to prepare for climate change, including decarbonisation of services.

A one-megawatt electrolysis plant converting water to hydrogen (costing £5m) is being commissioned to be integrated into the treatment of waste water.

Part of the test for the success of the up-scaling of the plans, now approved by the regulator, will be the call on the NI Executive to deliver the funding as committed in the final determination. π

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INTERVIEW

‘Our business has grown because of our people’ Sinead Higgins, cofounder of Antrim-based Decision Time, speaks to Emma Deighan about doubling sales to £5m and the team effort behind the firm’s stellar growth

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hey’ve known each other since they were 11. Now the company built by Sinead Higgins and her husband Geoff is celebrating its most successful year yet, ahead of the firm’s 18th birthday.

Antrim-based firm Decision Time specialises in cloud software which aims to streamline businesses’ risk management processes.

She says while the pandemic prompted many companies to revise their IT setups, the past 17 years of hard work were the main factor behind Decision Time’s ability to double its turnover over the past 24 months, while also doubling its team.

Sinead Higgins

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INTERVIEW Founded by Sinead and her husband, Geoff in 2003, Decision Time has won awards for simplifying the operations of public service entities as well as private firms.

Among its clients are NHS Trusts, large universities, over 60 housing associations in England, Scotland and Wales, 40% of the Republic of Ireland’s public sector bodies, Tourism NI and Translink.

Its turnover now sits at £2.4m with projections for 2023 sitting at £5m. In addition, the business will be growing its headcount by 75% this year, Sinead says.

“It would be wrong to say that our best year was fully down to Covid, it’s a combination of things and we’d been growing anyway, featuring on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list three years in a row.

The business won the Gold Investors in People award this year and now Sinead and Geoff have their eyes on the Platinum IIP accreditation next year.

“Our strength is our people, and on a daily basis customers are sending in emails that are testament to that. We also have a 98% retention rate,” she says.

Sinead and Geoff met when they were 11.

Education and work would take them to different parts of the world but eventually they rekindled their relationship and after an actionpacked travel adventure, they set up Decision Time.

including former accounting company, Arthur Andersen.

“That let him see the big gap in the market for software and business automation and then, when he went to Australia to work for Arthur Andersen, I went with him. By that stage I had a teaching qualification and worked at a private business studies college.”

The pair returned to London where Sinead took up a post at the BBC’s White City to train more than 1,000 of the broadcaster’s staff on using Microsoft Outlook.

This included working with newsreader Moira Stewart and former soccer star and sports pundit Gary Lineker.

“I remember a friend saying to me, ‘if you know how to teach then get a job teaching in business rather than at a school’ and it was great advice,” Sinead says.

Tiring and repetitive trips between London and Northern Ireland prompted Sinead and Geoff to move back home.

This was followed by a wedding and a few months travelling, which Sinead says laid the foundations for a successful startup business.

“We love travelling and after our wedding we went to Pretoria and then went on to see South and East Africa. We definitely got the bug and then took a few months out in South America, where we travelled extensively.”

“Geoff grew up in Magherafelt and I grew up in a place called Lavey. He would joke that I came into the town for a bit of culture even though I only lived five miles down the road,” says Sinead.

Inevitably, the family’s travels remain local, cycling in Galway, weekends in Donegal and visiting Westport, Co Mayo. But such has been the volume of new client wins, the couple have less time to indulge in overseas holidays.

“We both attended the same grammar school in Magherafelt and then we both went to Ulster University to study EU business studies.

One of their most recent client wins is Royal Mail Pensions, which came through an extensive procurement exercise, Sinead say.

“I left that course to focus more on languages but ended up with the same qualification, only more language-based,” she says.

Looking back over their business journey since 2003, she says: “We began with just three staff members, then 10 and it took 15 years for us to get over the 15-team member mark but at the end of this year we will have 30 staff. It’s been a journey.”

A role at Queen’s University, Belfast kept Sinead NI-bound while Geoff took up a role in the EU Commission in France after which he worked in London for a few firms

AUGUST 2021

Decision Time’s user interface has been

designed to allow clients to visualise and manage all aspects of their organisation’s governance, risk, and strategic goals in one place. The company says it enables clients to save time, focus on what’s important and not miss anything critical.

“They’re loving our software and really, any business that operates in a regulated industry whether that’s government, health, housing, or education, they need to evidence that they’re running board meetings and committee meetings and audit capability allows them to manage their risks.

“What we’re hearing back from our clients is this software is changing their lives, the way they work. It’s freeing them up. It’s easy to install and easy to use.”

Sinead and Geoff say they have barely “scraped the surface” when it comes to client number potential.

And non-English-speaking countries are by no means off-limits. “Our MD sat in the Going Dutch early stage exporter programme recently with Invest NI. We also work with TG4 which is Irish speaking so it can be done elsewhere. It can be translated,” Sinead says.

“The reason we are not there yet is because we’ve only scratched the surface on the domestic market.”

She says customer loyalty makes that £5m sales target for 2023 a safe bet, adding: “The fundamental reason why that growth strategy doesn’t feel stretched is because our customers stay with us. We can add them to our renewal figure, confidently.”

Product innovation is on the cards for Decision Time too with a structured process and “product roadmap” created to assist that.

“Our technical director is clear that the product has to improve always but mostly it has to improve the lives of our customer and that is what it does. It makes a difference to their job; it makes their meetings run more smoothly and that decision making process easier. It moves the clutter to the side.”

The company will shortly be seeking more staff in many parts of the business. “If we had five times the sales team, we have now we could be making five times the sales,” Sinead says. π

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NEWS

Around 180 new IT jobs for Belfast

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round 180 jobs are being created in Belfast as an IT services firm expands its operations here, it has emerged.

Version 1, which is based in Dublin, is creating the new roles. It works across IT consulting, solutions and managed services, and is investing around £1m in its Northern Ireland operation.

The Department for the Economy is funding a series of six Assured Skills Academies at Belfast Met, to the value of £821,000, with the aim of filling 120 of the jobs. The first Assured Skills Academy is open for applications.

Lorna McAdoo, director of operations Version 1 in Northern Ireland, said: “This is an exciting time for Version 1 in Northern Ireland as we continue to invest in local tech and IT talent who can help our customers accelerate their digital transformation.

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The Assured Skills Academies, which will run over the next three years, represent our ongoing commitment to Northern Ireland and our ambition to be one of the most successful IT companies here.”

The news is “further endorsement of Northern Ireland as a rising global player in the digital industries and an attractive location for inward investors”, according to Economy Minister, Diane Dodds.

“Version 1 provides IT services for a wide range of global brands, and to do so the company needs people with specialist skills. My Department’s Assured Skills Academies have a track record of equipping participants with the skills employers need in order to flourish and grow, and this has been particularly true in the digital and tech fields.

“Furthermore, participants on these Assured Skills Academies who complete the training

Lorna McAdoo, Version 1 NI, former Economy Minister Diane Dodds and Louise Warde Hunter, chief executive of Belfast Met

are guaranteed an interview for a role with Version 1 and will be strongly positioned for success. The jobs on offer are high quality, well paid roles and I urge anyone who is interested and eligible to apply for these Assured Skills Academies at Belfast Met.” And Kevin Holland, chief executive of Invest NI, said: “We’ve supported Version 1 since it established its Northern Ireland presence in 2012, and we’re pleased to have now worked with the Department to secure funding for these six Assured Skills academies.

“The importance of skills as a catalyst for growth is crucial to re-balancing the local economy. Today’s announcement contributes towards our economic recovery plans and wider ambition to create longer term economic prosperity with a highly skilled, agile workforce. The Assured Skills programme gives companies the confidence that the skills they need to be successful are available in Northern Ireland.” π

NEWS

NI new car sales see 5% rise

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ew car sales in Northern Ireland have seen a 5% month-onmonth surge, according to fresh figures.

Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said June’s performance was continuing the trend of improvement over the last few months since the latest lockdown eased.

However, car sales in Northern Ireland have

There were 20,848 new cars registered between January and June this year, which was up nearly 40% on the same period in 2020, when car showrooms were shut for much of the time.

had their second-weakest half-year since records began, according to one economist.

The latest report on new car sales from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported an increase in transactions of 5% month-on-month during June, with 4,075 sold.

And there was also an increase of nearly one-quarter on June last year, when consumers and businesses remained deep in the economic shock of Covid-19.

Across the year so far, the Ford Fiesta was the most popular car sold in Northern Ireland, with 501 being driven off forecourts.

The Volkswagen Golf followed closely, with 496 sold.

And in June, the Ford Puma was the most popular car, with 120 sold, followed by the Volkswagen T-Roc, with 112 powering out of forecourts.

AUGUST 2021

However, January to June of 2021 remained the second-weakest first six months of any year since the SMMT records began, Mr Ramsey said.

But he said that supply issues meant that the car figures were not reflecting the demand in the economy. “Last year, the car industry, like other parts of the economy, faced a major demand shock.

“That may have passed but it is the subsequent supply shock that is currently acting as a handbrake on the new car sales recovery. Lengthening supplier delivery times is a feature of the car industry alongside many other sectors of the economy.

“A typical new car contains around 1,000

computer chips and these are in short supply.

Car manufacturers have scaled backed production in line with the availability of key components such as semi-conductors. This supply chain disruption is expected to persist for some time.”

Mr Ramsey said that meant that the figures would be understating demand – which was also a trend reflected in markets such as residential house sales and ‘staycations’, where there was also a lack of supply.

Across the UK, 186,128 new cars were sold in June. But the SMMT said that was a 16.4% decline compared with average June totals between 2010 and 2019.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “With the final phases of the UK’s vaccine rollout well underway and confidence increasing, the automotive sector is now battling against a ‘long Covid’ of vehicle supply challenges.

“The semi-conductor shortages arising from Covid-constrained output globally are affecting vehicle production, disrupting supply on certain models and restricting the automotive recovery.” π

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INTERVIEW

Bedeck chief: ‘We are far from a sleepy industry’ Gary Irwin, co-managing director of Bedeck, speaks to Margaret Canning about growing the family business and expanding with celebrity-endorsed product lines

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uxury bedding supplier Bedeck has seen a lot of changes in the 70 years since it was founded by Alexander Irwin, the grandfather of joint managing directors Andrew and Gary Irwin.

The firm, based in Magheralin near Moira, has gone from making hankies to designing bed linen, which is then made overseas and supplied to retailers like John Lewis, Next, Fenwick, Joules and Ted Baker.

It can revealled it’s now signed up to its first celebrity-endorsed lines in collaborations with ex-Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger and campaigner Katie Price.

It’s also building a new warehouse to support extended ranges and online trading, which is to be finished next year.

It’s planning to add more retailers to its list – and is looking overseas to potential sales in Australia, Scandinavia and across Europe after hiring an international sales manager.

It already sells in the US through a partner in New York. In total, there are 29 standalone Bedeck shops and 33 department store concessions in retailers including Beales, Leekes and Menarys.

“I think we all learnt something, so there was a real feel-good factor,” Gary says. “We’ve gone from linen handkerchiefs, to basic bed linen, more advanced bed linen, selling wholesale, selling online…

“Like a lot of businesses, especially in textile, we’ve had to change from the old world to the new world.

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“While the pandemic is not quite over yet, the world is moving through it and it reaffirmed everything we’re doing going forward and all the opportunities we’re bringing in.”

Even though the company’s work is now far removed from how Alexander Irwin started out, Bedeck is still steeped in history.

“We’ve a design team of 14 people and the design studio today is actually the original family house on site, so that’s a really nice link to the past.

“It’s been modified and extended but fundamentally from the front it looks like a house.”

But he’s keen to stress how the company has moved with the times. As well as Gary and Andrew, another brother, Ian, also works at the business as head of warehouse and logistics.

Their father Gordon also worked for the business but is now retired.

Supplying goods from overseas has been far from straightforward in recent months, thanks to Brexit congestion and a shortage of shipping containers partly triggered by the blocking of the Suez Canal.

times. Cost prices are going up and because of our lead times we’re really looking to spring/ summer 2022. What affects everybody else affects us and we’re going to have to look closely at that when it comes to set pricing for that season.”

While not suffering a direct hit from the NI Protocol, which has kept NI in the European single market for goods while introducing checks on some goods entering NI from Great Britain, Gary doesn’t think it’s been good for business in general so far.

“It just hasn’t helped. Because we’re more global and our goods are typically coming from the Far East, the UK interaction hasn’t affected us as much as other businesses but it’s not good news for business what’s been going on with Brexit and the NI Protocol.

“I think every business leader would ask our government and the UK government to come up with a positive solution for business. It would help.

“We’re not so active selling into Europe at the minute though that’s something that’s going to change, but just moving goods around at the minute is more difficult and nobody could say that that’s good for business.”

“I don’t think directly we had anything in the Suez Canal, but the impact for us and from Brexit was that a lot of containers were stuck at the Suez Canal and in Europe in ports and there actually has been and continues to be a shortage of containers in the Far East to bring goods here.

The business also operates stores on Belfast’s Lisburn Road and in the Linen Green Shopping Village in Dungannon. It opened up recently at designer outlet McArthur Glen in the East Midlands and has a store at shopping destination Kildare Village.

“That has driven up shipping prices and lead

“For us the outlet aspect of retail has been

INTERVIEW

“We were approached by Ted Baker, and that’s been a fabulous deal to sign which will be launched next year, then we went on the front foot and approached agencies and celebrities with a view to collaborate and Nicole Scherzinger and Katie Piper are the first that we have signed.

“The great thing about Ted is the high profile and then its international orientation, it’s sold around the world and that’s international sales for us.

“While we source internationally, our sales are heavily concentrated in Great Britain and Ireland and adding international sales in the next three to five years is one key aspect of our growth opportunity.”

But what would Alexander Irwin make of it all? “I would genuinely love to know what my grandfather would make of it all. He died when I was 14 but I’m glad I did know him to some degree. I would hope he’d be pleased with what we’ve done with what he bequeathed us.”

The business now has 300 staff, with 100 in Magheralin and the rest around its stores in the UK and Ireland.

Gary Irwin, joint managing director of Bedeck and Michelle Jackson

strong and it’s where top brands tend to frequently retail.

“If you think of (brands like) Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Mulberry, all these global brands are present in many of our centres, whether it’s Kildare Village or Cheshire Oaks in England. The combination of those brands on those sites has meant that form of retailing has remained very strong.”

He says the company’s emphasis is on branded products. “We manufacture and design our own brands and then sell to retailers.”

AUGUST 2021

But celebrity brands were something he felt the business was lacking. “Really when we assessed our brand portfolio, it became apparent to us our brands were really around home brands, whether it be William Morris, or Sanderson, or our in-house brands like Bedeck 1951 or Murmur, and on the apparel side, we had Joules as as a customer.

“We felt more fashion apparel brands would add to the offer and that we should add celebrity brands for the first time. That was the analysis and that has been proved right, I’m pleased to say.

“We’re very hands-on as owners yet there’s a big strong committed, happy team here that do a lot of the work, of course.”

He says the firm’s location near Craigavon harks back to a former era when locations like Banbridge, Lurgan and Portadown were known as the ‘linen basin’, such was the dominance of the textiles industry.

But Gary stresses that it’s a fast-moving, modern enterprise. “You talk about home textiles, and people probably think – excuse the pun – it’s a sleepy industry but we see ourselves in a branded product business that happens to be textiles. It’s developing, sourcing and selling – all the infrastructure that goes around that.” π

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The column with an ear for experience...

How did you start out in business?

I used to work in payroll and felt I’d really reached my ceiling in that role. I decided to try something very different and closer to home and 25 years ago spotted a job for a dispenser with Specsavers in Bangor. I did an interview and was offered the job and then worked my way up to a store manager role within five years. At an appraisal I enthusiastically asked for more opportunities and told them I was going to do a HNC in computing. The partners saw I was eager for more and was ready to work for it. They offered me the opportunity to partner with them in a new store opening in Newtownards and I jumped at it. Though I did the computer course anyhow.

What have you found the most challenging during your years of business so far?

There have been several over the years such as studying for my dispensing optician degree while opening the new store in Newtownards as both kicked off at the same time. Then shortly after that I found out I was pregnant.

That was a very busy time. A few years ago we relocated to our current fabulous premises in Conway Square. Planning for the future needs such a crazy amount of work – but we did it and it’s super now. Last but not least, Covid has probably been the third biggest challenge.

As a team we’re strong and are working hard for all our customers.

How would you describe your management style?

I would describe my personal style as ‘meticulous optimist’ – I like to get the key processes in place. I can nitpick the small stuff, but my colleagues are great and appreciate my level of detail. In terms of store directors, we are a team of three. I’m a dispensing optician and retail director, whilst Stuart Douglas is

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Name: Leigh Nelson Position: Store partner, Specsavers in Newtownards ophthalmic lead and Andrea Ridgway looks after the retail side of the business. My role is incredibly varied from looking after frontof-house, dispensing and overseeing frames glazing in the lab to director duties including HR and business strategy and development.

What would you change if you could go back and do it all again?

I would aim higher at school so that I had achieved good qualifications before I started work. Though when you are young it’s hard when you’re not sure which path to take. Back then I think I just wasn’t ready to listen and learn all the academic stuff at school.

Have you done it all on your own?

Not at all – I’ve had great support and I think that’s absolutely key. Support from my business partners, husband and family, my staff and management teams and of course from my business neighbours. I try to ask for advice, look for other opinions and steal ideas from

others – so it’s definitely not all me. Though I’m happy to take credit for all their great ideas. I’ve been president of the Newtownards Chamber of Trade for five years and am now the vice-president. We support each other and all our local businesses and work with the regional council to help make Newtownards business and retail the best it can be.

How would you like your business to be remembered?

I would like our Specsavers store to be perceived as community opticians offering a really worthwhile and valuable service to everyone locally. Also for how we have worked for and with Newtownards Chamber of Trade helping other businesses to flourish and thrive.

What piece of advice would you give to a 20-year-old you?

Keep going and you will get there soon.

Everything you are doing now is important and is a ‘learning’ for the future you.

Motoring

By Pat Burns

Sponsored by

MOTORING

XCeed-ing expectations

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he XCeed is an urban crossover utility vehicle (CUV) from Kia which combines compact SUV practicality with the sporty packaging and handling of a hatchback. A sporty alternative to traditional SUVs, the CUV nevertheless offers comparable levels of space for occupants and luggage. The XCeed treats drivers to a comfortable, assured ride, while providing a more commanding view of the road ahead than a conventional hatchback.

The XCeed’s range of advanced safety, connectivity and infotainment features make it one of the most high-tech cars in the CUV class. Powered by a range of fast-revving, turbocharged engines, it is also one of the most efficient.

Kia has added new petrol and 48-volt mild hybrid diesel powertrains to the XCeed line-up.

A new 158bhp 1.5-litre T-GDi (Turbocharged Gasoline Direct injection) engine makes its debut in the XCeed and joins the existing 118bhp 1.0-litre T-GDi powerplant.

The new ‘Kappa’ 1.5-litre T-GDi power unit produces 158bhp, 20bhp more than

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the 1.4-litre T-GDi engine it replaces. The turbocharger also ensures a wider torque band than the earlier 1.4-litre engine, making it more responsive in a wider range of driving conditions – while also reducing emissions.

253Nm torque is available from 1,500 to 3,500rpm, with emissions (on the WLTP cycle) as low as 141g/km when fitted with the 7DCT transmission; manual models emit 142g/km.

Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 8.7 seconds, with a top speed of 129mph for both.

Both 1.0 and 1.5-litre T-GDi engines are fitted with a gasoline particulate filter to further reduce tailpipe emissions, ensuring the XCeed goes beyond the requirements of the Euro 6d RDE2 standard. The XCeed handles well and the new 1.5 turbo petrol engine is responsive and happy to rev, helping to give a sportier feel to this nicely proportioned car.

The XCeed is one of the most comprehensively equipped models in the Ceed family, with an extensive package of comfort, convenience, connectivity and safety items which becomes progressively more luxurious with each step up the range.

The Grade ‘3’ model as tested by Ulster Business features 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and rain sensing front wipers, in addition to black cloth seat trim with black faux leather bolsters and power lumbar support for the front seats. An uprated 10.25-inch touchscreen satellite navigation system with Kia Connected Services featuring TomTom Live and UVO Connect telematics system is included. Other equipment includes dual-zone automatic air conditioning, electrically folding door mirrors with LED indicators, an autodimming rear view mirror and rear parking sensors.

Heated front seats and steering wheel are included within grade three, along with an electric parking brake (EPB), front passenger seat height adjuster, automatic defog system, a smart entry system with engine start/stop button. There’s also a 4.2-inch supervision colour cluster display and a USB fast charger in the front centre console. Manual gearbox variants have the forward-collision avoidance assist (FCA) system upgraded to include pedestrian detection. All DCT automatic versions feature a drive mode select system with ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ options and smart cruise control with stop and go. π

MOTORING

Hyundai launches its new SUV

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yundai has announced the pricing and specification of their all new Bayon, the latest member of the popular Hyundai SUV line-up.

The Bayon has a unique exterior design for a distinctive look on the road. Wide, narrow daytime running lights are completely separate from the headlamps help to create a new look, and an air intake band stretching across the entire front of the vehicle generates width.

Bayon models will all be powered by a 1.0 turbocharged petrol engine which combines with a 48 Volt mild hybrid system to provide a choice of 100PS or 120PS power outputs.

Customers are offered the choice of two transmissions, an intelligent six speed manual (iMT) that features an electronically controlled clutch to decouple the transmission from the engine under certain driving conditions to enhance efficiency, or a seven speed dual clutch transmission which combines optimum fuel consumption and automatically controlled gear changes.

The new model is equipped with a number

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of Hyundai SmartSense systems as standard with six airbags, the automatic emergency call system eCall, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, driver attention alert, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision assist warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection as well as automatic headlamps with high beam assist are standard.

The Bayon will be available in three specification levels, SE Connect, Premium and Ultimate, with a choice of six speed manual or seven speed dual clutch transmission options to combine with the 100PS 1.0 turbocharged GDi 48 volt mild hybrid engine. Customers opting for Premium or Ultimate specifications also have the choice of a higher 120PS output combined with either transmission option.

Starting from £20,295, the Bayon SE Connect 1.0 mild hybrid includes a comprehensive specification including 16 inch alloy wheels, roof rails, spoiler, electrically adjustable door mirrors, LED daytime running lamps, halogen headlamps with static cornering function, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, black cloth interior interior mood

lighting, driver’s seat height adjustment, air conditioning, cruise control, drive mode select, front and rear electric windows, rear parking sensors with rear view camera, eight inch display audio with DAB, smart device integration including Bluetooth with voice recognition, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25 inch drivers digital supervision instrument cluster, steering wheel audio and telephone controls. The SE Connect is also available with a seven speed DCT. Available from £22,495, the Bayon Premium 1.0 mild hybrid builds on SE Connect trim and adds 17 inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, heated front seats and steering wheel, automatic climate control air conditioning with auto windscreen defog, automatically dimming rear view mirror, LED headlamps with multifaceted reflectors, LED rear combination lamps, electric folding door mirrors, a 10.25 inch touchscreen satellite navigation including traffic messaging channel, mapcare, live services and bluelink telematics, a wireless charging pad for compatible devices and height adjustable front seatbelts. π

MOTORING

No drama from this Scandi V

olvo’s XC90 is an innovative seven-seat SUV that leads the way in design, elegance, technology, practicality, comfort and safety. A generously proportioned seven-seater, it presents a clean, minimalist design inside and out, with a cabin rich in highquality natural materials. Built in Sweden, it exemplifies the best in understated excellence.

petrol-electric plug-in hybrid, as well as mildhybrid petrol and diesel units that achieve an excellent balance of performance, fuel economy and low emissions.

The XC90 is also a standard-bearer for the latest evolution of Volvo’s industry-leading safety technologies, including world-first innovations to prevent collisions from happening, addressing a wide range of common accident scenarios.

The Recharge plug-in hybrid T8 model tops the range and combines a 303hp petrol engine with an 87hp electric motor. The engine drives the front wheels while the electric motor powers the rears to provide all wheel drive performance. While the T8’s combined system output is 390hp, enabling 0-62mph acceleration in just 5.8 seconds, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are impressive, with official WLTP Combined cycle data of up to 100.9mpg and as little as 63g/ km respectively. The plug-in hybrid technology allows for short journeys (up to 30.4 miles) to be accomplished emissions-free on electric power alone, while recharging the high-voltage 11.6kWh battery can be accomplished in as little as two and a half hours using a fastcharging cable.

The driving experience is effortless and relaxed, and every XC90 model is equipped with all-wheel drive for secure performance on all surfaces and in all conditions. The powertrain choice includes Volvo’s efficient and powerful

The smooth Scandanavian looks are matched inside the XC90 with a premium quality feel throughout. British head of design at Volvo Cars, Robin Page, set out to create a ‘haven of tranquillity and comfort’ and he has succeeded.

Its advanced technologies include Volvo’s Sensus media system with its intuitive nineinch touchscreen control, giving quick access to multiple vehicle functions and seamless connectivity.

AUGUST 2021

The calm ambience is heightened by the large windows and the use of natural materials where possible, including soft leathers and Scandinavian wood inlays. Hand-crafted details, such as the Orrefors crystal glass gearlever on Inscription versions, add to the visual and tactile quality. The Sensus nine-inch touchscreen voice-activated control system takes centre stage while the driver is treated to a 12.3 inch information display. All the extras are included such as heated leather seats, parking camera, powered tailgate, two zone air-con, sat nav and a 10-speaker audio system.

Safety equipment includes city safety, including automatic emergency braking with steering support, oncoming lane mitigation, run-off road mitigation and run-off road protection.

XC90 prices start at £56,135 on-the-road for the petrol B5 Momentum. The entrylevel plug-in hybrid is the £67,620 Recharge plug-in hybrid T8 R-Design. This version’s low CO2 emissions help make it an attractive proposition for business motorists, with company car benefit-in-kind tax rates from £338 a month for a 40% taxpayer. π

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PHOTOCALL

1. The second phase of the Tourism Recovery Action Plan has been revealed. Pictured are Janice Gault, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, John McGrillen, Tourism NI, former Economy Minister Diane Dodds and Joanne Stuart, NI Tourism Alliance.

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2. Translink has launched its 2021 Apprenticeships Programme with 30 positions available. Pictured are Ellen Ritchie and Matthew Taggart.

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3. Tricia Robinson (right) celebrates Larne Renovation Generation’s £1,000 Brighter Communities grant with GemmaLouise Bond from Power NI.

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4. The six regional Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland have launched a new system of vocational learning.

Pictured are students Shannon Neilly, Aimee McWilliams, Juvaldino Baretto and Adenike Yisa lawal.

5. Construction giant McLaughlin & Harvey has set up a new fit-out led division called WorkSpace, creating 20 jobs. Pictured are Richard Cheevers and Richard Carron inside the Seamus Heaney Homeplace Visitor Centre.

PHOTOCALL

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7. WorkPal sales director Ian Megahey receives a health check from Action Cancer’s health promotion officer Tanya Carson as part of the Service Your Assets men’s health campaign.

AUGUST 2021

6. Environment Minister Edwin Poots (second from left) is pictured with Dave Scott, Lionel Knobbs and Alan McComb after announcing £200,000 to improve water quality improvement.

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8. Heather and Neil Mawhinney turned a hobby into a thriving business, Four Little Flowers, after sales of their homemade candles took off in England and Scotland during lockdown.

9. Hinduja Global Solutions is creating around 565 jobs in Northern Ireland. Pictured are Adam Foster, Hinduja Global Solutions UK, Kevin Holland, Invest NI, former Economy Minister Diane Dodds, and Mark Hooper.

10. Tony Demaine, site director, is joined by members of the senior management team as they mark the success of Cranswick Ballymena being the first in its sector in Northern Ireland to achieve carbon neutral certification.

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PHOTOCALL

11. Launching Northern Regional College’s new sports coaching course are David Jeffrey, manager of Ballymena United, Leroy Millar, Christine Brown, Trai Hume and Philip Thompson.

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12. Linen Quarter BID is urging businesses across the city to become true champions of cycling. Pictured are Joshua Murray, Jenna Parker and Chris McCracken.

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13. Actor Barry Keoghan and Paul O’Hare, general manager at the Duke of York at the Guinness Raising the Bar ‘Every Moment Counts’ filming in The Duke of York pub.

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14. The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland has launched a campaign to find our best scones.

Pictured are Dr Mike Johnston and Hospitality Ulster’s Colin Neill.

15. Translink is challenging Lord Mayor Kate Nicholl to use public transport at least twice a week for her journey to City Hall. She is pictured with Translink chief executive, Chris Conway.

PHOTOCALL

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17. Finance Minister Conor Murphy and Paul Coyle of Impact Fabrications at the manufacturing plant in Armagh. The firm has benefited from a £25,000 manufacturing grant.

AUGUST 2021

16. UK High Level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping (second from right) has met with business chiefs during a visit here. He is pictured with Chris Conway, Vicky Davies and Kieran Harding.

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18. Belfast-based digital printing company Northside Graphics is creating a new training academy that will offer apprenticeships.

Pictured are Glenn Nelson and Richard Campbell.

19. Former Economy Minister Diane Dodds pictured with Ian McConnell of PwC as 20 new Assured Skills Academy training places were revealed.

20. Owners of SPAR Coagh, Graham Johnson and Andy Davis, celebrate the store being the 300th SPAR to open in Northern Ireland, with Henderson Group joint managing director, Martin Agnew.

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PHOTOCALL

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21. A 10-foot-tall lighthouse built by prisoners in Maghaberry will help shine a spotlight on the convalescent work of the cancer charity Hope House. Pictured are Dawn McDonnell, David Savage and Sam McCullough.

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22. AntennaWare has secured a significant six-figure sum following a successful seed funding round led by QUBIS. Pictured are Oisin Lappin, Dr Gareth Conway, Hal Wilson and Dr Matthew Magill.

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23. Envision Intelligent Solutions and NTD have joined forces to create a new turnstile with an in-built software system. Pictured are Philip Murdock and Stephen Brown.

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24. Henderson Foodservice has unveiled a new £16m warehouse facility as part of an ongoing redevelopment. Pictured are Kiera Campbell, Cathal Geoghegan and Mark Stewart-Maunder.

25. Charles Hurst has become the first retailer in Northern Ireland to become an official Peugeot Sport Engineered Expertise centre.

Pictured is sales manager, Chris Morrison.

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26. Ten promising start-ups have won £10,000 grants following participation in Catalyst’s Co-Founders programme. Pictured are Kavitha Kalavoor Gopalan, Eamonn McNutt, Patricia Kelpie, and Jacqueline McCann.

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27. Maeve Hunt has been reelected as chair of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society. She is pictured with president of the institute, Paul Henry.

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28. Bank of Ireland has announced a range of initiatives to promote greater ethnic diversity within its workforce. Pictured are Vinil Thombrey, Zoe Deverell and Bongile Mellon.

29. Paul Kane launches the third Belfast Whiskey Week. The event featured a nine-day programme which included a limited in person range of tasting events, including a gala dinner.

30. AG has announced a recruitment drive to support business expansion at its Fivemiletown and Toome facilities.

Pictured is Aaron Cassidy, general operative, pictured at AG in Toome

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31. The UK’s High Level Climate Action Champion, Nigel Topping (centre) has visited Artemis Technologies.

He is pictured with David Tyler and Mark Gillan of Artemis Technologies.

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32. Coalisland firm Comfizone is creating 25 new roles as part of its expansion. Pictured are Tony McCuskey, operations director, Brian McCann, head of finance, and managing director, Peter Bradley.

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33. Online talent platform PeopleHawk has been launched.

Pictured are PeopleHawk cofounders, chief technical officer Alistair Craig and chief executive Paul Kinney.

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34. Hinch Distillery has opened its booking system for guided whiskey and gin tours. Pictured are Francesca Owens, Alan Greer, Dr Terry Cross and Claire McLernon.

35. Drinks Inc is celebrating 20 years in business. Pictured is Tom Kinnier, sales manager, Peter McBride, wine specialist and Richard Mayne, wholesale director.

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37. Food waste app Gander has broken the 100,000 download milestone after first launching in 2019. Pictured is shopper, Seana McCrory, using the Gander app.

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36. Technology conference BelTech has taken place for its eighth year. Pictured are Jason McBride, Columb Duffy, Brian Craig and Rebecca Walsh.

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38. Colin Barkley with Donaghadee man Joshua Eastwood. Mr Eastwood raised £20,000 by running the distance from Belfast to Berlin over the month of May.

39. Infrastructure Minister Mallon announces £19m for flood prevention during a visit to Antrim. She is pictured with Adrian Slane and Jonathan McKee.

40. Launching the Climate of Change podcast is John Ferris, Ulster Bank’s regional ecosystem manager, Matthew Thompson and Gabi Burnside, entrepreneur acceleration manager with Ulster Bank.

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APPOINTMENTS

Jayne Brady is to be the new Head of the Civil Service. She is currently the digital innovation commissioner with Belfast City Council.

Ronan Callan has been appointed as general manager at the Exact Group. He began his career as an apprentice tool maker before joining Collins Aerospace.

Hannah Mercer has been appointed tax senior at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore. She is responsible for personal and corporate tax compliance, and advisory.

Nick Nolan has joined Mills Selig’s commercial property team as a senior associate. He has a wide range of experience specialising in commercial property transactions.

Disability Action has appointed Andrea Brown as its new chief executive. She has overall responsibility for the strategic and operational management of the organisation.

Damien O’Callaghan takes up his new role as group managing director at Heron Bros.

He succeeds Damian Heron who held the role from 1998.

Kirsten Magee has been promoted to the position of partner at Mills Selig. She is an experienced commercial litigator with a background in advising both private and public sector clients.

Maeve Fisher has been promoted to the position of partner with Mills Selig. Ms Fisher is an experienced litigator who has been with the firm since joining as a trainee.

The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland has appointed Jim McCooe as its first patron to continue to foster close links between the business community and the third sector.

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APPOINTMENTS

Ken Nelson MBE has been appointed a chairman for the governing body of Northern Regional College. Mr Nelson has previously served on a number of boards including Invest NI from 2012 to 2020.

Michelle Maginnis, who is group financial controller, has been appointed as a director of Johnson Brothers Distributing.

Jack Taylor has been appointed as trade marketing manager at Boost Drinks, with responsibility for delivering a diverse range of trade marketing activations.

Harley Beecroft has been appointed as senior product development manager at Boost Drinks, with responsibility for new product development and technical oversight of the brand’s existing range.

Mark Wilford has been appointed as category controller at Boost Drinks, with responsibility for providing strategic category insight to guide future direction for the brand.

Decision Time has appointed Mary O’Kane to the role of sales executive, specialising in the insurance sector. She spent 29 years working in the insurance industry.

Artemis Technologies has appointed Simon Locke, the former head of manufacturing at Dyson, as the company’s new director of manufacturing.

Boost Drinks has appointed Kim Jacks as senior brand manager. She will create and shape the brand positioning and marketing strategy through detailed research and insights to drive growth.

Clare McCarrison has been appointed to partner at Harbinson Mulholland. She has a wide portfolio of SME clients in the audit and advisory team, but her expertise is specialising in regulated entities such as pension schemes.

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TRAVEL

Whatever you’ve missed most about Dublin, Lucy White’s guide to its top treats has you covered

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hose things that we love most about a capital – its bustling cafes, bars and restaurants, art galleries and museums, open-air markets, festivals, theatres and concert halls have been dormant for so long we barely recognise the shadows of its former self.

But no virtual street tour or home-delivered bibimbap kit can compare to the pleasures of being in Dublin city in real life. Now we finally have a clear, dated road map of the hospitality industry reopening we can slowly get reacquainted with our long-lost Baile Átha Cliath, our vivacious, exciting, resilient old friend.

Whether you’re planning a reunion with friends or family, or to relight the fires of passion with your lockdown loved-one, here are some of the ways to sojourn in one small and mighty city.  FOR FAMILIES There’s nothing wrong with absconding to the sea or countryside, but Dublin has an abundance of family-friendly offerings ideal for drizzly days when beaches and adventure parks just aren’t viable.

EAT: Lunch and a U or PG-rated movie? An excellent combination. Northside’s Blas Café is handily located behind Cineworld (reopens tomorrow) and is bright and airy, with plenty of space for buggies. Some of the dishes range from the wholesome to the hearty. That includes things like soups and sandwiches to bacon baps, tacos, curries and hotpots. See also BoCo, near the Rotunda, whose pizzas are made for tearing and sharing among little (and big) mouths.

Cafes at Hugh Lane Gallery and Chester Beatty Library also cleverly combine kid-friendly culture and dining.

PLAY: St Stephen’s Green may be the grand

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Dublin’s fair city paved with golden moments dame of D2 but Merrion Park is handsdown the parents’ favourite, for its excellent playground and proximity to the Dead Zoo and National Gallery. The latter has a designated kids’ art area for doodling – ideal for inclement weather – while its cafe has plenty of space to manoeuvre buggies and roving toddlers.

Enjoyable runarounds can also be found in the rose garden and maze in Iveagh Gardens, and St Audoen’s Church in the Liberties has a small but perfectly formed play park.

IMMA’s ‘Explorer’ kids programme has long been a godsend.

LOVE: Hotel stalwarts the Westbury, Merrion, Shelbourne and Cliff Townhouse are in the heart of the southside’s action and a cinch for multi-generational “bubbling” – and get bonus points for afternoon tea, which will please many a post-cocooned grandparent.

Across the Liffey, consider newcomer Zanzibar Locke near Ha’penny Bridge, a sleek serviced apartment option with self-contained

kitchenettes, wide open-plan public areas and Instagrammable decor – and with a sibling property Zanzibar Beckett, near the 3Arena, opening in late August.  FOR COUPLES At the beginning of the first lockdown there was much talk about a baby boom… and then familiarity soon bred, if not contempt, then cabin fever. The solution? A change of scenery in the re-awakening urban jungle.

EAT: Claustrophobic couples could do much worse than splashing out at Chapter One, to see what former Greenhouse chef Mickael Viljanen brings to the table; otherwise modern classics Allta on Setanta Place and Uno Mas on Aungier Street are sure-fire hits.

Those pining for an overseas holiday should suss out Las Tapas de Lola, where a combo of authentic sharing plates, pitchers of Sangria and affable Spanish staff bring the fiesta to Wexford Street.

For sunny lunches, pack a picnic blanket

TRAVEL

wisest for long-overdue catch-ups: Sophie’s, Angelina’s, Suesey Street, Sprezzatura, Rosa Madre, Hang Dai, Asador, Platform 61, The Woollen Mills, Saba, and 777’s new knoll Afuera, are booking out fast. And when indoor dining is in full swing: Pickle, Lucky Tortoise, Spitalfields and Clanbrassil House are crowdpleasingly good.

PLAY: We couldn’t get to the hair salons quick enough, but more self-indulgent treats await at Buff Day Spa on King Street South and Tropical Popical nail bar. Or watch this space for a sound bath at The Space Between on Fenian Street. The yoga studio has been hosting virtual sessions during the lockdown, but frazzled chakras are aching for the real, in-room deal of reverberating singing bowls and brass gongs for arguably the crème de la crème of group meditation.

and bag a takeout meal from Umi Falafel on Dame Street or Georges Street Arcade, to scoff on the circular lawn outside Chester Beatty Library (there are plenty of benches and walls on which to perch, too). Other outdoor propositions are The Big Grill Festival this August 12-15 in Herbert Park, Ballsbridge and Taste of Dublin from September 1-5 at the Iveagh Gardens.

PLAY: The Museum of Literature (MoLi) on St Stephen’s Green opened its doors for the first time on Culture Night in 2019 and is already a culture-crawl staple for all ages. Other nearby hotspots include the Gallery of Photography, Kerlin Gallery, and on the northside, Hugh Lane Gallery, 14 Henrietta Street and the National Museum of Ireland.

While a night at the theatre remains elusive, cinemas are re-opening, so cosy up at Smithfield’s Lighthouse (reopens June 24), with click-and-collect snacks and scoops from Mulligan L Grocer in nearby Stoneybatter beforehand, or fresh catch and fine wine from Benburb Street’s dinky Fish Shop.

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LOVE: The Wilder Townhouse, on Adelaide Street, has a delightful pied-à-terre feel, thanks to cosy interiors accented with quirky objets d’art that elevate guest rooms from perfunctory to homely. Also with a residential nod is Number 31, off Lower Leeson Street, whose sunken bar and renowned breakfasts are the cherries on top of a romantic bolthole.

See also the brand new Messiah-inspired hotel Handel’s on Fishamble Street, a symphony of teal, crushed velvet and Art Deco-style wallpaper that’s within easy footfall of Cow’s Lane’s pre-loved furniture shops, Scout boutique and Gutter Bookshop, plus Queen of Tarts cake cafe and Sano pizzeria.  FOR FRIENDS Video chats with pals has been a lifesaver, but as more of us get vaccinated, we’re ready to move on to the next level, either making a full day of two-metre socialising or planning an overnight stay in the big smoke. Or both.

EAT: Depending on your ‘bubble’ situation, a rooftop or terrace restaurant is arguably

Then there’s retail therapy. Shoppers are spoiled for choice around South William and Drury Street: Om Diva, Jenny Vander, Irish Design Shop, Industry & Co, not least the epic Powerscourt Centre where resides the city’s sexiest scented candles, Cloon Keen, superior lifestyle boutique Atrium, retailer and gallery SO Fine Art Editions, homewares heaven Article and vintage jewellers aplenty.

Don’t forget the IFI cinema for highlyanticipated group trips to the flicks (from June 10), while the aforementioned art galleries and museums are also pertinent for culture-loving friends.

LOVE: The Fitzwilliam ticks the location, location, location box, overlooking St Stephen’s Green and within a spittoon’s distance of Franciscan Well’s brewpub and pizzeria, The Well. The hotel also offers a fine dining package with its plush-pink neighbour Glovers Alley. See The Marker on Grand Canal Square for spa stays, The Marlin for 3Arena craic when the time comes, and Smithfield’s Hendrick, whose pristine wee rooms are ergonomic and comfortably designed.

Finally, check out opening rates for The Wren, an upcoming nook on St Andrew’s Lane – also bijou on guestroom footprint, but aiming to be big on value. π

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TECHNOLOGY

Bitcoin wobble just the B

itcoin’s value has slumped by 30% in June. The reasons are many.

China, where so much of it is mined, is saying it might crack down.

Environmentalists are against it, saying it uses up too much energy. And now even Elon Musk has nixed its use for buying Teslas.

So what does this mean for Bitcoin’s value? Is it just a normal month in the ever-turbulentyet-often-soaring life of cryptocurrencies? Or is there something different going on?

There’s no doubting the long-term rise in value of Bitcoin. Anyone who bought Bitcoin this time last year is still up by 350%, even after May’s sharp fall in valuation. Anyone who bought five years ago is up (4,100%). And for ‘hodlers’ (those who hold Bitcoin in the belief that its value is going to the moon in the long term) who have owned Bitcoin for over five years, they are now relatively wealthy people.

So does the cryptocurrency’s current dip in value represent a decent opportunity to buy?

Or is the whole thing just a big house of cards?

“We will never tell any of our clients to invest in cryptocurrencies,” says David Bergin, a senior trader at Ireland’s second largest securities brokerage, Goodbody.

“It’s just too risky as an asset class. That said, there is an awful lot of investor interest in cryptocurrency. You can see it from both talking to clients and people you’d know using apps like Revolut.”

Irish people are among the most enthusiastic buyers of Bitcoin in Europe, according to one recent survey. The research, from money management app Plum, claims that people in this country are putting in 92% more than those in Britain, France or Spain.

This is backed up by those whose companies facilitate Irish people trading in cryptocurrencies.

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Is it time to take a punt on Bitcoin? Or is it all a big Ponzi scheme waiting to collapse, writes Adrian Weckler

Earlier this year, the co-founder of one of Ireland’s main crypto exchanges, where punters can buy or sell Bitcoin and other digital assets using a credit card or bank transfer at a cost of between 2.5% and 6%, told this reporter that there were 40,000 people signed up to its service. This, James Nagle says, was probably only a fraction of the actual number of people buying Bitcoin in Ireland.

“When you then take into account people trading on Coinbase, Revolut and other platforms, it’s a much bigger number,” he said.

Asked whether it might be bigger than an estimate of 180,000, posited by another Irish exchange, BitIreland, he said: “it would more likely be double that number”.

Why is crypto so popular in Ireland? According to Plum, it may be down to the ‘early adopter’ mentality here and a natural interest in finding ‘new ways of becoming better off’.

It could also be a higher-than-usual savings rate during the pandemic. But there’s one other reason that can’t be underestimated: Ireland’s unusually active adoption of Revolut.

The payments and banking app has a relatively idiot-proof cryptocurrency purchasing tool.

The company’s user figures in Ireland are staggering. Its chief technology officer recently suggested that this stands at close to 1.5 million Irish people.

Even still, there are plenty of warnings against jumping into cryptocurrencies. In May, the director general of financial conduct at Central Bank, Derville Rowland, described the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies as being “of great concern”.

“Crypto assets are quite a speculative, unregulated investment,” and people should be “really aware they could lose the whole of that investment,” she said in a Bloomberg interview.

That view is shared by Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, who recently warned that cryptocurrencies do not have any intrinsic value, while JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon has often repeated that Bitcoin is a “fraud”.

Some long-established traders and stockbrokers in Ireland tend to agree with this position.

“We are witnessing a giant bubble in cryptocurrencies based on the oldest lesson in the book, a speculative excess driven by too much central bank money printing,” says Rory Gillen, founder of Gillen Markets. “After all, the argument in favour of Bitcoin points to the strict limited supply of them. But are there not a myriad of cryptocurrencies popping up all over the place? So where’s the limited supply?

Without an alternative use value I believe they are all worthless.”

Mr Gillen’s point about functionality is one of Bitcoin’s greatest apparent weaknesses. Other than to support a made-up digital alternative to gold, what can Bitcoin actually be used for?

Crypto enthusiasts counter by saying fiat currencies have little utility themselves, other than state-backed promissory notes that sometimes devalue or crash.

And for all of its potential to make rings or tooth fillings, gold is essentially a useless substance too, the crypto-boosters argue; it can’t be eaten, isn’t used to build things and

TECHNOLOGY

latest wild dip has little other purpose than as an anointed store of value that is based on little more than a communal agreement that it should be so.

This mental buy-in, the crypto-boosters say, isn’t all that different to the basic premise behind the rise in value of Bitcoin. Even if it’s not used to buy cars or Mars bars, there are other emerging active uses for cryptocurrencies, too.

The recent surge in ‘non fungible token’ (NFT) transactions is largely based on using Ethereum (the second biggest crypto currency after Bitcoin, with a market cap of around €300bn). That allows all sorts to new trade online, from the Irish Kevin Abosch – who has made at least €1m so far this year through NFT sales – to Beeple (real name Mike Winkelmann), who sold an NFT-verified digital canvas for €60m through auctioneer Christie’s in March.

But arguably the biggest incentive behind the sustained value of Bitcoin is the very thing that sceptics say makes it worthless – its disassociation from any central bank or state authority.

This spirit of ultra-libertarianism has been strong enough to create a base for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to thrive.

So what happens now? Even after the recent fall in value, Bitcoin still has an overall capitalisation of around €700bn, with other cryptocurrencies taking the overall crypto market well over €1tn.

There are currently around 18.8 million Bitcoins in circulation. According to how it’s designed, there is a finite final number of 21

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million that can be ‘mined’.

Will it stick to its long-term trend of rising in value? Or is it set to become a footnote in history, as regulators become less tolerant for ransomware gangs’ currency of choice?

Some senior banking advisors, like Metaco’s vice president of sales Seamus Donoghue, say that a price target of between $300,000 and $500,000 a Bitcoin is “reasonable”.

“Indeed, it could well go beyond that,” Mr Donoghue recently told me. Others like Rory Gillen say it has gotten a free ride on historically low interest rates and will fall as soon as rates rise.

“In my view, its intrinsic value is zero,” he says.

Few would bet against continued rollercoaster rides for investors. But with each year that passes, Bitcoin comes closer to establishing a permanent presence. π

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Uncovering the 9-5 NAME: Adrian Morrow POSITION: Managing director, Glenarm Castle 7am This is the usual start, depending on the finish the night before. Breakfast is on the go as I walk to the home farm, hail rain or snow, to attend my cows. I call this time my stress reliever.

8am I am onsite at Glenarm Castle and on my rounds, depending on area of need. That’s the thing about my job, you never know what the day holds. Glenarm Castle is steeped in history and heritage that has lasted for hundreds of years. Maintaining and developing a heritage property like Glenarm Castle looks very different today than what it would have done when I started working here with my father 40 years ago. The dedication and determination of the staff involved, past and present combined with support from owners Lord and Lady Dunluce, has made Glenarm Castle the success it is today. We are only passing through this amazing place; we are striving to leave it better and more sustainable than we found it.

9am I could be dealing with any range of things but mainly the day consists of the daily briefing with Nigel Campbell (events and marketing manager) and Evelyn O’Neill (head of accounts). It’s always interesting as we have a wide range of activities now taking place at Glenarm Castle. Then it is time for emails,

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accounts, budgeting, forward planning, calls, and whatever else arises.

1pm A working lunch, if I’m lucky. It’s a good opportunity to catchup with Bryan Wilson, our farm manager. All being well it’s on the rounds again, there’s usually a project or several on the go, at a time I thought it couldn’t get any busier, this year has been one of the busiest. When Covid hit last March, the day after lockdown the team decided to be pro-active rather than re-active and launched an e-commerce website. Offering a click and collect food service, to what was originally our garden members, it quickly grew during lockdown. It went from 25 orders a week to almost 400 orders a week.

The team went on to successfully secure Tourism NI funding towards the redevelopment of our visitor attraction for 2021 which includes a new welcome centre, woodland walks, heritage centre, museum and electric bike hire. In addition, we added Northern Ireland’s first kids’ mini Land Rover experience, supported by Charles Hurst Land Rover, three new ‘glamping’ pods to the existing six and

additional visitor parking. We are also in planning for our annual DalFest event. We will be working within the Covid guidelines to deliver live music, food and entertainment to a limited number of festival goers. Most of which, combined with the normal day to day running of a heritage estate castle and garden, takes up the rest of my current days with regular meetings with Leslie Morrow, our in-house project manager.

4pm Time permitting, a stop by the house and gardens for a catchup with Jordon McWhirter who’s in charge of the gardens and Wil Morrow from the maintenance department.

6pm All being well, home for tea, a walk to tend to my cows and, on the way home return any missed calls.

8pm It’s the start of night shift with Nigel Campbell.

It’s impossible for both of us to get everything into one day, so we use the quietness in the evenings to plan, reflect on the day’s events and most importantly support each other.

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