Ulster Business – February 2016

FEBRUARY 2016 Price £2.30 (€3.75)

The A&L M&A Way A dip into the world of Belfast law firm A&L Goodbody’s busy corporate department

Interview: First Minister sets out her economic agenda

Executive Search: How are your interviewing skills?

ISSN 1363-2507

9 771363 250005

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Contents 6 News

34 Lottery

70 Food and Drink

The Ronseal of Ulster Business. If it’s business news it will be here

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Jonathan Dobbin knows the wise investment

Alyson Magee takes an in-depth look at the Year of Food & Drink

14 Cover Story

50 Risk Management

76 Motoring

An insight into A&L Goodbody’s very busy corporate team

Exporting is the future but how do you protect yourself in an unknown environment?

Is it a bird? No, it’s the thinking business magazine’s tame racing driver Pat Burns

18 The Big Interview

58 Big Breakfast

82 Appointments

First Minister Arlene Foster says she’s going to keep the economy front and centre

David Elliott eats porridge while Uber’s Kieran Harte tells all

New job? Did you tell us? You could be in here...

24 Energy & Environment

62 Mergers & Acquisitions

90 Events

Professor John Simpson calls for a less risk averse approach to solving a growing problem

Pucker up because the investment funds are in town and they fancy a daliance

There’s no point in pretending you did a dry January. We have photographic evidence here

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24 34

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NEW!

EDITOR’S COMMENT

The countdown begins

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elcome to the February edition of Ulster Business. This month we’ve shaken off any winter blues by getting stuck into the some of the big issues that are front and centre of the business community.

That means getting in front of the woman who is charged with driving, not just the economy, but the whole of Northern Ireland in the coming years, First Minister Arlene Foster.

She told us that her time as Enterprise Minister – where she wasn’t shy about getting her sleeves rolled up on visits to companies up and down the country – and to a lesser extent Finance Minister, has set her up perfectly for the top job.

The minister insisted that the economy is going to be her priority and that will be music to the ears of those in business who are well aware of the fact that social cohesion tends to follow a prosperous and innovative business world.

It won’t be easy, but preparing Northern Ireland for the devolution of corporation tax is a big job and will

Publisher Independent News & Media Ltd Ulster Business 5b Edgewater Business Park Belfast Harbour Estate, Belfast BT3 9JQ www.ulsterbusiness.com Tel: 028 9078 3200 Printer W&G Baird Greystone Press, Caulside Drive, Antrim BT41 2RS www.wgbaird.com

Independent News & Media Ltd © 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Independent News & Media Ltd.

FEBRUARY 2016

need a lot of hard work and preparation to make sure we prime enough inward investors in the first place and are prepared to take them in the second.

One of the crucial aspects of that preparation is making sure we have enough skilled people in place to fill what will hopefully be a flood of jobs.

To help companies make sure they hire the right people, we offer a few interview tips, not for the interviewee but for the interviewer.

We also dip into the world of finance by profiling a couple of the funds which have been actively looking for investments in Northern Ireland over the last few months.

That they’re here is a reflection of the quality of companies which we have on these shores (as well as some favourable valuations) and goes to show that we’re attracting global attention.

For now, enjoy the magazine and hold tight until next time.

David Elliott

Editor David Elliott

Art Editor Stuart Gray

Manager Sonia Armstrong

Production Manager Stuart Gray

Deputy Manager Sylvie Brando

Cover Photography PressEye

Sales Executive Susan Simpson

Free to download. Free to read. ulsterbusiness/app 5

NEWS

The Big Numbers 2,013

Farmers need to focus on efficiencies, says Danske

The number of new dwelling starts in Northern Ireland recorded by Building Control for July – September 2015, an increase of 22% on the same quarter in 2014.

4,856 The number of households presented as homeless to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive during July - September 2015.

100m The number of Chinese outbound tourists, a number which has grown ten-fold since 2000, according to DETI. It’s bringing 100 tour operators from China to visit Northern Ireland at the end of this month.

15% The increase in the exports from Northern Ireland to the US in 2014/2015, according to DETI. Over £1bn worth of goods went stateside during the year.

£22,290 The average salary of administrative officers in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the highest of all UK regions.

£19,290 The average salary of administrative officers in the Civil Service in London.

Pictured at Danske Bank Agri Outlook 2016 breakfast event are Danske Bank’s Head of Agricultural Relations John Henning and Chief Economist Angela McGowan, with Chairman of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists Sam Butler.

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orthern Ireland’s agri-food sector is facing multiple threats and needs to focus on becoming even more efficient to ward against volatile global markets.

That was the message from Danske Bank at its Agri Economic Outlook Breakfast last month where the possibility of a UK exit from the European Union, fluctuating prices for commodities such as milk, meat and grain, weather and other factors outside the control of farmers remain in play. The bank’s Head of Agricultural Relations John Henning said producers must focus on improving the factors which are within their control.

“They can’t control the global price of milk or beef, but farmers can focus on what they can control at farm level,” he told the event at the Kingspan Stadium.

“That means farm efficiency, supply chain management, succession planning and making sure their business acumen matches technical performance.”

The industry remains in a state of flux, Mr Henning said.

“Industry downturns and political support for the agricultural sector remain a constant

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challenge. It was recently reported that farm incomes in Northern Ireland had fallen by over 40 per cent in the last year.

“The ‘Brexit’ uncertainty also looms on the horizon and we still require clarity on the levels of future agricultural support and an alternative policy to the current CAP. That said, we know that local farmers and producers are extremely resilient to change and Danske Bank is committed to supporting them as they strive to succeed in 2016.”

Meanwhile, Danske Bank’s Chief Economist Angela McGowan, said the global picture is mixed.

“We have had a volatile start to the year in global markets and the strength of sterling against the euro means there continues to be pressure on local exporters. Milk prices, like most commodities, continue to be depressed and that shows no sign of changing in the short term. However Danske Bank anticipates commodities in general to stabilise in the second half of this year.

“A potential Brexit could also have a bigger impact here than in Scotland, England and Wales as we in Northern Ireland get more money per capita from Europe than them.

NEWS

Nominations open for entrepreneur award

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he EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 programme has opened for nominations from Northern Ireland, kicking off this year’s nationwide search for Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs. The theme of this year’s programme centres on ‘creating your business legacy’ and is open to entrepreneurs across all sectors.

Entries are now open until 29 February with the 24 finalists announced in April. The programme is open to entrepreneurs across all sectors and growth stages, from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The awards programme is divided into three categories – Emerging, Industry and International – with eight finalists chosen per category.

Individuals who wish to put themselves forward, or nominate an entrepreneur with their consent, can fill out the online nomination form at www.eoy.ie or call the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ team for further information on 01 221 2250.

The deadline for nominations is Friday 29 February 2016.

Pictured at the launch of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ (EOY™) 2016 programme are (L-R) Jeremy Fitch (Invest NI ); Sean Duffy (Programme Director EOY); Rob Heron (Tax Partner, EY Ireland, Northern Ireland); and Jack Dobson (Dunbia, and winner of the 2015 EOY Industry Category).

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FEBRUARY 2016

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NEWS

Quotes of the month

Waterfront allows conference buyers a sneak peek at redevelopment

“I’m the last person you should model yourself on or seek advice from. I just don’t do it the way others have done it. I’ve never planned my career.”

British Airways and Aer Lingus owner Willie Walsh is refreshingly honest on a visit to Belfast to speak at a PKF-FPM/ Ulster Business School event.

“Our farmers need to focus on what is in their control. They can’t control the global price of milk or beef, but farmers can focus on what they can control at farm level. That means farm efficiency, supply chain management, succession planning and making sure their business acumen matches technical performance.”

John Henning, Danske Bank’s Head of Agricultural Relations, urges farmers to focus on the factors they can influence.

“We simply can’t sustain this ongoing anti-business environment. We are an industry that is a significant driver of the Northern Ireland economy, and pregnant with opportunity as we grow the offer to consumers and tourists. The outmoded current legislation is simply holding us back.”

Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster, wants to “force” the Assembly to modernise outdated liquor licensing laws here.

From L-R: David Boyce (Tourism Ireland), Geoff Fenlon (Belfast Waterfront), Sheila Geary (Visit Belfast) and Willie Lougheed (Tourism Northern Ireland).

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ne of the biggest business tourism developments in Northern Ireland in recent years has opened the stage door to potential buyers.

The extended and refurbished Belfast Waterfront hosted conference buyers from around the globe to a tour of its extensive new facilities recently, four months ahead of the official opening in May. It’s hoped the £29.5m investment by Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund will allow bigger events to come to Belfast, and so far, initial interest bodes well.

The venue has already secured 25 events for the city over the next three years which will bring in the region of 70,000 delegates spending over £34m (by 2020 the facility is targeting 35,000 conference visitors a year) and it’s hoped the sneak preview of the facilities will persuade more to sign up.

Conference buyers visiting the Waterfront were given a tour of the new conference and event space which includes two interconnecting multipurpose halls which together measure over 2,500m2, three additional meeting rooms, each

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accommodating up to 200 delegates and a new 660m2 reception area.

In addition, there’s a 2,000 seat auditorium, 380 seat studio and 14 existing meeting rooms, all designed to attract potentially lucrative conferences and events from around the world.

The first conference to arrive once the Belfast Waterfront opens is the Belfast Surgical Week, organised by ASGBI, in May 2016.

It will bring 2,000 specialists and is expected to generate £2.2m for the city’s economy.

The first conference in the new Belfast Waterfront, the annual International Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), will attract 2,000 delegates bringing £2.2m for Belfast through bed nights, transportation and other visitor spends.

Nicholas Gair, ASGBI Chief Executive, said the venue is well suited for his organisation’s needs.

“The new developments at Belfast Waterfront perfectly meet the requirements of our International Surgical Congress, allowing us to stage large-scale plenary symposia.”

NEWS

You’re hired: Matthew sails through interview process

Discover what’s possible

Sales Growth On Your Doorstep

As the winner of the BDO Interview Award top scoring Ulster University Business School Matthew McClenaghan prepares to be ‘hired’ by Professor Gillian Armstrong, Glenda Martin, Employability Lecturer and Suzanne Creed, Senior Manager BDO.

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atthew McClenaghan, a second year BSc Accounting student at the Ulster University Business School, has out-scored over 100 of his peers to win the inaugural BDO Interview Award.

Organised by the Business School and the University’s Careers / Employability Unit with support from BDO Northern Ireland, the award process comprised a series of mock interviews undertaken by 16 senior staff from both organisations over a four day period.

The participating students are all undertaking a new module on Career Entrepreneurship as part of the BSc (Hons) Accounting and the BSc Finance and Investment Analysis programmes within the Business School. As the top performing student Matthew received a monetary award and can now look forward to a summer placement and mentoring in the BDO Northern Ireland offices in Belfast.

Suzanne Creed, Senior Manager at BDO and an alumni of Ulster University said the company works closely with Ulster University Business School.

“At BDO Northern Ireland we are passionate about supporting and developing the skills of our future leaders and in doing so we endeavour to support and give back to our local Universities regularly.

The BDO Interview award is one of many activities that are so important for developing students’ skills, experience and employability and we are delighted to support such a valuable initiative.”

FEBRUARY 2016

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NEWS

Former Botanic Lodge snapped up in four weeks

Executive go west as new First Minister settles in

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former bed and breakfast on Belfast’s Botanic Avenue has been snapped up for nearly twice its asking price.

The building, which previously housed the Botanic Lodge, has been sold for £606,000 to a private investor only one month after going on the market, according to selling agents Osborne King.

It had originally been marketed at £295,000 in November and, after attracting a strong level of interest, was quickly snapped up.

The building has been derelict for a number of years.

Richard McCaig from Osborne King said the market is becoming more bullish.

“The speed with which this deal was completed reflects the intense amount of interest in this particular development opportunity and suggests that market confidence has grown significantly over the past couple of years,” he said.

“We are now seeing the gradual return of buyers, many of whom are cash buyers, willing to acquire and develop property on a speculative basis.”

The Botanic purchase was said to have been bought by a private investor, despite the fact planning permission for 23 apartments and a number of retail units had lapsed.

It’s not known what the new owner plans for the building but Mr Craig said this, and other recent deals, show the commercial property market is back on its feet.

“There can be little doubt that the commercial property market is moving forward at last.”

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Pictured are Ann McGregor (NI Chamber); First Minister Arlene Foster MLA and Jim Dollard (Electric Ireland).

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he new First Minister has pledged to make growing the Northern Ireland economy the Executive’s number one priority.

And in an effort to make sure that focus isn’t just on Belfast, Arlene Foster has revealed she is taking future Executive meetings outside Stormont to both Enniskillen and Londonderry, the respective hometowns of her and the Deputy First Minister.

The minister, speaking at a Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry event, issued a rallying call to “everyone with entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen” to join politicians in showing leadership to boost economic output here.

“During my time in office, I want to see a Northern Ireland where economic prosperity is achieved and shared right across the Province and where we value people from every background and every walk of life and make them as proud of this country as we are,” she said.

“Northern Ireland has become a place where we can celebrate our culture and respect that of others. By working together Government can reform and work for the

good of all our people and I will work with everyone to make sure this happens. I believe that politics should be a feature of every town and every community and that our elected representatives should get out and meet local people in their own constituencies.”

The minister said she would hold the “next few” Executive meetings in Enniskillen and Derry and set out her stall for her time in office.

“I am immensely proud of Northern Ireland and I want to do my very best for our people.

As First Minister, making our country better for all is not just my duty, it is my privilege.

“True leadership is about service not power and I am particularly proud of the role I played as Economy Minister.”

“We have brought more jobs to Northern Ireland than at any time in our history and we have secured the power to set our own rate of corporation tax at 12.5% from April 2018. When others would have walked away from corporation tax because it was too big or too complex we stayed the course because the prize is too great.

Read Ulster Business’s in-depth interview with the First Minister on pages 18 and 19.

NEWS

Counting the cost of the National Living Wage

By Janet Kerrigan, Service & Development Director, Willis Consulting & Employment Services

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n just under three months, if you aren’t already, you will have to pay employees aged 25 and above the new National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour.

Have you given thought as to how you will manage your higher wage costs?

Think practically

Titanic Belfast’s crew are pictured celebrating as recruitment opens for 50 new frontline fixed-term jobs for its summer high season.

Titanic jobs boost as venue set to hire 50 new staff

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ne of Northern Ireland’s biggest visitor attractions is taking on 50 new recruits ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer.

Titanic Belfast is hiring in its Visitor Experience, Ticketing, Retail and Events divisions in what is the company’s largest single recruitment drive since opening in 2012.

It currently employs 130 people directly, as well as 139 sub-contractors.

Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast, Tim Husbands MBE is calling for applications from strong communicators.

“At Titanic Belfast, we value our staff as one of key assets and reasons for success having been named Europe’s best visitor attraction for groups, beating the Eiffel Tour and London Eye as well as listed in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist of the world’s most striking locations,” he said. “If you have excellent communication skills and interest in both Titanic and Belfast’s industrial heritage – you could have the ‘Titanic-factor’ and be part of our award-winning crew!”

In the first three years the exhibition said it generated £105m in additional tourism spend for the Northern Ireland economy and has sustained around 893 jobs each year in the wider economy.

FEBRUARY 2016

Knowing the correct rate to pay your workers is of course just one element of planning ahead for the changes. Whilst some employers will absorb the higher wage bill others, from the feedback we’ve had so far, are concerned about how to manage the additional cost and any potential implications: • Review your wage bill now and the cost of the increase. Take into account other additional costs you are about to incur as an employer, such as those associated with your pension auto-enrolment obligations; • Consider ways to increase productivity. Changes such as increased costs can provide the motivation to explore ways to improve efficiency; • Provide training for your manager/s on how to recruit and conduct salary reviews to avoid potential age discrimination risks; • Review your budget for opportunities to cut costs. As with increasing productivity, it may be that having to increase the salaries you pay provides a different perspective on other costs, such as reducing overtime, bonuses and recruitment, negotiating with suppliers, or increasing what you charge; • Make tough decisions sooner rather than later. Where the increased costs cannot be sustained longer term (there are further planned increases in the National Living Wage to £9 by 2020) consider restructure and potential reduction in headcount.

We at Willis Consulting & Employment Services can work in partnership with you to help you understand your obligations, consider the consequences for your business, develop ways to manage the impact and deliver management training. We can also help you undertake salary reviews and benchmarking exercises, and work with you to devise strategies to minimise the impact for your business now and over the next few years.

For more information contact Janet Kerrigan at Willis Consulting & Employment Services on 028 9032 9042 or janetk@willisconsulting.co.uk

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NEWS

From hotels to coffee, the McKeever way

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cKeever Hotel Group has just launched its very own craft coffee to tie in with Tourism NI’s Year of Food & Drink.

The brew is on sale in all four of the family-run hotels establishments and has been developed in conjunction with Newtownards coffee roasters 38 Espresso.

McKeever Hotels, Group Operations Director, Eddie McKeever, said the company’s brews have proved popular.

“We have worked with the coffee roasters 38 Espresso team for many years now – their coffee is already a huge hit with our customers,” he said.

“The opportunity to locally craft a new bespoke blend of coffee exclusive to McKeever Hotels is another part of our ongoing investment, and something we believe our customers will love.

Working with the team from 38 Espresso we have essentially created our own bespoke coffee blend, which has a wonderful rounded full bodied flavour. We love that the coffee is roasted in Northern Ireland which helps seal in the fresh flavour.”

McKeever Group Hotels will be selling the newly ‘crafted coffee’ at its four hotels; Corrs Corner, The Dunsilly Hotel, The Adair Arms and Dillons Hotel, Letterkenny. For more information about McKeever Hotels, visit www.mckeeverhotelgroup.com.

Ryan Bell, Sales Manager, 38 Espresso (right) and Eddie McKeever, Group Operations Director, McKeever Hotel Group.

Northern Ireland economy struggling to keep up with rest of the UK

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he Northern Ireland economy’s inability to keep pace with the rest of the UK mean it will be the worst performing of all 12 regions in 2016, PwC said.

Its latest Northern Ireland Economic Outlook said the economy will grow by 1.4% in 2016, down on its previous estimate of 1.4% and well down on the average UK growth rate of 2.2%.

A bigger comparison comes from across the border, with the economy there expected to grow by 5.5% this year having topped 7% in 2015.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s sluggish recovery since the global downturn has

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meant that only one measure of economic performance – services sector employment – has surpassed its pre-crisis peak, according to PwC’s Chief Economist Dr Esmond Birney.

The remaining nine have struggled to reclaim their lustre with real disposable income and construction employment the biggest laggards.

Dr Birnie said there is a lot of work to be done to get the economy here back to where it was and warned against using headline employment figures as a measure of economic success.

He said total employment in Northern Ireland is nearly back to pre-crisis levels but output remains 8% below, partly

because the number of hours worked per employee has fallen, as well as the rise in part-time employment.

“There are other measures that, when taken together, play into the region’s competitiveness, its capacity for wealth creation and the prosperity of our people,” he said. “These are measures that need to be debated and addressed if we are to truly rebalance the economy.”

“The key issue remains productivity and, while that has been a major challenge for decades, addressing it is a ‘mustdo’ for the incoming post-election Executive and should be included in the new Executive’s priorities for a new Programme for Government.”

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ORGANISED BY

The deal makers A&L Goodbody corporate partners – Peter Stafford, Mark Thompson and Alastair Keith – tell Ulster Business how the firm’s corporate department in Northern Ireland has expanded through the recession and maintains its strong position at the forefront of local M&A activity

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&L Goodbody has topped the Experian Corpfin M&A league tables for the past four consecutive years – a trend that looks set to continue in 2016, according to partner Mark Thompson.

“Early indications for this year are positive and we have entered 2016 with a very strong pipeline of local and international deal activity,” he said.

Partner Peter Stafford says that the firm has been struck by the variety of deals in

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Northern Ireland – both in terms of value and sector – in the past 12-to-18 months.

mix of private equity, traditional bank debt and alternative capital providers.

“Whilst we recorded significant transactions that we would typically expect in the healthcare, food/agri and energy & renewables sectors, it was also encouraging to note increased activity emerging in other sectors such as hospitality and commercial property,” he said.

“The steady economic recovery here has created a far more attractive investment environment than we have seen in recent years,” he continued. “In 2015 we continued to see increased confidence among both local and international investors seeking to invest in Northern Ireland and I think this will continue throughout 2016 – particularly as we begin to edge closer to the lower corporation tax rate in April 2018.”

The mid-market sector was notably more active in 2015 and we continued to see a return of domestic buyers, funded by a

COVER STORY

Fellow partner Alastair Keith explained that, whilst A&L Goodbody has had some role to play on most of the major international transactions in the jurisdiction in the past five years, its corporate team remains very much focused on local, indigenous transactions.

“In the past 12-to-18 months we have acted on a large portfolio of significant local transactions, including acting for Ballyrashane Creamery on its merger with Town of Monaghan Co-Op to create LacPatrick and for 3fivetwo Group on the acquisition of St Joseph’s Hospital, Sligo,” he said. “We also acted for SS Nomadic Trust on the transfer of the SS Nomadic to the Titanic Foundation; Dalata Group on its acquisition of the Holiday Inn, Belfast; and Adelie (Ireland) Limited on its acquisition of the business of Bite Snack Foods.

“On the international side, meanwhile, we continued to act on a number of major transactions such as the acquisition of the Old Bushmills Distillery Company by Jose Cuervo; the disposal by United Drug Group Healthcare of its pharmaceutical distribution division and the acquisition of Valpar Industrial Limited by Micro Matic A/S.” According to Thompson, the impending 12.5% corporation tax rate is already beginning to impact on transactions that the corporate team in Belfast is working on. “We are seeing decisions being taken now to invest in Northern Ireland because it is expected to have the lowest rate of corporation tax in the UK from April 2018,” he said.

“Whereas previously international companies considering coming into the UK would have looked to GB, there is now a genuine commercial proposition for setting up here instead and this is already affecting how we structure certain transactions.”

Alongside the work the firm carries out on local and international investment coming into Northern Ireland, the partners said A&L Goodbody is always looking for innovative ways to assist clients looking outside the jurisdiction.

A prime example is the firm’s awardwinning China programme.

FEBRUARY 2016

“We are partnering with leading Chinese law firms to take interns for six months to give them exposure to Western markets,” Keith explained. “At the same time, we gain invaluable contacts in China and local market knowledge for clients looking to do business there.”

Keith said this international outlook is becoming evermore apparent among the firm’s clients. “Our clients are showing us that those prospering in the local market are pushing out internationally,” he said.

“There isn’t a sufficient domestic market to enable those large companies to reach their full potential here and they are reaping the rewards of expanding into new markets. This, in turn, means the local legal market is also going to require that international footprint and capacity.”

Having grown significantly in recent years, the partners said the corporate team at A&L Goodbody has an unrivalled capacity to advise on the consistent flow of international transactions and high volume of local deals coming through its doors each year.

“We continued to invest in growing the business throughout the recession and have expanded the corporate department from three lawyers at the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 to a team of 13 currently – making us the largest corporate team in the local market,” said Thompson.

“The team is a pure corporate transaction and advisory team in its truest sense.

This means we have the capacity and the ability to deliver the highest quality of service on even the most complex transactions and we can seamlessly deliver any project on time – be it on a local, all-island or international basis.

“Each member of the team is a specialist in their own right and the group brings together a real depth and breadth of knowledge and experience. Some have grown up through the firm, while others have returned to Northern Ireland having spent time in ‘magic circle’ firms in GB. A number have also undertaken secondments in the likes of Invest Northern Ireland and NI Water, which really improves their commercial ability.”

Peter Stafford continued: “The past few years have been incredibly exciting for the corporate team. We have acted on a large portfolio of transactions and the fact that we are consistently busy and are working at such a high level means that we are exceptionally polished and up to speed on how things work.

“As corporate Northern Ireland becomes more sophisticated, it is looking for a more sophisticated legal services solution, and that’s what we have been doing for years in growing our corporate team in the way that we have.

“We wouldn’t perceive that there’s any difference in the quality of a corporate lawyer sitting in A&L Goodbody in Belfast or Dublin or New York or London,” he said.

“The firm has an international reputation and, whereas companies in the local market used to have to go outside of the jurisdiction for this quality of service, they now get it in Northern Ireland but at a price which is compatible with this market.”

So what does the future hold for the corporate team at A&L Goodbody?

Thompson sees the role of the corporate lawyer in the Northern Ireland market evolving in the coming years. “Gone are the days when we were expected to simply provide a set legal service,” he said. “More >

HOW THE INDUSTRY RATES A&L GOODBODY Ranked Tier 1 for Corporate & M&A – The Legal 500 UK Ranked Band 1 for Corporate & M&A – Chambers & Partners Ranked top of M&A league tables – Experian Corpfin, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 ‘Corporate Law Firm of the Year’ – Insider Media, 2013 & 2014 ‘Northern Ireland Law Firm of the Year’ – The Legal 500 UK, 2015 ‘European Law Firm of the Year’ – The Lawyer, 2015

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Back L-R: David Rowan; Nikki Stewart; Peter Stafford; Emma Wallace; David Flinn; Jonathan Hacking; Catherine Paul; Mark Thompson; Kate Keith and Mark Stockdale. Front L-R: Alice Bailie; Alastair Keith and Sarah Sistern.

and more we are being seen by our clients as business advisers and they are picking up the phone to run ideas past us, in the same way that they would traditionally have done with their accountants in the past.

“For us, that means a need for greater commercial awareness and a solid understanding of exactly what issues our clients are facing in order to offer them the best solutions. As the local economy develops and the private sector here in Northern Ireland matures, that level of service, sophistication and integration is going to be increasingly necessary.

“But ultimately it’s about trust,” Thompson continued. “We are renowned in the local market for our reliability and we have grown even throughout the downturn because we have the trust of a dedicated local client base.

Our growth in the future will be underpinned by that same trust and our clients’ confidence in us that we are brilliant at what we do and will always deliver for them.”

Stafford concluded: “We have made great strides in recent years and, in the changed environment post-economic crisis, A&L Goodbody is now one of the biggest law firms in Belfast. Our corporate team sits within a wider team of over 100 people in our Belfast office and, as we edge closer to the 10th birthday of our Belfast office in May 2017, we anticipate that number to increase further as we continue to invest in our business to meet a growing demand for our service.”

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Sarah Sistern, Solicitor “Having trained with A&L Goodbody, I qualified as a solicitor into the corporate team in 2012.

“On joining the firm in 2010 the Belfast office was in its third year and was approximately a third of the size that it is today in terms of people on the ground (we now have over 100 people). It was a close-knit environment which had, and continues to have, a great focus on employee training and development. I have enjoyed building relationships with clients and playing a part in delivering a busy programme of workshops and seminars which are specifically tailored to their needs.

“Since qualifying I have had the opportunity to advise an exciting portfolio of clients in both the local and international markets. Recent highlights include advising the Irish Football Association on the redevelopment of the National Stadium at Windsor Park; advising Ballyrashane Co-Operative in relation to its merger with Town of Monaghan Co-Op to create LacPatrick; and advising Micro Matic A/S in relation to its acquisition of the Valpar Group.”

David Rowan, Associate “I joined the corporate department at A&L Goodbody in November 2012 having moved back to Northern Ireland from London, where I worked at a leading US law firm for six years.

“A&L Goodbody appealed to me for a variety of reasons, including the calibre of the firm’s clients, its unrivalled reputation in the market, and the opportunity to work alongside our Dublin colleagues to advise clients on an all-island basis.

“I enjoy the innovative, dynamic and social culture of the firm and being given the opportunity to develop ongoing relationships with clients.

“I have been fortunate to work with a wide variety of local businesses in a range of sectors and have been involved in some of the largest and most complex corporate transactions in Northern Ireland over the last few years, including: advising Jose Cuervo on its acquisition of The Old Bushmills Distillery Company; advising Hasting Funds Management in connection with its acquisition of Phoenix Natural Gas; and advising the Aventas Group on the disposal of its packaging and construction industry supplies business.”

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INTERVIEW

Economy first, First Minister?

Only weeks after taking up the role of First Minister, David Elliott caught up with Arlene Foster in her new office in Stormont’s Parliament Buildings to find out where the economy stands on her new agenda

I

f there is one part of the community which raised a metaphorical high five when Arlene Foster was announced as the new First Minister, it was those in business.

It was they who witnessed first-hand the no-holds-barred way she handled her role while the Minister of Enterprise Trade and Investment, showing not only a thorough understanding of the brief but also a desire to get under the skin of companies and to sell the

18

benefits of doing business in Northern Ireland at every available opportunity.

If there is a factory floor or an office building in Northern Ireland which she hasn’t hosted an Arlene visit or if there’s an overseas investor who she hasn’t given the NIHS (Northern Ireland Hard Sell) to, then it’s a rare thing.

You could say it’s by coincidence but the facts show that under her watch, a record number of jobs and inward investment has

been won for Northern Ireland, despite the fact the economy was going through one of the worst downturns in its history.

That’s all well and good, but Mrs Foster’s brief has changed since she’s stepped up to the First Minister plate, and she’s now got a more wide-ranging to-do list to tick off.

Does that mean the business world will get shoved aside in the coming years?

The answer – as Ulster Business was about to find out having wangled a few minutes in front of the First Minister – would appear to be a qualified no.

“The economy will remain my primary focus,” she said in her new office at Parliament Buildings. “I’ve seen what economic development can bring to Northern Ireland and it makes sense to continue focusing on it. If you can grow the economy and create jobs it helps massively in terms of social cohesion.

“When people feel they have a job and they’re doing well then everything slots into place. My message is that we will to look at economic growth as the key driver for Northern Ireland.”

INTERVIEW

Westminster to Stormont and dropped like a stone to 12.5% from the current rate of 21%.

Are we doing enough to make sure everything from the workforce to the commercial property market and all the other vital parts needed to cope with an influx of investment are in place by then?

The First Minister pointed to work being carried out by both the Department of Employment and Learning and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment on the Skills Barometer, a model which helps identify the skills industry needs and gives universities, colleges and schools the insight to plan their courses.

And while acknowledging government needs to take the lead in preparing for the tax cut, she said others need to lend a hand.

First Minister Arlene Foster and Ulster Business editor David Elliott.

That will be music to the ears of all freemarket enthusiasts out there and will be seen as a job well done given unemployment figures are back down to the levels witnessed before the credit crunch took hold.

However, the more eagle-eyed economists may be wondering if jobs are enough to keep the economy here on an upward trajectory?

Wouldn’t productivity, the one facet of the Northern Ireland economy which has failed to keep up with the recovery (still down 8% on pre recessionary levels, according to PwC), be a better area to focus on.

It’s all part of the wider plan, the First Minister said.

“Shortly after the first Program for Government began the recession arrived so the focus was on trying to provide jobs for everyone. Despite the fact we went through a very bad downturn, we still managed to put in place policies which helped bring more jobs to Northern Ireland than ever before.

“That was the right thing to do, to implement the jobs fund, to look at business rating, industrial de-rating and those sorts of policies to help out our indigenous businesses.

FEBRUARY 2016

“Now we’re back and looking to drive up productivity and the standard of living and we do that by attracting in companies and inward investment. Of course the rise in the national living wage will help with that as well.”

The latter point may help to boost overall living standards but its swift implementation is a worry for industries in Northern Ireland such as hospitality and domiciliary care firms.

Mrs Foster has sympathy for them.

“When the chancellor introduced the movee to the living wage he didn’t take into account it would impact those sectors quite as hard. I took evidence from some of them when I was finance minister and could feed that through to the chancellor.

“We’re going to have to look at how we’re going to fund some of them, particularly in social care. What you could have got for £1m in social care you won’t now becuase some of it’s going to have to go on wages.

That’s going to be a real challenge for us.”

Meanwhile, the interest of potential overseas investors is expected to be piqued in 2018 when corporation tax is devolved from

“It’s not just government which needs to step up to the plate. We need to look at this in a collaborative way and see how universities, businesses and industry can help us get there.”

When it comes to getting potential investors to come here, Mrs Foster isn’t going to stop travelling.

She’s heading to the east and west coasts of the US in July to “expand my usual story around the quality of our young people, our proximity to Europe, but also adding in our tax story which is hugely important.”

Really, it should come as no surprise that economic development is still front and centre of the First Minister’s agenda, but the reiteration of the fact does help to reassure the business community.

Having survived one of the worst recessions in history, the Northern Ireland economy is about to be given a leg up in the form of a tax cut which will, together with a number of other important factors, put us head and shoulders above many other regions when it comes to the scramble for inward investment.

But to take full advantage of the tax cut, strong leadership is essential.

Arlene Foster seems well up for the challenge.

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in association with

Viscount Awards: Recognising the best of the best

W

hile the business world in Northern Ireland still has challenges, we have much to be proud of. During a turbulent economic period, we attracted levels of foreign direct investment which are the envy of the other UK regions and have become a key base for many multinational organisations.

Laura Murray and Jenny McIlroy from TG Eakin which scooped the Exporter of the Year and Overall Excellence awards at last year’s Viscount Awards.

And despite a slower growth trajectory than we’d like, momentum looks set to build as we look forward to lower corporation tax and an economic strategy which aims to create a bigger, more competitive private sector.

We must continue to focus on developing our homegrown talent and encouraging innovation at every level if we are to increase not only our productivity, but also our value outside Northern Ireland and achieve our collective potential.

That’s just one of the reasons why the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards, in association with Ulster Business, concentrate on finding the very best of our indigenous businesses. Our nine-strong judging panel is now on the hunt once again for the most exciting, dynamic and fast growing companies from a range of sectors.

Medical device manufacturer TG Eakin, one of last year’s big winners at the Viscount Awards, is an excellent example of a locally-owned company where the focus on continuous innovation has allowed it to become a player in the global market place.

“It’s incredibly important to profile our successes. We need a bigger business base in Northern Ireland and if we showcase these companies who are exemplars in their fields, it stimulates interest in business and might just encourage someone to think ’I could do that’.

Talking about the awards, Jenny McIlroy, International Marketing Executive at TG Eakin said: “We were delighted to win two awards at the 2015 Viscount Awards. Getting that kind of recognition externally was a real boost to our hard working team and was also a great piece of news to share with our business partners at our company conference in November.

“This year, as always, I’m looking for companies where I can see clear leadership. I like to see innovative approaches to achieve market penetration in their sector, and the successes that follow on from that. I’m always looking for someone who’s a pioneer, that breaks the mould and that addresses their market in some way that’s different to what’s been done before,” he added.

“We’ve had a very busy year, going direct to market with our products in the Republic of Ireland for the first time and launching a new subsidiary company in Tokyo last September, which is a big achievement for us. We’ve created 25 new jobs over the last 12 months, bringing our total numbers to 70 and our focus going forward is to work on market insights and new product development. It’s a very exciting time for us,” she added.

Entries to the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards are invited in seven categories: • Innovator of the Year Award • Exporter of the Year Award • Best SME Award • Best Business Start-Up Award • Employee Champion Award • Business Person of the Year Award • Overall Excellence Award

Colin Walsh, Vice Chair of the CBI in Northern Ireland and Viscount Awards judge said: “This is one of the awards ceremonies that I really look forward to every year. Not only because we all go to London for the day, but because of the interesting cross section of companies we get to see – truly the best there is in Northern Ireland.

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The deadline for submissions is Monday 21st March at 5pm and the awards luncheon will take place on Tuesday 24th May at the IoD, Pall Mall, London. For entry forms and further information visit the website www.viscountawards.ulsterbusiness.com

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Russell Bailie, Bailies Coffee Company, Belfast

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Catriona Gibson, newly-appointed Managing Partner of Arthur Cox’s Northern Ireland practice, and Alan Taylor, Arthur Cox’s outgoing Managing Partner and new Chairman.

Arthur Cox appoints new Managing Partner

L

eading law firm Arthur Cox has appointed Catriona Gibson as Managing Partner of its Northern Ireland practice.

Catriona becomes the first female to assume leadership of a top-tier law firm in Northern Ireland and will lead a practice of 90, whilst continuing to head the highlyrespected Dispute Resolution team.

She takes over the Managing Partner role from Alan Taylor, under whose eight-year tenure the firm has gone from strengthto-strength. Alan, meanwhile, becomes Chairman of Arthur Cox’s Belfast office.

Catriona joined the firm 10 years ago, following a very successful career in England. She specialises in commercial, product liability and finance litigation, and has worked on many of the most high-profile cases to come before the courts in Northern Ireland and London.

Speaking of her new role, Catriona said:

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“It’s a tremendous honour to lead one of the most respected advisory teams in Northern Ireland. Our firm in Belfast has a history that stretches back almost 100 years, and it is remarkable what we have built under Alan’s term – a firm with truly global reach and capabilities, one that is a natural adviser to the largest multinationals operating here.

“Looking forwards, we are committed to the local marketplace and committed to providing trusted and innovative advice to an ever-growing national and international client base.

“I have learnt much from Alan’s leadership and will continue to value his counsel as we further build our reputation for nuanced and pragmatic advice.”

Alan Taylor, now Chairman of Arthur Cox in Northern Ireland, commented: “Catriona is unparalleled locally within professional services for the strength of her capabilities and the international locus that she has

brought right to the heart of Northern Ireland’s professional service community.

“She has been a leading light within the practice for many years, highly regarded by clients and peers alike as an excellent advisor who is not only technically very strong but also very commercially-minded.

“Catriona has been a major driver of Arthur Cox’s success and has been heavily involved in a number of genuinely pioneering legal developments in recent years. I look forward to working closely with Catriona in her new role, in which I know she will be a huge success.”

Arthur Cox is ranked as one of the leading law firms in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by both Chambers and Legal 500 and currently advises Government, leading corporate clients and the SME sector. The firm employs over 90 people in Belfast with additional offices in Dublin, London, New York and Silicon Valley.

Energy, Waste & Environment

ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

Progress needs innovation and innovation can call for new techniques

By John Simpson

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lanning rules and ministerial discretion can too often combine to frustrate business initiatives in Northern Ireland in what is becoming an excessively risk averse culture.

That is not to argue that risks (and potential benefits) should not be professionally assessed, simply that in a spectrum of encouraging innovation, the planning outcomes are weighted too frequently against innovation and beneficial change.

The defensive response is that the precautionary principle makes sense.

Importantly, the precautionary principle is not a new idea. It has been in vogue, one way and another, for every stage in the evolution of civilisation and improving living standards.

Today’s difficulty with the precautionary principle is that the balance between precaution and innovation is sometimes being used not just to seek reassurance but to the point of making the status quo a form of ‘rigour mortis’.

If there is evidence that a successful poultry industry generates too much chicken litter for natural disposal, how does it become acceptable to introduce alternative disposal methods which, as an integrated system, also use combustion to generate electricity?

What evidence of the successful adoption of these techniques elsewhere gives adequate reassurance? What marginal disadvantage, if any, can be weighed into an evaluation to justify the approval of an investment?

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Whether the question is about the disposal or recycling of chicken litter, or the extraction of shale gas, or the disposal and recycling of waste from households, farms or businesses, they all contain potential benefits and also attract potential criticisms. Defending the status quo also imposes extra costs. How damaging to a potentially profitable business can restrictive or prohibitive planning restrictions be?

There are several dimensions to planning decisions that combine to create pressure for negative actions.

“Electricity costs in Northern Ireland are possibly higher-thannecessary because much of the electricity generating capacity depends on imported fuel, whether coal or natural gas.”

First, because planning decisions need to be defined in terms of location, or where the project would locate, the decision making can become focused on location to the exclusion of wider benefits. Energy from waste projects may attract generic approval on environmental and economic criteria but

then attract the NIMBY (not in my back yard) syndrome.

The transfer of planning powers to the reformed local government structure reignites the danger of NIMBY type reactions.

Second, doubtful evidence quoting scientific or medical suspicions easily becomes ‘accepted truth’. Harmful emissions or electromechanical transmission systems or suspected cancer inducing substances, all become worrying features which influence lay opinions. If there is substance to the argument, it cannot be ignored. The real problem is in ensuring that independent professional opinion gains respect.

Northern Ireland is paying a high price for restrictive planning decisions.

The long delayed planning appeal to allow a high capacity cross-border electricity link in the Tyrone/Cavan region is distorting the electricity market. Various estimates point to an extra bill for Northern Ireland electricity customers in excess of £20m each year. This delay centres mainly on the objection to high capacity overhead pylons linking across nearly 100 miles across the middle of Ireland.

Electricity costs in Northern Ireland are possibly higher-than-necessary because much of the electricity generating capacity depends on imported fuel, whether coal or natural gas. What is unknown is whether there is a competitive source of shale gas hidden in the geology of this area. If there is >

ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

FEBRUARY 2016

25

ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

a potential shale gas reservoir(s) would policy decisions be better if the potential for shale gas was known, rather than obscured by adverse planning decisions on exploration.

The shale gas debate is a conspicuous example of scientific negativity. Is there a risk that extraction could be damaging to water supplies? Of course there is a risk but that risk can be minimised by proven technology. Is the appropriate policy to forgo the potential source of fuel or to ensure its development with modern safeguards? The precautionary approach comes with a cost which, at present, cannot even be properly quantified.

There is a link between energy and environmental policies in another sector affected by planning constraints.

Northern Ireland by common agreement needs to reduce the volume and content of waste being disposed in land-fill sites.

Some progress has been made in the

26

selective collection of waste with paper segregation now generally working.

However, the more ambitious and necessary plans for co-operation between different local authorities linked to energy from waste plants have stalled.

The hesitation in accepting the energyfrom-waste plans seems to stem from a perception of risk from emissions gases which goes against evidence of similar plants elsewhere and also from the NIMBY syndrome, again based on perceptions which other places show to be unnecessary.

There is enough evidence in Northern Ireland to show that energy costs are being increased as a consequence of restrictive planning decisions. Lay perceptions of risk are overriding the professional evidence of people qualified to make risk judgements. That is a worrying set of relationships. Logically, it is an educational problem to show where unfounded perceptions can be offset.

There are costs for the economy from these conclusions.

Several large manufacturers are intensive energy users in their processes. They face some of the highest usage tariffs. Northern Ireland needs energy policies which make energy prices more competitive. This may need better regulation by the Utility Regulator incorporating protection of customers for whom competition has not generated acceptable answers. Indeed, the Regulator should make it a priority to ensure that price differences encourage the competitive entry of more external suppliers to the domestic Northern Ireland market.

If Northern Ireland electricity prices, for any group of customers, are out of line with comparable prices in Great Britain, the Republic or France, why is increased inter-connector trade not a logical response? What action does the Regulator propose to take?

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ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

SONI: Keeping the lights on

By Robin McCormick, General Manager, SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland)

A

secure electricity supply is now a necessity for everyone.

Society has grown to rely on electricity for virtually everything we do. It is therefore particularly important to every business across Northern Ireland. Whether it is offices, factories, farms, shops, hotels, call centres or data centres, they all need a reliable electricity supply to sustain and grow business and to support our economy.

Throughout the course of this year, I want to create a better understanding of the role that SONI plays in ensuring businesses throughout Northern Ireland get the power they need.

As the system operator for Northern Ireland, we are responsible for the consistent and reliable transmission of electricity on our high-voltage grid – effectively the motorways, or large scale high volume electricity infrastructure.

From our control centre in Castlereagh, we match supply and demand, every second of every day. It is our job to ensure that the cheapest power available is seamlessly transported from the large conventional generators (i.e. power stations) and wind farms, through the high-voltage grid.

It is also our role to develop the high voltage grid. This means planning ahead; considering future needs and putting in place a 10-year plan that sets out grid infrastructure requirements.

EU legislation requires that a 10-year plan is prepared by SONI every two years. This ensures that the plan is regularly reviewed and that we only build the infrastructure required to meet demand. This means that we only invest in projects that are absolutely necessary,

28

Robin McCormick

which helps us minimise any impact on costs to consumers. Our level of spend on the network is also closely overseen by the Utility Regulator to ensure value for money.

Bringing our focus back to the present, the priority infrastructure project for SONI and for Northern Ireland is the delivery of the North South Interconnector. Without the North South Interconnector, every customer pays more for their electricity, because the all-island electricity market does not function as well as it could.

As older conventional generators are retired, customers could face the prospect of more costs for new generation that otherwise would not be required.

The North South Interconnector has been in the planning process since 2009 and the planning application for the project is currently being considered by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC). The PAC public inquiry hearing is expected to take place before summer 2016 and we look forward to the new Minister for

Infrastructure announcing a decision on the planning application, by the end of the year.

The timely delivery of the North South Interconnector is absolutely critical to every business in Northern Ireland, large and small, and is urgently required if we are to have enough electricity to meet demand in the coming years.

A secure electricity supply is a necessity both to attract further investment throughout the region and to enable our existing businesses to expand. When delivered, the North South Interconnector will also generate savings on bills and will allow us to better utilise our increasing renewable energy resources.

In summary, SONI plays an important role in the electricity market – planning and developing the high voltage network in the best interest of consumers. While we will develop other projects during 2016, our key focus is delivering the North South Interconnector, which will ensure businesses throughout Northern Ireland have the power they need to continue to grow.

ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

Helping your business budget with batteries and biomass

Curtain up on Electric Ireland’s new base

S

olburn Energy Ltd. was established as a specialist company within the renewable energy sector providing expertise in a range of renewable solutions for domestic and commercial customers.

With significant experience with Solar PV installations Solburn Energy are now taking orders for the latest accessory on the market – battery storage solutions. For homeowners or businesses generating more electricity than required battery storage systems enable them to store excess energy to use it when needed. Quality is at the centre of the business which assures customers of longevity and reliability of products and service. Including a battery pack in your Solar PV system increases savings and allows each customer to maximise consumption.

Another renewable technology available from Solburn Energy is bespoke biomass systems designed and installed to suit each business requirement. Biomass systems enable businesses to secure RHI payments for 20yrs and to take advantage of 0% business loans on each project. At Solburn Energy each customer is offered a comprehensive service, from design to commissioning and then a prompt aftersales service including the supply of wood pellets at competitive prices. Due to the complex nature of the products, quality is essential. For over 50 years Froling has specialised in the efficient use of wood as a heating solution and become one of the forefront manufacturers within biomass technologies.

Solburn Energy has aligned itself with this brand as this product and service offering combined is unrivalled within the market.

Let Solburn Energy help your business take the right steps in renewable energy to save money this year.

For more information on battery storage solutions or biomass heating technologies contact a member of our team on 028 9334 0699 or at joy.solburn@gmail.com, to arrange a free consultative survey.

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Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Jonathan Bell, officially opened Electric Ireland’s new Belfast offices at Cromac Quay. Also pictured are Ellvena Graham, Chairman of ESB and Pat O’Doherty Chief Executive ESB.

M

inister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Jonathan Bell has officially opened Electric Ireland’s new Belfast offices at 1 Cromac Quay.

The Gasworks site houses the energy suppliers’ dedicated Northern Ireland Customer Service Centre and marketing and business development functions. The offices are the embodiment of the extension of Electric Ireland into the residential market in Northern Ireland.

Speaking at the official opening, Chief Executive of ESB Pat O’Doherty said: “This is a very special day and one that I am particularly proud of. Many people know that we have been supplying electricity to businesses in Northern Ireland for sixteen years and have worked in partnership with our customers to deliver strong energy products and services while improving energy efficiencies and competitiveness.

“Now it is wonderful to have the opportunity to bring a similar service to the residential market. Our entry into the competitive residential markets is delivering an investment of £5m and 40 new jobs, something which we know is very welcome in Northern Ireland.

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ENERGY, WASTE & ENVIRONMENT

Waste high: the legal insight you need to know

By David Wilson, Partner at Worthingtons Solicitors

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nvironmental law in matters of waste management makes a distinction between waste ‘disposal’ and waste ‘recovery.’ The former refers to a mere deposit of waste onto the land while the latter considers that the deposit of waste has beneficial effects and secures ecological improvement. This can be seen in the Waste Framework Directive of 2008 (98/EC) in addition to a growing body of European jurisprudence, which seeks to implement a ‘waste hierarchy’ that promotes the conservation of natural resources.

In Northern Ireland, any dealings with waste material are controlled by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) under management licences. Certain activities which ‘recover’ waste are exempt from licensing if they meet the requirements of Regulation 17 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (NI) 2003. A similar concept applies in England and Wales.

In that jurisdiction if waste activities are seen as waste recovery, an exemption or ‘standard rules’ permit will be granted. However, if waste activities are found to simply dispose of waste, a special ‘bespoke rules’ permit will be granted which is more expensive and subject to heightened regulation.

This notion of waste recovery and the European Waste Framework Directive of 2008 was recently considered in an English

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David Wilson

case entitled R (on the application of Tarmac Aggregates Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015].

This case concerned waste activities at a quarry operation near Leeds. The facts of the case concerned a planning condition imposed by the local authority to restore a footpath which had been diverted during quarrying works. To this end, around 70,000 tonnes of material was required to ‘backfill’ certain parts of the land after excavation and the plaintiff company proposed using waste aggregate rather than using nonwaste material. However, the Environment Agency (EA) and the appellate Inspector considered that this backfilling was a disposal of waste and would not grant a permit.

The Inspector felt that the plaintiff company

should not be entitled to use waste backfill as it had the financial means to use non-waste material, despite the costs consideration to the plaintiff being greater. However, when the matter eventually reached the Court of Appeal after a Judicial Review had been dismissed, Lord Justice Sales considered, among other things, that ‘in the circumstances it was irrational’ for the Inspector to reach the conclusions that he did. The Appeal Judge found that by proposing to use waste aggregate instead of bringing in new primary materials, the need to use primary materials would be avoided and so the ‘operation ought properly to be classified as a recovery operation’.

This case highlights the importance of proper planning and consideration by those in agriculture, the waste industry, and operators of aggregate extraction, as to whether their waste disposal activities will be seen as recovery of waste instead of disposal. The extent to which the activity contributes to ecological improvement will be a major factor.

The licensing arrangements for dealing with waste in Northern Ireland can present complications for different companies, not least against the expanding edifice of European legislation on the matter, but also in the light of the fact that the licensing regulations do not sit entirely on all fours with England and Wales. Worthingtons Solicitors are experts in interpreting this area of the law and advise frequently on a range of quarrying and construction law matters.

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MONEY MANAGEMENT

A nice problem to have...

It was recently announced that a couple won half of Britain’s biggest National Lottery jackpot. We have all thought: ‘what would you do if you won the Lottery?’ But what happens if you actually land a winning ticket?

Suddenly that question becomes daunting and a little more complicated.

Jonathan Dobbin, Head of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, Northern Ireland, gives six steps to consider:

our research shows that so-called emotional trading can cost investors nearly 20% in lost returns over a ten year period and always remember that, no matter what approach you take to it, investing can lose you money as well as gain it. So by all means, while you buy your friends a round of drinks to celebrate, bear in mind the need for financial planning.

3. Seek advice from an expert

Jonathan Dobbin

1. Review, reassess and reconsider

2. Understand your financial personality

Take this opportunity to sit down with your family to figure out what your financial goals and priorities are. Would you like to start your own business, retire early, invest in a holiday home or even buy your local rugby club? Do you own your own property, or do you have children you would like to send to university?

Asking yourself these questions will allow you to make some rational financial decisions.

It can be easy to act irrationally when money is burning a hole in your pocket, but when the stakes are high, it is even more important to have a cool head. If you haven’t had much luck with investments or financial decisions in the past, then now is the time to take stock.

We all have instinctive reactions when faced with financial decision-making, depending on our appetite for risk, or desire for control, but

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Set up a meeting with your local bank or wealth adviser. While you may be financially savvy, a windfall can mean a different set of financial considerations altogether, so it is important to seek advice from an expert to discuss your options. When it comes to investing, our emotions, not our practical reasoning, often drive our choices – and affect our returns. Barclays has developed a unique system, based on our expertise in Behavioural Finance, to help you identify your Financial Personality.

Through our Investment Philosophy and Financial Personality Assessment you can not only understand yourself better, but also potentially reduce the effect your behaviour has on the value of your investments.

4. Make sensible decisions to give yourself an effective framework Where money is involved, more often than not there will be income, and then gains, and then (eventually) estate duties, which all have tax implications. Consider keeping

MONEY MANAGEMENT

detailed records, or instructing a professional to do so, so you (and the taxman) have a clear picture. This will help you sleep at night once you’ve got over the excitement and should help avoid an unexpected tax demand.

Think about doing things in a tax-sensible way, like seeking professional tax advice, so you don’t lay any traps for yourself, and so you benefit from acceptable tax breaks, including for instance Individual Savings Accounts, Pensions, Inheritance Tax Planning for gifts, not only on death (including simple exemptions that may reduce the impact of IHT), Enterprise Investment Scheme investments, its junior version the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts. For instance, if you want to buy that rugby club, start a business, or help a friend or family member with a business proposition, it may benefit you to provide finance in a tax-efficient way, using one or other of these incentive schemes.

FEBRUARY 2016

“Remember not to lose sight of what’s important. While you could be tempted to quit your job, for example, think carefully about what you would like to do instead, and what would give you a sense of purpose.”

5. Give back Once you have worked out your financial priorities and goals and talked it over with an expert, you may want to consider what you want to give back. This could be the perfect time to donate time and money

to a cause close to your heart. We work with a lot of high net worth individuals as part of our broader Philanthropy Service in advising how best to structure charitable giving and make sure your time and funds have the biggest impact.

6. Look at the bigger picture Remember not to lose sight of what’s important. While you could be tempted to quit your job, for example, think carefully about what you would like to do instead, and what would give you a sense of purpose. Further down the line, when it comes to succession planning, you might need to ask yourself some important questions about passing on your wealth to the next generation. Research we conducted in 2011 among wealthy individuals in the UK showed 40% do not trust the next generation to protect their inheritance, so a frank conversation about your legacy may be in order.

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HEALTH

The full circle of connected health

By Gareth Morrison, CEO, The Lava Group

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echnology is set to revolutionise the future of health and social care, and with over 100,000 health apps now available in the UK this transition is already well underway.

In its simplest form, connected health refers to solutions that use technology to deliver healthcare remotely, allowing more efficient monitoring, patient identification and behavioural analysis.

Digital technologies can empower patients and carers by giving them more control over their own health, however if you look at the solutions available at the moment they are a bit like islands without an ark. So much data is being created on a daily basis but there is no link to bring all of this information together to make sure that appropriate actions are prescribed and delivered upon.

Connected health has the potential to remove voids in medical history, but not in its current form.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are almost a billion people globally who suffer from a chronic disease.

They predict that by the end of this year the global telehealth industry will be worth $18bn, with a rapid rise anticipated in the years to come. One forecaster from market watcher Machina Research has estimated that by 2020 this figure will have increased to $69bn.

Companies in Northern Ireland have been very proactive in this field and a lot of exciting research is taking place at our universities, health trusts and the Northern Ireland Science Park.

The focus is on a ‘full circle’ approach. We want to get people back out of hospital, living independently in their homes with

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Gareth Morrison

monitoring devices in place to ensure that data is being sent to the relevant people at the right time. This is particularly important right now in the United Kingdom as the stretched National Health Service searches for efficiencies to tackle a predicted £30bn funding gap by 2018.

The Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC), a local organisation, is playing a key role in facilitating collaboration and innovation between home-grown companies.

CHIC is leading transformational research which aligns care needs with technology providers, researchers and clinical experience.

The connected health sector is still in its early stages and having access to an organisation that promotes engagement within forward thinking companies in Northern Ireland has been invaluable to our own R&D as we develop solutions.

Working as part of a consortium, The Lava Group has secured £100,000 of funding from CHIC to invest in R&D for our latest piece of behavioural analysis technology, a new product which will monitor agitation

levels in dementia and autism patients within the home or residential care environment.

The funding will support the development of a non-obtrusive system to provide long-term assessment of the environment and physiological metrics of the patient.

Through repeated monitoring during periods of agitation we hope that our device will have the potential to forewarn carers that agitation is likely and identify the root cause ahead of the behaviour change in order to reduce the influence of triggers.

Around the world companies like ours will be bringing solutions to the market in the coming years and we will experience big changes in how we receive medical treatment. We are likely to see multiple items of technology used to provide data which can then be analysed.

Symptoms will be discovered earlier, weight increases will be monitored and blood pressure changes will be detected and reported.

Connected health is a sector which is moving forwards quickly and we are looking forward to being a part of helping it to discover its full potential.

Executive Search

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

The ten steps to hiring top talent Interviewing; love or loath it, you can’t avoid what is the most important process in delivering top class talent. David Elliott runs through some top tips, some borrowed from world of media interviews, to make sure you sort the wheat from the chaff

Preparation, preparation, preparation Before the interviewee has arrived, make sure you know as much as possible about the candidate. That might be as simple as reading their CV or application form properly and taking notes on any areas you want to find out more on, or some you don’t. Also – and this might sound obvious – make sure you know the position you’re interviewing for inside out. And ensure any application form asks the questions you want to know, rather than simply issuing the same form for every job.

Don’t go it alone You’re probably a very good interviewer. You probably could teach some others how it’s done. But we all have off days and we can all make snap judgements which aren’t totally reliable, particularly when we meet someone in an interview situation. So take another interviewer with you to give you a second opinion, even if you plan to completely ignore it and go with your gut. I bet you don’t because a second person will always see something you missed in the interview, particularly on subjective measurements, such as if they’ll fit in with the rest of the team.

Hold that thought There’s not much you can do to stop yourself

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making an instant judgement on someone based on their appearance. We all do it, but try and park that thought and make sure you don’t discriminate against a candidate just because they’re wearing a suit you don’t like or remind you of your ex. Not only is it unfair to the candidate but you’re making life more difficult for yourself by narrowing down the list of potential candidates. Besides dungarees look good in an office environment.

Take it easy Candidates will probably be nervous about sitting in front of a prospective employer and trying to impress you with their experience and wit. Maybe you will be too. Try and ease them in gently with questions they’ll find easy to answer such as “where did you grow up?” Even the most confident interviewee will be a little nervous and you won’t get a true reflection of their personality if their mind is racing, their brow sweating and their eyes dancing.

Ask and you will receive It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of asking the traditional interview questions – “tell me about yourself”, “where do you want to be in five years”, “what are your negative points – but it pays to be a bit more imaginative.

The oldies are good, and will eek out some interesting responses, but also ask a few >

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

FEBRUARY 2016

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EXECUTIVE SEARCH

pointed questions which relate to the job in question or which drill down on past experience and how that relates to the post.

Experience counts Ask questions which require the candidate to give you an example of how they’ve demonstrated key skills in a previous position.

While it doesn’t need to directly relate to the advertised post, they need to show you that their experience will stand them in good stead in a different environment when faced with different challenges. Such questions force interviewees to think and are a good test of how they react under pressure.

Silence is golden Good interviewers know when to talk and when to listen. In all cases, there should be much more of the latter and very little of the former. It’s ok to help a candidate who is really struggling (or waffling) but really the interview is their time to show you how they are ideal to fill the job. If you talk over them or don’t give them a chance to talk, you’ll be doing them and your company a disservice.

Also, listen to what they’re saying and take notes. It’s probably going to be a long interview process and trying to differentiate between candidates can become difficult.

“Being warm and open toward a candidate is obviously ok to a certain extent but keep it on a professional level otherwise neither of you will get the best out the interview.”

Play it cool Look, we know you’re probably a nice person but there’s no need to get too pally in an interview. Being warm and open toward a candidate is obviously ok to a certain extent but keep it on a professional level otherwise neither of you will get the best out the interview. In particular, if you end up employing the candidate, that

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unprofessional approach will be expected when they come to work for you.

Turn the spotlight around The focus will be on the person applying for the position but don’t forget that they’re not the only one being judged. Candidates will also use the interview to get a feel for your company and will make a decision on whether they want to come to work for you based on their experience at interview. Be honest about what the job entails because there’s no point in employing somebody in a role they’re not going to enjoy or aren’t capable of handling.

Tell it like it is Following up after an interview won’t be a problem if you’re offering the job to the candidate but don’t forget to be polite and courteous to those who aren’t so lucky. If they haven’t got the job then a call is first option but, failing that, an email will also suffice. If you don’t, you’ll shine a negative light on both yourself and the company and given the relatively small industries most of us work in, who’s to say you won’t come across that person again in the future? And who knows, you might end up going for an interview to work for them some day?

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Local smartphone job search figures rise

Competition for legal talent set to intensify in 2016

By John Moore, Regional Managing Director of Hays Northern Ireland

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f anyone is looking for a sign that the economy is moving forward, look no further than the hotels sector and the latest CBRE market outlook for 2016.

In addition to £75m worth of deals in 2015, at least 6,500 new rooms are being added to current stock around the region via eight new hotel builds. In Belfast alone, applications for five hotels have been granted in recent months, the latest a new Hampton franchise operated by Lord Rana. Belfast City councillors say they’re now issuing an average of 100 planning decisions a month.

Maeve Rooney and David Ogborn are pictured launching the app.

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orthern Ireland’s jobseekers are getting smarter in their search for jobs – according to local job website NIJobs.com.

The latest NIJobs.com figures indicate that 64% of jobseekers use smartphone and tablet devices to find the latest roles.

Additionally, more than 14,000 users have downloaded NIJobs. com’s free job search app since its launch just 6 months ago.

Northern Ireland’s love of popular gadgets is also evident, as 54% of mobile / tablet users access NIJobs.com on an Apple device, with 42% using an Android device to search for jobs.

(4% use Windows Phone + Blackberry).

“Smartphones and tablets are very personal devices and now with enhanced screen size and advanced functionality, they are the ideal tool for jobseekers to use to search for roles and make their next career move. Our new job search app aims to make applying for jobs even easier for our users,” said NIJobs.com General Manager, Sam McIlveen.

NIJobs.com has its head office in Belfast and is part of Saongroup.com, a world leader in online recruitment. The site enables recruiters to advertise their vacancies within 30+ industry sector and to enable jobseekers to find their dream career.

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This is positive for the economy more widely, and the legal sector in particular. With high demand for professionals in commercial property, corporate, banking and IP/IT, we are now seeing an increasing number of ex-pats being lured back to local firms.

Returning high-value, specialist skills to the local economy has been a key campaign theme across industry, but this is particularly welcome news for the legal sector as the recessionary years witnessed many lawyers having to leave the country for employment.

Looking ahead, CBRE say the new corporation tax rate “has the potential to be a game-changer” leading to more FDI companies coming into the region. Therefore, we are anticipating a sustained, longer-term requirement for professionals within these disciplines.

As competition to identify legal talent heightens, it is imperative for firms undertake a comprehensive approach and work with key partners so as to attract the best candidates both locally and nationally.

Our strategic national presence with a dedicated team of 40 specialist legal consultants, utilising cutting edge recruitment technology, is essential to fulfilling the needs of our legal clients in the attraction of lawyers from across the UK and Ireland and in particular back home to Northern Ireland.

For further information about Hays in Northern Ireland log on to http://www.hays.co.uk/northern-ireland/

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ONIAL

Designing Innovation Cayan, a large American-born payments software company, recently moved into their new office at the newly built City Quays 1, along the water’s edge at Clarendon Dock. They were now the second tenant to occupy the new building project.

The Innov8-Cayan relationship began in the summer of 2015, when Innov8’s business development manager Matt Burns approached the software company to see if we could help with their move in any way. Cayan immediately saw that our design services would be of benefit to them, and discussions commenced.

The Innov8 design team received a brief on what Cayan had hoped to have at the end of the process and work began on initial design concepts. The team implemented a concept which included matt black desks, red glass and blue acoustic screens, a plethora of meeting rooms, all themed to the staff’s favourite science fiction film. The main focus of the brief was the breakout space, as Cayan saw the value in creating a unique environment where their staff could step away from their desk work and relax. The initial concepts included long bench seating, bar area with high stool seating, pool tables and softer seated areas. It seems this was exactly what they wanted. As discussions continued, this breakout space gradually morphed slightly to include bespoke enclosed booth seating with a timber structure.

Once Cayan were happy with the design concepts, the design team began producing the technical drawings to complement the designs, meeting building regulations and providing the relevant information to the architects, RPP, and the main contractor Graham Construction.

Once the technical side was complete and signed off, the Innov8 Project Management team kicked in. From ordering the product to delivery and shipping, it couldn’t have gone smoother. Innov8’s team of fitters arrived onsite to meet the products and had the full project complete within nine days. A fantastic achievement and result.

Innov8 are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with Cayan, and to have been able to help them create a perfect, productive work space for their staff.

“Honestly don’t think this project would have come together without Innov8. The team have been there whenever we needed. From the initial meetings you guys just got it, and the designs were exactly what we were looking for. You embraced our crazy ideas and made them happen! Nothing has been too much trouble for you guys at all. We have thoroughly enjoyed having you on the project and would highly recommend Innov8 to anyone!”

Charlotte Clarke, HR & Office Assistant, Cayan.

PROPERTY ANALYSIS

Analysing the property outlook for 2016 Ulster Business asked Keith Shiells from commercial property agency Lambert Smith Hampton to provide an outlook for the Northern Ireland commercial property market in 2016

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ast year was a pivotal year for the improving fortunes of the Northern Ireland commercial property market.

The sale of major shopping centres in Enniskillen, Bangor and Ballymena has attracted new capital from UK opportunity funds.

services and tourism. This gradually improving economic backdrop will help the property market to gain momentum.

The most significant feature was the local banks’ reduction in debt secured against property, either through major loan sales or asset disposals. This deleveraging introduced much more liquidity and significantly increased the level of transactional activity. In addition, a number of major local property owners successfully refinanced their portfolios.

Consumer confidence and spending has been boosted by low inflation coupled with rising incomes. The increase in house prices locally has also bolstered confidence. House prices are predicted to grow by almost 6 per cent in 2016.

On a wider scale, however, Northern Ireland is not immune from the turmoil in global markets caused by slowing growth in China and the collapse of oil and commodity prices. The outcome of the ‘Brexit’ Referendum will be eagerly awaited in Northern Ireland.

The introduction of new equity has created much needed confidence and certainty as property investors and developers implement their business plans in an agreed timescale with much needed support from their funders. US funds have been particularly active in refinancing large portfolios.

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Northern Ireland economic growth in 2016 is estimated at 1.4 per cent, lagging behind the rest of the UK at 2.2 per cent and ROI at 5.5 per cent.

Job losses in the public sector now seem likely to be fewer than originally anticipated and should be offset by employment growth in the private sector, particularly in ICT, professional

While these global challenges cannot be ignored, the introduction of lower corporation tax in Northern Ireland in April 2018 should lead to more Foreign District Investment and job creation.

Across the following pages, some of the Lambert Smith Hampton team give their views on the key trends set to shape 2016.

PROPERTY ANALYSIS

creating increased occupational activity, a more stable economic environment, and rental growth expectations contributing to the £2.27bn pounds that traded in the south and the £445m in the North.

The level of investment activity in the north has grown significantly over the last number of years as 2015 saw a considerable volume of Shopping Centres’ trade.

Sarah Dillon

Sarah Dillon, Director, Capital Markets The last 12 months have seen the property investment market show some strong trading both north and south of the border.

This strength is the result of financial institutions continuing their deleveraging programmes and the liquid supply of capital available in the market. This is

Criona Collins, Director, Head of Retail Agency A relatively strong final quarter to 2015 has seen the local retail sector heading into 2016 with a feeling of cautious optimism.

Judging from the figures at the shopping centres managed by Lambert Smith Hampton, the Christmas sales rush happened late, but it did happen. For example Victoria Square registered its highest footfall of the year on December 23 when more than 93,500 people came to the centre, and nearly half a million passed through in the final week of the year – up 5 per cent on the same week 12 months earlier.

It’s not just Victoria Square either.

We know, for example, that Argento and Pandora registered record sales at schemes such as the Abbeycentre in the run up to Christmas. Ards Shopping Centre, Buttercrane, Forestside and Foyleside all reported positive overall numbers for the year too.

FEBRUARY 2016

In Northern Ireland the interest in the local market remains opportunity-led, with buyers demonstrating continued appetite for strategic retail assets. Pradera, Neptune Group, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and M&G Investments have all been active.

It is evident that in addition to acquiring assets, investors are increasingly focused on capitalising on income generation from their existing portfolios while looking at potential development opportunities.

I expect large property companies who have successfully deleveraged will this year focus their efforts on income security

There is no doubt that Belfast is now an attractive proposition to major national and international brands.

Last year created a strong platform for growth in retail, with impressive names including Michael Kors, Five Guys, Zizzi, Boux Avenue and STA Travel all investing in Belfast for the first time.

as opposed to rental growth with many choosing to actively asset manage the remainder of their assets over the next 12 months. As financial institutions and large local property companies have offloaded a considerable amount of assets, it may result in a decrease in the supply.

With corporation tax set to be lowered to 12.5 per cent from April 2018, we anticipate that opportunity-led demand from institutional investors is likely to continue. For property investment in Northern Ireland, the big question rests on the supply market and whether there is a pipe-line to satisfy the appetite of UKbased investors and local private buyers.

In the Republic of Ireland it was recently announced that Green Properties are disposing of Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, guiding £764m (€1bn) for the 1.2 million sq ft of space. In addition to the large asset sales, I expect forward funding for speculative development will be seen across most sectors this year.

Criona Collins

And when global retail chain Sports Direct confirmed that it had acquired Donegall Arcade, its first store in the city centre, this clearly demonstrated its confidence in the market. The Scottish Provident Building, with the refurbishment of the Apartment Bar and the opening of Patisserie Valerie, shows other parts of the city are also benefiting.

The adjustment in rates and rents in the past year has been instrumental in giving the sector a lift and with continued low interest rates, retailers are more confident about the strength of footfall and spending power in Belfast.

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PROPERTY ANALYSIS

Greg Henry, Associate Director, Office Agency In recent times, the Belfast office market has seen a shortage of Grade A office accommodation resulting in upward pressure on rental values. We expect further incremental increases in rents until such a time that a significant amount of Grade A stock is delivered to the market.

Prime rents are currently sitting at £16.00 per sq ft, a figure that is predicted to rise to £18.50 per sq ft by year end. Total take up for Belfast reached approximately 310,000 sq ft in 2015 with the majority of deals going through in the second half of the year.

Several office renovation projects are currently underway providing much needed accommodation to the market. Current Grade A supply sits at 275,000 sq ft with much of the stock arranged over small floor plates and across a number of buildings. FDI clients prefer larger footprints and there are very few options within Belfast. City Quays 1, a recently completed building of 68,000 sq ft, is nearly fully let, while development has recently started on City Quays 2. City Quays 2 will add c.95,000 sq ft of Grade A accommodation to the market by mid-2017. Total requirements currently stand in excess of 500,000 sq ft, presenting an opportunity to developers who can get on-site.

The devolution of corporation tax powers and an expected rate reduction to 12.5 per cent by April 2018 could have a massive effect on the Belfast office market in terms of increased demand from occupiers and property development.

revaluation in 2015, the Department for Finance & Personnel issued a consultation paper in October of last year with responses due by the end of January.

Up for discussion in this consultation was the future direction for Non-Domestic Rates – whether it was time to put a new system in place or to continue the current position. Following the consultation any major changes will likely be taken forward during the next Assembly mandate.

John Adgey

John Adgey, Director, Head of Professional Services One of the big issues that has been discussed a lot in the Northern Ireland commercial property world this year is rates and whether the rating system we currently have is fit for purpose.

It is a major issue where a lack of consensus has been apparent despite lengthy discussions. Following the rates

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Rates collection currently raises around £600m for both Councils and Central Government. But system of reliefs and exemptions mean that around £221m in revenue is forgone from rates.

The long and short of it is that, to make the system work, Government will effectively have to increase the rates take across all sectors.

This would be a revenue neutral exercise for them and spreading the cost would mean all burdens potentially come down.

Making that happen however, will be a challenge and different sectors have good arguments as to why their exemptions should continue. At present there are reliefs

Greg Henry

on vacant properties, for charities, for sports clubs, agriculture, residential homes and a host of manufacturing companies covered by industrial de-rating. There are about £87m of charitable non-domestic exemptions and Northern Ireland currently has 50% rates relief on vacant properties – compared to Scotland’s 10% relief.

At a four day Innovation Lab in June last year a wide collection of stakeholders gathered to discuss options for a revenue-neutral, scalable, efficient, stable alternative to the current system. One that is responsive and flexible, while also being equitable.

There was, unsurprisingly, no consensus.

There is an impetus for DfP to look for a fair way to levy rates on business, originally instigated by the former Finance Minister Simon Hamilton. The main focus of its consultation paper is on reliefs and exemptions, changing the basis of assessment and liability, using system as a policy instrument and alternatives to the current system.

The big questions are around how we change the basis of exemptions and whether they are being applied correctly.

Risk Management & Security

Managing the export risk How to manage the exporting unkowns when your business breaks into the global marketplace

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xporting is said to be the key to helping the Northern Ireland economy to regain its mojo. However, the practice of selling your goods and services overseas is not a simple one and can be costly for the uninitiated. nibusinessinfo.com offers up a few key tips to make sure you have all your bases covered when taking your business to a global stage.

The risks of exporting • Whenever you sell there are risks – your customer fails to pay, for example, or you get sued for harm caused by your product.

• But doing business with a customer in

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a different country, and perhaps using a different language and a different currency, can create extra risks and complications.

• Assessing the creditworthiness of your customer can be more difficult, while at the same time taking legal action to recover unpaid debts might be expensive or even impossible.

• Dealing with a different language, business culture and legal system can increase the risk of confusion and potential problems.

Understanding the market is essential.

• Your customer’s country can present risks. For example, the country might be economically weak, politically unstable or prone to natural disasters.

• Goods generally take longer to deliver

overseas, adding an extra delay from when you incur costs such as raw materials to when the customer receives the goods and pays for them. This can increase your financial burden so it’s important to check that you can afford to tie up working capital in exports. Read more about the basics of cashflow management.

• If you quote or sell in foreign currency, it’s a good idea to protect yourself against the risk of changes in the exchange rate. Read more about foreign currency and exchange risks.

• If you are VAT registered, you must provide details of all your transactions with other European Union (EU) member states on your VAT return. You will need to complete additional monthly Intrastat

RISK MANAGEMENT & SECURITY

cause delays or even prevent your dealings.

• If you are trading in a third country outside the European Union and there are trade barriers which make trading difficult, you can appeal to the Market Access Database (MADB) Complaint Register (link is external). This is a single entry point where you can request clarification on third-country tariffs, import formalities, documentation and other measures.

Minimise the risks of exporting Market research helps you understand the risks of doing business in a particular country. You can then decide how you want to control those risks.

Initial ‘desk research’ in the UK is a useful start. You should also check whether the UK has any agreement with the country to help reduce export risks.

You are likely to want to visit the country to learn more. Support and subsidies may be available through events and visits arranged by Invest NI. Working with the right partners can also help you reduce the risks as you can benefit from their expertise and contacts. For example, you might work with a reliable agent or sell through a local distributor.

Reducing financial risk Before agreeing an export deal, you will want to assess the impact on your cashflow and make sure you have enough working capital. declarations if your purchases from EU member states total more than £1.5 million of goods and/or your sales to EU member states will reach £250,000 in a year. Read our introduction to Intrastat.

• Companies overseas may try to copy your ideas or abuse your trade marks, and it can be difficult to protect and enforce your rights. Read more about intellectual property protection overseas.

• Managing international deliveries and payments can be more complex than when trading within the UK. You need to make sure that you have the right skills and resources.

• Your customer may be based in a country that imposes restrictions or limits on the type of goods you wish to export, which could

FEBRUARY 2016

You may want some kind of insurance cover.

If you are trading in a foreign currency, you also need to protect yourself against foreign exchange risk. The amount you receive (in pounds sterling) could be lower than you expect if the foreign currency falls. You can protect yourself using forward foreign exchange contracts and currency options.

UK Export Finance, the UK’s official export credit agency, may be able to offer you an export insurance policy, export credit guarantee or other product if your export contract is for semi-capital or capital goods and related services to the value of at least

£20,000. For non-capital goods, if you have been unable to arrange an export insurance policy through a commercial provider, you may be eligible for a UK Export Finance product. UK Export Finance’s range of products and services include: • Insurance of UK exporters against non-payment of an export contract by overseas buyers; • The guarantee of bank loans to help overseas buyers finance purchase of goods and/or services from UK exporters; • Sharing credit risks with banks in order to assist exporters in the raising of tender and contract bonds, in accessing pre- and post-shipment working capital finance and in securing confirmations of letters of credit; • Insurance of UK investors in overseas markets against political risks.

Risk management and insurance services There are several products and services available to businesses to reduce the risks of trading internationally. The type and level of insurance that will best suit the needs of your business will depend on a number of factors, such as the size and length of the contract and the amount of risk involved.

Partnership with a credit insurer This is a tailored service, where the insurer identifies and assesses your business prospects and covers the risk on your exports.

Individual insurance policy per deal This is a tailored policy and is ideal for one-off contracts that you would not need to insure regularly. There are many credit insurance companies that provide this service. UK Export Finance offers a range of products and services to complement commercial products and services and to support exporters who have not been able to raise finance commercially.

Managed credit insurance This scheme provides a full research service, providing country information, verifying customer details and credit limits, debt collecting and management as well as making claims. It is the preferred service for new or smaller exporters looking to contract out the risk.

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RISK MANAGEMENT & SECURITY

who can speak to your customers? Can you produce marketing materials and operation manuals in those languages?

Another piece of advice is to make sure that you spread your bets. The wider your global coverage is the better the chance that you will be able to absorb any bumps in the road. You can prepare for economic fluctuations by establishing a payment model which will take account of how stable the local currency is. Where there is a history of volatility in the market, you need to be ready for how this will impact on the demand for the products or services that you are selling.

A glass sand washing plant in Australia, and (below) one in Texas which use CDE’s equipment.

The export checklist information you get from these sources will help you to establish which markets are most suitable for your company.

We took time to get our delivery model right in each market. Direct sales has worked for us and we now have teams all over the world, building relationships and being present locally. It is crucially important to commit to the market and make multiple visits to show your customers that you’re there for the long term. You need to explore how your customers will prefer to buy your products, which agents and distributors you should partner with and how you can deliver on your promises.

Initially our target countries were dictated by language, a factor which must be considered as you move forwards with your planning stages. Do you have people

Set realistic expectations and clearly define what success will look like to you. Know your capabilities and learn from what others have done before.

Peter Craven, Head of Marketing at CDE Global, explains how to manage your export risk

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t is a well-established opinion that home grown businesses in Northern Ireland must consider the opportunities which lie outside of the country to reach their full potential.

The world is so easily connected that it means capitalising on these opportunities is now within the reach of many companies and it is an exciting time to be exporting products around the world.

Getting the initial research right is crucial as it will play a very important role in forming your strategy. The UK was our first export market – as it is for most companies from Ireland, North or South – and from there we took part in trade missions to the Middle East and India with Invest NI. Local knowledge is invaluable so make use of the Invest NI, Enterprise Ireland and UKTI global office network to understand the intricacies of doing business in each location. The

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It is vital that you understand any transport costs associated with getting your product to each market. Establish how long it will take to get your product from A to B and how this will stand you in relation to the delivery times of your competitors.

Continuous Commitment As a client of Caulfield Corporate you will form a relationship with our company and we will be a long term partner for your business. That is why we put a premium on getting to know you and your organisation.

We put your needs first and we will always keep it that way.

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Business people – don’t end up behind bars

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illar McCall Wylie (MMW) has a specialist practice group devoted to defending commercial and corporate clients in white collar criminal proceedings. This is an ever expanding area of law and every business should be aware of the potential pitfalls.

Despite the fact many state bodies are facing tightened budgets, they are still investing heavily in their enforcement procedures. The credit crunch and banking collapses have set the financial services sector on a course of regulatory reform. The desire to maximise revenue is one reason why HMRC has been given extra resources to focus on tax evasion.

Laura Henderson

mmw Millar McCall Wylie 56

Successful criminal convictions provide positive public exposure for state bodies such as the PSNI. There is arguably an upwards trend in prosecutions of this type, where particular focus seems to be given to high value and complex fraud. There is also an increase of reports made by whistle-blowers.

The Serious Fraud Office, an independent government department, received more than 2000 reports of suspected white collar crime

last year. Businesses should therefore be wary of the increase in levels of investigations into all aspects of white collar crime.

Laura Henderson has considerable experience in dealing with many investigating authorities and regulatory representatives at interview.

She offers advices to those accused of crimes such as theft from employers, fraud, bribery, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, health and safety violations, tax evasion, extortion and inside trading.

Millar McCall Wylie also have a vastly experienced corporate department who work parallel with our criminal department in these types of cases, advising clients in all stages of investigation. As soon as you become aware that you may be subject to an investigation it is essential to seek our professional assistance immediately.

If you need advice about white collar crime please contact Laura on Laura.Henderson@ mmwlegal.com or call 028 9020 0050

REVIEW

Business

Breakfast

By David Elliott

Kieran Harte, Head of Ireland and Northern Ireland at Uber

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good litmus test of a person’s age in these progressive times is to watch as they say the name of one of the world’s biggest technology companies.

If they are humming the tune to the 1980s Dead Kennedys song California Uber Alles then they’re only a few years off mid-century (just about a Generation X perhaps?) and if they don’t know what you are drivelling on about then they’re either one of these new-fangled millennials on the one hand or a baby boomer at the other end of the scale.

I fall into the Dead Kennedys bracket and can’t help breaking into song every time I see one of Uber’s cars or if I mention its name, so imagine the mental restraint it took to sit down for breakfast with the company’s all-Ireland boss.

Luckily for me I managed to avoid any obvious embarrassment – at least where singing was concerned – when I met Kieran Harte at The National on High Street in Belfast.

Now, before you raise a quizzical eyebrow, this column has indeed ventured to the Beannchor-owned establishment on a previous occasion and although we try hard to avoid repetition, time was tight, its geographical location was just right and I really enjoyed my breakfast there the last time.

So, enough already.

Kieran Harte was already waiting when I arrived in the hallway of the bar/restaurant, in part owing to the fact it doesn’t open until

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REVIEW

8.30 and in part because I was slightly late.

No matter, the affable Aussie wasn’t fazed and once the doors were swung open we found ourselves a seat and got our Business Breakfast underway.

Shunning the vast array of delicious porkbased options, we kept to the idea of a lean and mean January – even though it was early February – and opted for an omelette (the Uber man) and porridge (the UB word facilitator), washed down with Australianinspired flat whites for me and an Italian inspired cappuccino and some Northern Ireland Suki tea for the Australian.

Using a skill picked up from previous Business Breakfasts, I quickly asked Kieran a few questions so he had to speak while I could enjoy my breakfast.

of requests which come through for cars but that’s part of the growing pains for a business like ours when we first arrive in a city.”

Kieran is confident Uber will soon have enough drivers signed up to meet that demand, enough to make it possible for people to do without their car completely.

“The way we can provide cheaper transport is by having drivers busy more of the time.

Utilisation is what drives our business model.

That means we make some business decisions early on the cycle which you might think are contrary to what you want to do.

“For instance, we only accept credit cards because it helps utilisation and gets drivers back on the road more quickly that if customers were hunting around for cash.”

Similarly, Uber doesn’t take pre bookings.

Tell me about yourself?

That ought to buy me some time.

A Melborne native, Kieran has worked throughout the digital media industry, starting out with the Yellow Pages equivalent in Australia (the Golden Pages) while it was transitioning from paper to online, then an online property company before moving to Dublin to help the Irish Times transition it’s offering online.

“A lot of people say that’s stupid, particularly if you want to go to the airport or the like.

The way we solve that is by having lots of drivers. If you have pre booking it takes the driver off the road for 10-15 mins beforehand so you stop that driver from earning money.”

So far, its experience in Belfast has been focused on the city centre but it has also found there has been a jump in demand from outside the city.

Last March he took over his role at Uber and has since gone on to grow the business in Dublin, where the firm has “thousands” of cars signed up to the service, and since the start of this year in Belfast, where after only a few weeks it has “hundreds”.

The one elephant in the room – not on the menu, obviously – is how the incumbent taxi firms feel about the arrival of Uber.

But he’s reluctant to talk about the number of cars the technology firm (that’s what Uber sees itself as, rather than a taxi firm) has.

“We don’t see ourselves as being in a battle with taxis; we see ourselves with being a service which is so reliable and so affordable that you can do away with your car.”

“Those sorts of numbers don’t mean too much because of the flexibility of the system,” he said, while eyeing his omelette. “For us it’s about matching supply with demand.

We’re nowhere near big enough yet in Belfast - despite being ahead of our growth target – and are still not meeting demand.

“We’re probably only meeting around half

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Kieran is adamant his firm shouldn’t be seen as competition.

to fit equipment which won’t be used by its drivers is an impediment to its growth, but not insurmountable, Kieran said, although it does seem a bit daft.

Meanwhile, Kieran also points to Uber’s Centre of Excellence in Limerick, a phrase which really means it is a customer service centre where Ubers drivers from Europe, Middle East and Africa phone for help and advice.

It employs 100 people at present and will grow to 300 when up to speed, which won’t be long given the company’s growth trend.

With 10 months under his belt at Uber, Kieran said he’s already considered an old timer in a firm which is innovating all the time with such ideas as UberPool which makes it easier to car pool.

Recognising it was time to head back in my own non pooled motor, we ended there.

As another sign, like Air BnB, that Northern Ireland is very much a global city, tourists and business travellers have come to expect that Uber will be available when they arrive in a city so while Uber might be providing competition to the incumbents, it can be viewed as part of the growing pains of this region.

Flat White x2 £4.60 Cappuccino £2.50 Omelette £6.25 Porridge £3.95 Suki Tea £2.20 Total

£19.50

However, that doesn’t stop Uber from being subject to taxi laws and Kieran was still reeling from the introduction of new legislation which requires taxis in Belfast to fit a meter and printer, amongst other demands.

Given Uber journeys are paid using a credit or debit card via the app, the need

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PROFILE

Name: Sean Devlin Position: Head of IT Recruitment, MCS Group

A word from

The Wise How did you start out in business?

My way into business wasn’t all that straightforward or expected! I initially studied with a view to starting a career in education.

However, after a year of travelling and some time to think about what I enjoyed, I joined BT in a sales role – and I realised I was actually quite good at it. I was promoted quickly into management and started looking at career options. I love variety and get bored easily, recruitment seemed to have the balance of constant learning, people orientated and great career potential, so when I was given the opportunity to work with MCS Group, I leapt at the chance. I now work with some of the most innovative companies in Northern Ireland placing senior and executive level staff in IT. What have you found most challenging during your years in business?

Working in sales and coming to grips with an entire new industry in the immediate aftermath of the Lehman Brothers crash and the ensuing years of recession certainly kept me on my toes! It was definitely challenging but I honestly feel that it is these times which has led to the huge personal and business growth I and the business have experienced since then.

What would you change if you could go back and do it all again?

Hmm. Not an easy question. It makes me think about all the things I should have done! From a work perspective I don’t think there’s much I would change, my time travelling (or “being a dreamer” as my parents would say), working in bars in University and those first years in education have given me a good insight into people,

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The column with an ear for experience...

and this has been invaluable in my career in recruitment. I suppose on reflection I started recruitment at a very challenging time but as I said it has been great to have been here from then to now. We now have the largest IT recruitment team in Northern Ireland, have built new teams in engineering and professional services, organically growing to just under 30 employees and tripled our revenues in two years. We have ambitious plans for further growth and I think those tough times have really hit home to grab opportunity when you can!

Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

Good question but hard to answer. My parents were and still are extremely hardworking and passionate about doing any job well, I like to think I have taken that on board. More recently Barry and Louise Smyth, the owners of MCS. I don’t think you can be in a room with either and not be impressed with their passion and drive for this business and our customers.

How would you like your business career to be remembered?

Successful. Hardworking. A respected team player... and hopefully a bit of craic.

What piece of advice would you give a 20-year old you?

I had an awful lot of free time at that age, so I would have said learn that guitar, (which still sits in one of my back rooms) learn Spanish, (which I have talked about for years) and study more (which was hard to do when you slept until noon) Although thinking back to the 20-year-old me I am not sure I would have taken it on board.

Mergers & Acquisitions

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

To sell or to grow?

By David Elliott

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here tends to be a certain stage in the lifecycle of most relatively early-stage companies when a crossroads is reached.

The question of what kind of finance is available is one which has been in great debate in the last few years when the aftermath of the credit crunch meant most companies were happy to have any type of credit available to them.

The founders, having worked hard to build up the business over a number of years, reach a stage where they are attracting potential buyers and could, if they want, cash in their chips.

But now, with the flow of money moving again and economic prospects looking more solid, credit is more freely available.

However, if they’re attracting buyers then they also probably have a solid enough business model to attract finance so the option to grow could also be on the table.

Bank finance is the most traditional option but, probably as a result of the days when banks were averse to any type of risk, there are more and more options of finance out there.

That means the potential to take the company to the next level with a significant injection of cash and/or resources is a possibility and for some, that’s a more attractive option.

We take a look at two funds who recently visited Belfast on the hunt for good companies to invest in. One is a business growth fund and the other a global private equity fund and both are keen to invest.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

The growth fund BGF And because it is getting so deeply involved with the running of the business, personality plays a much bigger role in its decision to invest than it would in a bank’s decision to lend money.

Stephen Welton

“Management is key. We back people and if we don’t have trust in the people it doesn’t matter what the company does.

“What follows is alignment of interest.

If we can be a partner on the business’s journey then it’s likely to be successful.

“What are you going to do with the capital, what is your competitive advantage, that all comes after the people.”

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he Business Growth Fund describes itself as “the UK’s most active provider of growth capital to small and mid-sized businesses” and has already made an investment in Northern Ireland.

It has bought a stake in housebuilder Braidwater, a family-owned company which is in the process of developing sites across Northern Ireland.

The fund’s involvement with the Eglinton company offers a good example of how it works.

It takes a minority stake in the company (it has invested in around 100 firms across the UK already) and places one of its own on the board, in this case an independent Non-Executive Chairman.

It distinguishes itself from traditional private equity involvement by making long-term investments and ensuring

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it holds non-controlling stakes in the companies it supports.

Chief Executive Stephen Welton, who was in Belfast recently, takes up the story.

“As an equity investor, we take a stake in your business as a shareholder and that is an emotional decision for all those involved. It enables us to invest for the long term, to talk to those companies and to respond to their needs.”

That, he said, sets it apart from how a bank operates.

“We can lose money because we’re taking equity risk. If we’re investing in a business to build a new factory, there’s no guarantee that will succeed.

“If you raise that capital on a shortterm debt facility you’ve got to repay it.

What we do is very much in conjunction with the banks, not in competition.”

“As an equity investor, we take a stake in your business as a shareholder and that is an emotional decision for all those involved.”

And he insists the find is in it for the long term.

“We will be investors in your business for as long as it takes to get to the exit point. It’s the shareholders who make that decision and it could last five to ten years, but there isn’t a clock ticking.

“When we sell a business or we get a dividend, it goes back onto our balance sheet but if you look at the way a private equity fund is structured, they have an investment period and have to get their money back so there’s an automatic churn of investments.

“And we’ll follow our money. Increasingly in the 100 companies we’ve backed we’re putting more money behind them.

“That is very powerful, for the owners as once you’ve got BGF involved you have a substantial shareholder.”

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

The private equity fund Carlyle Group

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he Carlyle Cardinal Ireland Fund, which is owned by the global private equity company Carlyle Group, hasn’t made any investments in Northern Ireland yet but is on the lookout, according to managing director Jonathan Cosgrove.

It’s a fund of around £210m aimed at investment in companies across the island of Ireland which originates from pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and high net worth individuals.

They commit the money upfront and Carlyle draws it down over time.

“The commitment is over five years; typically five years to put the money to work and five years to harvest,” Jonathan told Ulster

Business, and a solid management team is again one of the main factors he looks for in a potential investment.

“We’re completely sector agnostic but do look for a good management team.”

Does that mean investment will mean an overbearing involvement by the fund in the running of the company?

“The practical reality is we want to partner with business. We want to offer constructive challenge but ultimately the management teams get to manage. The easiest way to back that up is to pick up the phone and talk to our existing partners and management teams. They’ll give you a flavour as to how it works.”

Jonathan Cosgrove

Those existing investments include GSLS, a cash logistics business based in Dublin, cooked ham producer Carroll Cuisine and Kildare posh chocolate maker Lilly O’Briens.

As well as the injection of cash and the management input in each of those businesses, Jonathan is keen to point out that being part of a global £200bn company can also have its benefits.

“Where there are revenue or cost opportunities amongst our own companies we introduce the CEOs, put them in a room with a bottle of wine and generally they’ll come out with a deal.”

“The practical reality is we want to partner with business. We want to offer constructive challenge but ultimately the management teams get to manage.”

That’s worked well for Lilly O’Brien which has managed to get its products into Holland and Barratt and Graze, two companies which Carlyle have invested, as well as to two professional service firms which use its products as corporate gifts.

That’s the sort of benefits it would like to bring to a Northern Ireland company, once it finds one.

“We’re here, we’d love to hear from you, we’re quick to make decisions and we can ultimately be a good partner,” Jonathan said.

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tughans.com

Thank you for making us No.1

Last year we advised on more significant M&A transactions in NI than any other law firm. In fact , we were engaged in 25% of all the major deals in NI . Thank you to all our clients for trusting our acumen and experience.

Ranked No. 1 Experian Deal & Advisor League Table 2015 Northern Ireland M&A Activity

Record deals year puts Northern Ireland on investors’ radar

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he UK economy may be recovering more slowly than economists had forecast and political leaders had hoped, but the mergers and acquisition (M&A) bandwagon is on a roll.

One estimate puts the value of UK M&A activity during 2015 at around £344bn, a whopping 90% up on 2014 and the highest level by value since 2007. Northern Ireland reflected the UK trend with a record number of deals and the secondhighest value of transactions since 2001.

Local deals ranged from Moy Park and JMFTerex, to H&J Martin-Lagan, with the sale of UTV to ITV, rounding off a year which saw 59 deals with a total value of just over £1.2bn. Also included in the total was a welcome number of new investments and indicators of confidence and recovery.

These included Hospital Services, a rare private equity-backed management buy-in; Braidwater, which saw the first investment into Northern Ireland by the Business Growth Fund; while Kainos represented the first initial public offering (IPO) since 2004.

PwC NI’s head of corporate finance Noel Culbert, says the recovery in M&A activity across the UK has stimulated interest in Northern Ireland. “There is a lot of capital looking for a home and, with the remarkable growth in M&A activity in Britain, Northern Ireland has begun to appear on investor’s radar. The scarcity of

good opportunities elsewhere is providing a window for local companies to exploit and a growing volume of international funding – as well as UK and Irish money – is looking to invest or support investment in strongly performing companies.”

“There is a lot of capital looking for a home and, with the remarkable growth in M&A activity in Britain, Northern Ireland has begun to appear on investor’s radar.”

PwC says that local corporates have been very successful in creating a niche for their growth within a broad range of sectors and Noel Culbert points to a significant number of family-owned and owner-managed companies that have driven growth in export markets from a relatively low-cost base in Northern Ireland. “Buyers are in the market for companies that demonstrate deep sectoral expertise locally, nationally and internationally. That alone can significantly increase the options for value enhancement and these characteristics are very attractive to investors and their capital.”

Looking to 2016, Barry-John Kelly, PwC’s Head of Mid-Tier Transactions in Northern Ireland points to food processing as a sector already attracting investor interest, with manufacturing companies demonstrating growth prospects as another area appealing to private equity investors: “As well as food processing and manufacturing, we’re sensing that a consolidation in energy companies could be on the cards, with significant potential for land transactions and refinancing in a post-Cerberus environment.

“But one area to watch is FinTech, where peer-to-peer lender platforms and online money transfer services played a major role in raising $3.6bn in venture capital

L-R: Noel Culbert, Iain Lees, Barry-John Kelly.

funding for the UK’s technology sector in 2015. FinTech is the most talked-about technology segment and companies operating in that space, are likely to become particularly attractive to investors.”

PwC in Northern Ireland has recruited 15 leading financial technology specialists to exploit and commercialise blockchain, the technology that powers the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. The team is expected to grow to over 40 during 2016.

says this is largely due to PwC Northern Ireland’s access to PwC’s global network.

“Over the last few years the majority of successful deals were through a single point approach, vendors are now realising that the market is there with deep buyer pools and liquidity and are therefore proactively seeking to engage in a process with more than one potential investor. This provides a real opportunity for maximising value and no longer requires the vendor to cross their fingers and hope that a deal goes through.”

Together with Barry-John Kelly and Iain Lees, PwC in Northern Ireland has advised on a number of large deals in 2015 across multiple sectors and geographies. Noel Culbert

He concluded: “On the back of a very active 2015, investors are in the market for Northern Ireland deals. That means there is a real opportunity for Northern

Ireland corporates to achieve strong value from the busy global market. We saw record growth and great deals in 2015 and 2016 could prove even better.”

Noel Culbert is PwC NI head of corporate finance. He can be contacted on tel: 028 9041 5828 or email: noel.c.culbert@uk.pwc.com

ALLIANZ ARTS & BUSINESS NI AWARDS

Outstanding success for Arts and Business partnerships not spring to mind as an automatic fit, but the ‘Go Art Go Kart’ project which involved creative collaboration leading to the creation of a lasting legacy in the form of one of the largest hand-painted murals in NI and a unique go-kart customised in graffiti art.

Allianz staff celebrating at the Awards (from left): Grainne Moran, Peter Kilcullen, Avril Doyle, Allianz CEO Brendan Murphy, Suzanne Stanley, James McClelland, Ruth Hawkins, Damien O’Neill, Vicky Whyte and Chris Shawe.

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he Grand Opera House, Belfast played host to over 250 guests recently for the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards 2016. Dr Wendy Austin, MBE, compered the awards ceremony, steering the proceedings with her characteristic finesse. There were nine awards presented in total to winning arts – business partnerships.

The Awards showcased examples of innovative creative collaborations between the business community and the arts sector, delivering a diverse range of tangible business benefits.

Guests were entertained by a fantastic selection of home grown artistic talent, enjoying powerful performances by local musician Duke Special, the talented Pintsized Productions and Premiere Circus, the agency for artists established by the Belfast Community Circus School. Local actor, Stephen Beggs was a superb master of ceremonies gluing the performances together

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and drawing the audience into the world of the music hall.

Presenting the Allianz Arts & Business NI Awards Brendan Murphy, CEO, Allianz, congratulated the partnerships and all the winners saying: “The innovative partnerships celebrated here tonight between business and the arts are excellent examples of best practice, helping to foster cultural intelligence and provide a blueprint for the collaborative pathway that can prove to be the cornerstone for success. Congratulations to all this year’s very worthy winners and indeed to all those partnerships who showcase exactly just what artistic engagement can achieve.”

Allianz Arts & Business NI Corporate Responsibility Award Campsie Karting & Millennium Forum Theatre & Conference Centre Two very different entertainment venues joined forces to drive an art project for local young people. Go-karting and art might

Allianz Arts & Business NI Cultural Branding Award Iris Colour and Belfast Photo Festival The project involved the founding of Northern Ireland’s largest outdoor visual arts display and showroom for Iris Colour in the centre of Belfast. This consisted of two elements – the Iris Colour Photo Park itself in Writer’s Square and the DeLorean Sculpture on Belfast City Hall lawn – which reached a total audience of 40,340 visitors.

Allianz Arts & Business NI Sustained Partnership Award Exitex Ltd & Sestina Music The partnership between building company Exitex and Sestina Music is particularly special with Exitex offering both personal and financial support since 2011 and without which the music charity for the teaching of young Irish musicians simply wouldn’t exist in its current form. The group has now expanded to 25 young artists.

Allianz Arts & Business NI Employee Engagement Award Edwards & Co Solicitors & the Lyric Theatre Some arts and business collaborations prove to be truly transformative for all concerned. That’s just what happened when Edwards & Company Solicitors joined forces with Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. In addition to supporting their summer school Edwards & Company joined forces with Lyric’s creative learning department in its work with the young offenders at Hydebank

ALLIANZ ARTS & BUSINESS NI AWARDS

role helping to establish sub-committees to oversee areas such as finance and fundraising, policy and procedures, projects and plays, and PR and marketing.

Winner of Arts Award – Arts Care: Dr Joanne Stuart, OBE, Chair, Art & Business NI; Janine Walker, Arts Care; Mary Nagele, Chief Executive, Arts & Business NI; Jenny Elliott, Arts Care and Brendan Murphy, CEO, Allianz.

Wood College in Belfast, culminating in the production of a short radio play ‘Life at Hydebank and at Edwards & Company’.

Allianz Arts & Business NI New Sponsor Award Gentle Dental Care Belfast & Cinemagic Film and Television Festival for Young People Thinking outside the box Gentle Dental Care and Cinemagic partnered in a creative art project which resulted in the production of a new short film, ‘Brace Yourself’, which looked at the issues that young people have to consider when faced with the need for braces. The project was completed

over three days by film students aged 15-18 from Ashfield Girls’ High School and Aquinas Grammar School Belfast.

Results note a 20% increase in new patient enquiries about getting braces fitted.

Allianz Arts & Business NI Arts Board Member of Year Award Glenn Murray & Pintsized Productions Glenn Murray has played a critical part in getting theatre company Pintsized Productions up and running. An accountant with Belfast-based Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, Murray had no previous experience in the arts, but has totally embraced the

Allianz Arts & Business NI Business of the Year Award Belfast Harbour Belfast Harbour has entered into several arts partnerships over the years, mainly with community-based projects. Working with arts organisations such as Wheelworks, Talent Tribe, Open Arts and DU Dance. Last year Belfast Harbour went up a gear in terms of scale and public focus in its support of Culture Night Belfast for the first time with a partnership that led to the creation of a Culture Night Belfast Almanac.

Allianz Arts & Business NI Arts Award Arts Care In partnership with Health and Social Care Trusts throughout Northern Ireland, Arts Care engages 19 artists-in-residence, a team of ‘clown doctors’ and many project artists who facilitate and co-ordinate participatory workshops and performances. Supported by Belfast Harbour, Arts Care launched the first ever Arts in Health Festival in hospitals for children and young people last July bringing art, colour and fun into the hospital setting.

This Award carries a winner’s fund of £3,000.

Allianz Arts & Business NI Community Art Award Beat Carnival Beat Carnival has been running for 21 years, working collaboratively with communities all over Northern Ireland to produce world-class carnival experiences. Winning the Allianz Community Art Award of £2,000 will support the creation of a carnival choir and street band for 20 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across Belfast.

Special thanks to: Tennent’s NI, JTI, Harrison Photography, Nicholson & Bass, Whitenoise, Grand Opera House and Premiere Circus.

Arts & Business NI’s principal funder is the Arts Council of NI. Find Arts & Business NI at: T: 028 9073 5150; Facebook: Arts & Business NI E: info@artsandbusinessni.org.uk; Twitter: Business of the Year Award – Belfast Harbour: Dr Joanne Stuart, OBE, Chair, Art & Business NI; Jenni Barkley, Belfast Harbour; Mary Nagele, Chief Executive, Arts & Business NI and Brendan Murphy, CEO, Allianz.

FEBRUARY 2016

arts_businessni; YouTube: ArtsandBusinessNI

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INTERVIEW

Opportunity to make 2016 a great vintage for local food and drink Tourism NI is leading on Year of Food & Drink 2016 but it’s up to industry itself to embrace the initiative and make the most of it, Chief Executive John McGrillen tells Alyson Magee

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year-long celebration of Northern Ireland food and drink, aimed at elevating its reputation and export prospects while boosting the local tourism offer, begins next month.

Producers, suppliers, retailers, caterers, venues and event organisers are invited to get involved in Year of Food & Drink 2016, which is led by Tourism NI in partnership with Food NI, Invest NI, local authorities and government departments.

In addition to setting a target to increase food-related visitor satisfaction by 5%, Tourism NI hopes the initiative will generate £10m of positive PR in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain and boost export sales of local food and drink.

Locals, visitors from across the world and global markets for Northern Ireland food and drink will be targeted through a series of branding, marketing and promotional activities. Each month has been allocated a particular agri-food focus, beginning with Breakfast Month in January, and the Year will celebrate businesses of all sizes from small artisan producers to longestablished businesses such as Tayto which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2016.

With no other major events on the tourism calendar for 2016 as yet, Year of Food & Drink

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John McGrillen

has become a focus and fortunate recipient of significant funding from Tourism NI. “Our focus this year is not on one big event but on a series of events that will take place over the course of the year,” says John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism NI. “Some of it will be based around existing festivals but what we would like to see is an uplift in what those festivals might offer.”

From St George’s Market in Belfast to regional food and drink festivals and the Balmoral

Show, “every local authority is looking at how they will either uplift and enhance events they have got, or create new events in order to take advantage of the opportunity that Year of Food & Drink presents,” he says. “We’ve got a really interesting calendar that is starting to develop.”

While Tourism NI has received around eight applications to its events fund to date to expand existing festivals, “I think there will be a couple of large scale events that will emerge during the course of the year

Pictured launching Year of Food & Drink 2016 are, from left, BBC broadcaster Nigel Barden, First Minister Arlene Foster, Tourism NI Chairman Terence Brannigan, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and BBC Good Food Show representative Laura Biggs.

that will be new and will potentially be sustained into the future,” says McGrillen.

director Professor Chris Elliott – becoming an international authority on related issues.

Comber Early Potatoes, Lough Neagh Eels and Armagh Bramley Apples.

FOOD & DRINK SECTOR GROWTH

An explosion in the number of artisan producers has emerged, in parallel with the Province outperforming the other regions of the UK and Republic of Ireland in the prestigious Great Taste awards.

Local artisan and craft beer, cider and spirit manufacturers represent another burgeoning sector, with suppliers such as Shortcross Gin and Hughes Craft Distillery picking up accolades at the San Francisco World Spirits and New York World Wine and Spirits competitions.

Development of Northern Ireland Year of Food & Drink 2016 follows the success of a similar initiative in Scotland last year, as well as significant growth in the local sector.

Food and drink is Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturer, contributing almost £5bn to the economy in 2014 and providing employment for around 100,000 people across the supply chain.

Exports account for almost 75% of production, valued at over £4bn. Local produce, from salmon, oysters, langoustines, beef, lamb and poultry to dairy, cereals, baked goods, potatoes and vegetables, is exported to more than 60 countries worldwide. Northern Ireland is a major supplier to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland while also exporting to the Continent, Middle East, Asia and the US. While Northern Ireland was already renowned for its hospitality, recent years have seen its reputation as a supplier of safe, high quality food and drink grow with the Institute of Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast – and in particular its

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Three local products boast EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, a mark of quality and authenticity commanding a premium in the marketplace, including

What Tourism NI can do for you Tourism NI will be supporting Year of Food & Drink 2016 through a new dedicated events fund, industry toolkits, brand guidelines and an integrated marketing and communications plan. Tourism NI will also be running a week-long series of workshops across Northern Ireland in mid to late January and again in April.

Tourism NI’s annual Tourism Conference in May will explore the importance of food and drink at events, and across attractions and accommodation.

At the same time, Northern Ireland’s catering sector has seen a proliferation of new, quality eateries across the Province with two Belfast restaurants, OX and Deane’s Eipic, picking up a coveted Michelin star this year and a number of other venues keeping or gaining a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Innovative restaurants like OX are forging ahead with creative food preparation techniques and distinctive dishes using the very best of what is produced locally, and gaining considerable praise from some of the top international food and restaurant critics.

High Life, the in-flight magazine of British Airways, recently named Belfast as one of the best cities in the world for good food, while Northern Ireland gained more awards in the Irish Restaurant Awards than other parts of the island. >

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INTERVIEW

Food and drink experiences have become increasingly important to tourism as they offer destinations an opportunity to differentiate and celebrate indigenous foods and educate visitors about heritage, landscape and culture, according to Tourism NI.

With Year of Food & Drink a central part of the Northern Ireland marketing destination sell, Local activity will be mirrored in the Republic of Ireland and supported in international markets

by Tourism Ireland and Invest NI.

It accounts for a significant proportion of visitor spend, with overnight visitors from all markets estimated to have spent a third of their £751m spend in 2014 on food, while 40% of the estimated £282m spent

by Northern Ireland residents on tourism day trips was attributed to eating out.

Specific plans in the Republic of Ireland include press trips, consumer shows, trade events, shopping centre promotions, branded EcoCabs and BugBikes in key Dublin locations in the summer and marketing at Connolly Station.

While there are many more attractions beyond local produce to attract visitors to Northern Ireland, “it certainly adds to the proposition,” says McGrillen. “It’s further encouragement for people to come. We see it having the potential to draw in visitors.”

“Food and drink is Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturer, contributing almost £5bn to the economy in 2014 and providing employment for around 100,000 people.”

MARKETING PLANS FOR THE YEAR As lead partner on the Year of Food & Drink 2016, Tourism NI is planning a rounded programme of PR activity, press trips, advertising, website and social media coverage, content creation and asset management, and support for relevant trade and consumer shows.

With a focus on telling stories about local food and drink, media events and consumer competitions will be held across the year around each monthly theme and other seasonal opportunities such as Shrove Tuesday, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, as well as further tourism opportunities around, for example, Game of Thrones.

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Tourism NI boasts an audience of 300,000 across its consumer website www.Discovernorthernireland.com and social media, and will target its database of 80,000 people across the island of Ireland with a monthly e-zine promoting Year of Food & Drink events.

“As and when the events come on stream, we will market those through our usual channels,” says McGrillen. “That’s part of our agenda here, to make as many people aware as we can about what’s going on right across the Province over the course of the Year, and hopefully encourage them to come and visit.”

Another aim of the Year will be to establish a template for future development and cooperation across the food and drink sector.

“We want to encourage those events to prosper,” says McGrillen. “We certainly see a legacy coming out of what is essentially a £2.75m investment from Government in the initiative.

“It’s looking like it could be an exciting year, and we’ve got off to a good start with the Bib Gourmands and two Michelinstarred restaurants. Northern Ireland is now starting to get a real reputation as a place of excellence for food and drink.”

WhaT’S HAPPENING IN 2016 The Year of Food & Drink 2016 calendar will be based around both existing and new events, and will evolve on an ongoing basis. If you are planning to hold an event, make sure Tourism NI know about it.

MAY • Apple Blossom Festival, Co Armagh.

JUNE • Open Farm Weekend, various locations around Northern Ireland.

• Comber Potato Festival, Comber.

• Irish Game Fair & Fine Food Festival, Shane’s Castle.

JUly • Flavours of the Foyle Seafood Festival.

• Dalriada Festival, Glenarm Castle.

AUGUST • Auld Lammas Fair, Ballycastle.

• Hilden Beer Festival, Lisburn.

• The Festival of Fish, Co Down.

• Clandeboye Food & Craft Festival, Clandeboye Estate, Bangor.

• River to Lough Festival, Toomebridge.

SEPTEMBER • Hillsborough International Oyster Festival, Hillsborough.

• The Hans Sloane Chocolate and Fine Food Festival, Killyleagh.

• Autumn Fair, Botanic Gardens.

• Larne Loves Food, Larne.

• Tesco Taste Festival, Belfast.

• The Bushmills Salmon & Whiskey Festival, Bushmills.

OCTOBER • Autumn Festival, Crawfordsburn Park.

• Food & Drink Show Northern Ireland, Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast.

NOVEMBER For more information on its plans, on how to get involved in the Year of Food & Drink 2016 and to stay up to date with related events, visit www.tourismni.com/BusinessSupport or contact the Tourism NI Events Unit on 028 9044 1579 or at eventsunit@tourismni.com

• Belfast Beer & Festival, Belfast.

• Continental Market, Belfast City Hall.

DECEMBER • St George’s Christmas Market Light Switch-on, Belfast.

FOOD FOCUS

119 years of food industry dedication

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n the past 10 months, Henderson Wholesale, which supplies SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland, has shone the spotlight on several of the island of Ireland’s most celebrated local farmers, growers and food suppliers after launching a new, completely local own-brand label in March 2015.

But really, Henderson Group’s focus has been on local since 1897, when John Henderson ran his grocery stall at St George’s Market; the start of a retail and grocery empire that would span decades, and continues to make its mark on the local food industry here.

It has been this ongoing focus and belief in the quality of home-grown produce that has been the key to the company’s Fresh success.

Neal Kelly, Fresh Food Director at Henderson Wholesale says; “Our way of sourcing for the convenience sector in Northern Ireland cannot be mirrored by any other retailer. We will always source our produce from local suppliers where possible and only top up on products elsewhere when we have to, for reasons such as seasonality or quality.

“We invest our profits back into the business so that we can commit to local suppliers in the first instance, and give our retailers and their shoppers the local food that is in demand.”

In the past 12 months alone Henderson Wholesale has invested £1m in fresh food, and has recently announced the expansion of the enjoy local own-brand range, which aims to provide quality, affordable mealtime solutions to the everyday shopper.

“Something for tonight’s tea, is how we see it” continued Neal, “We know that our shoppers are more confident in going to their local SPAR stores and EUROSPAR supermarkets to buy their fresh groceries for that night’s dinner, and that is thanks to our investment in fresh to be able to provide great solutions.”

FEBRUARY 2016

L-R Officially launching the new ‘enjoy local’ range in 2015 is Steven Kennedy, Iain Dickson and Neal Kelly.

Enjoy local has delivered over £23m in sales so far, and from this clear consumer demand, new suppliers and products have been added to the own-brand and entire fresh range.

Cottage Catering in Dromore; McColgan’s from Strabane; Cookstown’s Big Pot Co. and Connelly Meats from Monaghan are new suppliers that are adding to the enjoy local line, while the likes of Daily Bake, Fresh Fields, Irwin’s and Western Brand have also extended their enjoy local product range, bringing the total amount of products to 144 within the brand.

Neal continued: “We work with over 200 local fresh suppliers in Northern Ireland now. 25 make up the enjoy local range and many retailers work directly with their own town’s food suppliers, for example, bakeries and butchers to provide their products in store. And retailers can also provide the likes of Mash Direct, Clandeboye Yoghurt and the Cookstown brand for their shoppers from our wholesale offering.

“With that in mind, over 75% of our fresh offering is sourced on the island of Ireland, the majority of that is from Northern Ireland. This is never going to decline. It will only ever rise, and that is a

future goal for our Fresh trading team.”

2016 is the year when local Food & Drink will be honoured with themed months in Northern Ireland, and through their SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO and VIVOXTRA branded stores and supermarkets, Henderson Group will continue to promote their local products, and champion their local suppliers like they have been doing for over 100 years.

“The Year of Food & Drink 2016 is a fantastic initiative. Anything that sheds light on what wonderful produce is available here will always be received passionately.

We’re delighted to be able to continue our unwavering focus on local, and always provide the freshest, locally sourced products for retailers and shoppers alike.

“This year will see the further expansion of our own-brand, our continued investment in Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry, and we will once again reward and champion our suppliers at our annual Local Supplier Awards at Balmoral Show in the spring.

“2016 is the dedicated Year of Food and Drink for Northern Ireland, however this is Henderson Group’s 119th year of dedication to the local food industry – long may it continue.”

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SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Dine FREE at Malmaison with Ulster Business

Malmaison Brasserie on Victoria Street provides a perfect setting for business lunch or dinner. The surroundings are unique and stylish and can offer allocated booths to you and your clients for seclusion to conduct your meeting. Coupled with iconic dishes prepared with a modern twist and served with passion and personality as well as a mouth watering wine list, you will certainly impress your guests.

Malmaison use local ingredients carefully selected by the Head Chef. This infusion of bistro classics with locally inspired

cooking, creates a very memorable dining experience.

As a business destination, Malmaison Belfast also offers two stylish meeting rooms with wow-factor as standard.

Your meeting or private event should be pure theatre with absolutely no dramas. Our team are dedicated to providing amazing hospitality and putting the show back into your business. For more information or to make an enquiry, please call Julie Lynch on 028 9022 0204 or email: jlynch@malmaison.com.

$ Title:

Subscribe online at www.ulsterbusiness.com quoting ‘Malmaison Offer’ or complete and return this form and a cheque for £27.50 (made payable to Greer Publications) to: Malmaison Offer, Greer Publications, 5b Edgewater Business Park, Belfast Harbour Estate, Belfast BT3 9JQ.

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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1. A lunch voucher will be posted to subscribers on receipt of full subscription fee.

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2. The voucher will entitle two guests to a three-course set lunch

Delivery Address:

3. The offer excludes all drinks and beverages.

Monday to Friday.

4. Advance booking is required.

5. Bookings cannot be made during the month of December.

6. This offer is only applicable to new Ulster Business subscribers.

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Flags, firebombs & flashbacks

Executive Motoring

By Pat Burns

Sponsored by

we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

Seven into Two does go...

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he new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer is the first premium compact model to offer up to seven seats and fully meet the requirements of young families.

Compact exterior dimensions go hand in hand with tremendous flexibility on the inside: a sliding second row of seats with adjustable backrest, a third row of seats that fold into the floor, and provision for up to five universal child seats are just some of the features on offer.

The new 2 Series Gran Tourer is available with a choice of five turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, all sourced from BMW’s latest engine family. With either three or fourcylinders, these advanced powerplants offer superb efficiency and, in the case of the 220i and 220d, a 0-62mph time as low as 7.8 seconds. The 220d xDrive is also the only car in its class to team four-wheel-drive with seven-seat capability.

child seats can be mounted in the second row, and a further two universal child seats can be fitted in the third row.

By sliding the rear seat fore or aft by 130mm, either load capacity or second row knee-room can be prioritised. The backrest can also be adjusted to enhance comfort in the three rear seats or to create extra luggage space. If maximum stowage space is required, the 40:20:40-split rear seat backrest can be remotely unlocked by pressing a button in the boot, then folded down to create an almost level cargo floor. The front passenger backrest can also be lowered to allow long objects such as sports equipment up to 2.60m in length to be transported. Access to the load compartment couldn’t be easier thanks to the large, broad and wide-opening tailgate, which can be opened and closed automatically by push button operation.

The new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer possesses compact dimensions however, it comfortably accommodates up to seven people, while simultaneously offering a generous load compartment that extends and from 560 to 1,820-litres.

Useful features abound in the Gran Tourer. There are also lashing points in the load bay and “monorails” on the backrests of the front seats as standard, allowing a folding table to be attached. Much thought has gone into providing numerous storage compartments and space, including room for 1.5-litre bottles in each door panel.

Further travel items, such as children’s toys, can be stowed away in the hinged compartments under the front or second row seats.

The Gran Tourer is 214mm longer and 53mm higher than the 2 Series Active Tourer, but a longer wheelbase provides a further significant increase in space inside the vehicle. The higher roofline allows occupants to sit tall and upright, affording excellent all-round vision. Legroom, particularly in the rear, is comparable with that of many luxury cars. Three universal

If the extra passenger seats are not required, the third row can be completely lowered into the load area floor to save space.

The loading surface remains almost level and the storage space – barring the multifunction tray – remains unchanged. Third row passengers also benefit from a special centre console with two cupholders, a storage compartment and a 12-volt socket.

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we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

Citroën DS4 scores on style With its new 7-inch colour touch screen the DS4 delivers a high-tech driving experience.

This new-generation screen provides easy access to all vehicle functions, from navigation to music, and has the added benefit of requiring 12 fewer buttons on the centre console. It is also designed to include new Mirror Link® technology, a function that duplicates Android or iOS smartphone content to the in-car screen.

The high-tech approach reflected in these new connected services (Mirror Link® and Apple CarPlay™) is also visible in other functions available on the DS4. A reversing camera and keyless entry and start are now available, alongside blind spot monitoring for greater convenience and safety.

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nce called the Citroën DS4, the new model no longer is called a Citroën but simply DS4. Citroën’s plan is to market DS Automobiles as a sportier, stylish and more luxurious range compared to the rest of the Citroën marque, much in the same way as Toyota developed the Lexus brand.

The new DS4 is a dynamic and elegant hatchback for customers seeking sleek styling and driving pleasure, whilst the new DS4 Crossback – a new version in the range – is a car with ‘go-anywhere’ looks and a higher driving position.

With its flowing lines, touches of chrome and high-performance engines, the new DS4 has all the qualities of a premium hatchback.

Personalisation and greater customer choice is provided by the two-tone roof/ body colour option, which is new to this segment. With its luxurious, refined and even more customisable interior, the DS4 represents a unique offering in the premium compact segment.

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New DS 4 and DS 4 Crossback perfectly embody the character of all DS vehicles.

Their strong identity is underlined by a new front end – sporting the ‘DS Wings’ grille design – plus new DS LED Vision headlamps, the latest technology with advanced connectivity including Apple CarPlay™ and high-performance engines with CO2 emissions of between 100g/km and 138g/km. Refined features include door panels upholstered in Nappa leather and semi-aniline leather upholstery with the signature ‘watch strap’ design that is exclusive to DS Automobiles.

The DS4 Crossback is aimed at customers looking for ‘urban and extra-urban adventure’. Versatile in concept and design, this new vehicle displays strong styling features including wheel arch trims, a differentiated front end and rear spoiler all finished in black, and grey roof bars. Its status is further underlined by its black door mirrors, door sills and carpet mats and a ride height that is 30mm higher than the hatchback version. This car offers an alternative to conventional hatchbacks in this segment.

DS4 customers can choose between six engines emitting between 100 and138g/ km of CO2. One PureTech, two THP and three BlueHDi power units are available.

New DS4 Crossback launches with a choice of three engines: one petrol (PureTech 130 S&S 6-speed manual) and two diesels (a BlueHDi 120 S&S, with either a 6-speed manual or an EAT6 auto transmission, and a BlueHDi 180 S&S with the new EAT6 auto transmission).

Overall, engine outputs range from 120hp to 210hp, with torque of between 230Nm and 400Nm. Fuel consumption is also significantly reduced. Ranging from 74.3 to 47.9mpg (combined), New DS4 and DS4 Crossback are competitive with the best in their segment.

Available with both body styles, Intelligent Traction Control is a driving aid that optimises anti-skid control for the front wheels on surfaces with little grip. It also improves ‘start-up’ performance, particularly on snow-covered surfaces.

Prices for the DS4 range start at £19,495.

we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

New engines and facelift for Auris Burnaston plant, near Derby. The Auris Hybrid represents great value for money. CO2 emissions from 79g/km and combined cycle fuel economy from 80.7mpg attract significant tax incentives and, coupled with the hybrid system’s established reliability and durability, exceptionally low running costs.

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oyota has increased the appeal of the Auris range of hatchbacks and estates to reach a wider range of customers, offering new or revised diesel, petrol and hybrid powertrains, updated equipment specifications and new safety equipment.

All versions of Auris – hatchback, hybrid and the Touring Sports wagon – continue to be built by Toyota Manufacturing UK at its

FEBRUARY 2016

The refreshed exterior styling presents a new-look front and rear, giving Auris a more prestigious and sophisticated road presence. On board, the sensory quality of the cabin has been significantly raised with a redesigned dashboard, premium quality trims and surface finishes and a new 4.2-inch colour TFT multiinformation screen (on all hybrids and higher grade models).

Every engine in the range now meets Euro 6 emissions regulations.

The 1.2T, an all-new direct injection turbocharged engine joins the established 1.33-litre VVT-i and 1.6-litre Valvematic units to give customers an expanded choice of petrol engines. There is also a new 1.6-litre D-4D diesel unit and the 1.4-litre D-4D has been substantially upgraded.

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EXECUTIVE MOTORING

Mokka X on the way!

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auxhall’s new Mokka X, which reaches Ulster showrooms later this year, will debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show this month with a fresh interior and exterior design, a new powertrain and featuring OnStar and Apple CarPlay.

Incorporating cues from Vauxhall’s new design philosophy, the new Mokka X will be the first model to introduce the “X” segment identifier for future Vauxhall SUV and crossover vehicles.

With over half a million sold in Europe and nearly 100,000 in the UK, Mokka has been huge success since its launch in 2012. The Mokka’s compact size (4.28m long), sporty looks and elevated seating position have wowed customers looking for an affordable SUV. The Mokka X’s bold new look is thanks to work carried out by a design team lead by Mark Adams. Its new front treatment is aligned with Vauxhall’s new design philosophy including a wing-shaped horizontal front grille and the sharp double-wing signature of the LED daytime running lights.

On the inside, the Mokka X has a completely new dashboard inspired by the new Astra. The new instrument panel is organised around more horizontally shaped elements. It looks both simpler, as well as sharper and more precise in its execution. The centre stack has been redeveloped completely around the seven- and eight-inch touchscreens of the new generation infotainment systems. Now with fewer buttons, it has many functions that are accessible via the touchscreen.

After introducing the much-lauded 1.6-litre ‘Whisper Diesel’ engine last year, the Mokka range is now extended further to include a new generation 1.4-litre Direct Injection Turbo (152PS) petrol

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unit which first appeared in the all-new Astra. With a six-speed automatic transmission, adaptive all-wheel drive and start/stop, this Mokka achieves 42.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 154g/km.

With an electro magnetic multi-plate clutch, the all-wheel drive technology is clever and efficient. When the road surface is dry, the front wheels drive the vehicle forward (except when starting when the car is in AWD) meaning that fuel consumption remains low. Depending on the road conditions the range automatically and seamlessly varies from 100 per cent front-wheel drive on dry road surfaces, benefitting fuel consumption, to a maximum torque distribution of 50 per cent on the front- and rear- axle.

The new AFL LED system adapts the headlights’ lighting patterns automatically to the driving situation so that the best possible light performance is given without dazzling other road users. It features nine different functions/lighting patterns such as town light, country light, tourist mode, a curve and cornering function, backing-up/manoeuvring light and a stop mode light (eco). This LED system replaces the previous BiXenon AFL. On one hand, LED features a light quality that allows seeing the ‘true’ colours of things, to the benefit of visual comfort. In addition, as there is no mechanical operation within the lamp module, it is faster and more accurate in its reaction, while also being highly reliable over time.

The new Mokka will be available with the personal connectivity and service assistant OnStar from launch.

Drivers and passengers can reach OnStar 24/7 and 365 days a year. No matter whether they need roadside assistance or any other service, an OnStar advisor is always ready to help. OnStar also turns the Mokka X into a 4G LTE mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

MOKKA TECH LINE FROM £199 PER MONTH THE STYLISH MOKKA TECH LINE 1.4i TURBO FWD for ONLY £199 per month with advance rental

Ballyrobert

Charles Hurst

Lochside Garages

028 9151 3754

0844 539 8511

028 6632 4366

Bangor

Portadown

Enniskillen

C R Morrow

Donnelly Vauxhall

Roadside (Garages) Ltd

028 3083 0525

028 8772 7888

028 7035 6888

Newry

Dungannon

Coleraine

Charles Hurst

Eakin Bros

Townparks Car Sales

0844 539 8509

028 7186 0601

028 9446 2506

Belfast

Londonderry

Antrim

Charles Hurst

Gormley Motors Ltd

Wilson’s of Rathkenny

0844 539 8510

028 8224 3116

028 2175 8187

Lisburn

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Ballymena

Search Vauxhall Northern Ireland Search Vauxhall Northern Ireland Official Government Test Environmental Data. Fuel consumption figures mpg (litres/100km) and CO 2 emissions (g/km). Mokka Tech Line 1.4 Turbo 140PS Start/Stop FWD: Urban: 36.2 (7.8), Extraurban: 53.3 (5.3), Combined: 45.6 (6.2). CO 2 emissions: 145g/km.# Personal contract hire offer on Mokka Tech Line 1.4i 140PS Turbo Start/Stop FWD in Sovereign Silver on orders received between 1 January and 31 March 2016, subject to availability and status. Age 18+ only. Figures based on a non-maintenance contract hire package with advance rental of £3,980, then 35 monthly rentals of £199. Excess miles over contracted mileage of 24,000 over 36 months charged at 11.08 pence per mile. Excess charges also apply if you breach manufacturer servicing or maintenance guidelines or if the car exceeds BVRLA Fair Wear & Tear guidelines for its age/mileage when it is returned to Vauxhall Leasing. Package includes Road Fund Licence and Vauxhall Assistance. Guarantee/indemnity may be required. Prices and details are subject to change without notice.

For full specifi cation and Ts&Cs contact your local Retailer. You will not own the car. ALD Automotive Ltd., trading as Vauxhall Leasing, BS16 3JA. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. #MPG fi gures are offi cial test data and may not refl ect real driving results. Correct at time of going to press.

APPOINTMENTS

Aidan Larkin is the Asset Recovery Department Manager for Wilsons Auctions Group. His role involves managing the asset realisation process.

Michael Rennie is now part of the Asset Recovery Department for the Wilsons Auctions group, dealing with public and government bodies.

Amy McCourt has been appointed Marketing Manager for the Wilsons Auctions group. Amy has over seven years’ experience working for some of Northern Ireland’s most well-known brands.

Barry Blakely has been appointed Sales and Marketing Assistant at Nitec Solutions. Barry will be responsible for the development and implementation of Nitec’s marketing activity.

Aaron Kirk has recently been appointed to the role of Corporate Account Manager for Barclay Communications after working in a new business sales role with the team for six years.

Ronnie McDowell has been appointed to the role of Business Development Manager for Barclay Communications’ sister company, WorkPal.

Ian Megahey has been appointed to the role of Business Development Manager for Barclay Communications’ sister company, WorkPal. As the newly appointed Key Account Manager at PRM Group, Darren Hughes is responsible for the implementation of the company’s sales strategy within specified key accounts throughout Northern Ireland.

Pat O’Farrell has been appointed as National Account Manager at PRM Group. Pat will be responsible for the day to day management and implementation of the company’s sales strategy.

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APPOINTMENTS

Cherith Titterington has joined Betterhomes Group as Marketing Manager. Cherith will be responsible for the complete rebrand of the Betterhomes Group.

Danielle Black has been appointed Senior Account Executive at Genesis.

She will support the day-to day management of a number of key accounts.

Thomas MacMahon has been appointed Senior Account Executive at Genesis. He will support the day-to day management of a number of key.

Peter Thompson has been appointed Senior Account Director at Genesis.

He will be responsible for leading a number of key accounts including Invest NI, SPAR UK and Henderson Group.

Kathryn Thomson has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of National Museums Northern Ireland. Kathryn is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Tourism NI. Sorcha Simpson has been promoted to Marketing and Sales Support Manager for CDEnviro. She previously worked as brand manager for CDE Global.

Fran Barlet has been appointed as Marketing and Sales Support Executive for CDE Global. She will have responsibility for developing marketing strategies.

Sheila Harper has been appointed Marketing and Communications Executive at Ortus: The Business Development Agency. She will oversee all internal and external marketing campaigns.

Hannah Leckey has joined Ground Espresso Bars Store Manager. She is responsible for the daily management of the new standalone store in Bangor.

FEBRUARY 2016

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

PHOTOCALL 1. Mash Direct, has produced a new premium product range for Tesco Northern Ireland. The County Down company will supply its champ; carrot and parsnip; and carrot, parsnip and turnip to Tesco stores across Northern Ireland. Pictured are Lance Hamilton from Mash Direct and Sandra Weir, Fresh Food Buyer for Tesco NI.

2. Howard Hastings from Hastings Hotels tucked in to breakfast to celebrate #UlsterFRYday which is part of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink 2016. As part of the celebrations Hastings Hotels held an event to celebrate the local producers it works with.

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3. Northern Ireland power supplier Open Electric is cutting its electricity prices by 8.6 %.

Pictured are Open Electric General Manager Nicola Deaney and Managing Director Marc Norris.

4. Moy Park executive director Alan Gibson has been named one of the UK’s top fundraisers for 2015 on Just Giving, the world’s leading online fundraising platform. Alan was in the top 1% of fundraisers, raising over £31,000 through donations made to his Just Giving page. Alan Gibson is pictured meeting local children on the Bale Mountain Trek in Ethiopia to support Farm Africa.

5. The new President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland is Mr John Guerin, solicitor and partner with BLM since December 2014 following their merger with Campbell Fitzpatrick solicitors. Pictured from left is Ian Huddleston, Junior Vice President, Arleen Elliott, Senior Vice President, John Guerin, President and Alan Hunter, Chief Executive.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

PHOTOCALL

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6. Pictured at the launch of The Regional Start Initiative, which helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into start ups, are, from left to right: Aimee Meehan, Helen Lunny, Cllr Deirdre Hargey, and Cara Dallat.

7. Ciaran O’Neill, President of Northern Ireland Hotels Federation and operator of Bishop’s Gate Hotel in Derry-Londonderry, discusses last year’s trading and the opportunities 2016 holds with Sarah Duignan, Director of Account Management, STR Global.

8. The Green Deli, a home-grown Northern Ireland business which includes four independent grocery stores across greater Belfast, has unveiled an ambitious expansion plan for 2016, with a £400,000 investment and a recruitment drive. Pictured are Andrew Davis, Director at The Green Deli, and Angie Fetherston, Deli Manager at the Titanic Quarter store.

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9. Martin Blakely, Business Manager Mills CNC, Dr Scott King, Manager NIACE Centre and Niall Casey, Director Skills and Strategy Solutions at Invest Northern Ireland pictured at the NIACE centre with the machine that is being used to train engineers from Northern Ireland in bestpractice CNC programming.

10. StartPlanet NI, Northern Ireland’s only private equity based start-up accelerator opened its doors to the NI business community recently with a stakeholder and pitch event.

Pictured at the event are (l-r) Bill Liao, lead Mentor, StartPlanet NI; Diane Roberts, CEO Colman Equity and also Programme Director for StartPlanet NI with Niall Casey, Director of Skills and Strategy, Invest Northern Ireland.

FEBRUARY 2016

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere PHOTOCALL 11. ASG and Loud Mouth Media have joined forces to maximise the impact of Google online advertising for clients running integrated advertising and marketing campaigns. Launching the new partnership are Kirk Moffatt, ASG Director of Creative Services; Valerie Ludlow, ASG Director of Strategy; Mark Haslam, Managing Director of Loud Mouth Media and Aedin O’Neill, Performance Marketing Director of Loud Mouth Media.

12. Declan Flynn, Managing Director of Lisney Northern Ireland, and Ciaran O’Kane, Director of Property Management at Lisney Northern Ireland, announce the £2m investment in the Obel property complex by its owners.

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13. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council Lord Mayor Darryn Causby and Chief Executive Roger Wilson welcomed United States Consul General Daniel Lawton (centre) to a special businessfocused event at the Palace, Armagh recently to discuss the growing trade links between many local companies in the area and North America.

14. Fifteen NI technology firms pitched ideas to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs last month in a bid to win lucrative contracts in the US. DETI Minister Jonathan Bell and DEL Minister Dr Stephen Farry, are pictured with Barry O’Brien, Silicon Valley Bank, and NI Tech Mission participant Newtownabbey born Rachel Gawley, of AppAttic.

15. The SSE Arena, Belfast’s senior Event Manager Claire Cosgrave celebrates the arena’s ranking in the Pollstar 2015 worldwide ticket sales report with staff members Lisa McAnally, Jordan King and Peter McCrudden.

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DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

PHOTOCALL 16. Cookstown-based manufacturing company CDE Global has announced that it has increased its product assembly space by 32% to allow for the production of 60 additional machines every year.

Pictured are (L-R) Raymond Cooke, Operations Director, and Colin Trainor, Finance Director at CDE Global.

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17. Alan Thompson, Franchise Manager, and Peter Molloy, Sales Manager at Charles Hurst Nissan unveil a new customer-led concept which Charles Hurst believes is the future of modern car retailing.

The new approach represents an investment of £250,000.

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18. Friends First and the Ashton Community Trust both collected the Ireland Excellence Award recently. Pictured with their trophies are Joe Baker, centre, Chairman of Ashton Community Trust, and Joe Flynn, right, quality and excellent manager at Friends First. They are with George Wilson of the Centre for Competitiveness, which organises the event.

19. Home improvement company Betterhomes has announced a 19% annual increase in sales in 2015.

Pictured are Stephanie Braniff, Sales Manager at Betterhomes, is pictured with company directors David Boyd and Gary Sinnerton.

20. Armagh vegetable supplier Gilfresh has won a contract to supply its juicing packs to Asda stores across Northern Ireland.

Pictured L-R are William Gilpin from Gilfresh and Jill Jones, Regional Buying Assistant NI for Grocery and Produce, Asda NI.

FEBRUARY 2016

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

PHOTOCALL 21. Belfast start-up Capaltec, which has invented a new height measurement device has secured a £125,000 investment round.

The latest funding brings the total investment into the company to £275,000 in just ten months. £200K of this has been directly invested through Halo. Pictured right are Capaltec’s CEO, Tristan Brittain-Dissont, and Alan Watts, Director of Halo, at Danescroft Equestrian Centre in Lisburn.

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22. Irwin’s Bakery is teaming up with Ulster University’s Business School BSc Marketing final year students for a new ‘academia meets industry’ partnership.

Pictured is Colette Wilson, Marketing Manager, Irwin’s Bakery and Professor Mark Durkin, Ulster University, along with final year students Lyndsey Niblock, Emma Kernohan, Catherine Isted, Selina Lewis, and Gintare Lenkeviciute.

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23. Vayu Energy has announced its expansion into Northern Ireland in a move which will see the company create up to 20 positions for sector specialists. Pictured (L-R) are Barry Murphy, Business Development Manager, and Peter Girvan, Energy Specialist, Vayu Energy.

24. Dame Mary Peters and chef Jenny Bristow have teamed up with Tourism Northern Ireland to get the Year of Food and Drink 2016 off to a tasty start.

January was Breakfast Month and chef, Jenny Bristow shared her delicious take on a healthy Ulster Fry with Dame Mary.

25. As the 15th February deadline approaches organisers of the Action Renewables Awards are urging local organisations to enter. Pictured are Mary Rossiter, Vayu Energy, and Maria O’Loan, Tughans.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

DRINK RESPONSIBLY The BAILEYS, GORDON’S, CAPTAIN MORGAN, SMIRNOFF, GUINNESS, SMITHWICKS, CARLSBERG and HARP words and associated logos are trade marks © Diageo 2015.

PHOTOCALL

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27. Grainne Elliot and Liam Cullen of Mercury Security Management celebrate the announcement that Mercury has been awarded the all-Ireland security contract for Smyths Toys.

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28. Ulster Wildlife welcomed CTS Projects as a Silver Level Corporate Member at a certificate presentation held at the company’s Warrenpoint headquarters on Thursday 21st January. Pictured are, from left, Ken Brundle, Vice Chairman of Ulster Wildlife, Connaire McGreevy, Managing Director of CTS Projects and Vickie Chambers, Supporter Relationship Manager for Ulster Wildlife.

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26. Launching the 2016 Institute of Directors NI Annual Dinner, which will take place at Belfast’s Europa Hotel on 11th February, is Linda Brown, IoD NI Director, with sponsor representatives Alan Taylor, Managing Partner at Arthur Cox, and Ian Sheppard, Regional Director NI, Business & Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland.

29. The first CBI M-Club of 2016 was held last month in Belfast with partner BDO. The theme was talent management with a case study from Henderson Group.

Pictured are Sam Davidson, HR Director, Henderson Group; Laura Jackson, Partner, BDO; David Gavaghan, CBI Chair.

30. Launching the CIPD Northern Ireland Awards 2016 are Stephanie Mulholland, Associate Director at principal awards sponsor Brightwater Recruitment Specialists, Beth McMaw, Events Lead for CIPD NI, and Lynn Carson, Vice Chair of CIPD NI.

FEBRUARY 2016

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EVENTS

Canapés and cocktails The cream of the last month’s business events Going Dutch at Titanic

Brewin’s festive feast

The Northern Ireland – Netherlands Trade & Export Society (NI-NL) celebrated the strong and ever growing trade relations the province has with the Dutch during its 10th Annual Trade Dinner.

Representatives of more than 50 Dutch businesses who trade with Northern Ireland flew into the province for the anniversary dinner at Titanic Belfast.

Brewin Dolphin’s Christmas drinks party drew a festive crowd in Ox Cave.

Wendy-Jane Catherwood, Wallace Ewart and Natasha Catherwood.

NI-NL companies and guests at Titanic Belfast.

Host and speakers: Tim Husbands, Titanic Belfast; Warner Rootliep, KLM; Norbert van Twist, Royal Kemper en Van Twist; Minister Mervyn Storey MLA; Matthew Dobson, Dunbia; and Steve Murnaghan, NITC.

Harry Morrison, Ann Morrison, Sharon Watson and Richard Watson.

Nelson Whiteside, Emily Waterworth and Brian Shaw.

Carol Armstrong, David McCorkell and Andrew Burns.

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EVENTS

A design for builders Hamilton Architects announced a strong start to 2016 by winning £30m of contracts in the education sector. The news was announced by partners Paul Millar, Mark Haslett and Seamus McCloskey, during an event attended by around 100 sectoral stakeholders and rugby legend Paddy Wallace at Hamilton’s offices in Belfast.

Jorge Lopes, Diageo NI.

Paddy Wallace was the VIP guest speaker at the Hamilton Architects event. He is pictured with Partners, from left, Mark Haslett, Paul Millar and Seamus McCloskey.

Graeme Cousins, Belfast Vibe, and Sonia Armstrong, Ulster Business.

Eamon O’Hare (left) of O’Hare & McGovern, with Eleanor McEvoy of Budget Energy and Seamus McCloskey, Partner.

Professor Peter Walker of the Belfast School of Architecture, Ulster University, accepted the Hamilton Award for Most Promising Young Designer from Partner Seamus McCloskey.

Jim and Paula Gracey with Pamela Ballantine.

Raising a glass to Food & Drink To celebrate the beginning of Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink 2016, Diageo Northern Ireland held their annual media party on Thursday 21st January in Sweet Afton, Belfast. Guests were greeted on arrival with Tanqueray & Tonic and Bulleit Old Fashioned cocktails and then sampled beers from the Brewers Project paired with a range of complementary foods including, to name a few, Smithwicks Pale Ale with mussels; Hop House 13 with chicken korma and rice; Guinness Dublin Porter with oysters.

FEBRUARY 2016

Paddy Wallace with the team from Hamilton Architects Derry~Londonderry office, from left, Partner Seamus McCloskey and Directors Simon Doyle and George Brolly.

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TECHNOLOGY

Tech be nimble, tech be quick...

All the latest technology news and reviews from our resident gadget guru Adam Maguire

Reviews Google Pixel C Google gives the world its take on the ever-blurring line between the laptop and the tablet – but can it match the clout of what Microsoft and Apple have to offer?

The era of the pro-level tablet is upon us, with Microsoft’s Surface leading the charge and Apple recently coming on the scene with its not-so-inventively-titled iPad Pro. For its part Google has given us the Pixel C – a sleek-looking and wellpowered device (albeit one with a fairly standard-sized 10” screen).

On the plus side the device looks the part and, accompanied with its detachable keyboard, provides an adequate replacement to most laptop functions in a lot of cases.

However it is running on Android, which for all its charms is not yet tailored to be a Windows or OSX beater. It also fails to beat out the competition on price, with many potential users probably finding their money better spent on a smaller, but no less adequate, alternative.

The Google Pixel C starts at £399

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Sony’s Xperia line is one of the under-appreciated gems of the smartphone world – and its Compact iteration remains a worthy competitor to most rivals.

Sony and others have long known what Apple is reportedly just learning – bigger may be better for most, but some prefer a phone you can hold in one hand.

To that end the Xperia Compact line has long managed to squeeze decent tech into a more manageable frame – with the Z5 being no different.

Underneath its 4.6” screen is a surprising amount of power – as well as a note-worthy two day battery and a crystal clear camera.

The trade-off is that the device is thick by modern standards (but by no means is it a hark back to the days the brick). The price is also at the higher end for its class, meaning this will not be a budget option for prospective Android owners.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact costs £450 SIM-free

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TECHNOLOGY

Previews FitBit Blaze FitBit still dominates the emerging market of fitness trackers – but it has some big players nipping at its heels. The Blaze is its attempt to hold its lead in the ongoing race.

FitBit has made a name for itself through simple, and relatively cheap, smart fitness trackers – which tell users a lot about their activity levels from a handful of data points (like heart rate and steps taken).

Despite having the tanks of every major tech company parked on its lawn, the firm has been slow to move fully into the broader smart watch space – but the Blaze is the closest it has come to date.

It has a colour screen and can display notifications from a user’s phone as well as be used as a handsfree device. But at its heart it is still fitness-focused, which allows it to maintain a reasonable cost and a decent battery life.

The problem is this forced limitation also cuts down the functionality of the device in a serious way – for example there are no apps available beyond what comes pre installed, and the lack of a GPS chip makes it reliant on a phone for precise distance tracking.

Whether the trade-off is enough to attract users is hard to know – but this is definitely not the Apple Watch rival that many had hoped for.

Intel Compute Stick (v2) Intel is still trying to figure out how it will thrive in a post-PC world – and one of its bets is in the area of pocket-sized computing.

Hobby-ist favourites like Raspberry Pi have led the way in miniature computing but the big boys don’t like to be left behind – which is why Intel came along with its thumb drive computer, the Compute Stick.

It was severely limited, however, not just in power terms but also in its lack of connectivity – and so a second version has come along to right some of those wrongs.

The concept is simple – this device can plug into a HDMI port on a TV or monitor and, via a few attachments, operate as a fully-fledged computer.

Early reports suggest it is not something you would want to be relying on for processor-heavy work – but this could prove a viable option for someone with an irregular need for something more than their smartphone (and a spare port on their flatscreen).

FEBRUARY 2016

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BUSINESS TRAVELLER

Damien McCrory, National Account Manager Kestrel Foods What’s your favourite App for passing the time?

Generally my apps are news websites – I can get bitesize updates so that no matter where I am in the world, I am informed. When I switch off – sport is my passion. But I’m slightly old-fashioned and I prefer flicking through the sports pages!

Have you ever unexpectedly run into someone you know from home in a far flung destination?

Surprisingly I haven’t but the world is getting smaller everyday so it’s only a matter of time I expect!

How often do you travel and why?

My role is all-Ireland and export focused – therefore travel is part of the job description! Kestrel Foods has made great strides worldwide and that’s because of a focus on developing lasting and trustworthy relationships. On average I travel to meet with customers at least twice a week to nurture those relationships. Advancements in technology have been vital for our business – we’re lucky to have customers as far away as the US and Canada, having recently secured a contract with supermarket giant TJX. When it isn’t feasible to travel, video conferencing is the next best thing.

Other than your phone, what are the three things you couldn’t do without when travelling for work?

Google Maps has been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion!

Wi-Fi is a must for someone on the go. I use any downtime when travelling to catch-up on email and my laptop goes hand in hand with that.

Have you found a good way to work while you travel?

For me, preparation is key – travel time doesn’t equal wasted time.

I print off documents that need attention or use this time to call customers and check-in.

What would be your top tips for anyone embarking on a job that involves a lot of travel?

When I joined Kestrel, I knew I was joining an ambitious team with plans to grow its customer base internationally. I was aware that in order to deliver I would have to be flexible – it isn’t a 9 to 5 job. But it’s important to embrace that because like anything you get out of it what you put in.

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What do you enjoy most about working internationally?

For me, it’s the opportunity to meet new people and gain an understanding of their market and their ‘consumer’ to ensure we propose and launch the right product ranges. Tastes vary substantially from country to country, but our extensive product portfolio celebrates this. For example, we recently launched five lines of exotic Forest Feast ‘Street Food’ snack mixes that celebrate the world’s most exciting street food flavours, from the hickory smoked barbeques of Louisiana to the exotic spices of Thailand. And we’re continuing to push the boundaries when it comes to our products so watch this space!

What’s your favourite city/country in the world and where has disappointed you?

My favourite city is London. I enjoy the convenience of getting there and find travelling between meetings easy, which is particularly important because I usually have a hectic schedule. I love the buzz of the city and when my appointments for the day are over there’s never a shortage of great things to see and do. I consider it a great privilege to travel as part of my work and fortunately I’ve never been disappointed with anywhere I’ve been to. It’s all been lifeexperience!

What do you look for in a good hotel?

A hotel with a good breakfast is a winner with me.

Location is always something to factor in – I love when I can get to meetings on foot.

What’s the best airline you’ve flown with and the best hotel you’ve stayed in?

I enjoy flying British Airways. They’re flexible regarding hand-luggage which is important when travelling with product samples. It also helps that they happen to serve some very tasty fruit and nut mixes which I like to enjoy during the flight!

TRAVEL

Inspiration for the nation Need a few ideas for this summer’s trip? Skyscanner offers a few potentials off the beaten trail

1. Ponta Delgada, the Azores With more airlines flying to the Azores, including Ryanair’s new weekly flight from Stansted to Ponta Delgada, this autonomous region of Portugal is opening up as a viable budget travel destination and is therefore experiencing a tourism boom. With excellent hiking, whale watching, surfing and diving, the Azores is likely to feature heavily on adventure travellers’ bucket lists in 2016.

2. Havana, Cuba After years in the cold, Cuba is back on the world stage as the USA restored diplomatic relations in July and continues to loosen restrictions on trade. If more restrictions are lifted we may see flights from the US and US hotel chains opening in Cuba in 2016. Many are therefore booking flights to Cuba to experience the country before it changes beyond recognition (and before prices rise as a result). Having been shut off for so long Cuba is trapped in a time warp, with crumbling colonial buildings and 1950s cars. It is like nowhere else on earth.

3. Tokyo, Japan Tourism has boomed under the current prime minister’s administration. The national tourist board are actively targeting niche UK markets by focusing on ski, honeymoon and adventure tourism offerings. Thanks to the excellent value Japan Rail Passes and Airbnb type accommodation, Tokyo is now 50% cheaper for UK travellers than in 2013 according to the Post Office’s Long Haul Report.

What’s more, Japan will host the 2020 Olympics and the 2019 Rugby World Cup so attention will only increase throughout 2016. Hokkaido’s first Shinkansen high

FEBRUARY 2016

Ponta Delgada, The Azores

speed train will also launch in 2016, opening up more of Japan to visitors.

in Copenhagen’s Fashion Week, the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.

4. Copenhagen, Denmark

5. Sal, Cape Verde

Recently voted the ninth most reputable city in the world, Copenhagen is a must visit for culture vultures and foodies alike.

Home to the five-month long Tivoli Festival (May – September 2016), classical music fans can expect a star-studded line up hosted at the stunning Tivoli Gardens.

February is also a great time to visit the capital, with the Copenhagen Cooking festival showcasing everincreasingly popular Nordic cuisine, whilst fashionistas can immerse themselves

With a reputation for unspoilt beaches and cobbled streets, the island of Sal is only just emerging as a tourist destination. Thomson Airways is adding to its portfolio with a new route from Bristol in summer 2016. What’s more, with chart topping acts and reality stars frequenting these West Africa isles Skyscanner predicts the destination’s popularity will continue to rise. Sal is also a great base for exploring the rest of the archipelago, from the canyons, gorges and valleys of Santo Antao to the Sahara-like dunes of Boa Vista.

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SPORT

Ambush marketing is becoming more popular especially with some ‘cheeky’ brands as a cheap why to get media coverage!

At a 2002 Australia v New Zealand rugby match, two naked men stole the limelight by streaking on to the playing field sporting only the logo of a competitor to the main sponsor.

As more and more events come to Northern Ireland it is important for the marketer to be aware of AM:

Geoff Wilson

The ambush marketing lowdown

By Geoff Wilson

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mbush marketing (AM) is where a company takes advantage of the ‘commercial’ platform offered by an event without the authorisation of the event organisers and without paying a share of the event costs.

AM is usually adopted at an event without paying the required sponsorship fee yet

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obtaining maximum brand exposure at minimal cost. The aim might also be to diminish the marketing benefit that a competitor gains who has paid the full sponsorship fee!

Ambush marketing first appeared in 1984 when the Los Angeles Olympics developed exclusive packages.

he First and Deputy First Minister made sure they got behind Ireland’s Rugby World Cup 2023 Oversight Board – which includes for Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, pictured centre – when they visited Belfast last month. A full board meeting was held at Kingspan Stadium as part of the ongoing preparation of the bid. Both First Minister Arlene Foster (left) and Martin McGuinness said the Executive was commitment to the project and expressed their desire to see Ireland win the bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Addressing the meeting the First Minister, Arlene Foster, MLA said: “The Northern Ireland Executive is fully committed to providing all the necessary support required by the Bid Team to ensure the delivery of a compelling, world class bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. We already have significant experience of hosting major international sporting events here in Northern Ireland including the Giro d’Italia and the Irish Open Golf Championship, with Royal Portrush hosting the greatest Tournament in world golf, The Open Championship, in 2019.”

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• Make sure your event logo and intellectual property is trademarked and copywrite.

• Ambushing only works when the official sponsorship doesn’t – make sure you have the appropriate activation budget in place to ensure the sponsorship does work for you.

• Place an onus on the event owner that all necessary plans have been put in place to ensure AM does not happen at the event you are sponsoring.

• Online and specifically social networking is the new landscape that Ambush Marketers will try to attack. So make sure you have robust digital plans in place.

Geoff runs his own sports consultancy, working with clients such as FIFA across the world. He is also on the board of Tourism Northern Ireland. You can follow Geoff on twitter @geoffwnjwilson or connect on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/geoffwnjwilson

Business Diary March 2016

DATE

EVENT

VENUE

CONTACT

26 February 08.00 - 13.00

The Management & Leadership Conference Organiser: MLN

Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast Cost: ÂŁ60 +VAT

For further information and booking details visit: www.mln.org.uk

2 March 18.00 - 20.00

Lets Start a Business Programme Organiser: Mallusk Business Park

Mallusk Business Park, Newtownabbey BT36 4GN Cost: FREE

For further information tel: 0800 980 7990 or email: business@mallusk.org

3 March 09.00 - 14.00

PHA Healthy Working Lives Conference Organiser: Business in the Community

Riddell Hall, Stranmillis Cost: FREE

For further information or to book contact email: cathy.preston@bitcni.org.uk or tel: 028 9046 0606

4 March

On Board Training Organiser: On Board

The Mount Conference Centre, Belfast Cost: ÂŁ362.00

For further information or to book visit www.eventbrite.co.uk

9 March 8.45 - 11.00

Employment Law and Health and Safety Seminar Organiser: Peninsula Business Services

The Terrace Hotel, 42-48 Church Street, Magherafelt BT45 6AW Cost: FREE

For further information tel: 028 9031 4222 or email: events@peninsula-ni.com

Ongoing throughout March 2 - 30 March 10.00 - 16.00

Research & Development Clinics Organiser: Invest NI

Various venues.

See website for further information Cost: FREE

For further information or to book email: robin.humphreys@investni.com

If you would like to promote an event or conference please contact Sonia Armstrong (soniaarmstrong@greerpublications.com)

MY DAY

Uncovering the 9-5

content for the campaign has taken time, but it will be worth it in the long run if it means that we can get changes made to our out dated legislation. We say it’s the Year of Food & Drink but all we can see at the minute are barriers for the hospitality sector.

10.00am The Pub of the Year awards is the biggest event in the calendar for us and it takes months to get it right. The ceremony might take place in November but we start to plan for the next year as soon as it is over. Each week I’m on a conference call with the event manager, the PR team and our partners to make sure that process is on track. The high level of scrutiny that goes into the judging has made a Pub of the Year award something to be really proud of.

10.30am Mid-morning is usually the time I touch base with some of our wider legal and communications advisory teams to see how our other campaigns are progressing and how we are moving forward on some of our emerging policy positions. The hospitality sector is getting a bit of a kicking at the minute and our members want to see change on the likes of rates, VAT and generally the cost of doing business.

12.30pm

Name: Colin Neill Position: Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster

Connecting with our membership is a really important part of the role we play at Hospitality Ulster. New members from the pub, hotel and restaurant sector are joining all the time, but we also have members who have been with us for decades and it is important that we engage with them as often as we can. This might mean heading out to various parts of Northern Ireland which is a really enjoyable part of the day. It’s great to connect with the people at the front line of the hospitality sector as they are the best barometer available about what is actually going on. At the minute, there are lots of barriers to growth that our politicians can help change and the industry is becoming increasingly disillusioned with things not moving.

7.15am

3.00pm

It’s often an early start in the office to make sure I’m ahead of the news agenda. Due to the wide range of issues that we look after across the hospitality sector there is usually something every day that I’ll need to be aware of or we have some interest in. I’m also connected in with other organisations in GB and the Republic and keep a watchful eye on what is going on elsewhere.

In the afternoon I’m usually meeting with elected representatives at the Assembly. Recently we have been giving evidence to a number of the committees at the Assembly and Westminster on issues such as tourism VAT and rates. At the same time we are continuing to lobby our local MLAs and MPs on other areas such as the cost of doing business for the hospitality sector, reducing red tape and addressing the significant skills shortage that the industry has.

9.00am First thing I do is meet with my team. We are at the planning stages of a campaign to highlight inaction by the Assembly in not bringing forward the recent liquor licensing bill. The longer it is not introduced, the more irresponsible drinking will get out of hand here – so it’s one of our most important campaigns we will probably ever launch. Making decisions on the creative

7.00pm Due to the nature of the role that I have there is no shortage of dinners, events and receptions to attend or that I’m asked to speak at. This means that for about two evenings a week I often don’t get home until around midnight, so when the weekend comes I enjoy nothing more than getting out on my bike and heading up the coast.

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