In association with
TOP NORTHERN IRELAND COMPANIES 2015
A definitive guide to the successful firms driving our economy
12 May 2015 BUSINESS MONTH 1
TOP
COMPLIED BY JOHN SIMPSON • COMPANY PROFILES MARGARET CANNING & JOHN MULGREW PRODUCTION BACKBENCH • FRONT COVER RAYMOND ESTEBAN
NORTHERN IRELAND COMPANIES 2015 In association with
Judging firms by profits leads to a few surprises WELCOME to the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Companies 2015 in association with Arthur Cox. We are delighted to present you with a new take on company performance in Northern Ireland. Economist John Simpson has assessed our biggest companies on the basis of pretax profits — a new approach after decades of the Belfast Telegraph Top 100 ranking firms in order of the size of their workforce. We think our new way throws up some interesting results,
12 May 2015
MARGARET CANNING and brings to the fore thriving indigenous firms in many different sectors. Some of them — interestingly concentrated in the pharmaceutical and medical devices sector — are proudly independent and have vowed to remain so. Others are part of larger, international companies — an important cohort in our economy which we were anxious to include.
Companies are included where they have a Northern Ireland-registered company and are able to provide a figure for pre-tax profits - with one or two exceptions explained by Mr Simpson, who has also extracted figures for each company’s pay bill. You’ll notice some striking differences in this year’s chart compared to last year. There
are many absences, most markedly the big multiple retailers, who previously dominated the Top 20 due to their sheer number of employees. Their absence this year has brought many other interesting businesses who are spread around the province into the limelight — from the Finnish-owned egg carton manufacturer in Lurgan to the doormaker in Dungannon. We hope you enjoy the publication and that it provides useful reading material in the year ahead.
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 3
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster outlines her vision for the future as Northern Ireland’s top businesses go from strength to strength
T
HIS year’s Top 100 shows a diverse range of businesses making the list and performing exceptionally well — and by doing so, proving that Northern Ireland is open for business and opportunities exist for those who operate here. It is a combination of factors that makes our companies so successful and it is a testament to our skilled workforce that among our top 100, we don’t just have companies that are leading in Northern Ireland but companies that are global leaders. 2014 has seen our economic recovery take hold. Among other things, we have experienced a growing number of jobs, falling unemployment and im-
4
We can compete on a global level proved consumer confidence. This has only been made possible by the important contribution that our businesses make. However, I know that we cannot rest on our laurels. We are living in an increasingly globalised society and our businesses will need to continue moving at speed to ensure that they remain on top, whether that be through innovating, carrying out research and development, seeking out new export markets or investing in their workforce. We in government have an important role to play. We must do all that we can to support our businesses, whether
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
that be providing support for large firms or those who are starting off on their journey. We have long recognised that securing corporation tax powers had the most potential transform our economy and I am delighted that the UK government has now made a firm commitment that put these powers within our reach. I remain confident that we can work together to secure these powers, and I hope that 2015 is the year when we can make a firm announcement on a rate and date for reducing corporation tax. By lowering the rate of tax that businesses pay, I know it
will remove a barrier for many businesses to further invest here, and by doing so generate new employment opportunities for our people. Work carried out by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre estimates that if we choose to reduce the rate to 12.5% from 2017, we could create additional employment of almost 40,000 and grow our economy by 10% by 2033. For the year ahead, I hope all of Northern Ireland’s businesses can continue to strive to reach their full potential and have the confidence that Northern Ireland is a great place to do business.
12 May 2015
Top 100 lead the way Angela McGowan
Chief economist Danske Bank
T
HE celebration of our Top 100 companies provides us with an important opportunity to step back and assess our industrial profile. For this honorary position local firms have traditionally been assessed according to their employment base. But in 2015 profitability is the key decider. The ability of a company to create profits is a sure sign of its success. But we should not forgot the other factors that reflect the competitiveness and ambition of our private firms, such as expansion, innovation, export levels and job creation. While not all successful companies are listed in the Top 100, we know that many smaller local companies in Northern Ireland also pursue successful strategies and are indeed highly profitable for their size, even if they have not (yet) reached sufficient scale to warrant a place in this Top 100. In previous commentary around this subject I have mentioned that Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies will, as time goes on, truly reflect the triumph (or failure) of our local economic policy. Good economic policy should ensure that our regional list of top companies reflects a healthy balance of indigenous private sector growth alongside foreign direct investors. It is therefore great to see a healthy number of home-grown firms who have made it into the Top 20. Indeed, it is also significant that the indigenous Northern Ireland firms high up on the list come from such a diverse range of sectors, including agri-food, pharmaceuticals and even medical devices. There is also a strong number of foreign investors on this Top 100 list, suggesting that Northern Ireland is well perceived by outsiders. Foreign investment generally comes from highly competitive global
6
players who seek out regions that reflect their core values, can deliver adequate skills, have good infrastructure and provide a decent quality of life for their employees. We should be proud of the fact that Northern Ireland has managed to punch above its weight when it comes to attracting so many foreign investors. Last year all companies across Northern Ireland, regardless of size or ownership, encountered a much more favourable economic climate. This perhaps explains why many were able to regain or expand their profitable status. Local economic growth was estimated to have reached 2% last year and recently published forecasts from Dankse Bank suggest that the local economy will grow by around 2.2% this year. The global environment is also looking much more healthy, with growth expected to reach 3.8% in 2015 and 2016. Although the world’s largest economy, the US, has been looking a little softer during quarter one this year, indicators suggest that there are good
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
reasons for growth to recover in the coming quarters. Europe is currently the main provider of good news. Growth is surprisingly to the upside with consumers finally spending money — and recent monetary policy loosening by the European Central Bank will add further fuel to Europe’s recovery. Not surprisingly, asset markets in Europe are booming. With around 16% of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing exports going to the euro area, it is good to note that European growth is expected to reach 1.5% this year. Even in good times, local corporates will face challenges. The stronger pound this year could act as a drag on export levels and the UK election may bring about a fair degree of uncertainty for investors. However, regardless of the challenges there will always be successful firms. This year, in particular, as our public sector starts to recede, Northern Ireland’s economic success will increasingly depend upon our private sector’s ability to change, adapt and rise up to the competitive challenges that it faces.
The most successful firms will strive to raise their productivity, increase efficiency and allow innovation and research and development (R&D) to bring them into new markets or gain market share. But we all have a role to play in making NI plc a success. There is a role for government in terms of ensuring that business conditions allow firms to flourish. Government needs to provide and maintain infrastructure and ensure that local colleges and universities can provide the relevant skills. There is a role for the financial sector to lend funds and support their customers when expanding or making difficult decisions. We must also remember that creating wealth is ultimately about raising living standards. Thus there is also a responsibility on the private sector to invest in training their employees, to remunerate employees with a fair wage and to provide people with decent job conditions and contracts. The top 100 companies should hopefully all be leading by example.
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 7
John Simpson
N
ORTHERN IRELAND is home to more than 100 companies that, in the most recent trading period, each made annual pre-tax profits of over £1m. Research for the Belfast Telegraph has identified 117 companies that recorded profits of more than £1m. The 100 companies with the highest pre-tax profits are listed in the main table (see pages 18-21). Of particular significance, the Top 100 profit makers have recently enjoyed much improved business results. Average profits for the top profit makers — after excluding the unusual effects of improved bank profits and one company with an exceptionally large exceptional profit — have increased in the most recent year by a notable 11%. In this group of 100 businesses, 74 reported an improved pre-tax profit compared to the immediately preceding year; 26 experienced a pre-tax profit reduction, although they still posted a profit figure of more than £1m. The biggest profit earners, in descending order, were:
Danske Bank ..................... £118m N.I. Electricity ..................... £70m A.E.S [two companies] ........ £61m N.I. Water ............................ £56m Terex GB.............................. £42m
Ranked by added-value The direct contribution of each business to the local economy by way of improved employment and incomes generated can be illustrated by the level of profits and also through the size of the pay bill, including national insurance and pension costs met by the business. The companies with the largest pay bill are headed by Moy Park at a cost in 2013 of just over £202m. Because Moy Park includes a number of plants outside Northern Ireland, a proportion of this pay bill falls in other places. When profits and the pay bill are combined, the 10 firms making the largest contribution to incomes of employees and shareholders are shown in the main table above.
More than 100 firms made profits of over £1m LARGEST PAY BILL
COMPANY ............................... £’M
Moy Park.............................. 202.1
Moy Park.............................. 235.9
Bombardier.......................... 190.7
Bombardier.......................... 212.8
Almac................................... 124.5
Danske Bank ........................ 176.2
Allstate NI.............................. 72.0
Almac................................... 143.7
Caterpillar Corp ..................... 71.1
N.I. Water ............................. 111.2
Dunbia ................................... 69.6
Caterpillar Corp .................... 99.8
Ballyvesey Holdings............... 67.5
Norbrook Holdings ................ 76.7
Danske Bank .......................... 58.7
Allstate NI.............................. 76.3
John Graham.......................... 56.8
Dunbia ................................... 74.2
Norbrook Holdings ................ 56.0
Ballyvesey Holdings.................71.7
Bank profits are up but nearly all leave Top 100 list after change in criteria
Continued on page 10 8
PROFITS AND PAY BILL
Including social security and pension contributions COMPANY ............................... £’M
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
NORTHERN IRELAND’S four main banks — Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Northern/Danske Bank and First Trust — have been fixtures in the Top 100 down the decades. But our change of criteria from employment figures for all businesses operating in the province to only those companies which are registered in the province and can provide a pre-tax profit figure relating to their Northern Ireland business has changed the picture. The new criteria excludes Bank of Ireland, First Trust and Ulster Bank, which do not have separate Northern Ireland-registered companies for their main business and do not
report separate pre-tax profit results for the province. Ulster Bank did make operating profits of £606m in 2014 across the island. It has provided a figure of £1.746bn for profit after tax in Northern Ireland for the year. This includes an adjustment to the valuation of the company’s investment in Ulster Bank Ireland Limited (UBIL). This reflects the increase in value in respect of Ulster Bank Limited’s investment in its subsidiary (UBIL). Bank of Ireland made Ireland-wide pre-tax profits of €921m (£657m) while First Trust parent company Allied Irish Banks made pre-tax profits of €1.1bn (£785m).
12 May 2015
John Simpson
Why we chose pre-tax profits as a performance indicator THE recession is well and truly gone. Although the official evidence has been increasingly reassuring for over a year, this unique study for the Belfast Telegraph shows that the recovery in profitability in the local economy has been stronger than had been thought. The 100 firms reporting the highest pre-tax profits demonstrate two major features about events in 2014. First, pre-tax profits have been rising sharply in the last year. Second, using a purely subjective judgement, there are more significant profit earners than we expected. The tables included in this survey show that there were more businesses
making pre-tax profits of over ÂŁ1m than we expected. A choice had to be made in designing this survey. Too much information would have made it unwieldy. To focus on key information a choice had to be made. What information is available and how should it be presented? The choice was to focus on profitability. We concentrated mainly on pre-tax profits, rather than operating profits. This is arguable. Operating profit details, alone, would exclude the impact on overall profits of the charges for interest payments or the earning of interest on funds. Operating profits do not usually take account of any
exceptional items entering the profit and loss accounts. Knowing that the differences do help in an overall understanding, for easier codification, we have relied on pre-tax profits as our main yardstick. Then, in an effort to move closer to an assessment of the net contribution of a business to the local economy, we extracted information about the payroll costs of the business. As an indication of the contribution to the economy, we examined which businesses were the largest contributors either by way of profits or payroll or both combined. The main table lists the 100 businesses in rank order of pre-tax profits.
Researching the data on profits ALL Northern Ireland-registered businesses have an obligation to submit copies of their audited accounts to the Registrar of Companies. The requirements outline a broadly based range of information which is presented on a standard basis. For this special publication the registered accounts of the largest businesses have been reviewed and, subject to minimum criteria, have been analysed to make the information usable in the format which has been developed. The editorial objective has been to collect information on the most profitable local companies. There were some marginal distinctions or judgements that proved to be necessary or helpful. For example, there is a small number of businesses which are owned and controlled in Northern Ireland but have their formal company registration elsewhere, usually in England. This analysis has been prepared allowing discretion to include these locally controlled companies which are registered elsewhere. Relevant examples were Manderley Food Products (which includes Tayto Crisps) and Ballyvesey Holdings. There is a very small number of businesses which are registered locally but whose main
The editorial objective has been to collect information on the most profitable local companies
trading activities lie elsewhere and are, therefore, excluded. A major example is Glen Electric, manufacturer of the Dimplex range of heaters. A small number of businesses have been omitted where there has been a recent significant change of ownership and/or restructuring with some change of ownership. Omitted this year have been the successor companies emerging from the former Quinn Group, the former Resource (NI) companies and H&J Martin. The statistical review of the most profitable companies has, for two reasons, excluded businesses based only on property ownership. First, property owning businesses display characteristics which set them apart from the normal commercial businesses trading in goods and
10 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
services. Second, as it happens, in recent years property owning companies have reported some very difficult trading conditions as the balance sheet value of their assets has fallen sharply. This is an analysis of locally owned and managed companies. Of course it excludes those businesses operating in Northern Ireland as branches of UKwide or Irish firms for whom there is no separate Northern Ireland trading information. Externally controlled businesses, if they are large employers, are listed in the second part of this report. With these variations, the research for the Belfast Telegraph has tried to identify businesses which may be making a significant contribution to the profits and productivity of local business. A major caveat must be acknowledged. The identification of the 100 businesses with the largest pretax profits cannot yet be guaranteed to be comprehensive. If the business has come to our notice, it has been assessed. As the year goes on we will learn of some businesses we have unintentionally not included. When this study is repeated, omissions will be corrected. We stand ready to make the analysis more comprehensive by making corrections next time.
12 May 2015
THE TOP 50 EMPLOYERS SEE PGS 50-51
The largest
businesses have grown larger Firms employing more and helping communities. By John Simpson
THIS special publication has analysed information on two different criteria. The earlier section has identified, as far as our review was able, the businesses registered in (or managed from) Northern Ireland which have recorded the largest profits In this section, information is presented on the businesses which have the largest numbers of employees as shown either from their registered accounts or in the annual return to the Equality Commission, as required by the provisions of the Fair Employment legislation. Accessing the number of employees engaged by each commercial employer has facilitated the compilation of statistics which includes the Northern Ireland-based establishments which are part of UK-registered businesses but which do not usually publish separate Northern Ireland trading details. This means that the list of largest businesses, by employment, includes the numbers of employees of firms such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Four Seasons. The full table includes 50 businesses each of which employed over 900 at the date of the review. Of the 50 largest commercial employers, 19 are branches of UK or Irish parent companies and 31 are Northern Ireland-registered (or managed) businesses.
12 May 2015
The 50 largest commercial employers, in the most recent year, accounted for 117,254 employees. This was just over 6,300 more than a year earlier, or an increase of 5.7%. The 50 largest commercial employers accounted for just over 23% of all private sector employment. Total private sector employment increased, over a comparable year, by just under 3.8% so that the proportion of all private sector employment being offered by the largest employers has continued to increase.
Experience in the private sector has varied
During 2013-14 Northern Ireland was the home base to 44 businesses that employed more than 1,000 people. In the year by year comparison of employment changes, during 2013-14, six businesses increased their employment by a margin that brought them into the Top 50.
THE NEW ‘ARRIVALS’ INCLUDED: • • • • • •
Stream Intelligent Contact Concentrix Terex GB Randox Holdings United Dairy Farmers Foyle Food Group
There were a number of major increases in employment amongst the large employers. Some of the changes were
the end result of significant investment.
IN THE LAST YEAR, BIG EMPLOYMENT INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN: CONCENTRIX...........................82% STREAM INTELLIGENT.............64% TELEPERFORMANCE................46% CORPORATE CATERING ...........39% NEXT ......................................30% FOYLE FOOD............................26% TEREX GB ................................20% FIRSTSOURCE..........................17% CITIGROUP ..............................16% BALLYVESEY HLDS...................15% The range and diversity of the types of business enjoying an increase in employment is an interesting reflection of the broadening of the employment base in Northern Ireland. Some large employers experienced a fall in their employment. Not surprising, in the circumstances, three of the main commercial banks ended with fewer employees. By the accident of timing, Caterpillar reported a significant decrease in numbers, although this position has now been partially reversed. Amongst the large retail chains, Dunnes Stores saw employment fall by 11%.
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 11
A D V E RTI S I N G
12 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
FE ATU R E
12 May 2015
A D V E RTI S I N G
12 May 2015
FE ATU R E
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 13
Joy Allen
L
EADERSHIP can be such an underrated resource. Ask 100 people what it means and you may get 100 different answers, and yet everyone will remember the great leaders that have inspired them over the years, and the terrible leaders they have escaped from. Research shows the huge value of effective leadership to growing companies. In the last 15 years, there has been unprecedented change in the demands on leaders, brought about by changes in technology, globalisation and the economic climate. Most people come up through the ranks, and experience various levels of management on their way up the ladder. Moving from managing a team to leading an organisation is an exciting step. The titles of managing director or chief executive seem very attractive, and yet there are very few training courses that specifically develop skills for those roles. Great leaders recognise the need for continual learning and support, and invest heavily in their own development, using tailored training, coaching and mentoring (whether formally or informally). The best leaders commit to being the best they can in their field, focusing on their specialist areas and learning every day with passion and commitment. Great leaders are very effective at managing their own minds — keeping a clear vision in view, maintaining healthy balance in their lives, and calming the inner voices in their heads to stay positive and motivated. They are selfaware, and open to feedback, using difficult experiences as learning opportunities rather than getting ‘knocked back’. Their emotional intelligence enables them to manage their own emotions and use a range of leadership styles appropriate to different situations and different people, to get the best results. They are authentic, accessible and ethical, enabling them to easily build trust. Making the leap from senior management to the boardroom provides a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills. Working as a chief executive is
How to avoid the perils of leadership
This year’s Top 100 sees the arrival of new leaders at the helm of our top companies, including Norbrook’s Liam Nagle, SHS Group’s Elaine Birchall, NIE’s Nicholas Tarrant and AES’s Carla Tully. Here, the managing director of Leading Governance, shares her thoughts on the most important leadership attributes these and other CEOs should possess very different to working as a chair or board member. Many people in the role of ‘director’ have no understanding of the legal duties that go with the title. Proper induction is essential to help people adapt from their former duties as a manager of a functional area to their complex new role as a member of the board team. Board meetings need to be quite different from management meetings. Planning the agenda for the board is a really important task, and not just an administrative function. Lifting board discussions to a strategic level, where there is a clear focus on key priorities and awareness of key risks will result on much more productive meetings. While executives focus on the practicalities of planning tasks, the board needs space for
14 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
strategic thinking. For anyone moving from management to the boardroom, that shift will require effort. In a difficult financial climate, there is a temptation to focus on costs, and yet the board needs to invest in the future and agree a clear vision and strategy. Having that clarity is essential for a number of reasons: It enables everyone in the organisation to pull together in the same direction; It provides a framework for useful performance conversations with individuals; It stimulates thinking about the skills needed in the boardroom and the senior team, which usefully supports the processes of succession planning and professional development; And it enables focus on the management of key risks
One of the key things leaders need to do is create the right climate and culture so that everyone in the organisation is fully engaged, and behaviours are appropriate. Giving feedback needs to be part of everyday life, so that people are encouraged and rewarded for great efforts and any bad behaviours are nipped in the bud so they don’t become a habit. Great leaders know that they can’t achieve great results by themselves. They will be motivated to provide clear direction and support to everyone around them and encourage individual achievement by all, leading to great outcomes for the business as a whole. While leaders delegate, support, share information and involve their colleagues, everyone in the business is expected to take responsibility, be accountable, and show initiative to solve problems. Companies with a clearly articulated vision and values find it easier to ‘set the tone’ for an appropriate culture and useful behaviours. Their leaders support individuals to develop their own skills using coaching, team facilitation, reflection, and action learning. By developing a happy and productive team, they enable a focus on exciting future possibilities, leading to great results. Arriving in the boardroom may seem like the pinnacle of your career, and yet it’s a very complex environment that requires new communication skills, diplomacy and resilience. Boardrooms are not always comfortable places, nor should they be. The Financial Reporting Council1 encourages dialogue which is both constructive and challenging, and stresses the need for sufficient diversity on the board to support that. Boardroom skills are becoming more specialised, and need to be learned. A good chief executive, if properly inducted and oriented to board work, can be a real asset to the board team. If the right people are in the boardroom, focusing on the key issues, having the right conversations, and making the right decisions, the board can really add value to a growing business, and help the leading executive to be even more productive.
12 May 2015
Sinead McGrath, head of law firm Carson McDowell’s banking and finance practice, assesses the funding landscape for Northern Ireland’s Top 100 companies
H
EADLINES over the past number of weeks highlighting cuts in funding to the arts, environmental and voluntary sectors in NI and the continued discussions regarding welfare reform have brought into sharp focus the significant funding challenges facing the Northern Irish economy over the coming years. As the extent of the contraction in public funding becomes clearer, the renewed importance of addressing issues around access to finance for NI businesses, particularly small and medium sized businesses, once again comes to the fore. The hoped for devolution of corporation tax powers to the Northern Irish Executive may be on hold pending agreement on welfare reform, but it is clear that the strategic aim of rebalancing the public and private sectors in Northern Ireland will require sustained and sustainable growth in the private sector. The recent Danske Bank Quarterly Growth Report suggests that although growth has slowed in recent months, the NI economy is predicted to grow at a rate of 2.2% in 2015. The private sector will continue to grow with smaller sectors such as ICT and professional and scientific services outpacing the traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction. So, if growth is to be sustained and increased, what funding options are available to NI businesses? Invest Northern Ireland has developed a suite of six funds under the “Access to Finance” banner totalling £170m of available finance. These funds are either debt or equity based and are designed to support businesses at all stages of development. They run from loans of between £1,000 and £50,000, provided under the NI Small Business Loan Fund,
Firms seeking finance have to be creative through the techstart NI fund, which provides funding of up to £250,000 for start-up and early stage businesses, to the Growth Loan Fund and CoFund NI which focus on SMEs, and the Development Funds 1 and 2 managed by Kernel Capital and Crescent Capital, which can provide funding of up to £3m. There has also been a welcome increase in peer to peer lending and angel and crowd funding initiatives. Halo, the NI Business Angel Network run by the Northern Ireland Science Park, has generated more than £9m of business Angel money for NI start-up businesses since it was established. The British Business Bank Angel Co-Fund recently completed its first NI investment in ‘Sophia’, the AI software developer. As well as equity investment, venture capital and peer to peer lending, established businesses can often avail of more traditional finance options such as asset-based lending and invoice discounting. In the UK, there’s been a significant increase in asset-based lending with businesses now using 38% more asset-based finance than at the height of the recession. In Q4 of 2014, £19.4bn of asset-based finance was provided to UK businesses with a further £20.5bn agreed facilities available for use. Funds
16 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
available to Irish companies by way of ABL reached €3.3bn, an increase of 41% in 12 months. Eighty% of asset-based finance is invoice finance in which businesses secure funding against unpaid invoices, whilst the remaining 20% is represented by asset-based lending, where businesses can raise money secured on a range of assets they own, including inventory, property and machinery. Despite the growth in these alternative sources of finance, bank funding remains the single most important source of finance for NI businesses. Figures for bank activity in Northern Ireland in Q4 2014 indicate that approved new borrowing by SMEs in Q4 was £387m — eight% more than Q4 in 2013. This reflected a loan approval rate of nine in 10 applications. More than one-third of loan applications approved were in the agricultural sector and accounted for a quarter of the total funding approved. As the deputy governor of
‘SMEs cannot but rely on banks to provide the credit they seek to function or expand’
the Central Bank of Ireland, Cyril Roux, recently sad: “Despite new and welcome initiatives to diversify sources of funding, SMEs cannot but rely on banks to provide the credit they seek to function and expand.” In this context, dealing with the overhang of distressed loans and residual property debt held by some SMEs is also a key component in the regeneration of the sector. Whether the sale of the NAMA loan book, and the ongoing sales of loans by other lenders in the NI market, leads to increased liquidity, and an enhanced capital base for existing banks to lend, remains to be seen. This wider range of financials tools for businesses to enable growth is a fundamental ingredient in developing the Northern Irish economy. It requires continued innovation and flexibility on the part of the market place — be that from the mainstream banks, VC funds, peer lenders, investors, or government. However, it also requires an enhanced awareness on the part of businesses of the source of funds available to them. Initiatives like the SME Centre at the University of Ulster’s Business School and initiatives such as the Small Business Can forum will be important factors in spreading the word about the sources of funding available.
12 May 2015
TOP 100
The largest profit earning Northern Ireland registered companies
NAME
ACTIVITY
YEAR TO
PRE-TAX PROFIT RECENT YEAR ONE YEAR AGO £’000 £’000
% CH.
EMPLOYMENT
PAY BILL
NO.
£’000
1
Danske Bank
Bank
12.14
118,700
11,400
Large inc
1,327
58,681
2
N.I.Electricity
Utility
12.13
70,000
71,300a
-1%
547
20,600
3
A.E.S [2 cos]
Utility
12.13
61,107
58,968
4%
261
19,937
4
N.I.Water
Utility
3.14
56,143
65,994
-15%
1,263
55,073
5
Terex GB
Engineering
12.13
42,464
36,947
15%
1,017
36,766
6
Moy Park
Food
12.13
33,780
24,410
39%
8,473
202,087
7
Nicholls’ (Fuel oils)
Fuel dist.
5.14
30,828
6,806
352%
141
2,719
8
Caterpillar Corp
Engineering
12.13
28,707
15,249
88%
1,947
71,137
9
Belfast Harbour
Port
12.13
27,291
19,933
37%
120
6,102
10
Eakin Holdings
Medical Eq.
3.14
25,570
26,681
-2%
206
6,650
11
W&R Barnett
Grain import
7.13
22,280
20,709
8%
278
16,371
12
Schrader Electronic
Electronic.Eq
12.13
22,189
16,686
23%
1,045
38,105
13
Bombardier
Aerospace
12.14
22,100
17,700
25%
5,005
190,700
14
Norbrook Hlds
Veterinary Pd
7.13
20,700
20,472
2%
1,892
56,003
15
SHS Group
Distribution
12.13
19,415
18,364
6%
757
27,453
16
Almac group
Medical Prd
9.13
19,179
14,783
30%
3,201
124,530
17
John Henderson
Distribution
12.13
18,358
15,620
18%
2,470
45,772
18
UTV Media
Broadcaster
12.13
16,901
20,116
-16%
994
34,611
19
SONI
Utility
9.13
16,224
-4,205
Recovery
112
7,543
20
Montupet
Engineering
12.13
14,178
10,181
38%
582
16,896
21
Lissan Coal
Distribution
9.13
14,048
14,070
0%
156
4,107
22
Dunnes Stores
Distribution
1.14
13,893
15,947
-13%
1,724
17,580
23
SSE Airtricity
Utility
3.14
13,560
6,020
125%
22
24
Randox Holdings.
Medical Prd
12.13
12,923
2,501
Big inc
989
24,379
25
Howden UK
Engineering
12.13
12,535
10,825
16%
309
14,348
735
FOOTNOTE: (i) a: denotes annualised results (ii) pre-tax profits for Sangers NI excludes exceptional gain of £65.7m.in latest year 18 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
12 May 2015
TOP 100
The largest profit earning Northern Ireland registered companies
NAME
ACTIVITY
YEAR TO
PRE-TAX PROFIT RECENT YEAR ONE YEAR AGO £’000 £’000
% CH.
EMPLOYMENT
PAY BILL
NO.
£’000
26
Seagate Technology.
IT
6.13
12,395
10,274
21%
1,341
44,870
27
Sangers NI
Distribution
9.14
11,975
6,927
73%
223
6,582
28
Northwest Book’ers
Bookmakers
12.13
11,650
6,404
82%
403
5,707
29
Kelman
Engineering
12.13
11,380
5,616
103%
159
8,323
30
Bemis Healthcare Prod.
Paper manuf.
12.13
9,707
4,395
120%
260
6,108
31
Fane Valley Co-op
Milk process.
9.13
8,719
5,828
50%
2,174
54,340
32
Golf Holdings
Drinks dist.
12.13
8,653
5,105
70%
1,566
20,671
33
Cooneen by Design
Textiles
11.13
8,663
13,577
-36%
145
4,777
34
Kainos
IT
3.14
8,035
3,480
131%
503
22,838
35
First Derivatives
IT
2.14
7,947
6,160
29%
806
37,297
36
Gardrum Hlds
Auctions
12.13
7,746
5,706
36%
88
2,627
37
F.P.McCann
Construction
1.14
7,225
6,243
16%
690
16,980
38
Coco-Cola HBC
Drinks
12.13
7,051
2,703
178%
526
23,055
39
Elite Electronic Sys.
PCB etc
3.14
6,753
4,582
47%
183
3,737
40
Westland Horticulture
Garden cent.
12.13
6,598
5,564
19%
431
13,270
41
Kilwaughter Chem.
Lime.
4.14
6,583
3,522
87%
111
4,068
42
Ulster Carpets
Textiles
3.14
6,532
7,552
-14%
520
18,300
43
Retlan Manuf.
Engineering
3.14
6,328
2,785
128%
665
17,275
44
Andor Technology
Cameras
9.13
6,332
8,932
-29%
344
15,624
45
Diageo [2 cos]
Drinks
6.14
6,134
17,955
-66%
262
11,262
46
United Dairy Farmers
Milk Process.
3.14
6,112
4,609
33%
939
25,665
47
Thompson Aero Seat.
Engineering
3.14
6,112
4,555
34%
119
5,285
48
Northstone
Construction
12.13
6,093
7,960
-23%
968
34,747
49
Charles Hurst
Distribution
12.13
6,034
4,643
30%
897
25,743
50
Irish Salt Mining
Mining
11.13
5,902
567
Big inc
55
2,570
FOOTNOTE: (i) a: denotes annualised results (ii) pre-tax profits for Sangers NI excludes exceptional gain of £65.7m.in latest year
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 19
TOP 100
The largest profit earning Northern Ireland registered companies
NAME
ACTIVITY
YEAR TO
PRE-TAX PROFIT RECENT YEAR ONE YEAR AGO £’000 £’000
% CH.
EMPLOYMENT
PAY BILL
NO.
£’000
51
John Graham
Construction
3.14
5,681
6,772
-16%
1,532
56,788
52
Progressive Build. Soc.
Finance serv.
12.13
5,657
3,051
84%
145
4,525
53
Tennents NI
Drinks dist.
2.14
5,541
5,890
-6%
54
2,508
54
Liberty Info.Tech.
IT
12.13
5,387
7,215
-25%
346
16,765
55
Kingspan Environ.
Engineering
12.13
5,380
2,950
82%
560
18,519
56
Delta Print & Pack.
Packaging
6.14
5,343
2,564
108%
246
7,271
57
B.H.H
Animal Food
8.13
5,206
5,291
-1%
183
7,605
58
Phoenix Nat. Gas
Utility
12.13
5,053
-0,571
Recovery
117
7,268
59
Lagan Const. Group
Construction
3.14
4,834
2,799
73%
421
19,364
60
Chain Reaction Cycle
Distribution
12.13
4,833
861
461%
612
14,231
61
Hilton Meats (Retail)
Meat Process
12.13
4,776
5,179
-8%
522
16,819
62
Firstsource Solutions.
Call Centre
3.14
4,693
202
Big inc
3,602
52,471
63
Chesapeake Belfast
Packaging
12.13
4,685
5,583
-16%
170
5,352
64
Dunbia
Meat Process
3.14
4,611
7,360
-37%
3,259
69,579
65
Viridian
Utility
3.14
4,500
-8,000
Recovery
446
22,500
66
Allstate NI
IT
12.13
4,300
1,700
153%
2,214
71,987
67
Ballyvesey Hld
Transport
9.13
4,262
5,360
-20%
2,344
67,493
68
O & S Doors
Furniture
12.13
4,166
-885
Recovery
281
6,336
69
Willstan
Betting shops
12.13
4,005
2,656
51%
Nil
Nil
70
Wrights Group
Bus Manuf.
9.13
4,014
3,987
1%
1,369
39,361
71
BI Electrical Services
Contractor
12.13
3,986
3,043
31%
47
3,385
72
Avondale Foods
Food Manuf.
3.14
3,757
2,205
70%
333
7,678
73
Lynas Foodservice
Distribution
10.13
3,645
3,395
7%
253
7,372
74
Manderley Food
Snacks
6.13
3,355
1,477
123%
1,380
38,015
75
Huhtamaki (Lurgan)
Paper prod.
12.13
3,287
3,320
-1%
210
6,781
FOOTNOTE: (i) a: denotes annualised results (ii) pre-tax profits for Sangers NI excludes exceptional gain of £65.7m.in latest year 20 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
12 May 2015
TOP 100
The largest profit earning Northern Ireland registered companies
NAME
ACTIVITY
YEAR TO
PRE-TAX PROFIT RECENT YEAR ONE YEAR AGO £’000 £’000
% CH.
EMPLOYMENT
PAY BILL
NO.
£’000
76
McLoughlin & Har
Construction
12.13
3,215
4,167
-23%
382
17,391
77
Concentrix Europe
IT
11.13
3,160
1,949
62%
1,082
16,710
78
Survitec
Life Rafts
3.14
3,089
7,767
-60%
522
20,010
79
Brett Martin Hlds
Construction
12.13
3,045
2,025
50%
787
24,890
80
Tobermore Concrete
Manufact’g
4.14
3,003
1,022
194%
150
4,130
81
Germinal Holds.
Agriculture
6.14
2,974
2,108
41%
109
4,943
82
Heatons (NI)
Distribution
4.14
2,895
2,293
26%
458
4,623
83
Radius Plastics
Pipe manuf.
12.13
2,872a
8,973
-68%
120
3,164a
84
Andras House
Hotels
4.14
2,603
-2,068
Recovery
251
4,554
85
Copeland
Elect. Equip.
9.14
2,537
2,615
-3%
188
5,254
86
BHC
Engineering
3.14
2,529
2,996
-16%
288
10,205
87
Actavis
Medical prod
12.13
2,435
2,334
4%
225
15,036
88
Tullymore House
Hotels
10.13
2,379
2,299
4%
319
4,539
89
DCC Energy
Energy Fuels
3.14
2,180
1,723
27%
187
6,035
90
Ryobi
Engineering
12.13
2,091
-3,570
Recovery
277
8,094
91
AJ Power
Engineering
6.14
2,088
1,358
54%
80
2,277
92
Greiner Packaging
Packaging
12.13
2,066
1,362
52%
211
6,813
93
Aghareany
Engineering
12.13
2,032a
4,626
-56%
57
1,736a
94
Hastings Hotel Gp
Hotels
10.13
2,024
2,481
-19%
1,100
11,073
95
Terumo BCT
Medical eq.
3.14
2,012
1,921
5%
279
6,466
96
Charles Tennant NI
Chemicals
12.13
1,928
1,059
82%
62
2,552
97
EM News Dist.
Transport
12.13
1,911
1,651
16%
148
2,313
98
Frylite
Food manuf.
3.14
1,869
1,655
13%
189
4,826
99
Haldane Shiells
Distribution
12.13
1,823
1,144
59%
386
10,511
Feedstuffs
5.14
1,823
3,007
-39%
200
11,136
812,022
+11.16%
100 Devenish (NI) TOTAL EXCL DANSKE
906,570
FOOTNOTE: (i) a: denotes annualised results (ii) pre-tax profits for Sangers NI excludes exceptional gain of £65.7m.in latest year
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 21
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 1 Danske Bank Danske Bank is one of the leading retail banks in Northern Ireland serving the needs of both personal and business customers. It is part of the Danske Bank Group which is the largest bank in Denmark. It has a network of 46 branches and five finance centres across Northern Ireland. Danske Bank returned to profit in 2013 ahead of other local banks. Pre-tax profits for 2014 were £118.7m, with profits before loan provisions and recoveries up 38 per cent to £81m. Total income was up 11% to £225m. The improving housing market meant the former Northern Bank “wrote back” almost £38m of impairment charges. Profit before impairment charges rose to almost £80m. It was a record year for the number of “new to bank” business customers switching to Danske Bank. In personal banking Danske was the first of the local Northern Ireland banks to introduce the UK-wide mobile payments service, Paym, to the marketplace. It was also a good year for
mortgages with the bank reporting lending in this area having increased by 44% compared to 2013. Chief executive Gerry Mallon said that the biggest factor in its success had been “the continued downward trajectory in the level of bad debts. “We quickly recognised the problems in the economic downturn and took as many of those bad debt charges as we could early on in the cycle. With property asset values recovering we have been able to write back many of those losses. A reduction in funding costs has also had a big impact on our 2014 figures. “At the same time we have been looking for, and winning, many new customers. We have been helping to grow healthy businesses, supporting families with their personal ambitions, increasing our own income and managing our cost base prudently. “Healthy banks are good for the economy and are an important economic indicator. We have also started 2015 in a strong position, and are confident that we will
continue to play an important role as a key stakeholder in growing the Northern Ireland economy.” The bank also monitors consumer confidence in Northern Ireland. Its consumer confidence index — which monitors the spending plans of households — experienced a strong rise at the start of this year. Northern Bank began in 1809 as a tiny bank in Belfast. At that time, banks were not allowed to have more than six owners and the owners were personally liable for the bank’s debts. It later became the Northern Banking Company with 270 shareholders, who still had unlimited liability. In 1965, Northern Bank was bought over by Midland Bank, which also owned the Belfast Banking Company. The two later merged under the Northern Bank name. Northern was then sold to National Australia Bank in 1987, which in turn sold the bank on to Danske Bank in 2004. Northern Bank took the historic step of renaming itself as Danske Bank in November 2012.
infrastructure capital expenditure. The majority of the network investment plan is to replace worn transmission and distribution assets, to facilitate the connection of renewable generation and increased customer demand and to invest in large transmission projects. The company has a strong focus on customer service, working 24/7 with an aim to provide a safe, reliable and responsible electricity service. It regularly tests its emergency response capabilities and ability to effectively restore power supplies during periods of severe weather such as the March 2013 snow storm. In addition to providing a vital service to every home, farm and business in Northern Ireland as part of its day-to-day work in delivering electricity, NIE seeks to make a positive impact on the communities in which it operates. An estimated 200 days of company time is dedicated each year to initiatives to promote safety around electricity and provide skills, careers advice and guidance. Over the past two years NIE has been involved in an initiative to help develop and inspire its employees — Business on Board. The scheme is run with Business
in the Community and encourages employees to offer their skills and expertise to a voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation by joining at board level and using their business know-how in a new and different setting. The company’s vision is to be recognised as an organisation that makes a positive contribution to the community in which it operates and this and other voluntary initiatives have proved an important way of supporting employee learning and development. It allows them to use their skills in a totally different environment and feedback from community groups indicates that they are seeing real benefits.
Chief executive: Gerry Mallon Pre-tax profit: £118.7m Employment: 1,327 Pay bill: £58.681m Donegall Square West Belfast BT1 6JS TEL: 028 9024 5277 www.danskebank.co.uk
2 NI Electricity Northern Ireland Electricity Limited (NIE) is the owner of the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Northern Ireland. These networks, made up of over 47,000km of overhead lines and underground cables and around 300 major substations, transport electricity from generators to homes and businesses. NIE is responsible for building and maintaining all electricity networks and operating and planning the distribution network. It also connects properties and generators to the electricity grid and reads quarterly all of Northern Ireland’s 850,000 electricity meters on behalf of the electricity supply companies. The company has around 1,200 highly skilled employees and a strong tradition of apprentice and graduate training. It has a dedicated overhead line school in Campsie and cable jointing school in Ballymena. NIE is regulated by the Utility Regulator and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment and works to agreed five-year plans. The current business plan covers the period April 2012 until September 2017 and will result in NIE investing around £615m in electricity
22 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Managing director: Nicholas Tarrant Pre-tax profit: £70m Employment: 547 Pay bill: £20.6m 120 Malone Road Belfast BT9 5HT Tel: 03457 643 643 www.nie.co.uk
12 May 2015
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 3 AES AES UK & Ireland is Northern Ireland’s largest electricity generator, owning and operating the Kilroot and Ballylumford Power Stations, both in Co Antrim. In 2014, AES UK & Ireland generated 3,713 GWh, meeting 11% of energy demand across the all-island system. AES UK & Ireland is wholly owned by the AES Corporation, a Fortune 200 global power company, whose mission is to improve lives by providing safe, reliable and sustainable energy solutions in every market it serves. AES provides affordable, sustainable energy to 18 countries through a diverse portfolio of distribution businesses as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. Its global workforce of 18,500 people is committed to operational excellence and meeting the world’s changing power needs. AES first invested outside the United States with the acquisition of Kilroot in 1992 and expanded its presence in Northern Ireland in 2010 by acquiring Ballylumford. AES UK & Ireland directly employs 248 people across both sites as well as 140 con-
12 May 2015
tractors from multiple sectors. This Northern Ireland presence is complemented by an Edinburgh-based development team focused on growing the business across the UK and Ireland and building on AES’ renewables track record. AES’ have a set of values that define the company: Put Safety First, Honour Commitments, Act with Integrity, Strive for Excellence, Have Fun through Work. AES UK & Ireland is the first-ever organisation to be awarded the Silver Certification by Business in the Community Northern Ireland’s CORE corporate responsibility standard. The company won Business of the Year in the 2015 Arts & Business Awards in recognition of its corporate responsibility programme and has been shortlisted for the 2015 Responsible Business of the Year award by Business in the Community. 2015 also marks the 10th anniversary of AES UK & Ireland and Ulster Wildlife’s partnership to protect biodiversity. AES UK & Ireland continues to invest to enhance security of supply, support decarbonisation targets, and
create value for customers across these islands. Investments at the two Northern Ireland plants have focused on environmental upgrades, energy efficiency and the introduction of energy storage to the market. In 2015 AES is constructing a 10 MW energy storage project at Kilroot, which will be the largest and only transmission connected battery of its kind in the UK. This is the first deployment of AES’ Advancion solution in the UK and Ireland. It incorporates AES’ more than seven years of commercial experience with advanced energy storage and more than 30 years of experience in serving utilities around the world. Advancion is continuously available, without burning fuel, and is designed as a scalable resource, offering the ability to grow over time to meet future power needs. The company’s Advancion energy storage solutions unlock value from existing power infrastructure, improving flexibility and reliability of the power system, and providing customers with a complete alternative to traditional peaking power plants.
AES President UK & IRL: Carla Tully Pre-tax profits: £61.1m Employment: 261 Pay bill: £19.9m Kilroot Power Station Larne Road Carrickfergus BT38 7LX TEL: 028 9335 1644 www.aes.com
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 23
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 4
NIWater
NI Water is the government-owned company with responsibility for the provision of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland. The company receives its revenue partly through charges levied on non-domestic business customers along with an operating subsidy in lieu of domestic charges received from the Department for Regional Development (DRD). The operating subsidy was £277m in 2013-14 compared to £282m in 2012-13. Nominally, this approximates to the revenue that would be needed from any water charges on domestic households, whether that was raised as specific charges or attributed as a contribution from regional rates.
5
Chief executive: Sara Venning Pre-tax profit: £56.1m Employment: 1,263 Pay bill: £55m. Westland House 40 Old Westland Road Belfast BT14 6TE Tel: 08457 440088 waterline@niwater.com www.niwater.com
Sara Venning
Terex GB
Terex GB is the American-owned and Northern Ireland-registered company which purchased Powerscreen plc. It is part of Terex Corporation, a NYSE-listed global organisation. Terex GB is part of Terex Material Processing one of five divisions of Terex Corporation. Terex Material Processing designs and manufactures mobile crushing, screening and washing equipment and the material processing group’s main product lines include Powerscreen, Terex Finlay, Terex Mineral Processing Systems and Terex Washing Systems. Recently Terex Environmental Equipment has been launched, producing recycling equipment for the global marketplace.
6
As a wholly-owned government trading organisation, NI Water draws its capital resources through the DRD as part of capital spending by the Northern Ireland Executive. NI Water’s total borrowing was £912m as of March 31, 2014. The company borrowed £29m in 2013-14 compared with £75m in 2012-13.
Headquartered in Dungannon with manufacturing and distribution hubs in Southern India, Michigan, Kentucky and Oklahoma USA, the UK, Malaysia and Australia, the company produces a wide range of machines and exports it products across the world.
President, Terex Materials Processing: Kieran Hegarty Pre-tax profit: £42.464m Employment: 1,017 Pay bill: £36.766m Terex Materials Processing Drumquin Road Omagh Co Tyrone BT78 5PN
Kieran Hegarty
Moy Park
Moy Park is one of Europe’s leading food companies and employs over 12,000 people across 14 processing facilities in the UK, Ireland, Holland and France. The company has a turnover of £1.4bn and is part of the Brazilian-based Marfrig Global Foods. With five million chickens processed per week and one million turkeys per year, Moy Park is now one of the largest and fastest growing poultry companies in the UK and Europe. Although best known for fresh, locally sourced poultry, Moy Park also produces beef products, vegetarian products like spring rolls and onion rings and desserts including do-nuts and apple pies. In 2014, Moy Park announced a
£170m expansion creating over 600 new jobs across three sites in Dungannon, Craigavon and Ballymena. The company has been named as one of Northern Ireland’s top green companies in an environmental benchmarking survey by Business in the Community’s ARENA Network and was the first business from Northern Ireland to be recognised in the Corporate Responsibility Index. Moy Park was recently named Product Developer of the Year at the Meat and Poultry Processing Awards and picked up an International Safety Award with merit from the British Safety Council. Moy Park chief executive Janet McCollum was named Businesswoman of the Year in the 2015
24 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Belfast Telegraph Woman of the Year Awards and recently received an Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award for the best ‘Woman-Led Business’ in the Ulster region. Chief executive: Janet McCollum Pre-tax profits: £33.78m Employment: 8,473 Pay bill: £202m The Food Park 39 Seagoe Industrial Estate Craigavon BT63 5QE Tel: 028 3835 2233 www.moypark.co.uk Janet McCollum
12 May 2015
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 25
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 7
8
Nicholls’
Nicholls’ has grown to become Northern Ireland’s largest independent oil distributor over the last 40 years. The business has a network of depots across Northern Ireland and says that its investment in technology means it can deliver the best, most flexible and responsive service possible.
9
Managing director: Hugh Nicholl Pre-tax profit: £30.8m Employment: 141 Pay bill: £2.7m Nicholl Oils 176 Clooney Road Eglinton BT47 3DY Tel: 028 7181 0471 www.nicholloils.com
gross domestic product supported by harbour activities. In 2014 Belfast Harbour handled a record 23 million tonnes, driven by growth in bulk cargoes such as coal, stone and freight traffic. In recent years these trades have benefited from investment in new facilities totalling more than £100m. Around 700 firms employing 23,000 are now located within the Estate. Belfast Harbour has completed the first Grade A office building in a new mixed-use development known as City Quays and announced legal firm Baker and McKenzie as tenants.
Caterpillar (NI) Limited is Europe’s largest manufacturer of diesel and gas generator sets and recently expanded operations to include production of material handlers and articulated truck axles. Formerly FG Wilson (Engineering), the company changed its name to Caterpillar NI Ltd in 2013, creating a more visible link with its parent group. The company has a product portfolio of quality generator sets which provide reliable power around the world: material handlers used in forestry, dockside and scrap applications and axles, a key component in Cat articulated trucks. Design, manufacturing and sales activities are undertaken locally in Northern Ireland across four locations: Larne, Monkstown and two facilities at the Springvale
10
Belfast Harbour
Belfast Harbour is one of the island’s leading maritime gateways, handling goods valued at around £22bn — representing almost 71 per cent of Northern Ireland’s seaborne trade and one-fifth of the entire island’s. The harbour is Northern Ireland’s leading logistics and distribution hub delivering best-inclass infrastructure, built assets and services to support exporters and importers, ferry and cruise ship operators, companies providing services to shippers and cargo owners. Estate tenants include Citigroup, HBO, George Best Belfast City Airport, Bombardier and the Northern Ireland Science Park. It remains a key facilitator of economic activity throughout the region with over 30% of Northern Ireland’s
Chief executive: Roy Adair Pre-tax profit: £27.29m Employment: 125 Pay bill: £6.1m Harbour Office Corporation Square Belfast Tel: 02890554422 www.belfastharbour.co.uk
26 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Caterpillar Corporation Industrial Park in Belfast. These Northern Ireland operations are the largest in the electric power division portfolio and provide technical and operational support to other electric power operations in China, Brazil, USA, India and Africa. In addition to manufacturing operations, Caterpillar (NI) Limited is also home to a number of other business functions such as sales and marketing, IT, legal services and financial support.
Managing director: Robert Kennedy Pre-tax profit: £28.7m Employment: 1,947 Pay bill: £71m Old Glenarm Road Larne BT40 1EJ Tel: 028 2826 1000 www.caterpillar.com
Eakin Holdings
Eakin Holdings is a Comber-based company which makes medical skincare products for use in stoma and wound care. With a turnover of £72m, the family-run Eakin Group is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest success stories in the health sector. The firm’s biggest market is the US but its products are sold in 40 countries around the world. Last year the company invested £12m extending its Comber manufacturing facility to over 100,000 sq ft. It also acquired English firm Cliffe Medical, which owns Respond Plus in Larne, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of Cliffe is the Eakin Group’s first since 2007, when it took over Pelican Healthcare in Cardiff. The company was founded by Tom Eakin and is now run by his sons Paul and Jeremy.
Managing director: Paul Eakin Pre-tax profit: £25.57m Employment: 206 Pay bill:£6.65m 15 Ballystockart Road Comber Co Down BT23 5QY Tel:028 9187 1000 www.eakin.eu
12 May 2015
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 27
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 11
13
The Barnett group also operates its own dockside facilities. In 2010, the group paid over £71m to buy the United Molasses businesses from the then owners, Tate and Lyle. Expansion continued when it launched a new subsidiary two years ago to trade as Advanced Liquid Feeds. Claudine Herron was appointed executive director in December of last year.
Chairman: Robert Barnett Pre-tax profit: £22.28m Employment: 278 Pay bill: £16.37m Clarendon Road Belfast BT1 3BG www.wrbarnett.com
dier’s new aerostructures and engineering services segment. It specialises in the design and development of complex composite and metallic structures, including wings, fuselages and engine nacelles — all areas in which the Belfast operation already has many years of experience. During the year, the Belfast operation delivered the 5,000th V2500 engine nacelle to Airbus, and received recognition from Airbus for being a quality supplier on the programme.
Managing director: Michael Ryan Pre-tax profit: £22.1m Employment: 5,005 Pay bill: £190.7m Airport Road Belfast BT3 9DZ Tel: 028 90458444 www.belfast.aero. bombardier.com
Founded in 1975, the SHS Group is a major player in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, employing over 700 people throughout the UK and Ireland and turning over £400m per-annum. From its Belfast headquarters, the group provides a strong financial base and central resources for its divisions operating within brand ownership and sales and marketing. The company owns brands such as WKD, Shloer, Bottlegreen and
Merrydown Cider and distributes brands including Colgate, Nivea, Nurofen Finish, Jordans, Tunnocks and Mars Drinks. In addition, the group is the largest supplier of own-label herbs and spices and condiments in Great Britain.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE:
Elaine Birchall
PRE-TAX PROFITS:
£19.4m
EMPLOYMENT: 757 PAY BILL: £27.453m
SHS House 199 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel:028 9045 4647 www.shs-group.com
28 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
the creation of 241 jobs in April last year — its second big expansion in two years. Managing director Stephen McClelland has said he expects to double turnover within three years after tyre pressure monitoring became mandatory in Europe last year.
Managing director: Stephen McClelland Pre-tax profit: £22.189m Employment: 1,045 Pay bill: £38.1m 11 Technology Park Belfast Road Antrim BT41 1QS Tel: 028 9446 1300 www.schraderelectronics.com
Norbrook Holdings
Norbrook is a leading home-grown veterinary pharmaceutical company which was incorporated in 1969 by the late Lord Ballyedmond. Headquartered in Newry, Norbrook is rated among the top 15 largest animal health companies worldwide and is dedicated to driving high-quality, cost-effective animal healthcare on a global scale. The company is focused on animal health products for livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep), pet and equine across more than 100 countries.
16
SHS Group
Schrader Electronic
Schrader has built up a competitive operation in Northern Ireland specialising in advanced tyre pressure systems. Sensata Technologies is the latest new owner of the firm following a £0.6bn sale by private equity owners Madison Dearborn Partners. The firm has said ownership moving from a private equity outfit to a manufacturer could improve its prospects in the long run. Schrader Electronics announced a major investment of £56m and
14
Bombardier
Bombardier had another significant year in 2014 — not only did it celebrate its 25th anniversary under Bombardier ownership but it embarked on a major restructuring. It announced an organisational restructure to improve profitability, most specifically within its global aerospace business. The restructuring involved a workforce reduction of around 1,800 positions worldwide, including some 390 positions in Belfast. The Belfast operation now sits within Bombar-
15
12
W&R Barnett
Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturer of animal feed stuffs was founded in 1896 and enjoyed record levels of business turnover in the year to July 2013. Turnover at the family-run business increased by £82m to reach just under £500m. In the last five years the Barnett Group of companies has seen business more than treble. The company imports large amounts of grain bought in international markets.
With over 45 years’ experience in the animal health industry, Norbrook is a leading force in veterinary medicines after developing a broad range of innovative livestock and companion animal products used and trusted by veterinarians, farmers and pet owners. Norbrook invests a significant portion of its revenue in the research and development of new products, fuelling the future growth of the company under the leadership of chief executive Liam Nagle.
Chief executive: Liam Nagle Pre-tax profit: £20.7m Employment: 1,892 Pay bill: £56m Newry BT35 6QQ Northern Ireland Tel: 028 3026 4435 www.norbrook.com
Almac Group
The Almac Group is a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation providing services from research through pharmaceutical and clinical development to commercialisation of products for over 600 global biopharma companies. The privately owned group is headquartered in Craigavon with additional operations based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Singapore and Japan. Audited 2013/14
financial figures were not unavailable — however, its performance throughout 2012/13 was strong with turnover increasing by 8% to £325m. In that financial year there was a jobs boost in Craigavon as Almac completed a non-GMP drug development facility. It also expanded its manufacturing capabilities. The company is leading the way in a number of areas including cancer treatment, personalised medicine and managing global clinical trials.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND CHAIRMAN:
Alan Armstrong
PRE-TAX PROFIT:
£19.179m
EMPLOYMENT: 3,201 PAY BILL: £124.53m
Almac House Seagoe Industrial Estate Craigavon BT63 5QD Tel: 028 3833 5815 www.almacgroup.com
12 May 2015
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John Henderson
The Henderson Group is a fourth-generation family business made up of Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Group Property and Henderson Foodservice. The company owns the Spar, Eurospar, Vivo, Vivoxtra and Vivo Essentials franchises in Northern Ireland. Henderson Wholesale has been distributing food and grocery-related products to the convenience retail sector for over 100 years and is the largest operator of its kind in the country. This year will see a £10m redevelopment of the Henderson Group site at Mallusk. A further £15.3m will be spent on existing store refurbishments
12 May 2015
Managing directors: Geoffrey Agnew and Martin Agnew Pre-tax profit: £18.358m Employment: 2,470 Pay bill: £45.772m Henderson Wholesale Hightown Avenue Mallusk Newtownabbey BT36 4RT Tel: 028 9034 2733 www.henderson-group.com with additional investment to be spent on acquisitions.
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UTV Media plc
UTV Media plc is one of the largest media companies in the UK and Ireland and one of only two listed companies in Northern Ireland. It owns the Channel 3 licence in Northern Ireland, making it part of the ITV network. However, it operates independently from ITV as a business. Based on Ormeau Road in Belfast, UTV Media plc incorporates radio (talkSPORT and 20 local radio stations across Ireland and the UK) and television (UTV), and launched a new channel, UTV Ireland, in December last year. The company recently doubled its forecast for losses regarding UTV Ireland to £6m. Its radio stations
Chief executive: John McCann Pre-tax profit: £16.9m Employment: 994 Pay bill: £34.6m Havelock House Ormeau Road Belfast BT7 1EB Tel: 028 9032 8122 www.utvmedia.com
broadcast from Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Drogheda.
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SONI
SONI Limited is the transmission system operator (TSO) of the electricity grid in Northern Ireland. The grid provides the high capacity ‘motorway’ for transporting electricity. SONI was founded in 2000 and is regulated by the Utility Regulator. SONI also connects renewable energy production, reducing Northern Ireland’s reliance on imported fuels, and helping Northern Ireland to achieve the Assembly’s renewable energy target of 40% by 2020. SONI also fulfils the market operator role through the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO). The Single Electricity Market (SEM) is the
General manager: Robin McCormick Pre-tax profits: £16.2m Employment: 112 Pay bill: £7.5m SONI Ltd Castlereagh House 12 Manse Road Belfast BT6 9RT Tel: 028 9079 4336 www.soni.ltd.co.uk
wholesale electricity market operating in Northern Ireland.
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 29
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 20
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The plant currently delivers its products into engine plants based in the UK, France, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, South Africa and China. It continues with its investment programme to produce engines for small fuel-efficient, high-volume, low-emission family vehicles. In 2012 it acquired the replacement programme for the Ford Panther programme worth an estimated £200m to the plant in turnover. This will be delivered to Ford plants across the world.
Managing director: Jim Burke Pre-tax profit: £14.178m Employment: 582 Pay bill: £16.896m The Cutts Dunmurry Belfast Co Antrim BT17 9HN Tel:028 9030 1049 www.montupet.fr
The company has also come under fire for the use of staff on short-term contracts. A number of staff in stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic took part in a strike in early April.
Chief executive: Margaret Heffernan Pre-tax profit: £13.893m Employment: 1,724 Pay bill: £17.58m. 46-50 South Great George’s Street Dublin 2 Tel: 00353 1 475 1111 www.dunnesstores.ie
Randox is a global market leader in the diagnostics industry. Founded in 1982 by Dr Peter FitzGerald CBE, the company now has offices and distribution in more than 145 countries. Currently 5% of the world’s population is diagnosed using Randox products — the company’s ambition is to see this rise to 10% by 2020. Randox recently purchased the former army barracks in Antrim, now called Randox Science Park, which will become the firm’s primary manufacturing site. The
facility will also house a Randox Health centre for transformative medicine, open to the public. This £161m investment will also lead to the creation of 540 high-value job opportunities. The expansion in Co Antrim is mirrored by growth and development in Randox Teoranta, a life sciences facility in Co Donegal, focusing on pioneering research into diseases of the kidneys, liver, colon cancer and Alzheimer’s. Randox re-invests around onequarter of all profits into research & development.
Managing director: Dr Peter FitzGerald Pre-tax profit: £12.923m Employment: 989 Pay bill: £24.379m 55 Diamond Road Crumlin Co Antrim BT29 4QY Tel: 0 28 9442 2413 www.randox.com
30 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
government and council contracts to supply electricity. LCC Power has grown from employing seven people in 2012 to close to 60 in 2015. LCC’s Oil Division was established in 1997 to expand the range of fuels available to customers. Meanwhile the company has also seen good development in its ‘Go’ brand of petrol stations which are now a noticeable feature across Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The company has 35 Go Forecourts.
16 Churchtown Road Cookstown Co Tyrone BT80 9XD Tel: 028 8676 5588 www.lcccoal.com
the pipeline. In late 2013 they completed their latest project, the 73MW Slieve Kirk Wind Park in Co Londonderry, which represented a £125m. Since 2008 SSE has created 98 direct and 120 indirect full time roles in Northern Ireland through the growth of its business. In August 2014 the SSE announced plans to bring a further 143 jobs to the company’s new corporate premises in Belfast. The 143 additional jobs will support its growing energy retail operations in Ireland.
Managing director: Stephen Wheeler Pre-tax profit: £13.56m Pay bill: £735m SSE 3rd Floor Millennium House 17-25 Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7AQ Tel: 0345 601 9093 www.sseairtricity.com
Managing director: Michael Loughran Pre-tax profits: £14m Employment: 156 Pay bill: £4.1m
SSEAirtricity
SSE Airtricity is Northern Ireland’s second largest energy provider, supplying electricity and natural gas to more than 300,000 homes and businesses. Since 2008 SSE has invested £0.5bn in sustainable energy infrastructure. In Northern Ireland SSE generates 88MW of renewable energy powering 75,000 homes each year. In order to help meet the Stormont Executive’s 2020 renewable energy targets, the company has a further 166MW of new wind farm capacity in
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Randox Holdings
Lissan Coal Co
LCC Group is based in Cookstown in Co Tyrone, and is made up of LCC Coal, LCC Oil, the newly formed LCC Power and a number of other companies. Profits are largely derived from overseas bulk trading activities in countries as far afield as South Africa, Columbia and across Europe. The recently launched LCC Power has risen to hold a prominent share of the Northern Ireland business power market, with the high profile announcement of
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Dunnes Stores
Irish grocery and clothes multiple Dunnes Stores operates one Northern Ireland-registered company. Dunnes Stores (Bangor) consolidates the trading figures for all of the Dunnes Stores in Northern Ireland as well as a smaller number of outlets in England. The group describes its main business as the retailing of textiles, grocery and houseware goods. It recently closed its store in east Belfast’s Connswater Shopping Centre at short notice. Around 10 stores remain.
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Montupet
Montupet is a French manufacturer for the automotive sector, with two manufacturing plants in France and one in each of Spain, Mexico, Bulgaria and Northern Ireland, and more recently has launched a joint venture in India. Montupet UK has been in Northern Ireland since 1989, and manufacturers cast aluminium cylinder heads for petrol and diesel engines used in engines for Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, GM, Volvo, Fiat, Mazda and Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.
Howden UK
Howden was set up more than 150 years ago and has grown into a worldwide organisation. In Belfast, Howden UK manufacture gas and air handling equipment including centrifugal fans, axial fans and rotary heat exchangers. The company was originally an engineering firm trading as Sirocco Works or Davidsons before becoming part of the Howden group. In 2012 Colfax Corporation acquired Howden Group.
NB:After the Top 100 Companies table was compiled, the company annouced it was closing its Belfast operation.
Production director: David McMinn Pre-tax profit: £12.535m Employment: 309 Pay bill: £14.348m New Sirocco Works Channel Commercial Park Queens Road Belfast BT3 9DT Tel: 028 90 457 251 www.howden.com
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 31
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 26
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Londonderry, the company develops and manufactures recording heads, which write information onto and read information from the recording disk inside a hard drive. The Springtown facility is the largest factory of it type in the recording head industry and uses some of the most advanced technology in existence.
Vice-president of operations: Dr Brian Burns Pre-tax profit: £12.395m Employment: 1,341 Pay bill: £44.87m 1 Disc Drive Springtown Industrial Estate Londonderry BT48 0BF Tel: 028 7127 4000 www.seagate.com
Group chief executive: Richard Glynn Pre-tax profit: £11.65m Employment: 403 Pay bill: £5.7m 77a Andersonstown Road Belfast BT11 9AH www.ladbrokes.com
Bemis Healthcare
Bemis Healthcare — also known as Perfecseal — is a world leader in the design and manufacture of medical packaging and pharmaceutical packaging. As a global supplier with single-source capabilities, the company continuously innovate, improve and perfect the healthcare package to meet the industry’s complex medical packaging and pharmaceutical packaging needs. Parent company Bemis, which is based in Minneapolis, is a major supplier of flexible packaging and pressure
sensitive materials used by leading food, consumer products, healthcare, and other companies worldwide. Founded in 1858, the company is included in the S&P 500 index of stocks. Director of European operations: Keith McCracken Pre-tax profit: £9.7m Employment: 260 Pay bill: £6.1m Campsie Industrial Estate Co Londonderry BT47 3GQ Tel: 028 7181 4000 www.perfecseal.com
32 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Sangers NI
Sangers (Northern Ireland) is owned by Alchem plc which, in turn, is owned by Irish-registered United Drug plc. The Northern Ireland company is a large distributor of pharmaceutical products to the mainly independently-owned high street chemists and hospital pharmacies. In addition to the extensive range of specialist supplies, the company also has an established comprehensive and frequent daily delivery schedule to maintain (and supply) products
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Northwest Bookmakers
Northwest Bookmakers is a subsidiary of Ladbrokes Holdings (NI) which is, in turn, a subsidiary of the parent company Ladbroke plc. Following a purchase in 2007, the business has brought together the betting businesses formerly owned by Eastwoods and McCartans. The company, through the Ladbrokes brand, owns around 20% of the shop betting licences issued in Northern Ireland. Ladbrokes dates back to 1886 and employs more than 13,000 people in the UK.
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SeagateTechnology
Seagate is the global leader in data storage, developing products that enable people and businesses around the world to create, share and preserve their most critical memories and business data. The company offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disc drives, solid state drives and hybrid drives, as well as an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses. At its wafer fabrication facility in Springtown,
that may be needed in chemist outlets at short notice. It operates from two depots, in Belfast and Omagh. Managing director: Peter Surgenor Pre-tax profit: £11.975m Employment:223 Pay bill:£6.582m 2 Marshalls Road, Belfast, BT5 6SR Tel:028 9040 1111 www.united-drug.ie
Kelman
Kelman is an energy technology company in Lisburn which is owned by global company GE. It was founded by Northern Ireland man John Cunningham in 1994 and acquired by GE 14 years later. GE is one of the world’s leading providers of power generation equipment. Kelman develops technology for electricity grids. The Lisburn operation developed a new type of transformer.
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CEO digital energy: John Lavelle Pre-tax profit: £11.38m Employment: 159 Pay bill: £8.3m Lissue Industrial Estate Lisburn BT28 2RB Tel: 028 92622915 www.gedigital energy.com
FaneValley Co-op
Fane Valley Group, a farmer owned co-operative, is now one of Ireland’s most progressive agri-food businesses, with interests in dairy processing, red meat, feed compounding, agricultural supplies, breakfast cereals and renewable energy, operating across Europe. Formed in 1903, Fane Valley remains 100% farmer-owned. The company now has a turnover in excess of £450m, with more than 2,100 employees at sites in Northern Ireland, the Republic of
Ireland, England and Belgium. Fane Valley Dairies has its roots in milk processing, stretching as far back as 1933. It was acquired by Fane Valley Co-Operative in 1992 and continued to grow steadily in both local and international markets. The co-operative also includes two leading Northern Irish meat processors: Linden Foods, based in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and Kettyle Irish Foods in Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh.
Chief executive: Trevor Lockhart Pre-tax profit: £8.719m Employment: 2,174 Pay bill: £54.34m Fane Valley Co-operative Society Ltd Alexander Road Armagh BT61 7JJ Tel:028 3752 2344 www.fanevalley.co.uk
12 May 2015
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 32
Golf Holdings
Golf Holdings is the parent company of a number of firms involved in the drinks and hospitality industry in Northern Ireland. These include Wine Inns, Winemark, and James E McCabe. Wine Inns has an extensive portfolio of some of the most popular bars and clubs in Belfast and surrounding areas, while Winemark is the brand name of a chain of off-licences. James E McCabe is one of the longest established and bestknown wine companies in
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the year to March 2014 grew by 46% to £43m, up from £29.7m in 2012-13 in the fourth consecutive year of growth. Pre-tax profits increased by 131% to £8m from £3.5m, the highest ever recorded in the company’s history. Sales for 2013-14 amounted to £69.3m, up from £38.6m, a total that included the company’s biggest ever order (£12.3m) for the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Managing director: Brendan Mooney Pre-tax profit: £8.035m Employment: 503 Pay bill: £22.838m 4-6 Upper Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NT, Tel:028 9057 1100 www.kainos.com
12 May 2015
Director: Derek Keys Pre-tax profit: £7.746m Employment: 88 Pay bill: £2.627m. 72 to 74 Omagh Road Dromore Co Tyrone BT78 3AJ Tel: 028 8289 8262 www.euroauctions.com
Cooneen by Design
Cooneen by Design (formerly Cooneen Textiles) and its subsidiary companies have business premises in Fivemiletown and the registered office is in Broughshane. Cooneen is a successful manufacturer of children’s clothing and has attracted a number of established high street brands as customers. The Cooneen group also owns other subsidiary companies. Hawk Holdings, in the USA, is a supplier of specialist clothing and a recent addition was Images
at Work, a distributor of specialist clothing. The group’s principal activity is described as the design, supply, manufacture and distribution of specific clothing to a global marketplace.
Director: Mike Coles Pre-tax profit: £8.663m Employment: 145 Pay bill: £4.777m 1 Dark Lane Ardwick Manchester England M12 6FA Tel: 0161 273 5213 www.cooneen group.com
First Derivatives plc
Newry-based financial software firm First Derivatives is one of just two plcs in Northern Ireland. Founder and chief executive Brian Conlon was recently named Business Personality of the Year at the 2015 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards. First Derivatives (FD) provides software products and consulting services globally to large investment banks, asset managers, exchanges and regulators in the capital markets. The products are based on kdb+, a Big Data
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Gardrum Holdings
Gardrum Holding’s main business is conducting off-site and on-site machinery auction sales and valuations throughout Europe, trading as Euro Auctions. Some group companies hold properties for use within the group or for development and resale. In its report for the year ending December 2013, the director anticipates that the group will remain profitable in 2014. The group held 24 auctions in 2013. It held its first auction in 1998.
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Kainos
Queen’s University spin-out Kainos offers information technology expertise to global clients in government, financial services and healthcare, provides software design, support and implementation services, and project management. Kainos currently employs more than 700 staff across its Belfast, Londonderry, London, Bristol and Gdansk operations. The IT firm recently announced it was creating more than 400 new jobs. Revenues for
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the province. Wine Inns recently sold its Wine & Co wine bar in Holywood, Co Down, and revamped its Chelsea Wine Bar and the nightclub once known as the M-Club — now renamed Alibi. Chief executive: Patrick Hunt Pre-tax profits: £8.653m Employment: 1,566 Pay bill: £20.671m 3 Duncrue Place, Duncrue Industrial Estate, Belfast BT3 9BU Tel: 028 9074 6274 www.winemark.com
database technology from California-based Kx systems, which is 65% owned by FD. The solutions are used in high velocity, high volume trading environments where speed and accuracy are paramount. FD is also applying its technology to other industries where the power of it ultra fast processing and Big Data capabilities are particularly relevant. In the first four months of 2015 it acquired three companies - Prelytix, Affinity Systems and ActivateClients.
Chief executive: Brian Conlon Pre-tax profits: £7.947m Employment: 806 Pay bill: £37.297m
acquisition. Acquisitions including Hepworth Concrete Products, Loughside Quarry, Ennstone Concrete products , Tarmac Flooring (Weston Underwood), Charcon Specialist products and the Precast Concrete Division from Eleco plc. Now with 12 offices/ facilities throughout the UK, employment in the firm was 901 in the most recent year. This compares with average employment of 690 people in 2013 — the year on which the present entry is based.
Managing director: Eoin McCann Pre-tax profit: £7.225m Employment: 690 Pay bill: £16.98m
3 Canal Quay Newry Co. Down BT35 6BP Tel: 028 3025 2242 www.first derivatives.com
FP McCann
FP MCann is a Magherafelt-based major civil engineering and precast concrete manufacturing business established in 1945. Among its range of core activities, the company has a residential developments division (FP McCann Homes) as well as being a major supplier of quarry products and ready-mix concrete products to the construction industry. Over the past 10 years, the company has demonstrated a strong ability to grow the business both organically and through
3 Drumard Road Knockloughrim Magherafelt BT45 8QA. Tel: 028 7964 2558 www.fpmccann.co.uk
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 33
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 38
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water, Fruice fruit juice, Powerade and carbonated soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Fanta. General manager: Frank O’Donnell Pre-tax profit: £7.051m Employment: 526 Pay bill: £23.055m Knockmore Hill 12 Lissue Road Lisburn Co. Antrim BT28 2SZ Tel: 028 9264 2000 www.coca-cola hellenicireland.com
seed Unwins and wild bird feed ranges Peckish, Nature’s Feast and Bucktons. Westland’s products are available for purchase in independent garden centres, large retailers on the high street and online and also in most supermarkets across the UK. The company bought Cranswick Pet Products in 2012.
Joint MD: Edward Conroy Pre-tax rofits: £6.598m Employment: 431 Pay bill: £13.270m 14 Granville Industrial Estate, Granville Road Dungannon Co Tyrone BT70 1NJ Tel:028 8772 7500 www.gardenhealth.com
Ulster Carpets posted a significant increase in profitability in the financial year ending March 2014. While the global economy remained in an uncertain state, Ulster Carpets enjoyed the benefits of its continued investment programme in all parts of its business. The investments in both established and new export markets more than helped to offset the weaker conditions in the domestic market. The group’s Danish company achieved record
profits again for the year, focussing primarily on the Scandinavian and Health Care markets. Despite the continued difficulties in all market sectors, the company has continued with its ambitious investment programme at its head office in Portadown and are optimistic of maintaining current profitability levels to fund further growth and expansion of the company.
Managing director: Nick Coburn Pre-tax profit: £6.532m Employment: 520 Pay bill: £18.3m Castleisland Factory, Portadown, Armagh, BT62 1EE Tel: 028 3833 4433 www.ulstercarpets.com
34 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Managing director: David Allen Pre-tax profit: £6.753m Employment: 183 Pay bill: £3.737m Lackaghboy Road Lackaghboy Enniskillen BT74 4RL Tel: 028 6632 7172 www.elitees.com
Kilwaughter Chemicals
Kilwaughter employs 108 people across two sites in Co Antrim and Co Cork. The company was set up in 1938 and now focuses on construction, industry and agriculture and landscaping. It makes market-leading K Rend, the UK’s largest independent premixed silicone render manufacturer. Kilwaughter Lime has been an established mineral and quarry processor since 1939. Quarrying and production facilities are based at headquarters in Larne, where operations
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Ulster Carpets
Elite Electronic Systems
Elite Electronic Systems provides contract electronics manufacturing (CEM) services to market leading companies in the UK and Ireland, as well as internationally. Elite employs more than 250 people across facilities in Northern Ireland and South Carolina in the United States, offering over 25 years of experience and ISO 13485/ ISO9001 certification in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, cable & wiring assembly, complete systems assembly, and test solutions.
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Westland Horticulture
Westland Horticulture was established in 1990 in Dungannon, Co Tyrone. Since its early days of producing compost, Westland has grown in size and strength and is now one of the leading and fastest growing horticultural companies in the UK. It supplies gardening products to the industry including growing media, lawn treatments, lawn seed, plant food, pest control, fungicides, weed killers and mulches. Westland also own the market leading brand of
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Coca-Cola HBC
Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland is a member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, a franchisee of the Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola HBC has been operating in Northern Ireland since 1939 From its manufacturing plant at Knockmore Hill in Lisburn and office facility in Dublin, it produces, distributes, markets and sells a wide range of soft drinks to an all-Ireland market. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes Deep RiverRock
span a 50-acre site. Kilwaughter quarry produces the much sought after ‘Co Antrim white limestone’ used in the construction and agricultural industries throughout Ireland. Subsidiary company Kilwaughter Cork is a leading supplier of materials to the Irish construction and landscaping industries, stocking a large range of dry dash, coloured render, decorative aggregates, landscaping materials and specialist sands.
Managing director: Simon McDowell Pre-tax profit: £6.583m Employment: 111 Pay bill: £4.068m 9 Starbog Road Larne BT40 2TJ Tel: 028 2826 2144 www.K-Rend.co.uk
Retlan Manufacturing
Retlan Manufacturing is a holding company with interests in a number of engineering companies specialising in the manufacture and sale of commercial trailers — SDC Trailers — as well as the sale of commercial vehicle and trailer parts. The group is registered in Toomebridge and has been trading successfully in recent years. SDC’s production plants at Toomebridge and Antrim as well as Mansfield in England are among the most modern trailer manufacturing
facilities in Europe. From its foundation in 1978 the business expanded with the acquisition of Neville Charrold in Nottinghamshire in 1994 and the integration of MDF in 1998. Since the company purchased SDC Trailers in 1998 from Powerscreen, it has grown siginificantly and is now the largest trailer manufacturer in the UK. Retlan was originally a supplier to SDC, which began making trailers in Toomebridge in 1978.
Chairman: John Donnelly Pre-tax profit: £6.328m Employment: 665 Pay bill: £17.275m 116 Deerpark Road Toomebridge BT41 3SS Tel: 028 9446 0898 www.sdctrailers.com
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 35
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 44
AndorTechnology
Andor Technology, now part of Oxford Instruments plc, manufactures high-performance scientific imaging cameras, spectroscopy solutions and microscopy systems for research and OEM markets. Andor has been involved in the photonics industry for more than 20 years and is well versed in light-measuring solutions that allow consumers to perform light measurements previously considered impossible. The company’s products are used in a
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Springvale Business Park 7 Millennium Way Belfast BT12 7AL Tel: 028 9023 7126 www.andor.com
to both domestic and international markets. Its businesses include Dale Farm, Dale Farm Ice Cream, Ash Manor cheese, Mullins’ Ice Cream, Rowan Glen and United Feeds.
Group chief executive: David Dobbin Pre-tax profit: £6.112m Employment: 939 Pay bill: £25.665m Dale Farm House, 15 Dargan Road, Belfast BT3 9LS Tel: 028 9037 2237
build. It excels in the education, healthcare, utility and infrastructure sectors of the industry. It continues to enhance its reputation as a provider of superior quality homes to the local community. Cubis Industries is the world leader in preformed access chamber systems. Northstone Materials is Northern Ireland’s leading provider of quarry products. Recent years have seen its expansion through continued organic growth and acquisition.
Chief executive: Eamonn Sweeney Pre-tax profit: £6.093m Employment: 968 Pay bill: £34.747m 99 Kingsway Belfasth Tel: 028 9062 2211 www.northstone -ni.co.uk
36 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Diageo (in NI)
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. Last year the company acquired Tequila Don Julio from Casa Cuervo in Mexico in return for giving up heritage Co Antrim whiskey Bushmills. Diageo NI is
part of a global company, and its products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The management team continues to invest to build on the brands and routes to consumer, to deliver long term profitable growth. Diageo is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO).
Country director: Jorge Lopez Pre-tax profits: £6.134m Employment: 262 Pay bill: £11.262m 58 Boucher Road Belfast BT12 6HR Tel: 028 9068 2021 www.diageo.com
ThompsonAero Seating
Thompson Aero Seating makes airline seating and says it is “recognised for cutting edge design, engineering and manufacture of premium business-class, full flatbed airline seating”. To meet increased demand Thompson’s first production facility was secured at the Seagoe Industrial Park, Portadown in 2011, and the manufacture of the first Thompson Vantage seats began. Customers include Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines and Aus-
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Northstone
Northstone (NI) Ltd, a subsidiary of CRH plc, is one of Northern Ireland’s foremost construction groups. It is a provider of top-quality goods and services to the construction industry through its three trading divisions of Farrans Construction, Cubis Industries and Northstone Materials. Farrans Construction, contractor on Victoria Square, Odyssey Arena and the Westlink, provides innovative and integrated solutions through conventional contracting, design and
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United Dairy Farmers
United Dairy Farmers is a dairy co-operative owned by more than 1,500 farmer members in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland with a turnover in excess of £440m per year and employing around 1,200 people. The group’s activities span the food chain – from providing farm inputs and services, to collecting and marketing its members’ milk supplies, manufacturing an extensive range of dairy products for the retail, food service and food ingredient sectors and distributing these
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wide range of applications including medical research to further the understanding of heart disease, cancer and neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It also has Managing director: applications for forensic Gary Wilmot science and astronomy. Pre-tax profit: £6.332m Employment: 344 Wage bill: £15.624m
trian Airlines. In 2014, the company announced a £10m investment, creating 85 new skilled manufacturing jobs. Chief executive: Gary Montgomery Pre-tax profit: £6.112m Employment: 119 Pay bill: £5.285m 51 Seagoe Ind Est Portadown Co Armagh BT63 5QE Tel: 028 3833 4000 www.thompson aero.com
Charles Hurst
Motor dealership Charles Hurst is Northern Ireland’s biggest motor retailer and part of Lookers plc. The trading activity of the Charles Hurst Group in Northern Ireland is reported through the statutory legal entities of Charles Hurst Limited, Charles Hurst Motors Limited and Fleet Financial (NI) Limited. The Charles Hurst Limited legal entity also includes the trading activity of Taggarts Motor Group in Scotland. The company said it has had record performance
from the motor division, strong growth in new and used car volumes with good stable margin performance — while revenue and margin also improved in the servicing side of the business. Ops director: Colin McNab Pre-tax profit: £6.034m Employment: 897 Pay bill: £25.743m 62 Boucher Road Balmoral Belfast BT12 6LR Tel: 0844 659 7230 www.charleshurstgroup.co.uk
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NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 50
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Chief executive: Danny Quinlan Pre-tax profit: £5.902m Employment: 55 Pay biill: £2.57m Fort Road, Kilroot Carrickfergus Co Antrim BT38 9BT Tel: 028 9335 1151 www.irishsalt mining.com
enable members to fund local home ownership in Northern Ireland. Despite the testing economic climate over the last number of years, the society has maintained a well-structured balance sheet and has continued to produce strong financial results. Progressive is actively involved in the communities in which it serves and recently announced that it is donating a minimum of £70,000 to 14 charities across Northern Ireland in 2015.
Chief executive: Darina Armstrong Pre-tax profit: £5.657m Employment: 145 Pay bill: £4.525m Progressive House 33 to 37 Wellington Place, Belfast BT1 6HH Tel: 028 9024 4926 www.the progressive.com
Liberty IT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance, a Fortune 100 company. Between the headquarters in Belfast and a branch in Dublin, Liberty IT develops and supports a wide range of both specialist and enterprise scale applications and websites exclusively for their parent company. More than 440 talented IT professionals are employed within Liberty IT and career opportunities exist in many areas including software engineering,
12 May 2015
information management, testing, business analysis, infrastructure, process improvement, information security, help desk, web design, and management. Liberty IT plays a key part in Liberty Mutual’s wider IT operations, which employs 4,500 IT professionals throughout the world, and the organisation continues to grow and diversify. Liberty IT has received many accolades for workplace excellence.
Managing director: William Hamilton Pre-tax profit: £5.387m Employment: 346 Pay bill: £16.765m Adelaide Exchange 24-26 Adelaide Street Belfast BT2 8GD Tel: 028 9044 5500 www.liberty-it.co.uk
In England GRAHAM are currently building a new £80m, 1,367-bed student accommodation scheme for the University of Salford and just completing a facility for importing, storing and the onward transfer of biomass fuels at the Port of Immingham for Associated British Ports. In Northern Ireland the company is currently working on the new £115m Inpatient Ward Block at the Ulster Hospital and on the A2 Shore road improvements.
Group executive chairman: Michael Graham Pre-tax profit: £5.681m Employment: 1,532 Pay bill: £56.788m Ballygowan Road Hillsborough Co Down BT26 6HX Tel: (0) 28 9268 9500 www.graham.co.uk
Tennent’s NI
Tennent’s NI is a manufacturer, owner and distributor of drinks brands, combining strong distribution, wholesale and marketing capabilities, bolstered by a dedicated sales force. In the last year the company has announced an investment of £1.2m to create 25 new jobs within two years and form a commercial business support centre in Belfast. Managing director Tom McCusker said: “While widespread economic revival may be some way off, 2014
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John Graham
John Graham Holdings is a privately-owned business with a history dating back more than 200 years operating across the UK and Ireland with main regional offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Graham operate across a wide range of sectors, which include the building, civil engineering, interior fit-out, facilities management, environmental and energy management, highway maintenance markets as well as investing in PPP/ PFI projects.
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Progressive Building Society
Progressive Building Society is Northern Ireland’s largest locally owned financial institution. Employing 160 people across 12 locations in Northern Ireland, Progressive forms an important part of the financial services industry in the province. It was recently awarded Investors in People Standard in recognition of the commitment to its staff. Over the past 100 years Progressive has maintained the values of a traditional building society, providing value-based products to
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Irish Salt Mining
Irish Salt Mining and Exploration has been mining de-icing rock salt at its Kilroot mine near Carrickfergus since 1965. The mine is not only worked but continuously developed using the latest mining techniques, machinery and management systems. From 14,500 tonnes mined in its first year, it can now produce 0.5m tonnes of de-icing rock salt every year.
was nevertheless a year marked by robust performance by Tennent’s NI and our focus on service and innovation gave us and our customers an important edge in a challenging marketplace.” The company’s brand portfolio includes Magners, as well as beer, wine and soft drink brands. Beer offerings include Tennent’s, Becks Vier, Stella Artois, Staropramen, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Heverlee and more recently the new additions of Clonmel 1650 and Corona Extra.
Managing director: Tom McCusker Pre-tax profit: £5.541m Employment: 54 Pay bill: £2.508m 6 Wildflower Way Belfast BT12 6TA Tel: 028 9038 0500 www.candc groupplc.com
Kingspan Environmental
Kingspan Environmental supplies market leading solutions for wastewater and drainage, renewable energy, hot water cylinders, environmental fuel storage and telemetry monitoring for all types of building projects, from commercial to domestic. It is part of Irish Stock Exchange-listed Kingspan plc.
Chief executive Kingspan Group: Gene Murtagh Pre-tax profit: £5.38m Employment: 560 Pay bill: £18.519m 180 Gilford Road Portadown, Co Armagh BT63 LF Tel: 028 3836 4448 www.kingspan enviro.com
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38 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
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and chairman Terry Cross. Employing more than 240 people in Belfast, the company’s reach extends across the world with strategic partners Stora Enso, in India, the People’s Republic of China, South Korea and the European Union. Delta recently announced a £40m investment programme to grow sales across a number of existing and new customer accounts. This investment has assisted in securing new customers and contracts worth £8m over the next two years.
Chairman: Terry Cross Pre-tax profit: £5.343m Employment: 246 Pay bill: £7.271m Delta Packaging Ltd 10 Kennedy Way Industrial Estate Blackstaff Road Belfast, BT11 9DT Tel: 028 9062 8626 www.deltapack.com
connected to the Phoenix Natural Gas network. In June 2012 the group sold their supply companies (Phoenix Supply Ltd) and Phoenix Energy Ltd to SSE plc (Airtricity). Australian infrastructure fund Hastings bought Phoenix Natural Gas from Terra Firma in 2013.
Chief executive: Michael McKinstry Pre-tax profit: £5.053m Employment: 117 Pay bill: £7.268m Phoenix Natural Gas 197 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel: 03454 55 55 55 www.phoenix naturalgas.com
Chain Reaction Cycles is that it currently sells in still a relatively new busi- over 100 countries. ness that has successfully continued to expand. It has established a large business with a significant turnover based on online retail of cycling accessories. The company also retails a range of cycles, cycle parts and accessories through shops. A large proportion of sales have been to other EU countries and, in addition, over 40% of go to customers outside the EU. The company reports
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Managing director: Chris Watson Pre-tax profit: £4.833m Employment: 612 Pay bill: £14.231m 7 Kilbride Road Ballyclare Co Antrim BT39 0QA Tel: 028 9335 2976 www.chainreaction cycles.com
lying profitability has been helped in otherwise challenging conditions by an increase in ruminant feed volumes. Chairman: Robert Barnett Pre-tax profit: £5.206m Employment: 183 Pay bill: £7.605m Clarendon House 23 Clarendon Road Belfast BT1 3BG Tel: 028 9032 5465 www.wrbarnett.com
Lagan Construction Group
The directors of the construction company said they are proud to report another successful year to the business, with strong turnover and excellent profitability. Its orderbook for 2015 and beyond remains strong with impressive wins including major road schemes in Ireland and Scotland, airport projects in the UK and North America, as well as significant contracts in the energy and marine sectors. Its building division has continued to increase
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BHH
BHH, through its subsidiary companies, is Ireland’s largest manufacturer of animal feeds and a major supplier to all sectors of the vitally important livestock industry. The company also manufactures fertilisers at a new plant in Lisahally. The company has continued to invest in modern plant, seek efficiencies and deliverenhanced service where possible. The company is jointly owned by W&R Barnett Ltd and Origin Enterprises plc. Under-
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Phoenix Natural Gas
Phoenix Natural Gas is the pre-eminent natural gas distribution and gas service business in Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it has been introducing natural gas to a new market and establishing a strong and vibrant supporting industry. In the process, the group has gained an international reputation for its commercial and infrastructural development of natural gas in a ‘greenfield’ environment. It takes natural gas to more than 300,000 properties, with around 160,000 already
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Delta Print and Packaging
Delta Packaging is one of the UK and Ireland’s largest most progressive independent carton packaging manufacturing groups, with operations in Northern Ireland, China, India and Poland. Supplying global brand owners such as McDonald’s, Nike, Kellogg’s, Nokia, United Biscuits, KFC and Dell with litho and flexo printed cartons and fully supply-chain management services, the business has experienced year-on-year growth since its inception 33 years ago by founder
market share with recent major contract awards from clients in the retail, commercial, energy and education sectors. The operations and maintenance division was recently awarded a longterm road maintenance contract in the west of Ireland. The directors forecast significant growth in 2015/16, with turnover on track to exceed £200m. The company recently took over H&J Martin, which will leave it with 900 staff and combined turnover of £300m.
Managing director: Colin Loughran Pre-tax profit: £4.834m Employment: 421 Pay bill: £19.364m Rosemount House 21-23 Sydenham Road Old Channel Road Belfast BT3 9HA Tel: 028 9045 5531 www.lagan constructiongroup.com
Hilton Meats (Retail)
Hilton Meats (Retail) is a specialist meat packing business, supplying major international food retailers from its base in Northern Ireland. The company sources meat cutsfrom a global base of suppliers, which is then processed and packed in large scale modern meat plants for onward distribution to customers. The plants operate at the high volume levels necessary to produce competitive unit packing costs. Among the directors are leading Northern
Ireland meat processors Colin Patton and Robert Watson, as well as PJ Heffer, who runs a major English meat processing company. Executive director: Nigel Majewski Pre-tax profit: £4.776m Employment: 522 Pay bill: £16.819m c/o PwC Waterfront Plaza 8 Laganbank Road Belfast BT1 3LR Tel: 028 9024 5454 www.hiltonfood groupplc.com
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Firstsource
Firstsource Solutions began operations in Northern Ireland in 2006 and currently employs more than 2,000 people across three sites in Belfast and Londonderry. The company is a leading global provider of customised business process management (BPM) services to companies in the healthcare, telecoms and media and banking and financial Services space. The company employs more than 26,000 people in 46 centres with operations in India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, the UK and the US. They have been a major recipient of Invest NI grants to bring employment to the north-west of the province.
Managing director and chief executive: Rajesh Subramaniam Pre-tax profit: £4.693m Employment: 3,602 Pay bill: £52.471m Springtown Business Park Londonderry BT48 OGY Tel: 028 7130 4600 www.firstsource.com
40 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
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Chesapeake
Chesapeake’s facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, primarily manufactures packaging products for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. The facility was built in 1999 by Field Boxmore and acquired by Chesapeake in 2002. The facility produces self-adhesive labels and patient information leaflets for pharmaceutical products. It manufactures more than 500m folding cartons per year for various customers in Europe. Under a global investment programme, Chesapeake is investing in its pharmaceutical division to drive growth. The most recent investment under the programme was the installation of a new Komori Lithrone
Operations director: Alan Porter Pre-tax profit: £4.685m Employment: 170 Pay bill: £5.352m Hightown Industrial Estate Enterprise Way Newtownabbey BT36 4EW Tel: 028 9080 4000 www.multipkg.com
S40 press at the Belfast facility in December 2010. A print inspection system called EyeC Proofiler was also installed as part of the investment.
Dunbia
From a small butchers shop in Dungannon, Dunbia has grown to an operation that spans 12 sites across the UK and Ireland with a multi-national customer base and more than 4,000 staff. They are the largest processor of lamb in the UK, handling over 1.7m lambs per year and a further 1.1m cattle and pigs to supply local, national and international markets. Dunbia enjoys long-term business partnerships with some of Europe’s largest retail multiples, supplying a wide range of fresh beef, lamb and pork products and developing innovative and consumer-driven added value and convenience lines. Dunbia is widely acclaimed across
Chief executive: Jim Dobson Pre-tax profit: £4.6m Employment: 3,259 Pay bill: £69.579m Granville Industrial Estate Granville Road Dungannon Co Tyrone Tel: 028 8772 3350 www.dunbia.com the industry, having secured a range of awards and most recently was named Meat Management UK Manufacturer of the Year 2014.
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retail supply business is backed by electricity generation from its two combined cycle gas turbines in Dublin, a portfolio of wind generation assets in Northern Ireland and the Republic and long-term power purchase contracts with third-party renewable electricity generators. Through both arms of the company, Viridian has an approximate 20% share of the domestic electricity market and an approximate 29% share of business electricity market on an all-island basis.
Chief executive: Ian Thom Pre-tax profit: £4.5m Employment: 446 Pay bill: £22.5m Viridian Group Greenwood House 64 Newforge Lane Belfast BT9 5NF Tel: 028 9038 3757 www.viridian group.co.uk
Doncaster. The trading network extends across Great Britain and Northern Ireland and into Europe. Brands include Montgomery Refrigeration, Sky Platforms, Scotia Plant, Eurofleet Rental and Heathrow Truck Centre.
Managing director: Wilson McClelland Pre-tax profit: £4.262m Employment: 2,344 Pay bill: £67.493m 11 McKinney Road McKinney Industrial Estate Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT36 8PX Tel: 01302 732676
Willstan Ltd is a company which operates betting shops and is 100% owned by Wiliam Hill plc. William Hill was founded in 1936 and has become one of the most respected brans in the betting industry. The plc employs more than 16,000 people in nine countries.
Chief executive of William Hill plc: James Henderson Pre-tax profit: £4.005m Employment: n/a Pay bill:n/a Willstan Ltd 369 Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 1AJ www.williamhillplc.com
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lifecycle of design, development, maintenance and support. In recent years it has expanded into newer technologies, including EBusiness, relating to mobile technologies and social media as well as infrastructure services. This is combined with services in audit and actuarial, as well as a full range of business process outsourcing services. In 2014 the company received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development and the NI Business in the Community Responsible Company of the Year.
Chief executive: Bro McFerran Pre-tax profit: £4.3m Employment: 2,214 Pay bill: £71.987m Allstate (NI) 9 Lanyon Place, Belfast BT1 3LZ Tel: 028 9067 8023 www.allstate.com
O&S Doors
O&S Doors started out as a kitchen fitter before its founders developed a niche in making and fitting PVC, vinyl-wrapped doors. Its bedroom and kitchen doors are now made and shipped around the UK and Europe. It has more than 100 separate door designs with over 50 different finishes and colours.
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Allstate NI
Allstate NI is the largest IT employer in Northern Ireland with offices in Belfast, Londonderry and Strabane. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Allstate Corporation, the largest publicly owned property and casualty insurer in the US. Allstate NI plays a strategic role in developing, transforming and maintaining the various technology platforms used within Allstate. The company is a major centre for software development serving US and Canadian operations, covering the full software
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Ballyvesey Holdings
Ballyvesey Holdings is a diverse group of over 26 companies in different parts of the freight transport business and vehicle sales. It now includes subsidiaries, which are variously a recruitment agency in Poland, a local metal recycling business and a trailer manufacturer. Well-known names include Montgomery Transport and car retailers J E Coulter. The group is owned by a local set of family shareholders and now has its headquarters in
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Viridian
Viridian is one of the biggest energy companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic. It owns Power NI, the supplier of electricity to around 600,000 homes and businesses across Northern Ireland, and its power procurement business manages 600 MW of contracted generation capacity here. Viridian also owns Energia Group, an all-Island energy business supplying electricity and gas to business customers in Northern Ireland and homes and businesses in the Republic. Energia’s
Managing director: Peter O’Donnell Pre-tax profit: £4.166m Employment:281 Pay bill: £6.336m 106 Syerla Road Dungannon Co Tyrone BT71 7ET Tel: 028 3754 9190 www.osdoors.com
Wrights Group
Wrights Group, based in Ballymena, employs 1,900 people and is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of accessible public transport vehicles. Wrights Group has earned a reputation for innovative vehicle designs, a large and innovative product portfolio and investment in advanced engineering. During the last year the company has continued to expand its product range and markets. In the UK the company’s StreetLite single deck was recognised as class-lead-
ing in fuel efficiency and more than 600 have now been purchased by transport operators. The company is fulfilling a contract for 800 New Routemaster buses for operation in London. Overseas, Wrightbus International is now assembling bus kits in Malaysia. In Singapore there will soon be 1,500 Wrightbus double deck buses in service. The company also announced an agreement to work with Daimler in India to develop a new range of buses for the Indian market.
Chief executive: Mark Nodder Pre-tax profit: £4.014m Employment: 1,369 Pay bill: £39.361m Galgorm Industrial Estate Fenaghy Road Galgorm, Ballymena Co Antrim BT42 1PY Tel: 028 2564 1212 www.wrightbus.com
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attribute our success to a decision to invest in export markets, particularly in China where we have won a number of multi-million pound contracts.”
Managing director: Ian Humphreys Pre-tax profit: £3.986m Employment: 47 Pay bill:£3.385m 11 Michelin Road Mallusk Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT36 4PT Tel: 028 9034 2478 www.bielectrical.com
Chief executive: Andrew Lynas Pre-tax profit: £3.645m Employment: 253 Pay bill: £7.372m Loughanhill Ind Est Gateside Road Coleraine BT52 2NR Tel: 028 7035 0600 www.lynasfood service.com
The Huhtamaki Group, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global packaging specialist for food and drink. Operating within the Group’s molded fibre division, Huhtamaki Lurgan Ltd is the only producer of egg boxes, egg trays and cup carriers in the UK and Ireland. Approximately 95% of products manufactured at the Lurgan plant are supplied to UK and Irish markets, with some niche products exported globally. The company, which employs 210, is the sole supplier of
molded fiber cup carriers to McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland, and also supplies to clients including all large retailers and egg processing companies such as Noble Foods, Skea Eggs and Greenfield. Huhtamaki Lurgan is now a key player within the local and UK manufacturing industry. As the ‘golden egg’ of employment opportunities within the manufacturing industry, many employees from the plant now hold senior and management roles within the group’s global network.
General manager: Philip Woolsey Pre-tax profit: £3.287m Employment: 210 Pay bill: £6.781m 41 Inn Road Dollingstown Craigavon BT66 7JN Tel: 028 3832 7711 www.huhtamaki.com
42 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Chairman: Harry Geddis Pre-tax profit: £3.757m Employment: 333 Pay bill: £7.768m Avondale Foods Dukestown Lane Lurgan, Craigavon Co Armagh BT66 8TB Tel: 028 3834 1619 www.avondale -foods.co.uk
Manderley Food
Manderley Food Group Limited is the ultimate holding company for the Hutchinson family’s crisps and snacks manufacturing businesses, which includes brands such as Tayto, Golden Wonder, Real and Mr Porky. The business now operates from four sites in Great Britain and its historic headquarters in Tandragee, County Armagh. The company manufactures a wide range of products including crisps, snacks, tortillas, handfried crisps, poppadums
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Avondale Foods
Avondale Foods develops and manufactures wet salads – such as coleslaw and potato salads – side salads, salad meals, vegetable accompaniments, porridges, soups, and dressings, mayonnaises and sauces. The company supplies its products under the Country Kitchen brand and supermarket own-label throughout the UK and Ireland. It also supplies wholesale and foodservice.
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Lynas Foodservice
Lynas Foodservice is a major foodservice company based in Coleraine, Co Londonderry. It has been supplying and delivering frozen, chilled, grocery and fresh meat to the foodservice trade throughout Ireland for more than 50 years. Lynas Foodservice works with a wide range of food businesses including hotels, restaurants, cafes and sandwich bars, fast food outlets and takeaways as well as schools, hospitals and other foodservice trades.
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BI Electrical Services
Co Antrim’s BI Electrical Services grew profits an average of 60% a year to £3.9m in 2013, earning it a place in the Sunday Times Profit 100 of 2015. The firm was founded in 1989 in Belfast and provides electrical engineering services in Britain, China and Saudi Arabia. It has also expanded to provide facilities management to clients including Queen’s University and the Shanghai Electronic Technology Co. Managing director Ian Humphreys said: “We
and prawn crackers and has an increasing export business. Producing more than 25m bags of crisps and snacks each week across all of its sites, the business is largely debtfree and in the middle of a dynamic strategic investment growth plan across its sites. The company has made multi-million pound investments in new machinery and technology as well as taking further strides to improve the environmental processes across the group.
Chief executive:
Paul Allen
Pre-tax profit: £3.355m Employment: 1,380 Pay bill: £38.015m
Manderley Food Group Tayto Castle Tandagree BT62 2AB Tel: 028 3884 0249 www.tayto.com
McLaughlin & Harvey
McLaughlin and Harvey continues as one of Northern Ireland’s largest construction companies. During the year turnover increased by 5% with increases across the construction, civil engineering and facilities management divisions. This was achieved by greater penetration of new markets which has reduced our dependency on traditional markets. The healthcare division is working on contracts at King’s College Hospital in London, Omagh Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital.
The construction team is also busy with contracts at Fettes College Edinburgh, University of Ulster’s new Greater Belfast Campus, commercial works with Woking Council in London, Waterfront Hall Conference and Exhibition Centre and ongoing work with Marks & Spencer. The civil engineering team is busy with Harbour work at Fraserburgh, Nigg and Middlesbrough. The company said prospects for the coming year are very healthy with a stream of future orders.
Managing director: Philip Cheevers Pre-tax profit: £3.215m Employment: 382 Pay bill: £17.391m 5 Trench Road, Mallusk, Newtownabbey, BT36 4TY Tel: 028 9034 2777 www.mclaughlin andharvey.com
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European headquarters in Belfast are backed by 14 years of experience as the business has its roots as gem. The Belfast site operates across the European market using 31 languages in sales, customer service, technical support, renewals, software development and social media services. Concentrix is present in 24 countries, with 54,000 staff speaking over 40 languages. Concentrix is a wholly owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX).
Senior vice president, global sales and account manager: Philip Cassidy Pre-tax profit: £3.160m Employment: 1,082 Pay bill: £16.71m 9 Lanyon Place Belfast BT1 3LP Tel: 028 9022 7777 www.concentrix.com
The company’s product portfolio includes plastic sheets, factory engineered rooflight systems, and, plumbing and drainage systems. Managing director: Laurence Martin Pre-tax profit: £3.045m Employment: 787 Pay bill: £24.890m 24 Roughfort Road Mallusk Newtownabbey Co Antrim BT36 4RB Tel: 028 9084 9999 www.brettmartin.com
Germinal NI is part of the UK wide Germinal group, and has been in operation since 1825 when Germinal Holdings Limited was founded in Belfast. Since then, the overall company has grown into tion, used for mixed or the largest family-owned arable farms in the UK. British and Irish forage and agricultural seed company, supplying agri-business and landbased industries across the UK and throughout the globe. Among the areas of business it specialises in is herbage seed produc-
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Managing director: William Gilbert Pre-tax profit: £2.974m Employment: 109 Pay bill: £4.943m Commercial Road Banbridge Co Down BT32 3ES www.germinal.com
equipment as “a longterm investment, which is why we offer an unrivalled after sales support service”. It has some of the most famous survival and safety brands in its portfolio, incuding DSB, RFD, Zodiac, Toyo, Shark, Beaufort and others — all of which are part of the Survitec Group.
Chief executive: Brian Stringer Pre-tax profit: £3.089m Employment: 522 Pay bill: £20m Kingsway Dunmurry Belfast BT17 9AF Tel: 028 9030 1531 www.survitec group.com
Tobermore Concrete
Tobermore Concrete is a Co Londonderry-based paving and walling manufacturer specialising in the supply of landscaping materials including block paving, paving flags, kerbs, edging and walling products for the domestic and commercial markets around the UK and Ireland. The success of the company led to it being included with two others from Northern Ireland in the Sunday Times BDO Profit 100. Its profits have increased by an average of 51% in a year.
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Survitec
Survitec operates in the design, manufacture, inspection, service and maintenance of critical safety equipment for use around the world. The company operates in the commercial marine, defence, aviation and offshore. Through its global network of service and distribution centres, it supports the operational challenges of its customers at any time across the world through coverage at over 600 locations. The company describes lifesaving
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Brett Martin Holdings
Brett Martin is a privately-owned plastics business. It was set up in 1958 and has become a major independent manufacturing company. With headquarters located on its founding site in Co Antrim, the company has grown in scale to employ more than 800 people at several locations throughout the UK and Europe. Brett Martin is a global player supplying specialist plastic products for the construction, fabrication, print and display sectors worldwide.
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Concentrix Europe
Concentrix is a global leader in high-value business services, and says that it “maximises customer engagement through services, innovative technologies, analytics, and process optimisation to drive business improvements. We transform the customer experience and streamline front and back office processes to provide the highest value from every customer interaction.” The company says it has a strong history of investment in the UK – its
Managing director: David Henderson Pre-tax profit: £3.003m Employment: 150 Pay bill: £4.13m 2 Lisnamuck Road Tobermore Co Londonderry Tel: 028 7964 2411 www.tobermore.co.uk
Heatons (NI)
Heatons (NI) was founded in 1946 in Athlone, Co Westmeath. Belfast-born managing director John O’Neill first joined the Heatons group in 1986, which was then an eightstore family business. Today it has grown to 54 Heatons stores, including 10 stores across Northern Ireland and 28 SportsWorld stores. The Heatons group is now one Ireland’s fastest growing department store businesses and Ireland’s third largest nonfood retailer, employing
more than 2,000 people. A refit programme as well as new store openings are planned for 2015. In 2014 Heatons was named as one of Ireland’s ‘Best Managed’ companies in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme and again in February 2015. The programme recognises indigenous Irish companies that operate at the highest levels of business performance.
Chief executive: John O’Neill Pre-tax profit: £2.895m Employment: 458 Pay bill: £4.623m 38 Market Street Lurgan BT66 6AH Tel: 028 3832 7408 www.heatons stores.com
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Chief executive: Andy Taylor Pre-tax profit: £2.872m *a Employment: 120 Pay bill: £3.164m *a Scarva Road Industrial Estate Banbridge Co Down BT32 3QD www.radiussystems.com
Copeland
Copeland Ltd is based in Cookstown and is part of Emerson — a $24.5bn (£16.7bn) US corporation which has approximately 130,000 employees and 240 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Copeland specialises in machining and assembly of scroll compressors for the refrigeration, air conditioning and renewable heat pump market segments. The Cookstown facility was opened in 1997 to supply more than 300 European customers a range of regionally
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Radius Plastics
Established in 1969, Radius specialises in producing plastic pipes. It develops and manufactures plastic pipes and fittings for the gas, water and wastewater sectors, as well as producing solutions for the telecoms market. The Northern Ireland business is part of a UK-wide group. It produces pipes from design to manufacture, through to installation and repair. It is currently based in Banbridge, with its group operating its head office in Derbyshire.
optimised compressors at short lead times. Its parent company Emerson offers a number of products and services in the industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Plant director: John McAfee Pre-tax profit: £2.537m Employment: 188 Pay bill: £5.254m Ballyreagh Industrial Estate Sandholes Road Cookstown Co Tyrone BT80 9DG Tel: 028 8676 0100
Actavis is headquartered brand and in Dublin. Actavis in over-the-counter Larne employees approxi- products. mately 160 people. The site conducts research and development into pharmaceutical products for the Actavis Group, and also manufactures a commercial product for the US market. The Actavis group of companies has commercial operations in more than 60 countries worldwide, and has R&D operations in approximately 20 countries. Actavis develops generic, branded generic,
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Chief executive: Brent Saunders Pre-tax profit: £2.435m Employment: 225 Pay bill: £15.036m Old Belfast Road Millbrook Larne Co Antrim BT40 2SH Tel: 028 2826 7222 www.actavis.com
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It also owns the flagship Ramada Plaza at Shaws Bridge, which has undergone a £1.5m facelift. The group also operate Cordia Serviced Apartments on the Lisburn Road, Belfast.
Chairman: Lord Diljit S Rana Pre-tax profit: £2.603m Employment: 251 Pay bill: £4.554m 60 Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7BB Tel: 028 9087 8787 www.andras house.co.uk
BHC
BHC focuses on the design, fabrication and erection of structural steelwork. Much of its business is in Scotland and farther afield. Its weekly production capacity has increased from 30 to 600 tonnes per week. It produces structural steelwork services for retail, residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.
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Andras House
Established by Lord Rana in 1981, Andras House is the parent company for a number of business activities in Northern Ireland. Its primary businesses are property investment and the provision of accommodation and hospitality services. The group operates hotels under licence from international hotel brands including DAYS Hotel Belfast, Holiday Inn Express Belfast City Centre, IBIS City Centre Belfast and IBIS Queens Quarter Belfast.
Managing director: Brian Hewitt Pre-tax profit: £2.529m Employment: 288 Pay bill: £10.205m 6 East Bridge Street Enniskillen Co Fermanagh
Tullymore House
Tullymore House is a hotel and restaurant group which is run by brothers Paul and Nicholas Hill. It owns the Galgorm Resort and Spa, located outside Ballymena. It recently underwent a major £10m refurbishment, adding new rooms and a new ‘spa village’. The resort has also featured in a Sunday Times list of the Ultimate 100 hotels. Tullymore is also behind a long-awaited boutique hotel in Belfast city centre. It is turning the Scottish Mutual building into a 67-bedroom hotel,
complete with bar and restaurant. It also owns Italian restaurant Fratelli restaurant in the city.
Managing director: Paul Smyth Pre-tax profit: £2.379m Employment: 319 Pay bill: £4.539m 136 Fenaghy Road Ballymena Co Antrim BT42 1EA Tel: 028 2588 1001 www.galgorm.com
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brand and its LPG products under the Flogas brand. It also operates a boiler servicing division (United Boiler Services) and is the authorised distributor for Castrol lubricants in Northern Ireland.
Managing director: Pat O’Neill Pre-tax profit: £2.180m Employment: 187 Pay bill: £6.035m 111 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED Tel: 028 9045 4555 www.emooil.com
Managing director: Ashley Pigott Pre-tax profit: £2.088m Employment: 80 Pay bill: £2.277m 1 Charlestown Drive Craigavon Co Armagh BT63 5GA Tel: 028 3836 1000 www.ajpower.net
Aghareany is an engineering firm based outside Dungannon in Co Tyrone. It produces crawler track systems used in a host of different types of vehicles.
Director: Martin O’Neill Pre-tax profit: £2.032m Employment: 57 Pay bill: £1.736m 12 Torrent Business Centre Donaghmore Dungannon Co Tyrone BT70 2UD
46 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
It makes aluminium car parts — primarily castings of clutch cases, transmission cases which hold gearboxes, engine blocks and a wide variety of brackets.
Managing director: John Hughes Pre-tax profit: £2.091m Employment: 277 Pay bill: £8.094m Trooperslane Industrial Estate 5 Meadowbank Road Carrickfergus Co Antrim BT38 8YF Tel: 028 9335 1043 www.ryobi.co.uk
Greiner Packaging
Greiner Packaging Ltd is a family-owned business with its headquarters in Austria. The UK facility in Dungannon is a fully independent business concentrating on the manufacturing mainly of plastic packaging for dairy (yoghurts, spreads, creams), desserts, confectionery (sweets) and dry products (porridge, soups). In 2015 it celebrated 10 years in Northern Ireland. It was formerly Wilsanco Plastics, which had been based in Dungannon since 1972.
94
Aghareany
Ryobi
Ryobi was founded as a die casting company in Hiroshima in 1943 and the Carrickfergus facility was established in 1990. Production began in 1991 when the company employed less than 30 people and supplied two parts for the Ford Motor Company. Production operations now include casting, machining and assembly operations, and the company also supplies 33 different parts to Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the UK.
92
AJ Power
AJ Power is a Craigavon-based manufacturer of diesel generating equipment. The business is engaged in the fabrication of diesel-powered generating sets, many of which are being sold in international markets. The directors and managers have been involved in the international power generation market for over four decades. It currently sells to markets in South America and Africa as well as Northern Europe and the Middle East.
93
90
DCC Energy
DCC Energy Ltd is a subsidiary of DCC plc, a sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group headquartered in Dublin. DCC plc’s energy division is an oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution business in the UK and Ireland and one of the leading oil distribution businesses in Austria and Denmark. The company operates two main terminals in Belfast importing oil and LPG into Northern Ireland. Its oil products are marketed under the Emo
Its workforce has grown from 150 to 250 employees in recent years.
Chief executive: Jarek Zasadzinski Pre-tax profit: £2.066m Employment: 211 Pay bill: £6.813m Killyman Road Ind Est Killyman Road Dungannon Co Tyrone BT71 6LN Tel: 02887723131 www.greiner-gpi.com
Hastings Hotel Group
Hastings is a homegrown, family-run chain which owns a number of hotels in Northern Ireland. These include the Europa and Stormont in Belfast; the Culloden at Cultra; Slieve Donard in Newcastle; Ballygally Castle on the Antrim coast; and the Everglades in Londonderry — and it also has an equity interest in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin. The business started in the pub trade but then began growing its hotel assets in the 1960s after
buying the Stormont Hotel. Founder Dr Billy Hastings then bought the Culloden before buying the Europa at the height of the Troubles and reopening it as a four-star hotel, one which has been frequented by VIP visitors including Bill and Hillary Clinton when he was US President.
Founder: Billy Hastings Pre-tax profit: £2.024m Employment: 1,100 Pay bill: £11.073m 1066 House 587 Upper Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 3LP Tel: 028 9047 1066 www.hastings hotels.com
12 May 2015
NORTHERN IRELAND’S TOP 100 COMPANIES IN PROFILE 95
96
Terumo BCT
In Larne, Terumo BCT manufactures products used in blood transfusions. The business has been in Larne for more than nine years and also has plants in the US, Japan, India, Belgium and China, employing 4,700 people worldwide. More than 400 new jobs were announced by the company in June 2013.The new jobs will include positions involving entry-level manufacturing, scientific, microbiology, chemistry and engineering as more equipment is introduced.
97
Chief executive: David Perez Pre-tax profit: £2.012m Employment: 279 Pay bill: £6.466m Old Belfast Road Larne BT40 2SH Tel: 028 2827 3631 www.terumobct.com
99
98
EM News Distribution
EM News Distribution is a magazine and newspaper distributor operating in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. It was formed following a joint venture between Eason News Distribution and Menzies News Distribution, and was set up in 2007 by the merger of their respective distribution businesses. It is based in Belfast Harbour Estate.
Pre-tax profit: £1.911m Employment: 148 Pay bill: £2.313m 11 Airport Road West Belfast Harbour Estate Belfast BT3 9ED Tel: 084 5200 7648 www.emnews distribution.com
12 May 2015
Haldane in 1946, but it still retains the high levels of personal service one would associate with a family-run business. Predominantly a chain of builders’ and plumbers’ merchants supplying a huge range of products, the group supplies everything from building materials to plumbing and heating, home improvement products to internal finish such as kitchens, bathrooms, doors and floors.
Managing director: Ian Haldane Pre-tax profit: £1.823m Employment: 389 Pay bill: £10.511m Shepherd Way Carnbane Industrial Estate Newry BT35 6QQ Tel: 028 3026 3201 www.haldane -fisher.com
Managing director: Robert Peden Pre-tax profit: £1.928m Employment: 62 Pay bill: £2.552m 9 Airport Road West Belfast BT3 9ED www.ctni.co.uk
Frylite
Frylite is a distributor of cooking oil based in Strabane. It also collects waste oil from businesses. It was founded in 1988 by Eamon McCay, who provided caterers and food companies with an all-in-one supply and waste collection service. It now sells a range of products to restaurants, takeaways and caterers — including vegetable oil, rapeseed oil and olive oil.
100 Devenish
Haldane Shiells
Haldane Fisher is one of the leading independent suppliers to the construction industry in the UK and Ireland, serving trade customers, self-builders and the general public. Haldane Fisher is part of the Haldane Shiells Group, made up of Haldane Fisher NI, Haldane Fisher Isle of Man, and GE Robinson in North West England bringing the total number of branches within the group to 15. The business has grown organically and through acquisition since it was founded by Bob
CharlesTennant N
Charles Tennant NI is a firm specialising in a number of different business areas, including the distribution of chemicals. It currently trades as four divisions within Charles Tennant & Co (NI) Ltd. That includes bitumen, building products, chemicals and fertiliser. It is part of the Tennant Group, which is currently active in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, United States, Canada and China, mainly in the manufacture and distribution of chemicals.
Devenish provides nutritional solutions and technical expertise to its customer base in the intensive pig, poultry, ruminant and companion animal sectors. Devenish is the largest independently owned manufacturer of premix, creep and speciality products in the UK. The group has expanded rapidly in the last 17 years, growing from a turnover of £5m with 23 staff to a turnover in excess of £150m and 300 staff. The group has six manufacturing sites
Managing director: Eamon McCay Pre-tax profit: £1.869m Employment: 189 Pay bill: £4.826m Orchard Enterprise Centre Orchard Rd Strabane BT82 9QR Tel: 028 7138 3133 www.frylite.com
across the UK, Ireland and US as well as offices in Dubai and India and is exporting to over 25 countries worldwide. It also makes a significant investment each year in research and development, with a team of more than 20 PhDs and experts in developing products regularly collaborating with universities and external centres of excellence including QUB, UCD, Harper Adams and AFBI to develop the product and service offering to its customers.
Executive chairman: Owen Brennan Pre-tax profit: £1.823m Employment: 200 Pay bill: £11.136m Lagan House 19 Clarendon Road Belfast BT1 3BG Tel: 028 9075 5566 www.devenish nutrition.com
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 47
Still not enough women in Top 100 NI companies By Roseann Kelly, chief executive of Women in Business NI
B
USINESSWOMEN across Northern Ireland will be waiting with bated breath to see who has “made it” into the Top 100. For some who are included in the coveted list the accolade will be a huge honour. It recognises the success they have achieved for their companies, validates their hard work and affirms their ability to excel in their chosen careers. For those towards the bottom of the list, however, the achievement will be bittersweet. Women in lower-ranked organisations will feel the sting of not faring as well as their male counterparts since this year’s best-ranked companies are disproportionately headed by men. Why are men leading Northern Ireland’s top companies? Why does this matter? I read an article recently in which Kara McGann of Irish business lobby group Ibec pointed out that truly diverse companies enjoyed “better quality decisions, better levels of creativity and innovation” than homogeneous ones. Furthermore, individuals with the “best talent in the market” were hired when organisations looked “beyond the obvious”. McGann went on to argue that gender balance is not just a women’s issue, but a strategic business issue that leadership needs to address. Looking inside the boardrooms of the Top 100, it’s encouraging that some have surpassed Lord Davies’ recommendations for the amount of women at the table, and some have women making up 25 per cent of their board. However, plenty of companies still have a lacklustre showing of women in the boardroom — some have none
at all. The question arises: what is to blame? Is it due to backwards practices and discrimination, or are women simply not attracted to certain sectors? Do women feel bound by family commitments, or do they lack the confidence needed to put themselves forward? Even though it’s 2015, all of these reasons still hold women back. One would think that modern, progressive women wouldn’t have self-doubt, but every day I consult with women struggling with confidence and the boldness needed to climb the corporate ladder. Some grapple with the harsh reality that even after securing a top position they would still earn less than a man would. Interestingly, at the 2014 World Economic Forum, the Japanese prime minister committed to reinvigorating his nation’s economy, which included a plan to increase the number of women in the workforce. His goal for women to hold 30 per
48 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
cent of corporate leadership positions by 2020 was derided as foolish ‘Womenomics’ but his vision has already begun to take shape — much to the benefit of Japan’s economy. Alongside diversity and inclusion, closing the pay gap should be one of the top priorities for companies in Northern Ireland. At Davos in January, Carlos Ghosn, chair and CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance, said that closing the gender gap “just makes sense”. Not only would closing the gap level the playing field, but it would also motivate women to put themselves forward and progress in their companies. Ghosn also reported that Nissan has been recognised by the Tokyo Stock Exchange as being a ‘Nadeshiko Brand’ for its support and promotion of women. These practices have led to Nissan attracting some of the best and brightest female graduates from top universities. Again and again we hear
about how equal pay and equal representation benefit our businesses, consumers, our economy and the global market. We hear of findings like those in the recent Credit Suisse report, which saw that companies with at least one woman in the boardroom have a higher return on equity than those without women. So why is Northern Ireland’s Top 100 list still dominated by men? The number of women in the boardroom, in management and leadership positions, as well as the amount of women entrepreneurs has grown significantly in the last decade. As an organisation which provides facilitated networking, mentoring and encouragement in order to enable women to build sustainable business connections, Women in Business Northern Ireland supports all working women in Northern Ireland. We welcome the addition of leaders like Elaine Birchall, who now leads SHS Group, and we congratulate leaders like Janet McCollum at Moy Park, the current WIBNI Outstanding Business Woman of the Year. Like Ellvena Graham of Ulster Bank, Darina Armstrong of Progressive Building Society and Jackie Henry at Deloitte, we recognise the significant, tangible benefits that diversity and inclusion bring to businesses. It’s time to put what we know into practice. It’s time to take Northern Ireland forward and be a global leader in business, diversity and gender equality. We’ve made huge strides, but there’s always more to be done. Women in Business NI is the largest and fastest growing business network for female entrepreneurs and business leaders in Northern Ireland. You can join Women in Business NI online at www.womeninbusinessni.com, follow the organisation on facebook at www.facebook.com/womeninbusinessni or on Twitter @wibni.
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 49
BELFAST TELEGRAPH NAME
The largest commercial employers Northern Ireland
SECTOR
LATEST YEAR
EMPLOYMENT RECENT
YEAR AGO
CHANGE
1
Moy Park
Food processing
12.13
11,534
10,914
6%
2
Tesco
Retailer
Eq 13
9,762
9,456
3%
3
Bombardier
Aerospace
12.13
5,014
4,990
0%
4
Four Seasons
Healthcare
12.13
4,885
4,710
4%
5
Asda
Retailer
Eq 13
4,575
4,401
4%
6
Translink
Public transport
3.14
3,957
3,960
0%
7
Firstsource Solutions
Contact centre
3.14
3,602
3,090
17%
8
Dunbia
Meat processing
3.14
3,259
3,039
7%
9
Royal Mail Group
Postal services
3.13
3,520
3,520
0%
10
Almac Group
Medical products.
9.13
3,201
3,092
4%
11
Teleperformance
Contact centre
Eq 13
2,928
2,008
46%
12
Marks & Spencer
Retailer
Eq 13
2,624
2,556
3%
13
John Henderson
Distribution
12.13
2,470
2,419
2%
14
Sainsbury’s
Retailer
Eq 13
2,423
n.a
n.a
15
Ulster Bank
Banking
Eq 13
2,423
2,496
-3%
16
BT (in NI)
IT services
12.13
2,393
2,240
7%
17
Ballyvesey Hlds
Transport
9.13
2,344
2,041
15%
18
Allstate N.I.
IT services
12.13
2,214
2,005
5%
19
Alliance Boots
Retailer
Eq 14
2,206
2,227
-1%
20
Fane Valley Co-op
Milk processing
9.13
2,174
2,125
2%
21
Caterpillar
Engineering
12.13
1,947
2,718
-28%
22
Norbrook Hlds
Veterinary Product
7.13
1,892
1,724
10%
23
Dunnes Stores
Retailer
1.14
1,724
1,944
-11%
24
Next
Retailer
Eq 13
1,681
1,291
30%
25
Lloyds Banking Gp
Financial services
12.13
1,630
1,605
1%
Notes: 1. Eq 13 indicates information from the latest Equality Commission survey
2.
50 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Large businesses that have recently changed ownership have been omitted, including Gortmullan, Resource/Noonan and G4S
3.
Excludes Employment Agencies
12 May 2015
BELFAST TELEGRAPH NAME
The largest commercial employers Northern Ireland
SECTOR
LATEST YEAR
EMPLOYMENT RECENT
YEAR AGO
CHANGE
26
Golf Hlds
Distribution
12.13
1,566
1,605
-2%
27
Stream Intelligent Cc
Contact Centre
Eq 13
1,536
937
64%
28
John Graham
Construction
3.14
1,532
1,418
8%
29
Corp. Catering Mgt
Catering
9.13
1,513
1,091
39%
30
Concentrix
Contact centre
12.13
1,462
803
82%
31
Citigroup
Financial services
12.13
1,390
1,200
16%
32
Manderley Food
Food snacks
6.13
1,380
1,345
3%
33
Wrights Group
Bus assembly
9.13
1,369
1,202
14%
34
BE Aerospace
Engineering
12.13
1,351
1,183
14%
35
Danske Bank
Banking
12.14
1,350
1,434
-6%
36
Seagate Tech.(Ire)
IT manufacture
6.13
1,341
1,342
0%
37
Argos Distributors
Distribution
Eq 13
1,327
1,203
10%
38
NI Water
Water supply
3.14
1,263
1,301
-3%
39
First Trust
Banking Services.
Eq 13
1,258
1,217
3%
40
Bank of Ireland
Banking Services.
Eq 13
1,179
1,285
-8%
41
Santander UK
Financial Services.
Eq 13
1,136
1,069
6%
42
Hastings Hotel Group
Hotels
10.13
1,100
1,070
3%
43
Schrader Electronics
Engineering
12.13
1,045
964
8%
44
Terex GB
Engineering
12.13
1,017
847
20%
45
UTV Media
Broadcasting
12.13
994
980
2%
46
Randox Hlds
Medical equipment
12.13
989
905
9%
47
Northstone
Construction
12.13
968
992
-2%
48
Michelin
Rubber manuf
Eq 13
948
950
0%
49
United Dairy Farmers
Milk processing
3.14
939
884
6%
50
Foyle Food Group
Meat processing
12.13
919
730
26%
117,254
110,941
+5.7%
TOTAL 50 BUSINESSES
12 May 2015
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 51
Behind the figures on jobs in 2015’s Top 100 Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey and Adrian Doran, Barclays’ head of corporate banking in Northern
A
NYONE taking an interest in listings of Northern Ireland’s top companies over the past 10 years will have noticed a considerable change in their composition, with some sectors, notably property and construction, represented much less today than in 2005, and others, such as technology, featuring more prominently. Over the last 12 months, Invest NI has helped bring 20 new companies to Northern Ireland for the first time. These have included the global law firm Baker and McKenzie. Clearly this change in the corporate landscape has significant implications for the labour market, and a look at the figures can give us some useful insights into what’s happening beneath the surface of the economy. In simple terms, falling unemployment and rising levels of employment are viewed positively. So, a headline unemployment rate provides an indication of how an economy is performing. Beyond these headline measures, however, there are a raft of important indicators. These include earnings, productivity, skills, sector composition and job quality. During the most intense phase of the downturn, the labour market was at the frontline of the recession with the number of jobs falling significantly and unemployment rising dramatically. For example, from August 2007 to December 2012 the number of individuals claiming unemployment benefit rose by 41,300. The construction sector was particularly badly impacted by this. Over the last couple of years, however, Northern Ireland’s economic recovery has been particularly evident within the labour market. As of February this year, the number of
individuals claiming unemployment benefit had fallen for 26 months in succession, with a cumulative decline of almost 19,000. This takes Northern Ireland’s total claimant count back to a six-year low. Despite this encouraging decrease, it is noted that over half of the rise in unemployment that followed the downturn remains. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s headline unemployment rate also hit a six-year low of 5.7% in Q4 2014. This compares with a peak of 8.3% in early-2013 and a pre-downturn low of 3.2% in the summer of 2007. A quick look at the age distribution of the unemployed reveals that the younger generation have fared particularly badly relative to older age groups. Northern Ireland’s youth unemployment rate (those aged between 18 and 24) is just shy of 20%. This is double the rate that prevailed when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Conversely, older age groups are currently enjoying lower rates of unemployment than they did in April 1998.
52 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
Following four consecutive years of employment decline, Northern Ireland posted its second successive year of overall employment growth in 2014. Indeed, 2014 saw the fastest rate of full-time employment growth (+1.7%) in seven years. Meanwhile part-time employment increased (+2.3%) at its fastest rate since 2003. Looking at employment, as of Q4 2014, Northern Ireland has notched up 11 successive quarters of employment growth. Over 28,000 jobs have been recouped during this period which represents almost 70% of the jobs lost during the downturn. Northern Ireland lost more than twice as many jobs as the UK economy did relative to its size. Meanwhile, the employment recovery has been much weaker and lagged behind the national average. Indeed, UK employment levels are now 4% higher than they were before the downturn. Looking at broad sector performance, the local construction sector has experienced its
deepest recession and weakest recovery to date. As of Q4 2014, construction employment was 37% below its pre-recession peak in Q4 2007. The services sector has also experienced its deepest recession to date in terms of job losses. However, early last year the services sector recouped all of the jobs it lost during the downturn. Unlike during the 1980s recession, the manufacturing industry has regained a substantial number of the jobs it lost. As of Q4 2014, local manufacturing firms had recouped over 60% of the jobs lost during the recession. Indeed, last year saw the largest increase in manufacturing employment (+2%) since 1995. Looking ahead, the public sector will see a reduction in its head count the like of which has not been experienced before. In the private sector, high levels of economic inactivity have been a persistent feature of the local economy over the past 30 years. The economically inactive are those people neither in work or looking for work. The latter is a wider measure than the unemployed as it includes students, retirees and the sick and disabled. Northern Ireland’s economic inactivity rate, for those aged 16-64, currently stands at 27.8%. This is the highest of all the UK regions. Skills development is one of the most important aspects of the labour market in terms of ensuring that the skills need is met by the skills production line. As we have seen significant changes in the composition of top companies listings over the past 10 years, there will no doubt be significant changes in the next 10, with companies and sectors likely to be represented that don’t even exist today.
Richard Ramsey 12 May 2015
profits and Companies Ireland. look at the shifts behind employment and profits
T
HE announcement of this year’s Belfast Telegraph Top 100 companies comes after the clocks have gone forward, reminding me of the old adage “spring forward, fall back”. For many of our largest companies, the past year has thankfully been a time of springing forward. Some of the large international manufacturing companies with operations in Northern Ireland, such as Schrader, Terex, Caterpillar and Montupet, have all recorded impressive double-digit increases in profitability. Our pharma cluster, which comprises locally owned companies such as Almac, Randox and Norbrook, has also recorded significant increases. Likewise agri-food, which represents some of Northern Ireland’s largest employers, has continued to grow strongly. Undoubtedly, we have some world-class companies in this sector which, despite some short-term issues (for instance in the dairy industry), is a sector that should continue to prosper in the long term. All of the above companies share one common feature — they export. For companies of this size to be recording a +20% increase in profit is impressive — little wonder so many people talk about the importance of growing our export base. In addition to the profits these companies produce, the top 20 companies alone add over £1bn a year to our local economy in terms of wages and salaries. This is just one measure of how important these companies are to the Northern Ireland economy. Our local construction sector has also continued to re-invent itself and is now back on an upward trend. The Construction Employers’
12 May 2015
Federation recently estimated that the top 20 local companies have a combined turnover of +£1.5bn, with approximately £1bn of this being generated in Great Britain. Whilst we would all like to see more construction in Northern Ireland, the sector is now one of Northern Ireland’s “unsung heroes” in terms of export performance. Assuming that our politicians find a solution to the current impasse on welfare reform, and that devolution of corporation tax proceeds as planned, the hope is that Northern Ireland will be a welcoming environment to more large exporters over the coming decade. Importantly, this will include global FDI setting up base in NI, and more locally owned companies having more of their hard-earned profits retained to invest in their businesses. The trickle-down effect to the SME supply chain, to local spin-outs, and for improved training and skills for our workforce, should not be under-estimated. As we look forward, the scene is set for Northern Ireland’s most profitable companies to continue to expand. However, to use a pertinent weather analogy, there are some inevitable “dark clouds” in the distance. Firstly, there is the question of political stability. Any large company looking to make a long-term investment in Northern Ireland understandably wants to see a stable local government. Whilst recently there have been issues, it is to be hoped that post the General Election things will revert to a more stable footing. Similarly, the composition of the new UK government in May looks especially difficult to call based on current polling. The pace and scale of continued UK government austerity is one pertinent question. However, a more
pressing issue for Northern Ireland business may turn out to be the new government’s attitude to Europe. Should there be an EU referendum, whilst the terms of any potential poll are as yet unknown, any exit from the single market is likely to have a significant impact on Northern Ireland given its land border with the Republic of Ireland. Secondly, the recent strength of sterling versus the euro (following the introduction of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank) has presented a challenge to many of our local exporters. However, there are reasons to hope that the tentative signs of demand recovery in the main European economies will at least partly compensate for any currency issues. The fact that the Republic of Ireland economy in particular has bounced back so quickly
has already benefited some local companies. Together with Great Britain, these two regions are our two most important export markets, and the fact that both the UK and RoI are currently among the fastest growing economies in Europe can only be good news for Northern Ireland business. This is the first year that the Belfast Telegraph has used profitability (rather than turnover) to compile its Top 100 list — and in my opinion it’s an important and symbolic change, because without profits there are no resources for continued investment in R&D, plant and machinery, or most importantly, people. Despite the inevitable uncertainties over the political environment and the wider global economy, the scene is set for our largest companies to continue to grow.
Adrian Doran
TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 53
Vibrant SME sector is driving our economy By Kirsty McManus, director of the Centre for SME Development at the University of Ulster
T
HE Belfast Telegraph Top 100 Businesses recognises the exceptional achievements of business men and women in Northern Ireland, highlighting their commercial success and also recognising their contributions to the economy and the community at large. This campaign also serves as a platform to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs to likewise pursue their dreams and ultimately to create a sustainable entrepreneurial culture in Northern Ireland. On behalf of the SME Centre at the University of Ulster Business School, we would like to congratulate the SMEs who achieved a place amongst the Top 100 businesses. They have clearly outperformed their sector peers — not just in terms of revenue, but by either growth or in employee numbers. The list of businesses revealed is richer and more varied than we believe has ever been identified in any other exercise of this type. It paints Northern Ireland as a globally diverse economy with companies from agrifood and technology to carpets and bicycles. The list is not exhaustive but it shines a light on some of Northern Ireland’s most vibrant businesses. We need more opportunities to celebrate our cadre of 118,795 businesses in Northern Ireland employing 509,000 people. Why are small businesses succeeding? The secret to the change in the way SMEs function comes with the use and availability of technological solutions. According to Lord Young, changes in technology have “lowered the barriers to entry for people from all backgrounds”, and
in turn this has transformed our relationship with the way we use the internet to help our businesses succeed. Chain Reaction Cycles is one of many businesses who have fully embraced this technology age by becoming the world’s largest online bike store. SMEs are not only key to job and wealth creation but also in fostering the entrepreneurship, competition and innovation that leads to sustainable growth and development. According to BIS, Northern Ireland’s SME population saw five per cent growth year on year in 2014. Lord Young puts it best himself: “This is the golden age for small firms — there has never been a better time to start and grow a business.” Our own research, and that of many others, has shown increasing our skill levels makes it easier for businesses to adapt to change and compete in new markets. Increased worker productivity boosts business efficiency and will assist our businesses to grow and create
54 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
‘This is the golden age for small firms — there has never been a better time to start a business’ new jobs. It is necessary, but not enough, to just raise our skill levels, it is also essential to improve our leadership and management practices and to utilise skills more effectively in the workplace to improve business performance. Evidence suggests that a one percentage point increase in productivity generates around £11bn in additional GDP per annum to the UK economy. The latest Employers Skills Survey, carried out by UKCES, finds that small firms are significantly less likely to provide management training than their larger counterparts. We have found an increasing num-
ber of managers from SMEs enrolling on our programmes at the Ulster University Business School, in particular the MBA. An MBA is a broad based Masters’ degree, particularly suited to SME managers as it is a practical programme that develops participants’ existing leadership and entrepreneurial skills and helps them transfer this learning to their own organisations. Furthermore, for firms that are considering development internationally, an MBA is the only management qualification recognised worldwide and can help establish the credibility of the leadership team to partner organisations in these markets. More needs to be done to raise awareness of the importance of these top 100 businesses in Northern Ireland. More needs to be done to nurture, support and encourage these companies to achieve their full potential. That support comes in many forms: from cutting red tape to media promotion to providing access to appropriate finance. Without doubt, many SMEs find it difficult to access longterm supportive financing. More than half of UK SMEs resort to credit cards for funding. The same percentage use bank debt to finance their growth. According to Tech City UK, Northern Ireland companies are twice as likely to source public financial support as the UK average. Northern Ireland needs a more diversified funding environment for its entrepreneurs and ambitious, fast-growing companies. This will allow fast-growing companies the time and opportunity to invest in their development. Enhanced prosperity for Northern Ireland will only be achieved if the various stakeholders from government and industry bodies can support these smaller organisations and encourage them to think about how they can grow and prosper on a more global stage.
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TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015 55
56 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
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60 TOP 100 Northern Ireland Companies 2015
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