Business First Digital, May June 2016

northern ireland’s business magazine

BUSINESSFIRST INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

MAY-JUNE 2016

FENIX SOLUTIONS

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Leaders in IT

Economic Outlook

Thought Leader

Enterprise NI

Working with eir, we are searching for Northern Ireland’s leaders in IT. Make your nomination on page 43.

This is a finely balanced recovery. Gareth Hetherington, UU Economic Policy Centre.

Why you should give your NED the nod. Joy Allen, managing director Leading Governance.

Our annual round-up of the incubators, starters, hatcherys and supporters of Northern Ireland’s business.

PLUS: Who are Northern Ireland’s Most Inspiring Women? YOU DECIDE in association with

20 Who are Northern Ireland’s

MOST INSPIRING WOMEN 2016?

YOU DECIDE

Make your nomination today www.businessfirstonline/inspiring

In association with

CONTENTS

Putting your Business First

WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR ISSUE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & COMMENTARY How secondary Employers need private equity support too Peter Wilson funds are filling a Supported Employer gap in the market.

Solutions

Stuart Mansfield Arthur Cox

Let the battle commence: PR vs Digital Michelle Cassidy Rumour Mill PR

Harnessing digital analytics for a smarter hospitality industry Professor Peter Bolan Ulster University

Page 10 Page 24 Page 48 Page 68 One vote cast - one to go.

But which one matters more to your business?

OK, I’ll admit it: I am one of the annoying people who has been knocking your door to ask who you’ll be voting for in the Assembly Elections and how you’ll be voting in the EU Referendum. And the interesting thing is that the one has not necessarily informed the other.

In fact, where there is a serious level of apathy around local politics, there is a lot of interest and engagement with the Referendum. Indeed people who start by saying ‘I never vote’ go on to assert their determination to vote in the Referendum.

Interesting ‐ and also concerning. Because invariably they are determined to vote to leave the EU. So people in Bangor will decide to vote to leave the EU because they are convinced by Boris and his friends assertion that immigration is a major problem. In Bangor? I don’t think so!

Which means we in the business community have about a month to instigate a rigorous debate about the reality of Brexit (or should that be UKexit?). We need to articulate the concerns expressed by the IMF, London School of Economics as well as ourr own knowledge of the damage a Leave vote would have on standards of living, employment and the opportunities for our young people.

It’s only when the people of Bangor and elsewhere realise that a Leave vote will result in emmigration of our young people who can’t get a job rather than the imagined problems of immigration that we might win the emotional as well as the practical argument.

See you on the frontline!

Gavin Gavin Walker, Managing Editor FRONT COVER IMAGE by Khara Pringle Kieron McGuire and Gareth Thompson of Fenix Solutions

FEATURES Fenix Solutions celebrates 10 years serving NI business

A data breach Retail 2020: what Regulations are isn’t always a does the future barriers to growth disaster. have in store for Northern mishandling it is Sinead McLaughlin Ireland’s SMEs

(cover story)

Colin Mullan Find InsuranceNI

Londerry Chamber of Commerce

Wilfred Mitchell FSB Northern Ireland

Page 12 Page 32 Page 36 Page 40 BEST PRACTICE What does the budget mean for Family Owned Business?

Maybeth Shaw BDO Northern Ireland

How to have a difficult conversation Paul Gray LearnSpark

You need to take Mixing marketing time out to just ingredients for think export success Anne Philipson Leadership Institute

Carol Magill CIM Ireland

Page 22 Page 34 Page 42 Page 50 In our Digital Issue you can click on any square to be taken directly to the article. Download it from businessfirstonline.co.uk

Subscribe to BUSINESSFIRSTDIGITAL Subscribing to a complimentary copy of BUSINESSFIRSTDIGITAL Magazine couldn’t be easier and we’ll send your copy of the magazine directly to your mailbox every time we publish.

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PUBLISHED BY: The Wordworks Partnership (Limited) Suite 60. Enterprise House Balloo Avenue, Bangor BT19 7QT Tel: 028 9147 2119 info@businessfirstni.co.uk www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

YOUR BUSINESSFIRST TEAM Editor Gavin Walker gavin@businessfirstni.co.uk Sales Jenny Belshaw jenny@businessfirstni.co.uk Finance Margaret Walker margaret@businessfirstni.co.uk Design Studio Tw2 studio@twworks.co.uk

See page 12 for the Cover Story

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BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE supports

YOUR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Articles from some of Northern Ireland’s most influential business leaders that will inform, challenge and inspire your thinking.

Stuart Mansfield Arthur Cox page 10

Adrian Doran CBI page 20

Maybeth Shaw BDO page 22

Donna Parker Diamond Recruitment page 23

Joy Allen Leading Governance page 28

Colin Mullen Find InsuranceNI page 32

Sinead McLaughlin Londonderry Chamber of Commerce page 36

Wilfred Mitchell FSB page 40

Michelle Cassidy Rumour Mill page 48

Carol Magill Chartered Institute of Marketing page 50

Louis Taylor UK Export Finance page 53

Professor Simon Bridge Ulster University page 71

In our Digital Issue you can click on any picture to be taken directly to the article. Download it from businessfirstonline.co.uk

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IN THE HEADLINES

Francis is ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ Cybercrime DO senior partner Francis Martin has picked up the ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ award, at a ceremony in Belfast.

The accolade is open to business figures from the corporate finance advisory community and is the main award at the annual ‘Dealmakers’ awards. Those shortlisted

by Insider Media are said to have had ‘the biggest impact on the Northern Ireland deals market over the past 12 months.’

In that time Francis Martin has directly led on five completed transactions with a combined deal size of c£103m, and on behalf of a Pension Investment Fund he has advised in a further three acquisitions throughout the UK which are scheduled to complete in Q1 2016 with a combined value of £140m.

Those deals included the merger of Ballyrashane Co‐Operative and Town of Monaghan Co‐Operative. Other corporate deals remain confidential by their very nature.

Francis has been a partner in BDO NI for almost 20 years and he is delighted to be acknowledged as the region’s Dealmaker of the Year.

“The local economy is now emerging from a sustained downturn when mergers and acquisition activity was suppressed. We are now seeing more activity and that is very encouraging. At BDO NI I am fortunate to be part of a team of people which works across all sectors and with businesses of all sizes.

That diversity of experience and expertise means that we are at the sharp end of a high volume of major business deals. I expect deals of this scope to increase throughout 2016 and into next year.”

Security Forum comes to Belfast in November

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ybercrime is everywhere, new threats, scares and victims on a daily basis, sadly it’s going nowhere.

CyberForumNI are proud to host the first Cybercrime™ Security Forum to be held the United Kingdom and Ireland here in Belfast at the Crumlin Road Gaol on the 10th and 11th November 2016.

We have assembled world renowned specialist in the field of cybersecurity who will share their knowledge, experience and abilities with you, the audience.

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The event is open to all and is specifically designed to deliver the following commitments: Managing partner at BDO NI Peter Burnside paid tribute to Francis and praised his colleague’s eye for detail, and opportunity.

“Over the last number of years Francis has taken on increasingly high profile roles in the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and now the British Chambers of Commerce, while retaining his role as a highly respected Corporate Finance Adviser. In that period he has remained tuned into the NI business scene and he has navigated high value, complex deals for a number of our larger clients. This award is a fantastic acknowledgement of Francis’ attention to detail and his wide network of business contacts within and beyond Northern Ireland.”

We will... Educate you technically & Socially, Demonstrate the threats, Identify the vulnerabilities, Explain the technical tools & Introduce our experts You will...learn how to protect yourselves, learn how to prevent the attacks, connect with IT Security Professionals, interact with your peers, share your concerns & find solutions, Understand the cybercriminals & Succeed We look forward to meeting you, Let’s put Cybercrime™ behind bars!! www.CyberForumNI.com

Wirefox acquires Oxford & Gloucester House irefox, the leading property investment and development firm, has acquired Oxford and Gloucester House on Chichester Street in the centre of Belfast for an undisclosed sum.

The company plans to redevelopment the site in the near future to provide Grade A office accommodation.

Currently leased to the Department of Finance and Personnel the prominent building comprises of nearly 70,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation.

Oxford and Gloucester House is the latest acquisition for the Holywood based company which has assets across the UK and Ireland.

Steven Flannery, director of Investments at Wirefox (pictured), told Business First: “Wirefox has a diverse range of property within its portfolio and we expect to expect make further investments within Northern Ireland in the coming months.

“According to Lisney’s 2015 Commercial Property Report, at the end of last year there

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was only 150,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office accommodation available in Belfast, and that figure has reduced since then.

“There is a market requirement and Wirefox is confident that over the coming years we will play our part in placing Belfast on strong footing by providing more Grade A office capability.

“The purchase of Oxford and Gloucester House follows our procurement of 42,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation at 39 Corporation Street in Belfast, which is part of a broader office portfolio strategy.”

Belfast commercial law property specialists Davidson McDonnell advised Wirefox throughout the acquisition.

There are inspirational women everywhere – but who are Northern Ireland’s top 20? YOU DECIDE!

MGMPR's director Eleanor McGillie, sponsor of the 2016 'Northern Ireland's Most Inspiring Women' feature

usiness First has teamed up with MGMPR LTD to find Northern Ireland's top 20 most inspiring women in a new feature which aims to motivate, celebrate and recognise the phenomenal talent which exists in our business community.

This new feature, 'Northern Ireland's Most Inspiring Women' is an opportunity to celebrate women who are doing great things in the world of business and who are deemed inspirational by their colleagues, customers and peers.

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Over the next seven months, Business First will bring you profile pieces, great interviews and fantastic case studies which will showcase inspiring women working across all sectors and you, the readers, will have the opportunity to vote for who you think should be in the top 20.

Sponsoring the 2016 'Northern Ireland's Most Inspiring Women' feature is MGMPR Ltd ‐ a multi‐media PR agency which uses brand journalism as a powerful communication tool.

Speaking at the launch of the feature, MGMPR's director Eleanor McGillie, said: “MGMPR Ltd is delighted to sponsor this feature. I am an avid believer that women deserve to have role models as well as be role models and advocates, in all sectors, be that in the world of engineering, law, pharmaceuticals, energy, retail, healthcare, education, sport and more.

"This feature will actively place women at the forefront to highlight their contributions and the inspirational impact they make.

"This is an opportunity for inspirational women to tell their stories, share experiences, inspire the next generation of creative thinkers, showcase disruptive innovation and celebrate achievements. The feature will create conversations, strike up relationships and promote how women are all working on the same side and in the same direction.

"Having worked in the media for over 20 years, I know first‐hand the power of storytelling so we are excited to be a part of this feature and look forward to the stories of Northern Ireland's Most Inspiring Women."

Gavin Walker, editor of Business First, said: "This is a new feature which will celebrate women and the work women do. So we are asking our readers to nominate someone who you think has a good story to share, a story which will inspire and a story which will excite.

"From May through to August we are calling for nominations to be made and from August 16‐21, our online voting will take place where readers can vote for their most inspiring women. We will be featuring profiles of all Northern Ireland's Most Inspiring Women and in September, Business First will host a networking lunch where our top 20 will be announced.

"Finally, in our November issue, we will publish pictures from September's lunch.

Business First welcomes MGMPR Ltd on board as feature sponsor and we both look forward to nominations being made and votes counted."

Nominate today You can nominate your most inspiring women today by taking two minutes to visit www.businessfirstonline/inspiring Using the hashtag ‐ #InspiringNIWomen ‐ join in the conversation and follow updates @bfonline and @mcgilliemediapr

Office of Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman new Ombudsman’s office for investigating complaints about public services was launched in April and led by Marie Anderson.

The Office of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) has been created by the Ombudsman (NI) Act 2016, a new piece of Assembly legislation aimed at making it easier for the public to complain about public services and at increasing the public accountability of public service providers.

The Ombudsman independently investigates complaints about a wide range of bodies spanning the health, housing, local government and education sectors. However, from today, the public can also complain to the Ombudsman about the actions of the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission.

The new NIPSO has been given a wider remit and greater investigative powers than its

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predecessors.

Commenting on the launch of the new Ombudsman’s Office Mrs Anderson said: “I am pleased and privileged to have been appointed by the Assembly to lead this new Office and to have the opportunity of implementing the powers provided by the refreshed Ombudsman legislation. By ensuring an independent and impartial investigation into a complaint, my aim is to help ensure a fair and efficient public administration for all.

“As Ombudsman it is my role to ensure that the public can easily complain about public services and can expect that their complaint will be thoroughly examined by my staff.

“I equally recognise the importance of sharing the experience of this office and best practice in complaints handling with the organisations under my jurisdiction to support them in improving both service delivery to the public and their complaints handling practice.”

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CIPR NI sees an impressive increase in members investing in continued professional development s the Chartered Institute of Public Relations kicks off another continuous professional development (CPD) cycle, the Northern Ireland region celebrates a 36 per cenet increase in the number of practitioners undertaking CPD, a 36 per cent increase in the number of Accredited Practitioners in Northern Ireland and the appointment of three new Chartered PR Practitioners (Chart.PR), Chris Love, Nicola Bothwell and Samantha Livingstone.

Speaking on these successes for the Northern Ireland region, Samantha who is also CIPR chair for Northern Ireland CIPR says: “The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is actively encouraging practitioners to participate in the continuous professional development programme. @In Northern Ireland over 70 practitioners took part in CPD during the last cycle, and we now have over 44 accredited. This has increased year on year and the next step we are encouraging our local practitioners to strive to is Chartered status.

“As with other industries, being Chartered is something that is expected and we have a job to do, as an industry, in educating other sectors about the importance of choosing and investing in the best counsel.

“Your brand reputation is one of your most valuable assets, and needs to be placed into the hands of someone you can trust; who seeks to continuously develop, and who conforms to a strict code of conduct.

“Chris, Nicola and I were rigorously assessed on our skills, knowledge and

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Nicola Bothwell, Chris Love, Julie McCabe and Samantha Livingstone

competencies in ethics, strategy and leadership by a team of expert assessors; and it brings the total of Chartered Practitioner’s in Northern Ireland to four. Julie McCabe, MD of Massive PR was the first Chartered Practitioner in Northern Ireland and was awarded this status in 2012.

“I am delighted to see more and more practitioners investing in the CPD programme put in place by CIPR and I encourage more to do so. Together we can help shape the future of public relations.”

Under the CIPR’s Royal Charter, Chartered status gives practitioners the same standing

as experienced professionals in other industries.

This benchmark of professional excellence and integrity represents the highest standard of knowledge, expertise and ethical practice.

All members can participate in CIPR’s CPD programme via www.cipr.co.uk. Following two years completion of CPD, members will become Accredited. Accredited Members (MCIPR), Fellows (FCIPR) and Honorary Fellows (Hon FCIPR) of the CIPR, who meet the criteria, are eligible to attend a Chartership Assessment Day and process to Chartered Status.

BRS Golf tees up at City Quays 1 Office rs, has become the latest tenant to ‘tee up’ at Belfast Harbour’s City Quays 1 office.

The letting means that the 83,000 sq ft Grade A office, which was only completed in June 2015, is now fully let. The other tenants are legal firm Baker & McKenzie, and technology firms Cayan and MACOM. BRS Golf, founded by two Northern Ireland brothers, Rory and Brian Smith in 2003, is now a division of NBC Sports, GolfNow and the Golf Channel. The company, which supplies 2,100 golf clubs across Europe and North America, and handles more than 30 million bookings annually, will occupy the ground floor of City Quays 1.

Graeme Johnston, Belfast Harbour’s property director, said: “The fact that City Quays 1 is fully let within ten months of its completion is testimony to the quality of office space it offers. Having worked with inward investors and Invest NI we have tailored the design of the building to ensure it

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meets the needs of modern global businesses which want to base themselves in Belfast.

“A £20m, 124,000 sq ft sister office is currently due for completion in mid‐2017 and the Harbour is already pursuing a number of significant, potential lettings.”

Brian Smith, BRS Golf’s Vice president of Sales and Operations, said: “In the last two years we’ve grown from 20 to 72 team members and we expect to be at 100 by the end of 2016. As a result we have outgrown our current office in Ormeau Avenue. City Quay’s is a fantastic location and will create a great environment for our team.”

Ian Duddy of Colliers International, who acted for a second time on behalf of BRS Golf in Belfast, said: “City Quay’s 1 provides the ideal property solution for the modern office occupier. Belfast Harbour has listened to the occupier market and produced a product that is reflective of what FDI occupiers want”.

In March Belfast City Council awarded planning permission for a 188‐bedroom

Ian Duddy, Colliers, , Brian Smith, BRS Golf , Graeme Johnston, Belfast Harbour and Richard Barker, BRS Golf’

hotel, also part of City Quays. Due to open in 2017, Belfast Harbour is now in a position to appoint a contractor and formalise agreements with a brand and franchise operator for the hotel.

IN THE HEADLINES

Northern Ireland Science Park launches exceptional opportunity for Young Entrepreneurs he Northern Ireland Science Park, hub of Innovation in Northern Ireland and home to some of the most exciting and cutting edge technologies in the UK‐ is offering five young people aged between 16‐ 18 years old the opportunity to be paid throughout July and August, whilst progressing their own startup business.

Based on the Science Park’s successful flagship programme Springboard, each young person will be mentored by one of our Entrepreneurs‐in‐Residence (Eir) and will attend master classes covering all aspects of business development.

At the end of the summer, they will then pitch‐off against each other to secure a £5,000 prize to develop their business further.

“The networking opportunities made available during the programme were brilliant… everyone was willing to help”, commented 2015 prize‐winner, Jack Wallace.

“My mentor was super and together with honest feedback from a very experienced pool of entrepreneurs and some hands‐on, focused workshops, I was able to develop my

develop a business, learning from those who have created their own successful companies.

The technical and business skills that they will develop alongside their own personal development will compliment and enhance their education, university and career prospects.”

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Do you know a young person who: Has an innovative business idea Has a genuine passion to turn this idea into a successful business Wants to learn from those who have been there and done it already Loves big challenges, new opportunities and is not scared of hard work!

Rebekah Loughlin, Jack Wallace – 2015 Winner, Mark Ireland, Mason Robinson and Erin Bennett

business and begin to commercialise it. The whole experience was just mind blowing” Jack is currently studying Computer Science at QUB and graduated from Southwest Regional College in Dungannon.

The CYF programme is a unique opportunity for young people to get real hands‐on experience on what it takes to

Entrants must be: Between 16‐18years Available throughout all of July and August You can find more details on the competition and application forms are available at http://connect.nisp.co.uk/programmes/y oungfounders

It’s Fresh Made expansion for Flint Studios elfast‐based web solutions provider, Flint Studios has announced the completion of the acquisition of the entire customer base of creative web design agency, Fresh Made Media.

The acquisition will complement and strengthen Flint Studios’ proven track record as a leading web solutions provider. The impressive combined portfolio of clients now includes Belfast Harbour, Belfast International Airport, Plimsoll Publishing, Ray Grahams, John Mulholland Motors, MIS Claims, Digital Printing and Todd Leap.

Established in 2011, the company is enjoying phenomenal expansion in a number of markets. In response, headcount has grown to support these demands with Flint Studios now employing 25 specialists across an array of technical, creative and digital disciplines.

The business is supported by a board of directors and an external non‐executive chairman. In a relatively short space of time, Flint Studios has flourished into a multi‐ award winning digital agency, with year on year double digit growth.

Having recently been named Northern Ireland’s Rising Star in Deloitte’s prestigious Irish Technology Fast 50, Flint Studios has the potential to establish itself as a market leader in the knowledge economy.

Flint Studios’ managing director Jeremy Biggerstaff said “I’m delighted to take this

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opportunity to announce that Fresh Made Media has recently been acquired by Flint Studios. We welcome all of these customers to our portfolio and look forward to building value through the broad range of web services for each of their respective businesses.” ”The acquisition of Fresh Made Media will accelerate our capabilities and growth across the UK and Ireland. In the past four years, Flint Studios has become one of the leading digital agencies in Northern Ireland.

“We are now on a clear path, successfully working on core business growth,

investment, geographic expansion and partnership with likeminded partners as well as complimentary suppliers.

“Our aim is to become one of the top digital agencies in the UK and Ireland by 2020. This will create new jobs and opportunities for all of our staff as well as creating wealth and measurable results for all of our customers”.

Get in touch to see how Flint Studios can create value for your business on 9045 5554, email info@flintstudios.co.uk or visit www.flintstudios.co.uk.

Moy Park CEO launches new All-Ireland Business Leaders Forum hosted by CIMA Ireland he chief executive one of the UK’s largest food companies, Moy Park said ‘opportunities are there to be seized for NI businesses.’ Janet McCollum was speaking at the regional launch of a new all‐Ireland Business Leaders Forum being set up by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Ireland (CIMA), the professional body representing over 8,000 members across the island of Ireland.

Janet, who is a CIMA Fellow, launched the forum to an audience of over 60 finance professionals and senior leaders. She outlined Moy Park’s impressive growth trajectory through the turbulent times of the financial crash to present day when it is now Northern Ireland’s largest private sector employer and part of the world’s second largest food business, JBS. Janet said: “The CIMA Business Leaders’ Forum creates a space for senior business professionals and CIMA members to come together to discuss and share views on current issues impacting the corporate environment. I am delighted to launch the Forum in Northern Ireland and I would encourage fellow members of CIMA as well as non‐members to take part in future opportunities the forum presents.”

Also speaking was CIMA’s Global President, Myriam Madden, on the relevance of CIMA’s Global Chartered designation (CGMA) and its proposed joint venture with the American Institute of Professional Accountants which would create a combined organization of

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CEO of Moy Park Janet McCollum with President of CIMA Worldwide, Myriam Madden and head of CIMA Ireland, Roger Acton.

600,000 members. She said that Moy Park was a case in point of the continual globalization of business and that the proposed joint venture would strengthen CIMA’s role in supporting CFO’s and CEO’s in today’s increasingly complex business trading environment.

The event was chaired by the recently

appointed new Head of CIMA in Ireland, Roger Acton. Leo Crawford, CEO of the BWG Group which owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, Londis and XL franchises spoke at the Cork regional launch earlier in the week and NAMA CEO Brendan McDonagh will speak at the Dublin launch on 21 April. Further events are planned as the forum develops

Northern Ireland’s top ‘green’ organisations announced at 2016 Action Renewables ocal businesses and organisations who are paving the way for a ‘green’ future for Northern Ireland have received commendations from Action Renewables at the leading renewables industry awards, the annual Action Renewables Awards. Praised for their work in furthering the renewables industry locally and displaying outstanding renewables practice, winners from across Northern Ireland were announced at the best‐attended awards luncheon yet for Action Renewables, with over 170 guests in attendance at Titanic Belfast.

Now in their seventh year, the prestigious Action Renewables Awards were sponsored

by Vayu Energy for the second year running, with additional sponsor support from Tughans Solicitors, a long‐time partner of the event, and the Department of Environment, who joined this year’s awards in a show of support for the local renewables industry.

Following the launch of their business into

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Northern Ireland, Mary Rossiter, Vayu Energy said, “It’s important to show our support for those who are embracing renewables on a local level, and we are proud to have partnered with Action Renewables for the second year to sponsor the annual awards luncheon. As a supplier of 100 per cent green electricity, we encourage all local businesses to seek ways of cutting costs, reducing carbon emissions, and decreasing their reliance on imported fuel sources by ‘going green.’”

For more information on the work Action Renewables does year‐round to promote renewables in Northern Ireland visit www.actionrenewables.co.uk.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

How secondary private equity funds are filling a gap in the market Stuart Mansfield, a Finance Partner at leading law firm Arthur Cox, explains how the sale of loan portfolios by banks, and the entrance of private equity funds into the local market, has breathed new life into Northern Ireland’s finance sector.

he Northern Ireland banking and finance sector has had its fair share of media headlines over the course of the last year.

The majority of column inches and broadcast soundbites have, of course, focused on the fall‐out from claims made last summer in Dáil Éireann regarding the sale of NAMA’s Northern Irish loan portfolio to a US private equity fund the year before.

Even those with only a passing interest in local current affairs will have been well aware of the media storm surrounding the issue and the government investigations that followed.

However, if you look beyond the headlines you will see there have also been a significant

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number of emerging trends in recent years serving as useful signposts as to the development of the financial sector in particular, and the Northern Ireland economy in general.

The most striking feature which will have caught the eye of any commentator looking at the market is the growth in sales of loan and property portfolios by our major banks.

Radical shift The majority of these portfolios have been purchased by private equity funds, whose entrance to the Northern Ireland market has heralded one of the most radical shifts experienced by the financial sector locally since the global economic recession of 2007/8.

The most significant of these deals was the aforementioned purchase by a private US equity fund in 2014 of NAMA’s entire loan book of Northern Irish borrowers, which is reported to have been one of the largest transactions ever to have taken place in Northern Ireland.

Known as Project Eagle, the loan portfolio was secured by approximately 850 properties across Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with all borrowers originating from Northern Ireland.

Another landmark deal in Northern Ireland was the purchase by a US investment fund of a substantial loan portfolio from Ulster Bank known as Project Aran.

NAMA, along with its UK ‘bad bank’

The existence of private equity funds in the Northern Ireland banking and finance sector is now so established that in recent months we have been able to see a very clear wave of secondary investors entering the market to provide "stretched” finance to businesses for the purpose of refinancing, on a discounted basis, debts owed to the primary funds.

Stuart Mansfield equivalent UKAR (UK Asset Resolution Ltd), has made considerable inroads with its wind‐ down strategy in recent months ‐ and the pace of the activity is not expected to slow over the next few years.

Established in 2009 by the Irish Government to help combat the challenge of non‐performing loans, and to provide help to troubled banks, recent research reveals that NAMA had the highest volume of closed transactions than any European ‘bad bank’ by the end of 2015, with over £22.4bn sold in the previous two years.

Stretched finance The loan acquisitions being made by the private equity firms have served as a major catalyst for the Northern Ireland property market, providing a welcome shot‐in‐the‐arm which has triggered opportunities for further transactional activity.

Indeed, the existence of private equity funds in the Northern Ireland banking and finance sector is now so established that in recent months we have been able to see a very clear wave of secondary investors entering the market to provide "stretched” finance to businesses for the purpose of refinancing, on a discounted basis, debts owed to the primary funds – a trend which looks set to continue throughout 2016 and beyond.

The most significant characteristic of these secondary funds is their capacity and willingness to provide much higher levels of finance, which is filling a gap in the market. In what is perhaps a relatively high‐risk strategy, these secondary investors are offering finance of up to 90% in some cases, which is not far off market value.

It’s perhaps not surprising that the boost in transaction volumes provided to the local financial market by the arrival of private equity houses and the sale of property loan portfolios has had a positive impact on the ongoing recovery cycle of our banks.

Having been forced to take stock and consolidate somewhat after the economic crash, many have now recapitalised and made a return to traditional lending. Our finance team at Arthur Cox works closely with banks and it is clear that a much more conservative approach is being taken compared to pre‐ 2007 lending and, for now, available credit is mostly confined to trading businesses.

However, there are more positive noises being made about a return to property

Stuart Mansfield, Finance Partner at Arthur Cox, believes the loan acquisitions being made by private equity firms have been a major catalyst for the local property market

lending and some recent examples of this on the ground, which is something worth monitoring in the coming months.

Many local businesses across a range of sectors will have been directly affected by the transfer of debts to private equity firms, and plenty more could still be in the future.

Expertise It can often be a very different experience to dealing with a traditional bank and it’s imperative that those in leadership positions at these companies remain fully cognisant of the approach being taken by the funds, which themselves will have returns of their own to manage.

Consistently at the forefront of many new developments in banking and finance law, Arthur Cox is involved in an extensive range of transactions for a wide variety of clients, both domestic and international, across a broad spectrum of sectors. Our expertise covers all key areas of banking and finance law.

As the go‐to firm for banks, private equity

funds, major corporates and SMEs throughout Northern Ireland, we have our finger on the pulse of the local financial market.

We’ve seen at close‐hand the major developments which have taken place in recent years. Few of these have been as significant as the entry into the local market of private equity funds – primary and secondary – and the widespread sales of loan and property portfolios by banks.

New market entrants and new financial products have transformed, in the short to medium term, the local financial sector. Arthur Cox has unique experience in this evolving landscape and is well placed to advise businesses on banking and finance law.

The Banking and Finance team at Arthur Cox is well positioned to advise businesses on the impact of emerging trends in the sector and on any aspect of banking and finance law in Northern Ireland. Call +44 28 9023 0007 for further information.

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FENIX SOLUTIONS CELEBRATE 1O YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Fenix Solutions

Fenix Solutions directors Kieron McGuire and Gareth Thompson celebrating 10 years in business

here to support your business F

enix Solutions was created in 2006 after a ‘management buy‐out’ returning the branch of a UK mainland plc to a local Belfast based company providing business to business telecoms services on an Ireland‐ wide basis.

Having formerly been for six years the Ireland branch of Kingston Communications (Hull) plc, and previously Lloyd Communication Ltd from 1981, the team is now headed up by Kieron McGuire (Managing Director) and Gareth Thompson (Operations Director).

In fact the majority of staff currently with Fenix has been with Kieron and Gareth for 10 years or more. Fenix staff is amongst the most skilled in the region and provide an entirely professional service from planning through to implementation for the public and corporate sectors through to SMEs.

Safe hands Their service is 24/7/365 and they have a dedicated service desk for their customers to log faults, installation calls and queries, offering a personalised service where their staff is accountable and available at the end of

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a phone. Fenix know how their customers like to be treated and they never hide behind a call centre: “In our experience companies prefer doing business with local independent providers and not the big PLCs of this world.”

They ensure all their sales and engineering staff are manufacturer accredited in all products they supply install and maintain.

Fenix have proved this by being the first Avaya SMB Gold Partner in Northern Ireland as a member of the Concert Group.

The Latest Technology for Your Business A key driver for Fenix Solutions is to bring you the best telephone systems and communications solutions for your business at absolutely the best prices in the Northern Ireland market. Fenix believe that they are “remarkably” different when it comes to customising the perfect solution for your business.

Fenix know that value for money is very important to clients and therefore it is top of their agenda. They also know the importance of getting the right solution, delivering it on time and ensuring it is always fully reliable.

The ideal outcome for Fenix is to make your business communications faster, more efficient and fully supported at all times. That is why they offer a 24/7/365 support which is answered in their Belfast office with no menus to find your way through. Ring 02890‐ 400400 and you will be answered by someone who is always there to help.

Kieron has always believed that his company should be objective and impartial, and that his staff should always act in the customer’s best interests. All of their communications solutions are fully transparent with no “hidden” costs.

Going the Extra Mile Fenix have always believed that most communications companies can deliver a service but that is just not enough. Fenix have been told that their service is second to none and they are proud of that hard earned reputation. Kieron believes that “when you love what you do and your customers love what you do, then you know you have a winning solution.”

Customer Satisfaction how do we compare? enix Solutions is all about providing excellent customer service and delivering high customer satisfaction. We know that is what our company is based on but it is always better to show you what our customers think. To find that out we commissioned an independent survey.

Full Circle, an independent company asked our customers how we compare against our competitors. Here is what our customers had to say.

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Which Phone System is Best for YOUR Business on Premises or Cloud Based? ome businesses are moving their phone systems to the cloud? Is that the right thing to do for every business? More importantly, is it the right thing to do for YOUR business?

The only decision to be made is which system type would be best for YOUR business? A premise based system is where the core hardware is kept on‐site, typically in your Comms Room or Electrical cupboard.

The cloud phone system is where your phones connect through your Internet connection to a provider that maintains the equipment at an off‐site data centre.

Taking a little time to educate yourself on the benefits and potential challenges that come with using either a premises‐based or cloud phone system. This can help you make a good decision to ensure your business needs are met and you get the greatest value from your investment.

The short guide below should help you make that decision.

this will be a capital cost. They also have the option to lease this over a set period such as 3 years or 5 years, In addition to that they will pay for their line rental and call charges.

With a cloud based system, the business is typically charged upfront for the handsets and is then charged a monthly license fee for each extension and the calls.

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It’s all about the Broadband Cloud hosted solutions rely 100% on Broadband. When the Broadband in an office fails there is great frustration with the end users. They cannot get their emails nor access the Internet. If the broadband is off for just a few hours, this loss of service can be detrimental to a business.

With a cloud based phone system, if the

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

broadband goes down, then you have no phone system. That means no external lines and no internal extensions.

Features Another important aspect to consider is to understand the features that are offered.

Many hosted PBX providers don't offer the same features in their hosted product as are available for a premises‐based solution. If critical business communications features like call queuing, Auto Attendants and conferencing are missing, or cost extra, then the product may not be a viable solution.

Upfront Cost A business can buy an on‐premises phone system outright and pay for it upfront and

This element is often over looked. At first glance the cloud based system may look to be the cheaper option, but when viewed over a 5‐year period, the traditional premise based system is usually the cheaper option. This is because when the lease ends, the customer owns the phone system and no longer needs to pay for it. With the cloud based system the license fee continues indefinitely.

Summary Purchasing the right phone system is an important choice for the success of YOUR business. There are many factors that come into play when deciding between a premises‐ based and cloud VoIP phone system. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

To help you make the best decision, get a free consultation with a Fenix Solution’s specialist.

We can provide you with additional information, tips, and advice regarding your communications needs to ensure you end up with the best phone system for YOUR business.

FENIX SOLUTIONS CELEBRATE 1O YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Call Recording can save you money

ost businesses in Northern Ireland do not have call recording. The main reason for this is of course the cost of having it installed and maintained. But what if I told you that call recording could actually save your business money? Do you think that could be worth the investment?

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Benefits of Call Recording There are two major benefits; which we think are pretty obvious: 1. Dispute resolution – having a conversation recorded is the only certain way of knowing who said what.

2. Staff training – do business owners really know how staff speak to their customers?

A couple of practical examples may help illustrate how call recording saved a couple of our customer’s money.

Case Study One We installed a call recording solution into a Car Dealership. A customer had booked their car in for a service which was completed by the garage.

He arrived back at the premises two days later demanding to see a Director, wanting to sue the company as his engine had stopped running. He insisted that when the Service Department called him to tell him the timing belt needed replaced at a cost he consented to have this work done.

The car dealer then informed the customer that all calls were recorded and began searching for the recording on the system to play it back to the customer.

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This would confirm the actual conversation that took place. The customers face dropped and before the replay of the call was completed the customer rose from his seat did not speak any further and left the premises quietly.

Call Recording had helped our customer settle a dispute and a potential court appearance.

Case Study Two The missed conference call is another good example of the real value of having call recording. One of our customers, an event planner had agreed to set up a conference call for one of their customers on a Wednesday at 11 o’clock.

That customer contacted the event planner on Tuesday informing them that people could not get access to the call, and that this call was very important. There was disagreement over the day for which the call had been booked.

The event planner was able to retrieve the initial call where the booking was made. This was sent to their customer who then apologised. As you can see without the “certainty” of the actual call, this could have been a difficult situation and may have had financial implications.

Call Recording Feedback We have installed call recording at a number of Medical Centres, Doctors Surgeries and Veterinary Clinics. Based on their feedback, here are the advantages that they have told us, of having call recording:

1. Training new staff – great for training new receptionists as they can receive calls, answer them and then listen to them again and learn how to improve call quality.

2. Dealing with angry callers – many callers can get abusive when told that appointments have longer than expected wait times. Often foul and abusive language is used. When the caller is informed that the call is being recorded, this often calms the situation.

3. Doctor call backs – In most surgeries doctors will have to call back some patients.

The doctors prefer that these calls are recorded so as there is clarity as to what medical advise was given and what was not said.

In both of the cases above any type of legal claim or accusation was removed by the clear evidence of a recorded call. Businesses throughout N.Ireland have to deal on a daily basis with disputes over contracts, service level agreements etc.

Wouldn’t it be nice to quickly access a call recording and resolve disputes in an instant?

Talk to a Fenix Solution’s specialist today and see how call recording can save your business money and slash complaint rates for good. 028 9040 0400

Supporting Northern Ireland business for 10 years

02890 400 400

FENIX SOLUTIONS & PARTNERS

Oak Innovation Limited introduced by James Emm, Joint CEO, Oak Innovation Limited

ak Innovation increases business intelligence and operational insight. The company’s advanced recording, analytics and performance measurement tools enable formal and informal contact centre operators to make better‐informed decisions.

This achieves a host of benefits including improved efficiency, customer satisfaction, agent performance and legislative compliance.

Oak takes a different approach to exceed customer expectations and deliver excellence in everything it does.

The company’s communications management solutions are making life easier and more competitive for ambitious companies, helping them be the best they can.

Meanwhile, Oak’s dedicated, UK‐based helpdesk and development team provides unrivalled support, continuous product innovation and great levels of service.

Oak’s technology solutions cover all dialler, logging, recording and reporting requirements, as well as CTI‐enabled applications and database integration.

These management and operational tools combine both sophistication and simplicity, making clever features highly accessible and controllable.

Oak Innovation has more than 30 years of experience delivering communications management solutions.

It is one of the most established and robust businesses within the marketplace, employing a multi‐skilled workforce of 50 staff across the UK. As an ISO9001:2008 quality accredited company with a team made up of top talent from the IT and telecoms sectors, Oak is committed to providing unrivalled levels of professionalism, knowledge, expertise and support.

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About Oak and Fenix.

'It has been a pleasure to work with Kieron and his team at Fenix over a number of years.

It always helps when a partner understands our products commercially and technically.

Fenix sell our full range of products throughout Northern Ireland.

They have been particularly active on sales of recordX, our call‐recording product, selling into various sectors where the product is used to ensure compliance, or to monitor customer satisfaction, or even the occasional complaint, and to improve the style of customer service.

Fenix have also sold our call‐logging product, reportX, which is used for a number of reasons by customers, such as analysing the number �of calls made by telesales, or to see how quickly incoming calls are answered, or to check that the customer has too many, or too few exchange lines for their business.

More recently, Fenix have also sold our contact‐centre reporting product, Evolve. This product actually shows what is happening in 'real‐time' ie who is on the phone and who is not, how many calls are queuing, and how long response times are at any moment.

All at Oak wish all of Fenix, ongoing success, and thanks also to any existing Fenix customers reading this article'.

FENIX SOLUTIONS & PARTNERS

Building Strong Partnerships and Meeting Customer Needs K ieron McGuire has been trading Ericsson‐LG Enterprise products since he founded Fenix 10 years ago. Fenix’s growth over the past 10 years has been built on a foundation of partnership, customer focus and strong product knowledge.

Will Morey Director at Pragma, the sole UK distributor of Ericsson‐LG Enterprise, “Pragma are proud of their long standing relationship with Kieron. Fenix have built an outstanding business by investing in the skills, knowledge and capability of their team and making sure that the customer is always at the heart of their business.”

The pace of change in the technology market is faster than ever before and embracing these new technologies is essential. Great communication is vital to every business and the latest unified communications makes this easier than ever before. The only way that customers can get the full benefits of this, is working with Kieron and companies like Fenix who partner with world leading technology providers like Ericsson‐LG Enterprise.

Developing a strong partnership This doesn’t come overnight; it takes time to create and nurture a strong business partnership. Having relationships with mutual respect and understanding benefits both parties, from continued business to recommendations. It’s important for this to be applied to all businesses, from small to large.

Morey said “We have worked with Kieron for a number of years, their continued success is testament to their great work ethic, great relationships and a team that is highly knowledgeable.”

Choosing the right solution Offering the right solution for your client whether it be distributor to reseller or reseller to end user, the principles are the same. It’s essential that you are knowledgeable about your portfolio and you are able to offer a tailored solution that meets your customer’s requirements. It’s important to listen to your customer’s needs, in order to provide them with the correct solution. This in turn develops trust and strong relationships and the ultimate goal of long standing, happy customers with ongoing revenue potential.

Morey said “Throughout Kieron’s 10 years in business, he has built up a team that provide an extremely professional service.

Fenix are equipped to deliver the right Ericsson‐LG Enterprise iPECS solution from one user to multi‐site companies with

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hundreds of users. Fenix applies the same level of expertise and service to all of their customers no matter what their size.

Knowledge and confidence in your product Ericsson‐LG Enterprise place their efforts on educating partners with a wealth of knowledge that they need to successfully take a product to market. This provides resellers with the tools and confidence to deliver an iPECS unified communications solution which enables businesses to provide better connectivity and collaboration.

Morey said “Through understanding Fenix’s business needs we work alongside Kieron to provide bespoke training and offer daily support and knowledge share. Regular pro‐ active updates and discussions, enables our Reseller’s, like Fenix to be best equipped to provide the very highest levels of professional service to their customers”.

Expanding your portfolio – Cloud technology To maintain and grow a successful business, it is essential for companies to keep

up with the demands of the industry and the customer. One way to do this, is to offer a competitive industry portfolio. The Ericsson‐ LG launch of iPECS Cloud earlier this year enables users to communicate, collaborate, and boost productivity, regardless of their location or device.

This iPECS Cloud business proposition was built collaboratively with channel partners like Fenix to deliver a truly reseller centric business model and profit opportunity.

Morey said “Kieron has always been a key supporter of the latest Ericsson‐LG technology and are keen to add iPECS Cloud to their portfolio. We are looking forward in helping Fenix to successfully take this product to market.

Will said “We are delighted for Kieron and Fenix to have flourished into a successful business over the past 10 years and we look forward to continue working in partnership and continuing our mutual success story.”

COMMENTARY

Investment in infrastructure is vital to realise benefits of corporation tax

by Adrian Doran, Chair, CBI Northern Ireland Infrastructure Network & Head of Corporate Banking, Northern Ireland at Barclays ith the Northern Ireland Assembly elections upon us it worthwhile to look ahead to the next Assembly mandate and examine the challenges the new Executive will face.

One of the more immediate challenges will be the need to focus investment in Northern Ireland’s economic infrastructure to drive forward economic growth and generate jobs and prosperity.

In past years, Northern Ireland has suffered from consistently lower economic growth compared to both the UK as a whole and our immediate neighbor the Republic of Ireland.

In 2015, UK GDP grew at 2.2 per cent, the Republic of Ireland grew at an astounding 6.9 per cent while Northern Ireland endured sluggish growth of 1.4 per cent.

This worrying trend is not expected to markedly change in 2016 – Northern Ireland will continue to lag behind. Clearly we need to shake up the established economic paradigm or risk a decade of missed opportunities and lethargic economic growth.

Thankfully an opportunity to shake up the established economic paradigm has presented itself.

The business community has unanimously welcomed the Northern Ireland Executive’s commitment to reduce Corporation tax to 12.5 per cent from April 2018. This measure has significant potential to increase Northern Ireland’s ability to attract FDI and as a consequence generate jobs and prosperity.

However, it is clear that the potential of corporation tax will only be turned into reality if there is a clear economic strategy that seeks to wring the maximum benefit out of a lower rate by ensuring the key enablers are in place to attract investment.

The strategy must address key enablers such as: access to markets; political and economic stability; availability of a trained/skilled workforce, and crucially; modern infrastructure.

Northern Ireland needs a world class infrastructure base to compete effectively in the 21st century global economy.

The 2015 CBI/AECOM infrastructure survey reports that 94 per cent of UK businesses describe quality of infrastructure

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as a decisive factor when planning future investment.

Yet Northern Ireland cannot be said to have a world class infrastructure offering. We cannot guarantee a secure electricity supply post 2021, Belfast is now the 14th most congested city in the world ‐ more congested than Manchester, Edinburgh and London ‐ and what modern economy would not have at least a dual carriageway between its two major cities?

The fact remains that our competitors are not standing still and it is vital that Northern Ireland continues to enhance its competitiveness and attractiveness as a region to do business and invest.

An advanced competitive economy requires first‐class infrastructure which offers efficient and integrated transport systems, high quality digital connectivity, cost effective secure energy supplies, sustainable environmental solutions and an attractive quality of life for its people.

Despite a clear need to improve our infrastructure, past Executives have had their fair share of infrastructure failures and infrastructure provision will remain central to the economic growth challenge facing the next Northern Ireland Executive.

The new Executive will have to work hard to restore business confidence in the Executive’s ability to finance and then deliver (on time and on budget) critical infrastructure projects.

Some of the key projects and themes that the business community have called to be prioritised include: • The second North-South Interconnector – the single most important infrastructure priority of our members.

• Delivery of key strategic road schemes including the York Street Interchange and the A5 & A6 schemes to enhance connectivity between key cities and gateways.

• Early completion of the Integrated Transport Hub at Great Victoria Street to accelerate a shift in use of public transport

An advanced competitive economy requires first-class infrastructure which offers efficient and integrated transport systems, high quality digital connectivity, cost effective secure energy supplies, sustainable environmental solutions and an attractive quality of life for its people.

Adrian Doran

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• Taking steps to maximise our destination as a digital hub – including expanding high‐speed fiber optic broadband to rural areas and eliminating 2G and 3G not‐spots.

• Underpinning all infrastructure decisions, prioritise those that enhance our city offering – especially Belfast. It is vital that we drive up its population and pro‐actively deal with issues like the lack of Grade A office space and potential planning restrictions as a result of an overwhelmed water and sewerage network.

• Implement the Housing Supply Forum’s recommendations to kick start the building of desperately needed new houses.

By getting infrastructure investment right and by having a delivery system in place that allows us to better compete with our closest neighbours we can take major steps to further improve Northern Ireland’s competitiveness.

This is an area in which Northern Ireland cannot afford to be behind the curve and it is imperative that the new Northern Ireland Executive commits to increase investment in economic infrastructure far beyond current levels to ensure that the Northern Ireland economy continues to grow and create jobs and prosperity for all.

BEST PRACTICE

A Budget for the next generation – what does it mean for Family Owned Business? asks Maybeth Shaw, BDO Northern Ireland n 16 March 2016, George Osborne stood up to deliver his eighth Budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, announcing a business road map to take the UK economy to 2020, described as a budget for the next generation.

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What does this mean for a family owned business?

Income Tax The personal allowance, currently £11,000 from 6 April 2016, will continue to increase to £11,500 in 6 April 2017, steadily making its way to the Chancellors committed amount of £12,500 by 2020. While the rates of income tax for non‐dividend income have remained the same at 20 per cent, 40 per cent and 45 per cent for the basic, higher and additional bands respectively, the level on which an individual pays at the 40 per cent rate will increase from £43,000 in 2016 to £45,000 from 2017.

For example, a sole trader with £50,000 of trading profits in the 2017/18 tax year will see a maximum £500 tax saving in comparison to the 2016/17 tax year. An individual who takes a mixture of salary and dividend will see a similar tax benefit even with the new dividend changes taking effect 6 April 2016.

Capital Gains Tax There were two very welcome changes in relation to capital gains tax.

Firstly, the Chancellor announced a decrease in the rates of capital gains from 18 per cent and 28 per cent to 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, with an effective date of 6 April 2016. Gains chargeable on disposals of residential property are excluded from the new rate changes and remain chargeable at the old rates.

The second welcome change announced was the planned extension of Entrepreneurs’ Relief of 10 per cent to certain capital gains which would previously have been denied the relief.

• An individual could only qualify for Entrepreneurs’ Relief on the disposal of

INCOME TAX

Taxable 2016/17 2017/18

Personal Allowance Basic Rate Higher Rate

@0% @20% @40%

11,000 32,000 7,000 50,000

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shares if they were an employee or officer of the unlisted trading company and held at least five per cent of the ordinary share capital. The relief is now available to external investors in unlisted trading companies, giving a tax incentive to investors which should benefit companies looking for external capital funding.

• Relief was previously denied on disposal of goodwill to related companies even for genuine commercial disposals. Now individuals who hold less than five per cent of the shares in the acquiring company can avail of the relief.

Corporation Tax The current rate of corporation tax is currently at 20 per cent; this will fall to 19 per cent from 1 April 2017 and the Chancellor announced a further reduction to 17 per cent from 1 April 2020. This is in addition to the planned Northern Ireland corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent from 1 April 2018. While the main UK rate of corporation tax is steadily decreasing, companies that are eligible for the Northern Ireland corporation tax rate will still benefit from a 4.5 per cent lower tax rate than the rest of the UK in the long term.

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

UK Rate 20.0% 19.0% 19.0% 19.0% 17.0%

NI Rate n/a n/a 12.5% 12.5% 12.5%

An outstanding loan made by a close company to a participator currently has a 25 per cent tax charge levied upon the company making the loan. This will increase to 32.5 per cent from 6 April 2016 which aligns with the previously announced dividend changes coming into effect on the same date. The tax charge does, however, remain a temporary one with the company getting a refund when the loan is repaid.

There were also some changes announced in relation to the use of losses within Liability 2016/17 2017/18 11,500 33,500 5,000 50,000

‐ 6,400 2,800 9,200

‐ 6,700 2,000 8,700

companies. Only current year losses could be set against other income streams and utilised under group relief provisions. The budget now gives greater flexibility to small and medium companies, allowing brought forward losses to be set against other income streams and profits of group companies.

Enterprise Zones A number of new qualifying Enterprise Zones have been announced including the Northern Ireland Executive’s pilot Enterprise Zone at Coleraine. Companies based in these enterprises zones can avail of 100 per cent enhanced capital allowances on qualifying expenditure up to 31 March 2020.

Conclusion The reducing rate of corporation tax and the more flexible loss relief available makes operating through a company still a more attractive option than an unincorporated structure, even more so in Northern Ireland where the 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate compared to the higher rate of income tax at 45 per cent will be a significant gap.

On top of that is the increasing tax gap between income and capital, with capital being taxed at 25 per cent lower than the maximum income tax rate, coupled with the retreat of the Chancellor on restrictions to Entrepreneurs’ relief and the extension of the relief to investors, this makes for an increasingly entrepreneur friendly environment which family owned businesses are likely to benefit from via capital funding and tax efficient successions.

All in all, a positive Budget for the average Northern Ireland family owned business.

Let’s hope the changes kick start a period of healthy growth in our local economy.

A mobile workforce is the best investment for Northern Ireland towns Donna Parker, Operations Director – Branch Network for Diamond Recruitment, explains how Ballymena can start benefiting from growing economic development in the North West and relying less on single large employers in Belfast and Antrim such as Ballymena. According to the 2011 Census less than one per cent of Ballymena workers travel to the North West for work.

Looking at Derry/Londonderry specifically only 69 individuals from Ballymena are listed as working in Northern Ireland’s second largest city.

Despite a distance of only 40 miles as the crow flies between Ballymena and Derry, the current infrastructure in place severely limits connectivity. Currently, Ballymena workers would find it difficult to benefit from any greater economic development in the North West, but investments such as the A6 dual carriageway will help break down these barriers.

ecent employment news from Ballymena has been far from ideal – between several companies, close to 2000 jobs will be leaving the Co. Antrim town in the next two years starting this month.

With these announcements, much has been said about Stormont’s role in encouraging continued investment in Ballymena. February’s jobs rally even saw Ballymena’s prodigal son, Liam Neeson, make an appeal to political leaders to “match the ambition of the people” and bring back manufacturing to Ballymena.

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State of Manufacturing While these stories have been making the headlines, employment in manufacturing over the last year had actually been increasing.

From December 2014 to December 2015 jobs in manufacturing increased by 2.2 per cent according to the most recent Labour Market Report released by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA). So what is actually the state of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing industry?

The answer may lie in a recent report released by Manufacturing NI and Oxford Economics. This predicted that while the manufacturing industry itself will grow 17 per cent by 2025 (an increase of £795m), we should expect employment in manufacturing to fall by seven per cent, with the loss of 6300 jobs over the next 10 years across Northern Ireland.

This means Stormont could very well invest in manufacturing, but with companies increasing their use of technology and investing in more efficient processes, this does not mean the jobs we have lost will come back. Then what are workers in Ballymena to do?

Thinking outside Ballymena Using data from the 2011 Census, the Office of National Statistics Data Visualisation Centre can show commuting patterns across Northern Ireland, revealing that 30 per cent of Ballymena workers are employed outside of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area. To no one’s surprise, a great number commute to the greater Belfast area, with 3205 people (or 35 per cent of all Ballymena commuters) travelling daily to Belfast and Newtownabbey.

Considering the recent report by Manufacturing NI and Oxford Economics, this is further cause for concern when it comes to Ballymena workers. The largest falls in manufacturing employment are expected to happen in Belfast, with job numbers expected to drop by 1200 by 2025. This means Ballymena workers may need to be prepared to travel further afield for work.

For instance, in comparison to Ballymena the North West has recently seen some good news in manufacturing and engineering; whilst manufacturing businesses in the area tend to be small to medium sized, their numbers collectively are considerable.

The Oxford Economics and Manufacturing NI report also predicts the Derry & Strabane local government area will account for eight per cent of the total GVA growth in manufacturing up to 2025. This is compared to Belfast’s small three per cent contribution, the lowest of all local government areas.

The announcement of the A6 dual carriageway and Dungiven bypass also shows the renewed enthusiasm for investment in the North West, and it also represents a greater opportunity for workers in locations

Benefiting from growth in the North West As it stands, Diamond Recruitment’s Ballymena office has been working hard alongside some of our clients in the North West to help attract talent from across the province, and we are starting to see a shift in attitudes.

With greater infrastructure in place, Northern Ireland could see a more mobile workforce. This would have the added benefit of individual towns relying less on high volume employers – if specific towns are less impacted by changes in a specific sector, we can ensure we maintain sustainable towns and cities across the region.

We are also working closely with workers who have found themselves at risk of redundancy due to the recent job losses in Ballymena. By helping workers identify transferable skills and identifying opportunities across the North West, we have helped people step into promising careers in new sectors.

The job losses in Ballymena are difficult to take, but our consultants at the Diamond Recruitment Ballymena branch have been hard at work helping workers identifying their next steps.

The solutions above may not represent the answers Ballymena workers want today – it will require hard work, a realignment of priorities, and a breakdown of long‐held assumptions of where prosperity lies – but by starting this work now we can ensure people across Northern Ireland benefit from the burgeoning North West economy.

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ECONOMIC COMMENTARY

This is a finely balanced recovery

by Gareth Hetherington, Associate Director with the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC). This article has compiled from the UUEPC’s Spring 2016 Outlook report.

he winds of change are blowing strongly in 2016.

Now that the Assembly elections have been held a new Programme for Government will be developed and a new Department of the Economy will be established combining both economic and skills development.

The year ahead is also a potential game‐changer in the UK, with the proposed referendum on EU membership.

A vote to leave would most likely have a bigger impact on Northern Ireland because of its land border with the Republic of Ireland as well as the relatively large size of the local agriculture sector.

Supporters of UK exit suggest that the current programmes in place to support agriculture (such as the CAP) could be maintained and funded directly through Westminster rather than Brussels. This is certainly a possibility, but the

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Government has given no guarantees that this will happen.

Furthermore, given the level of north‐south and east‐west trade, the decision will also have implications for the Republic of Ireland (and it is a decision over which it will have no say).

Domestic strength welcome in a world of uncertainty The domestic economy has had a strong 2015, driven by a number of positive factors including: rising wages, rising employment and falling prices (closely linked to the lower oil price).

In addition, continued increases in property prices coupled with deferred purchases from the first half of the decade creating pent‐up demand have combined to encourage greater levels of consumer spending.

This is in stark contrast to the harsh reality of the global economic environment and the associated job losses announced by JTI, Michelin and more recently Bombardier over the last 12 months.

These announcements are a significant loss to the local economy and it is important to understand the factors driving the closure decisions to identify potential policy solutions.

Earlier this year, the UUEPC provided research support to a special commission on energy pricing at the request of the DETI Minister to identify locally controlled policy options which could reduce the price differential with the rest of the UK.

Mixed fortunes at the sectoral level Overall local employment levels have been increasing since 2012, with approximately 45,000 jobs created in the period to the end of 2015. At the sectoral level, the official data points to job growth and losses in some surprising areas (see Chart 1. Source: UUEPC and ONS).

Despite the austerity headlines, employment levels in both health and education have continued to rise and have accounted for 25 per cent of the total net jobs created in the economy. In contrast, despite a number of high profile foreign direct investment (FDI) announcements, sectors such as ICT and Finance have shed jobs since the start of the recovery.

Moving forward, a reversal in this trend is likely as those FDI job announcements start to materialise and pressure on Government spending restricts continued public sector employment growth.

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Supporters of UK exit suggest that the current programmes in place to support agriculture (such as the CAP) could be maintained and funded directly through Westminster rather than Brussels. This is certainly a possibility, but the Government has given no guarantees that this will happen.

The economic growth and employment trajectory Gross Value Added (GVA) and employment levels are two primary measures of economic performance. NI does not measure quarterly GVA, but DETI produce the NI Composite Economic Index which measures local economic activity and is a reasonable proxy.

As the recession took hold in 2008, local economic performance was significantly impacted and the economy contracted by approximately 10 per cent over the following four year period. This was more severe than in the UK as a whole, where GDP fell by just less than six per cent over a two period.

In the Republic of Ireland, the economy contracted much more quickly, falling by over nine per cent but the recovery started in 2010, two years earlier than in Northern Ireland (see chart 2 Source: UUEPC and DETI) In terms of recovery, the UK has enjoyed relatively consistent annual growth (approximately two per cent p.a. since 2010), this is not stellar but is amongst the strongest performances in the G7.

Growth in the Republic of Ireland was relatively slow initially, however the pace has quickened significantly in the last two years (averaging 5.7 per cent per annum from the start of 2013).

This is in stark contrast to Northern Ireland’s economic performance, which has been the slowest to emerge from recovery and been characterised by low growth (only 1.2 per cent per annum. from the start of 2013).

The employment picture follows a different trend (see Chart 3). It is striking that the very strong GVA growth experienced in the Republic of Ireland is not reflected in job growth, and employment levels in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, remain below that reached in 2008.

Encouragingly unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at only 5.6 per cent in 2013 and has since fallen back to 3.2 per ecnt. This is benign by historical standards particularly given the severity of the recession.

Taken together, the local, national and international factors discussed all point to 2016 being one of major change.

To paraphrase the Chinese curse, we are living in interesting times, and the next few months are likely to be the “most interesting� we have experienced in many years.

Key Forecasts

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25

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Join an ethical company with award winning customer service and work as the local face of WPA in Belfast.

Who are WPA? Western Provident Association (WPA) are a specialist health insurer with a heritage stemming back over 110 years. In 2014 we were voted best for customer service at the Cover Excellence and Health Insurance awards demonstrating our commitment to putting our customers at the forefront of all that we do.

As a not for profit insurer we choose to commit our interests to improving customer experiences and ensuring that individuals and companies get the right product for their needs. As a result of our commitment some of the UKs largest companies have put their trust in our services and have maintained their relationship with us over many years.

WPA offers a choice of health insurance products to suit a variety of needs. This includes full private medical insurance plans and cash plans for both companies and individuals.

Unique to the industry WPA have a team of Healthcare Partners who work diligently across the UK as consultants in healthcare solutions. This offers our customers a face within the local community and endorses our commitment to treating customers fairly.

Our Healthcare Partners work as consultants in healthcare solutions not only selling and promoting WPAs health insurance products but actively maintaining customer relationships with regular contact to ensure customer satisfaction.

Our Healthcare Partner team use their expertise to manage their customer portfolio whilst growing an ethical successful business.

Become a WPA Healthcare Partner WPA are looking to expand the 77 strong team in the UK and recruit new Healthcare Partners in the Belfast area. We believe in fully supporting our Healthcare Partners on the road to success, we offer a unique launch package which includes: * Full training and support in your region and from Head Office * Financial support programme to help get your practice off the ground * Generous professional initial and renewal fees – enhanced in the first 2 years * Quarterly workshops at no additional charge * Real time connectivity to WPA IT systems via a bespoke iPad app * Back office system designed for Healthcare Partner use

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* 48 telesales appointments * A dedicated mentor to help you establish your Practice * Membership fees of a local networking group in the first year.

Our Healthcare Partners come from various backgrounds and different walks of life, however they all have business acumen and are driven to succeed. Successful candidates have to have the ability to develop a network of customers, have strong interpersonal skills, and entrepreneurial spirit.

The Market Opportunity The market opportunity for private health insurance is paramount in the midst of the UK’s current public healthcare concerns with more people are becoming aware of the importance of private medical insurance due to the increasing demands on the NHS. With concerns about waiting times for treatment, access to specialists, and financial deficits of Primary Care Trusts the increasing demands on the NHS suggests that the coming years will be the most challenging yet.

Each year 300,000 people leave work due to illness and injury therefore health and wellbeing has become an important part of company healthcare and sickness absence strategies.

A strong benefit package not only helps employers make sure they get the pick of employees at recruitment but can also help retain them.

WPA offer freedom of choice – choosing when, where, and who to have treatment with making our products an integral part of the ever changing healthcare systems within the UK.

Why franchise?

Be your own boss – have control over your work‐life balance Training and Support – initial and ongoing support from the WPA team The success rate – 90 per cent of all UK franchises are successful.* The franchise industry continues to prosper with the contribution of franchising to the UK economy is now reckoned to be £15.1 billion, an increase of 46 per cent over the past 10 years and up 10 per cent since 2013. ** Franchising offers you the opportunity to run your own business with the backing and support of a well‐known brand and an established franchisor.

Interested?

Visit us for an Open Day at Head Office and get to view WPA from the inside. You can find out more information by visiting our website www.wpahealthcarepractice.co.uk or by calling us for an informal chat on 01823 625120. *BFA Survey 2010 **BFA/Natwest Franchise Survey 2015

BEST PRACTICE

The role of the Non-Executive Director – a vital role for success A

by Joy Allen, managing director Leading Governance

s the importance of effective boards is being increasingly recognised, growing businesses are realising the added value that Non‐Executive Directors (NEDs) can bring. So what’s the difference between the Non‐Executive Director and the Executive Director?

How does the private sector differ from the public and voluntary sectors? How can working across the sectors bring useful learning?

Firstly, it’s important to consider the legal duties of directors. The Companies Act 2006, doesn’t distinguish between NEDs and Executive Directors.

Each of us has a duty to keep the company legal and safe (eg) is our company number on our website and headed paper? If not, it should be. Do we keep minutes of board meetings, recording key decisions and the thinking behind them? If not, we should.

Board meetings should be quite different from management meetings, and NEDs can help to bring a new level of formality that can be useful in bringing that difference.

The reports provided for board meetings (distributed at least a week in advance please, to allow preparation) should show clearly how the agreed strategy is being delivered, how key risks are being managed, and what the financial position is, including a cash flow forecast.

The purpose of the meetings is to collectively do useful thinking in the areas of strategy, risk, compliance and oversight, providing useful challenge and support to the senior management team as they deliver the agreed priorities. The Role Description for the Board should be clear and agreed, and reviewed at least every three years.

Executive Directors need to feel the difference between their ‘day job’ with functional responsibility for one area of the business, and their board role, where they have a legal duty to think about the whole business.

In the former, they report to the managing director, and in the latter they are led by the chairman, who should encourage a culture of

healthy challenge in the boardroom. NEDs may find it easier to bring a detached view of the bigger picture, as they are not involved in day to day operations.

With the leadership of a skilled chairman, the board can become a strong and effective team. Board meetings can be a useful engagement which balance the drive towards an inspiring shared vision with oversight, risk management and compliance.

While executive directors have a contract of employment, NEDs receive a letter of appointment, setting out the terms and duration of their role.

The Annual Board Away Day is a great time to reflect on roles, responsibilities and relationships, and ensure shared understanding of the task of the NED – a crucial role for the growing business. The advantages they bring usually include: Contributing to strategy with a wider view, and a different perspective. The skills audit which led to their appointment to the NED role will have identified the key knowledge and experience needed to add value.

A useful network of contacts that can open new doors for the business.

A level of formality of board processes that can help to provide useful distinction

NEDs are no longer seen as ‘visitors’ to the boardroom, but as a vital source of useful contacts, strategic ideas, constructive challenge, and objective oversight. A vital role for success, in business and elsewhere. Joy Allen 28 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

between the work of the board and the work of management.

Most NEDs bring valuable experience of other boards, so they can guide the development of board level information, and they can challenge Executives to keep the debate at a strategic level, rather than getting into too much detail.

Challenge with positive intent is easier for the NED, who is more detached from the business and can more easily see the wood for the trees. Their independent judgement can bring a balanced view when executives differ in their ideas. The culture in the boardroom should be one of healthy challenge balanced with mutual support.

The structure of boards differs across the sectors. Many private businesses only have executive directors. A growing number of the more enlightened ones are now including NEDs (recognising the advantages listed above). In the public sector, boards are often almost 50/50 Executive directors/NEDs. In the charity sector, boards are entirely non‐ executive, and even the chief executives are not members of them (although in practice they are usually very involved in board meetings).

Senior managers can gain useful boardroom experience by taking on a board role in a different sector. By volunteering for a charity board, they can get the satisfaction of contributing to a cause that matters to them, while also learning how a more formal board functions (although they should do due diligence in advance to ensure the board is well run).

The Public Appointments process is a way of giving public service while tackling organisational challenges of a different kind.

Again, the formality of the boardroom can bring useful learning.

Whichever sector the board is in, modern governance expects 100 per cent attendance at meetings and 100 per cent contribution when there! NEDs are no longer seen as ‘visitors’ to the boardroom, but as a vital source of useful contacts, strategic ideas, constructive challenge, and objective oversight. A vital role for success, in business and elsewhere.

Joy Allen is a Chartered Director who has specialised in governance and board effectiveness for 14 years. She is Managing Director of Leading Governance Ltd and Course Leader for the Institute of Directors in London. Joy currently chairs the board of Morrow Communications Ltd and sits on the board of Alzheimer’s Society (UK).

BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE

Northern Ireland’s Rising Stars 2016

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under FORTY

THE NETWORKINGLUNCH ack for a third year and with an overwhelming list of nominees, the Northern Ireland Rising Stars: 40 under 40 this year was generously sponsored by Find Insurance in association with the Ulster University Business School.

Having selected our 40 under 40, we invited them to join us at a Networking Lunch at the Academy Restaurant, fabulously located in the Ulster University building at the top of Royal Avenue.

Hosted by Marie McHugh, Dean of the Ulster University Business School, our Keynote Speaker was Professor Mark Durkin who spoke of his early career in the banking industry and encouraged our Rising Stars to look to the future with a positive eye.

As Northern Ireland begins to enjoy a balanced recovery (see page 52) opportunities open up for a new generation of entrepreneurs and managers to create the business community based on their exacting values.

Many will see their stars continue to rise and we at Business First, along with our sponsors, wish them well and hope we have provided a small opportunity for them to showcase themselves and their talents as a Northern Ireland Rising Stars: 40 under 40, 2016.

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Gavin Walker Managing Director Business First

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NORTHERN IRELAND 40 UNDER 40 NETWORKINGLUNCH

Keynote Speaker, Profesor mark Durkin, Ulster Univesity Business School, Lana Cairns and Colin Mullan from sponsor FindInsuranceNI, Gavin Walker, Business First and Maureen Fox, Ulster University Business School

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A data breach isn’t always a disaster.

MISHANDLING IT IS

by Colin Mullan, Operations Director, Find Insurance NI

ast changing industries present fast changing risks. The proliferation of data, the evolution of technology and greater demands on service providers have led to a rapidly evolving, technological landscape.

The implementation and innovation of technology is taking place at a significant pace, consequently giving rise to cyber threats. The cyber risk landscape is evolving continuously; this therefore presents a fundamental and growing need for businesses to protect themselves with Cyber Insurance in the event of an attack.

Cyber attacks or data breaches can take many forms. A cyber attack is the intentional exploitation of computer systems and networks. Hackers use malicious tactics to alter computer code or data, resulting in a breach of data which can lead to a range of cybercrimes, such as information and identity theft.

Data breaches can also arise from sheer carelessness or human error. For example, leaving a laptop behind on a train also counts as an impending risk.

With vast amounts of data being stored on smaller devices, the risk of data breaches due to theft or negligence is huge. Between 2005 and April 2014, portable devices carrying more than 172 million personally identifiable records were lost or stolen, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Thousands of businesses so far have learned the hard way; that there’s no such thing as perfect cyber security. And of course, the stakes are high. Customers trust you to

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hold their personal data. If they don’t think your business can be trusted, the future of your business may be at risk. A data breach is not a learning opportunity – you have too much to lose to risk mishandling it.

The publicity consequences from a cyber attack or data breach entails the risk of massive reputational and brand damage.

Poorly handled breaches result in far higher customer defection rates; in fact, brand value and reputation have been shown to decline by between 17 per cent and 31 per cent (EIU Global Study, March 2013) after a mismanaged breach, and it can take upwards of a year to restore an organisation’s reputation.

According to the Information Security Breaches Survey 2015, conducted by HM Government, 74 per cent of small businesses suffered a data security breach in 2015.

The average cost of a cyber‐security breach can range from £1.46 million and £3.14 million for large businesses and £75,000 and £310,800 for SMEs. Many businesses, particularly SMEs, are somewhat unaware of the significance of maintaining a strong cyber security presence.

Although a proportion of SMEs do not see cyber threats as a risk, they are the most vulnerable.

Symantec recently stated that “most hack attacks actually target businesses with less than 250 employees”. They also commented that threats are subsequently higher for SMEs as they are the path of least resistance for cyber criminals.

As reported by the FSB, SMEs account for 99.9 per cent of all businesses in Northern Ireland.

Research conducted by the UK Government also states that SMEs in the UK are putting almost a third of their revenue at stake, due to a lack of understanding of the impact of cyber risks on their business.

Large businesses are comparatively better prepared to deal with cyber risk, as they can afford the cost of cyber security technology.

Essentially, it only takes a small human error, an office break‐in, or a hacker to compromise millions of data records and create potential chaos within your organisation. Therefore, a data breach is not a question of “if”, but a question of “when?”

Cyber Insurance is designed to support and protect your business if it experiences a data breach or is the subject of a cyber attack.

Cyber Insurance can also be used as a risk management tool, to help manage and mitigate the increasingly sophisticated cyber threats that exist within this hyper‐ connected, digital landscape.

It’s interesting to note that the majority of the $2.5 billion written in Cyber Insurance last year was in the United States, where it is a mandatory requirement to notify of any data security breaches. The European Union is also expected to follow suit with regards to notification procedures associated with a data breach or cyber attack.

The key role of insurance exists in its ability to transfer risk in order to reduce potentially damaging liabilities. The pricing element of Cyber Insurance can be used as an incentive for businesses to invest in strengthening their IT security infrastructure. Companies that have eliminated a large amount of risk through the investment of increased protection are rewarded with lower premiums.

The cyber risks faced by a company are often unique. Find Insurance NI can tailor the Cyber Insurance policy according to the nature of the business.

At the same time, implementing the best practices and procedures for cyber security will help businesses to become more resilient when it comes to fighting the implications of emerging cyber risks.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has even identified cyber threats as one of the top 10 risks in terms of likelihood and impact.

To obtain a quote for Cyber Insurance or to learn more, visit www.findinsuranceni.co.uk or call us FREE on: 0800 012 6367

How to have a difficult conversation

by Paul Gray from LearnSpark, Northern Ireland’s premier school training and support organisation, has been working with schools, colleges and teachers for over 10 years.

6. Organise the room for the meeting. Sit at a desk, which is useful for your notes.

However, don’t have the desk between you, both sit on the same side. Turn off your phone and shut down your computer.

Create an atmosphere and environment of calmness. Meet them as they enter the room and direct them to their seat.

7. Keep control of yourself and the words you use. Communicate assertively.

Sit tall, strong and maintain good eye contact. If they are not, ask them to turn to you and engage. Tactically use silence, allowing them time to respond. Know your central message and don’t be deflected.

Work to a script and use repetition to reinforce your message. udgets are tight and competition is high.

To survive and grow, every member of your team must perform and deliver consistently.

This is the case whether you are an organisation, business or school/college.

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So how do we, as leaders, get the best out of every member of our team?

Support, of course, is important. A happy and content employee will be more productive, that is backed up by unequivocal evidence.

However, to raise performance we also need to challenge the performance of our staff, as well as ourselves.

Effective leaders know it’s about finding the right balance between the two. That doesn’t mean a little bit of both, it means realistic/achieveable challenge combined with significant support. When you have both, your staff will feel energised and satisfied as well as ambitious personally and professionally.

Anger, hostility, suspicion and frustration are symptomatic of low levels of support and high levels of challenge.

Complacency, cosiness, low standards and low expectations are a direct consequence of high levels of support and low levels of challenge.

This extends to challenging even the most difficult of team members. We all know that one member of staff who doesn’t want to take direction or work with the rest of the team and doesn’t respect your authority as head of the team. These individuals are often referred to as Mr NO NOs (or indeed, Mrs NO NOs).

Almost every organisation has at least one and they are typically avoided, with no one

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wanting to tackle them or challenge them face‐to‐face.

Here are 10 important steps to having a difficult conversation with the Mr/Mrs NO NO in your organisation 1. Gather your evidence. Don’t talk in general terms about their behaviour or actions. Have dates, data and complaints as reference. Talk from an evidential base.

2. Know your policies and procedures.

Refer to policies and procedures as the basis for your challenge, rather than your opinion of how their conduct is damaging, disrupting or preventing the organisation reaching its targets.

3. Be clear about the personal style you will use. Be mindful of your personal approach. Ask a colleague how you come across in one‐to‐one situations; this is difficult but essential. They may confirm what you already know. It’s important to remain calm and in control throughout.

4. Be clear about the outcomes you want to secure. Note down the 1, 2 or 3 objectives you want to achieve by the end of the meeting. Ensure they are realistic and achievable within the time frame and for the person concerned.

5. Prepare your questions in advance.

Once you know the outcome you want, note down the questions you want to ask, also think about the possible responses you may receive. The key is to be prepared. They are unlikely to remain passive.

8. Listen actively to everything they say.

Listen to their explanations, justifications and excuses. Show them that you are listening by paraphrasing, summarising, etc. Show some acceptance of what they are saying if you feel they have a point but challenge every point that you believe is false. Remember, this is the moment to have it out! You are not there to win them over, that time has passed, you need to establish your authority as the leader.

9. Believe in your right and ability to challenge. Even if you don’t believe it, tell yourself you can do it. Keep repeating this to yourself right up to the start of the meeting. Once face‐to‐face acknowledge that you will feel a certain amount of fear and trepidation but do it anyway. Once you are on a roll your anxiety will pass.

10. Agree clear actions, with deadlines, before you leave the room. Don’t let them leave the room without agreeing what they will do, how it can be evidenced and when you will meet again to review the situation.

Gaining consensus would be ideal but if that is not forthcoming, be more direct and authoritative.

Most staff don’t realise their potential. As leaders we have a responsibility to the business, organisation or school to ensure everyone delivers to the best of their potential.

The ability to do this is what separates the managers from the effective leaders.

To find out how LearnSpark can help your school or college visit our website: www.learnspark.co.uk or email Paul: pgray@learnspark.co.uk

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Retail 2020: what does the future have in store D

by Sinead McLaughlin, chief executive, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce

erry is suffering from a shock to our collective, economic, system. The Austin’s department store has just closed, permanently. It has been part of our city centre and part of city’s culture since what seems like the beginning of time.

Austin’s not only pre‐dates the First World War, amazingly it also predates the Irish famine. (The store opened in 1830, the Great Famine began in 1845.) But Austin’s is no more and we have an iconic building in a prime location that is empty.

The demise of Austin’s cannot be seen in isolation. Whether we like it or not, retailing is changing, and fast. A new report from the British Retail Consortium warns us that the speed of change is about to accelerate. By 2020, we will see even fewer stores and many fewer workers.

The introduction of the National Living Wage is one factor, suggests the BRC. Historically some retailers tended to under‐ value and underpay their staff. But with a minimum hourly rate for the over 25s of £7.20 – probably rising to £9 in 2020 – employers are being forced to recognise the value of their staff. This means investing more in training, expecting more in productivity, thinning down the numbers of shop workers and reducing pay differentials, predicts the BRC. Derry has learnt the value of retail staff training. Our city’s shops benefited from the widespread commitment to the WorldHost training programme, aimed at raising the standards of customer service. We thought our shops and their workers were very good, but we found the training made staff even better.

Some employers will find the coming changes easier to deal with than others.

Retailers that are already struggling may close, while some shop owners say they are now increasing the number of hours they work and reducing staff hours.

Impacts will differ according to region, suggests the BRC report, Retail 2020. Areas of greater affluence will survive the trends better than more deprived localities.

“Areas that are already economically fragile are likely to see the greatest impact of store closures and some of the people affected by changing roles will be those who may find it hardest to transition into new jobs that are created,” concludes the report.

In other words, the impact of the retail transformation is likely to be less severe in Belfast than it will be in Derry and workers with the strongest skills are best placed to retain employment.

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Based on the BRC study and what we already know from current retailing trends, we are able to predict the future with some confidence. Sadly one impact will be a serious reduction in the number of jobs. The BRC expects almost one in three retailing jobs to go in the next decade.

Another likely outcome is the continued rise in shop vacancies, as more stores close.

This trend requires planners to seriously consider how to protect traditional retailing areas and to support the conversion of some shops to other uses, such as housing.

For retailers to survive, they will need to focus on some challenges. The first is productivity. This will be achieved by investing in training for staff and maximised use of new technologies, assisted by the lower cost of retail‐related technological systems. Improvements to staff time scheduling may help to unlock efficiencies.

The second challenge is customer service.

Poor service will no longer be tolerated by shoppers and again training and technology combined can improve the customer experience.

Yet somehow retailers must remain price competitive, not least with the opportunity provided by the internet for price comparisons. The answer to this, suggests the BRC, may partly come from improvements in supply chains and logistics arrangements.

While the prospect of losing thousands of jobs is clearly negative, there are positives to be drawn from this picture of the future.

With retail staff moving to higher waged, more productive employment, so staff morale is likely to rise.

Moreover, the higher wages will feed into more commercial demand across local economies – creating more spend in the retail and hospitality sectors. Employers will also benefit from more contented and loyal staff, with lower employee turnover.

But politicians need to recognise the pressures being placed on the retail sector and decide how they can help. One concern is the cost of business rates, particularly in the

traditional city and town centres. Shops have been used as ‘cash cows’ to raise taxes, but the truth is that they are not profitable enough to contribute so heavily to the public purse.

At a UK and international level, the issue of the tax paid by internet retailers must be addressed. This is more than tax avoidance by some companies that are not paying corporation tax.

It is also about the unfairness of bricks and mortars paying often massive business rates bills, which are often largely avoided by internet retailers (according to where their own head offices and distribution centres are based).

Retailers are faced with a squeeze from high business rates, high energy costs, rising wages and the onset of the apprenticeship levy. Something has to give. Without the right political decisions, the result could be the loss of many more of our core retail businesses, as well as thousands of jobs.

Retailers are faced with a squeeze from high business rates, high energy costs, rising wages and the onset of the apprenticeship levy. Something has to give. Without the right political decisions, the result could be the loss of many more of our core retail businesses and thousands of jobs.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink is a brilliant platform for local producers Sean Largey, Tesco Northern Ireland’s commercial manager talks about celebrating Northern Ireland’s foodie excellence and being the gateway to growth for SMEs oming into a role that boasts a successful 20‐year legacy should be daunting but instead it has filled me with a huge sense of pride for what has gone before, and a buzz of anticipation for what could be achieved in the next five, ten, twenty years.

Since 1997, Tesco Northern Ireland has put local producers at the heart of its operations and we have no plans to stop now. It is a proud and vocal supporter of indigenous food and drink businesses, celebrating their excellence and helping them achieve their ambitions.

Taking the helm as commercial manager, I am responsible for an eight‐strong local buying team out of our headquarters in Newtownabbey. Our role is simple – enhancing our existing relationships with local suppliers, some of whom we have enjoyed 20 years of friendship with; and finding the best of Northern Ireland’s burgeoning cottage industry businesses.

For the latter they may simply need that first helping hand that will make the difference to their business and our endeavours are all with the view to continually increasing the number of Northern Irish product lines on our shelves.

Tesco is unique in that we have a commercial team here, solely focused on a local product range. This allows us to work with our local producers on everything from product design, accreditation and packaging to new product development and marketing.

We have a wealth of quality produce here, from our farms, to our apple groves, to our dairies and distilleries; and we are proud that we support the individual businesses’ ambitions as best we can, whether that’s to test run new products on our customers, see products on shelves or even enter the national market.

Our Northern Ireland producers punch well above their weight and you only have to look at our shelves to see just how prominently they figure. In fact, we’ve given them more space, in direct response to consumer demand. We’ve introduced 200 new Northern Ireland product lines in the last 18 months alone.

We are undoubtedly seen as the gateway to growth by suppliers and it is this that truly excites me about the scope of my role. Two different facets of my role are especially rewarding, with a similar end result for the supplier perhaps but equally very different

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Our role is simple – enhancing our existing relationships with local suppliers, some of whom we have enjoyed 20 years of friendship with; and finding the best of Northern Ireland’s burgeoning cottage industry businesses. Sean Largey ways of achieving a win‐win outcome.

One is seeing the likes of Punjana, Irwin’s, Linwoods and TS Foods all making the move into a national market and having a presence in Tesco stores nationwide – if that doesn’t celebrate Northern Ireland’s SME excellence then I don’t know what does.

The other is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Our Artisan Programme has been largely credited by the likes of InvestNI and businesses themselves as the perfect platform for young, ambitious brands to bring their products to mass market.

These as‐yet‐unsigned businesses may have a winning product innovation or business idea but just not the resource or knowledge to break into the bigger retail scene.

Consisting of in‐store “pop‐up shop” opportunities and support through the buying process, the Artisan programme helps fledgling businesses get their products in front of consumers and hopefully, on the

shelves. A popular aid for new businesses, these pop‐up shops will be ramped up during the Year of Food and Drink.

Invest NI’s Chief Executive, Alastair Hamilton, said: “Tesco NI's 'pop‐up' sampling scheme offers a valuable test marketing opportunity for smaller food and drink producers from across Northern Ireland ‐ showcasing products like this in established retail outlets is a great way to encourage product trial and build brand awareness.”

From an initial purchasing value of £50m per annum when we arrived in Northern Ireland to the buying team’s current purchasing amount of £550m, what has always been clear is that Tesco Northern Ireland is the number one retail champion of local but in actual fact, we are also Northern Ireland agriculture’s biggest customer – and I have the shopping list (and budget) to prove it.

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LISBURN & CASTLEREAGH @ WESTMINSTER

Local businesses network in Westminster

Pictured at the Lisburn Castlereagh at Westminster event on St. Patrick’s Day Chairman of the Council’s Development Committee, Alderman Allan Ewart; Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Vernon Coaker MP; Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Chief Executive, Dr. Theresa Donaldson and Lagan Valley MP, Jeffrey Donaldson.

ver 100 leading business representatives from the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area, along with key business contacts from across the UK, investment representatives and senior politicians descended on Westminster in March to champion the Council area as one of Northern Ireland’s premier investment locations.

Regarded as the most business friendly and the best‐connected city in Northern Ireland by companies already located there, the City has experienced strong growth in business investment from the high tech sector and is home to some of Northern Ireland’s most important local success stories and dynamic start‐ups.

The event was hosted by the Rt. Hon. Jeffrey Donaldson MP, in partnership with Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council.

The theme of the event was ‘The Missing Piece’, which highlights how the Council area is the missing piece for successful growth for businesses either established or looking to become established in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area.

Speaking at the event Jeffrey Donaldson

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said: "There is a proven track record of a successful entrepreneurial attitude within the Council area, and this is a proud trait for the area. The aim of this event was to raise the profile of Lisburn and Castlereagh as an excellent location for inward investment by international, national and local companies.

“The City is a business friendly, best connected location with its strong infrastructure, fast broadband speeds and competitive business rates for commercial premises.

“It has always welcomed new investors but we want to go further – helping new investors integrate into the Lisburn and Castlereagh business community and the Council is committed to working with the companies already here.”

Alderman Allan Ewart, Chairman of the Council’s Economic Development Committee, added: "It is fantastic to see such a vast array of local businesses showcased at this prestigious event. It is a real demonstration of their commitment to the future growth of our City and an endorsement of the work, which the Council is undertaking.

“Lisburn over recent years has experienced

a strong growth in business investment from the high tech sector and is home to some of Northern Ireland’s most important local success stories and dynamic start‐ups.

“It is good to see old friends and new including a number of you whom we met in October at MIPIM UK. We have been delighted with the results from the MIPIM event and the interest in Lisburn Castlereagh; we were the only Council from Northern Ireland present, many of you have already followed up with a visit and we look forward to working with you all in the future.

“The Council promotes its area as a business‐friendly city and is working to increase inward investment from businesses relocating to the City whilst offering assistance and advice to both established and new businesses. Opportunities such as this networking event at Westminster are testament to the Council’s commitment to the business sector and local economy,” concluded Alderman Ewart.

Local businesses present in Westminster included Assa Abloy, Rocklyn Engineering, Xperience, McAdam Design and Praetor Energy Ltd.

LISBURN & CASTLEREAGH @ WESTMINSTER

Jeff Edwards MBE OSTJ JP; Sergey Budnikov, Praetor Energy Ltd; The Rt. Hon. Jeffrey Donaldson MP; Daniel Mulhall, Embassy of Ireland; Alderman Jim Dillon MBE, Vice-Chair of the Council's Development Committee and Alderman Allan Ewart, Chairman of the Council's Development Committee.

Charlotte Newman, UK Israel Business; Aisling Owens, Lisburn Enterprise Organisation; Tom Elliot, MP; Vice-Chairman of the Council’s Development Committee, Alderman Jim Dillon and Hugo Bieber, UK Israel Business.

Terence Brannigan, Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation; Linda Fu, HBJ Gateley and Kyle Alexander, Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation.

Vice-Chairman of the Council’s Development Committee, Alderman Jim Dillon; Anthony Reid, Spanwall; Hazel King, Economic Development Manager; Belinda and Peter O'Neill, Bank of Ireland and Brian Sofley, ASSAY ABLOY. Richard Bell, Spanwall and Tim Andrew, Andrew Ingredients.

Stuart and Barbara Hughes, Hughes Craft Distillery; Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Vernon Coaker MP and Owen Scullion, Hilden Brewery.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Regulations are barriers to growth for Northern Ireland’s SMEs R egulation is often considered to be a tedious topic; nevertheless it affects every single area of business, and is extensive enough to have 40 per cent of small businesses in Northern Ireland regarding it as a barrier to growth.

The central component to our call for reform of regulation in Northern Ireland is that while businesses accept that there is a need for regulation, equally it is vital that politicians understand the potential impact it has before they implement it.

Northern Ireland has not worked out the cost of regulation to business and, due to not measuring it, it has been impossible to manage how much regulation there is for businesses. It is due to this that FSB has been calling for the introduction of a Regulatory Budget.

One key aspect that Government need to consider is that in comparison to larger companies, SMEs have fewer resources to assist with compliance, and as a result compliance becomes relatively more expensive in terms of cost, advice and time.

To ensure the success of such a budget, there is the need to produce Regulatory Impact Assessments, with independent scrutiny, so we want to see these embedded in the process, along with the creation of a Small Business Advocate within government to ensure regulators adhere to the system and understand the need for it.

Additionally, FSB have argued that for the enforcement process be modernised, an online Regulation Hub should be established so that inspectors can check on compliance without always having to visit premises and interrupt business.

If these transformative measures are put in place, it will give the Executive another tool in the box alongside lower corporation tax to promote Northern Ireland’s reputation in becoming a great place to do business.

We welcome the measures that were announced on Friday 25th March by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on the reform of the regulatory landscape in Northern Ireland.

The measures included will progress improvement in the regulatory environment, alongside the conditions to allow SMEs to grow and prosper through a fair and competitive market place.

As the voice of small business, the message from our members was clear, that this was an issue they wanted FSB to focus our lobbying of local representatives upon.

Accordingly, as part of our manifesto for the

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forthcoming Northern Ireland elections, which we launched in November, FSB called for implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Business Red Tape established by then Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster MLA. Subsequently, FSB produced a further, more detailed paper entitled Regulatory Reform in Northern Ireland, setting out the key measures its members want to see the Executive deliver in order to make Northern Ireland a more vibrant place to do business.

In March, First minister Arlene Foster MLA attended the FSB Offices in Belfast to discuss the paper alongside implementation of the recommendations of the Review of Business Red Tape.

Speaking following the meeting, the first minister said: "I am delighted to lend my support to this initiative by the Federation of Small Businesses and I give my assurance that the Northern Ireland Executive will do all in its power to support small to medium sized businesses to thrive and grow.

“This will curtail the ever‐rising cost of regulation on the typical businesses of Northern Ireland.

"Small to medium sized businesses are the backbone of the Northern Ireland economy and I very much welcome the Federation's contribution to improving the business environment.

“The Northern Ireland Executive will consider carefully the recommendations in the FSB’s Manifesto and Regulation Policy paper.

"I commend the work that organisations like FSB continue to do to promote better regulation of this vital sector."

Arlene Foster has shown a real interest in helping business, taking seriously the need to reduce red tape, and FSB welcomes her support in launching this Policy Position Paper. In a time of reduced public spending, cutting regulation will be a resource efficient way of improving business productivity and competitiveness.

It is a real victory that the FSB’s calls have been heard. However, we now need to see detailed plans from the Department so SMEs can ascertain how they can get on with growing their business, and decreasing the amount of time they spend filling out forms.

Both FSB’s Northern Ireland Assembly Manifesto, Realising the Potential of Small Business and FSB’s Regulatory Reform in Northern Ireland Position Paper, can be accessed from the FSB website under Publications.

Unlock your potential with the Ulster University MBA T he MBA has helped me to think differently,” a statement that the academic team delivering the executive level MBA programme at the Ulster University Business School at Magee has heard on many occasions from programme participants.

Edel Griffin, MBA Course Director, explains; “The core of our teaching approach on the MBA is to provide the opportunity for managers and executives to experience their learning within a real business context.

Learning frameworks and projects can be applied to the participants’ own organisations or alternatively in partnership with a social enterprise with the view to sharing and exchanging knowledge.”

Just recently a group from the MBA opted to focus their studies around the area of ‘Social Innovation’ working in partnership with the Friends of the Derry Walls. Not only did the group get the opportunity to step outside the classroom as part of their learning journey but it also focused their attention on how they could bring their expertise to unlock the potential for innovation from the Walls.

Michael McClelland, Senior Manager, with Seagate explains; “Getting the chance to work on a project that could actually have a real impact in my home city was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. As a local, I knew a bit about the history of the Walls, but didn't really appreciate their significance from a heritage perspective.

“The skills acquired on the MBA course encouraged me to look at the Walls in a different way, helping identify opportunities that could differentiate the Walls from other popular tourist destinations in Northern Ireland and beyond.

“Heritage tourism has grown exponentially in recent years. The need to innovate and differentiate how we market this unique attraction must be considered. In the case of

the Walls, we identified a clear opportunity to harness technology as part of a destination management strategy as a logical first step.

Speaking on behalf of the Friends of the Derry Walls, Mark Lusby Project Co‐ ordinator, highlighted; “The mission of the Friends of the Derry Walls is to be the voice of the Walls, raising ambitions for their care and presentation, driving public engagement with the Walls and ensuring that the Walls are fully exploited as a resource for educational, cultural and economic development.

“The involvement of business professionals from the MBA has been an invaluable resource to us, in our journey to exploit the cultural and economic value of Northern Ireland's largest ancient monument. Their insights into key areas of business as well as their professionalism and engagement to propose realistic business solutions has helped the Friends identify opportunities to commercialise the heritage value of the Walls, thereby making the conservation and management of the Derry Walls, and the Friends as a charitable social enterprise, more likely to be sustainable."

This approach is an exemplar of how the mutually beneficial relationships developed through partnership with the community facilitates

the creation and exchange of knowledge and values leading to social innovation.

In addition, the educational experience of the MBA encourages learners to ‘think differently’, advancing knowledge and employability as well as increasing their awareness of their roles within the wider community.

The part‐time MBA offered by the Ulster University Business School is delivered on both the Magee and Jordanstown campuses and is open to experienced managers and professionals.

Applications are currently being accepted for the next programme intake which begins in September 2016. It is important to note that applicants do not require an undergraduate qualification as five years’ experience at managerial level will also fulfil entry requirements.

To find out more about the MBA, contact Edel Griffin, MBA Course Director; Ulster University Business School, Magee campus at e.griffin@ulster.ac.uk or tel 028 7167 5196 www.ulster.ac.uk/mageemba

Unlocking their potential - MBA group explores the Derry Walls facilitated by Mark Lusby ‘Friends of the Derry Walls’.

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41

BEST PRACTICE

You need to take time out to just think

by Anne Phillipson, programme director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute

eaders are busy people. They run organisations, teams or departments, they develop their people, and they drive results. They operate in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

They are very aware of the need for constant change, and feel pressure to keep pace in a 24/7 setting.

In this environment, no wonder so many leaders find it difficult to take time out to think. Leaders who come to us at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute often describe their frustration with knowing that they should be stepping away from the day‐to‐day operations to focus on the future and the big picture, but they can’t seem to find the time.

Everything we do depends for its quality on the thinking we do first. Our thinking depends on the quality of our attention. If leaders don’t have time to think, what is the potential devastating impact on their people and organisation?

Recently an MD described to me her 70‐ hour workweek, where she is very busy and productive, but has a niggling sense of unease because she fears her focus is wrong.

She wants to ‘look up and out’ but finds herself falling into the ‘head down’ trap of weekly pressures and instant responses.

How do leaders carve out precious thinking time? A recent group of our Business Leaders took this challenge to heart, and reported back amazing success stories within a couple of months.

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Here’s what they said worked for them, and their advice to others • They put a block of time in their weekly diaries to think strategically.

• Baby steps work; they would like to spend a day a week being strategic, but started with a couple of hours one morning a week (and were amazed with the quality returns on such a short period of time invested).

• Stay committed to the promises you make to yourself. Don’t be tempted to move your thinking time if you get a conflicting request. Just because it isn’t a meeting with someone else, don’t be tempted to give away that time in your diary. Once you start, keep it up.

• Don’t necessarily tell people what you’re doing. Some leaders have open diaries and felt funny about other people seeing this thinking time blocked out.

Create a code word or event if that makes it easier for you.

• Plan how you would ideally use this time – what’s important (but not urgent), what really matters most –these are the topics to give your attention to.

• Get away from your desk at lunchtime.

Even a 15‐minute walk can refresh your mind and your thinking for the rest of the day.

• The environment matters. Don’t spend this time sitting at your desk.

Perhaps a walk or other physical activity will help to clear your head and inspire new ideas. If you’re at your desk you will most likely get distracted by emails, calls or drop‐ ins. Find a space that allows you to do your best thinking. And switch your phone off.

• Trust the people below you to do their job and take on more responsibility.

If you slow down, think more, and look up and out, you will be a better leader. You will notice more and feel more in control.

Thinking for yourself is the thing on which everything else depends. Start today. As Buddha said, “The trouble is, you think you have time.”

Bell & Company pre and post insolvency experts E veryone is well aware of the economic turmoil Northern Ireland has suffered since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

Bell & Company was established to exclusively offer financial assistance and support to businesses and individuals effected as a direct result of the downturn in the property and asset market.

The team have been specially employed and trained in this niche area to provide advice and assistance to anyone suffering at the hands of property related debt. Terry Bell, Company director states, “There are always options available to the individual and the key is in obtaining professional advice that is tailored to the needs of the client. Strategy is one element but implementation is another vital component and Bell and Company have the team and resources to make both happen.”

The distinction between a pre insolvency consultant such as ourselves, and an Insolvency Practitioner, is that an Insolvency Practitioner has a legal obligation to work to obtain the best outcome for creditors. A pre insolvency consultant's obligation is to the director or individual. Therefore, the objectives are distinctly different and this is where the value of pre insolvency becomes clear.

Our clients are often under immense pressure and find it difficult to make reasoned decisions. We provide good practical advice about how to best navigate through corporate and personal insolvency.

We hold our clients hand through the entire process with unrivalled technical and emotional support. Bell & Company are proud to continue working in Northern Ireland as the country looks to move towards a brighter economic future.

Negative Equity & Mortgage Debt Bell & Company have been assisting borrowers who found themselves in Negative Equity for over 6 years. We have developed an excellent team who understand the circumstances borrowers find themselves in.

We empathise with their situation together with our detailed knowledge of how each lender operates, the team can offer independent advice tailored to the client’s situation. Bell & Company are proud of the savings and settlements we achieve on a regular basis allowing our clients to move on with their lives.

In 2015 the Northern Irish property market showed signs of recovery, albeit very slowly in comparison to the market decline. Many reports are very ‘Belfast centric’ regarding recovery, with these figures ignoring that country areas are still slow in improving. In

fact, 2015 showed that the North West region even suffered further property value decline.

Business & Corporate Debt The Corporate team work with business owners across Ireland who have found themselves in financial difficulty. Loans provided during the peak of the market on overvalued assets, are now non‐performing and security is no longer at the value lent.

Many individual directors find themselves liable through Personal Guarantees.

Personal Guarantees make Business Debt all‐consuming in their nature and we have unfortunately, in some instances, seen individuals suffer health consequences. Bell & Company specialise in Defaulted Loan and Personal Guarantee negotiation and have a vast knowledge of how core lenders approach such matters.

In 2015 we saw third party loan purchasers enter Northern Ireland purchasing non‐ performing loan books from lenders. Bell & Company have been proactive in this field and have attended a meeting with the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment at Stormont to discuss the effects and conduct to date of such loan sales on borrowers. The Corporate Department amicably resolve debts sold to third parties and continue to lead the field in such negotiations.

Personal Insolvency Personal Bankruptcy has so many negative connotations associated with it. Bell & Company feel, however, since 2008 the stigma associated with the process has gradually lessened. Our Insolvency team feel many can benefit from utilising Bankruptcy and it is an excellent tool when armed with the best advice. Sometimes, if a person is saddled with excessive, unaffordable unsecured debt then Personal Bankruptcy can be the best route forward.

We work under the mantra of offering Professional Independent Insolvency Advice and many borrowers will be surprised how

Bankruptcy can resolve debt issues. Our team supports clients every step of the way through Bankruptcy to reduce the stress, given this is an extremely emotional process.

With the recovery being slow (but positive nonetheless), 2016 is set to be a busy year.

Bell & Company will continue to offer our current clients the best pre and post‐ insolvency advice and we look forward to assisting many new clients. As demand has increased for our services we have not stood still. We have invested heavily in a new office facility in Belfast City centre with leading systems and facilities. Furthermore, we continue to grow our team to ensure the quality of our service is not diminished.

We set out the options open to people including the pitfalls, specific to their position. Forget the “bar room lawyer”, we will fully detail everyone’s position, specific to where they are and what they need, every case is different.

So if you or clients, friends or family are facing any debt burden or experiencing frustrations with the below: ‐ Land and Property Services ‐ Personal Guarantees ‐ Unsustainable Business Debt ‐ Trade Creditors Issues ‐ Official Receiver liaison ‐ Trustee in Bankruptcy ‐ Negative Equity ‐ Fixed Charge Receivers ‐ Debt Collection Agencies ‐ Vulture Funds‐ Debts Sold ‐ Aggressive Bank Action ‐ Dispute Resolution ‐ Failed IVA’s ‐ HMRC ‐ Any Debt Issues Call us today to arrange your free initial consultation. You can visit our website at www.bellcomp.co.uk or call Karen on 028 9521 7373 to learn more about our services and how we can help you or your clients.

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43

TECH [2020]

5

innovative ways to micro-target the right audience

by Professor Steven Van Belleghem

oday, the internet forms a pretty central part of most companies’ marketing strategy. However, the more reliant on the internet we are, the more suffocating it becomes, which means that as advertisers we have to become a little more creative in order to get our content seen.

Search engines and social media get more competitive all the time. Gone are the days it was merely enough to click the ‘publish’ button on your website and leave it to the likes of Google to decide whether your content was worthwhile to be noticed. With any online content, we now need to ask ourselves two very important questions: 1) Who is my audience? and 2) How do I reach them?

The good news is that there are now several tools that allow you to create and publish your content in a smarter and more visually attractive way. What’s more, you also don’t necessarily need huge budgets to get the benefits of them, so I have picked out five of the most innovative and useful techniques to successfully micro‐target your audience:

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1. Facebook Canvas 934 million people use Facebook on their mobile every day, so it was no surprise when Mark Zuckerberg’s internet giants launched their advertising tool specifically for mobile‐ only. The next potential game‐changer from Facebook will be Canvas as it’s easy to use, faster than loading an external website and a great way to create content that users actually want to consume.

If you aren’t familiar yet with Canvas, it is a handy tool that helps you to easily turn ‘long reads’ into visually engaging features. The early statistics are quite impressive, with users spending an average of between 135 and 174 seconds on the ad. Remarkably, whether it is currently just a novelty or not, this means that at the moment Canvas is outperforming videos when it comes to keeping the attention of users.

2. Facebook Pixel Multi‐device tracking is still the Holy Grail for many marketers, but the Facebook Pixel makes it much easier to follow and understand your target audience when they switch between mobile and desktop devices.

Unlike Google, which uses cookies for tracking, Facebook Pixel has the major advantage that as long as a user is logged into

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their Facebook account, Pixel will be able to track them, whatever device they are on. With the pixel you are able to measure, optimise and build audiences for your ad campaign, and even follow up with people that visited your site or maybe left your site during the checkout process. The ability to personalise your ads and content towards individual customers can be an incredibly powerful technique to convert leads.

3. Snapchat On-demand Geofilters Many marketers are only just catching up with how they can use Snapchat. However, the company recently rolled out its own custom on‐demand Geofilters, so whether it is for a house party, a coffee shop or campus‐ wide event, Geofilters make it easy for Snapchatters in a certain area to see your branded content in their stories.

The custom geofilters are a fun way to brand your event, service or store on top of user generated content. The most interesting aspect of this however, will be when brands start targeting competitor brands. Android, for example, could target the upcoming Apple conference, and as yet the Snapchat guidelines don’t seem to prevent this.

Unfortunately, the on‐demand geofilters are currently only available the US, UK, and Canada.

4. Google Posts Google is always looking for ways to improve its user experience, and as such has moved towards promoting quality content over easy ads. The search giant has already removed its ads from the right hand side of the results page, and they continue to experiment with ways to promote paid content without being too intrusive for the user.

This new approach allows brands, celebrities or businesses to post cards that pop‐up in search results, containing relevant blogposts, links to pieces of clothing or jewellery to buy, or even music and videos. It is still in the experimental phase, so the service is invite‐only for the moment, but it could become a very useful pull marketing tool.

5. GoPro Hero4 & Twitter Periscope The live‐streaming of events is one of the latest crazes in online marketing, but Facebook still only allow it for verified pages

and personal profiles. Periscope, on the other hand, is free to use for everyone, including brands, celebs and events. Combining Periscope with the power of a GoPro Hero4 gives you a platform to broadcast high quality live streams your target audience, with the ability to can interact with them on Twitter.

Using Twitter Curator also allows you to showcase a selection of tweets live at an event, which could have fascinating possibilities for live music or sports events in future.

Prof. Steven Van Belleghem is author of When Digital Becomes Human, published by Kogan Page, priced £19.99. Follow him on twitter @StevenVBe, subscribe to his videos at www.youtube.com/stevenvanbelleghem or visit www.stevenvanbelleghem.com

We’re looking for Northern Ireland’s most talented IT practitioners.

If you’ve found Northern Ireland’s one, let us IT Leaders 2016 know. in association with eir Business NI

Nominate yours today www.businessfirstonline.co.uk/itleaders

TECH [2020]

Roger Busby; Manager Deloitte Digital, Mike Robinson; CTO Deloitte Digital and Gareth Quinn; Director Digital DNA at St Georges Market Belfast, venue for DDNA 2016.

Deloitte Digital is major partner at Digital DNA Conference B

elfast’s St George’s Market will play host to one of Ireland’s biggest technology events this summer as Digital DNA returns for its 2016 conference, in partnership with Deloitte Digital.

Digital DNA 2016 takes place on June 8th and will welcome dozens of speakers from some of the world’s biggest companies to Northern Ireland with the aim of inspiring over 1,000 local and international business delegates to embrace cutting‐edge technology and digital solutions.

Digital experts from organisations like Manchester City Football Club, Atlas, Tableau and ChangeCorp will deliver keynotes alongside 16 workshops, panel discussions and fireside chats covering five core themes of marketing, data, security, fintech and innovation.

Digital DNA aims to inspire and inform entrepreneurs and existing businesses of all sizes to help them respond to the opportunities and threats of Digital. The various talks, workshops and discussions will demonstrate how organisations can harness digital technologies and trends to shape their business strategy and succeed in the marketplace.

The event, now in its fourth year, has been backed by Deloitte Digital in an exciting new partnership.

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It will be supported by the talented teams from Deloitte Digital’s Belfast and London studios, who are responsible for delivering technology solutions for some of the world’s biggest organisations.

Deloitte Digital is the principal sponsor of Digital DNA 2016, which is also partnered by some incredible names such as Aer Lingus, Allstate, innov8 Office Interiors, IE Domain Registry, MCS Group and Spiral Hosting.

Speaking at the launch in St George’s Market, Digital DNA’s CEO Gareth Quinn said: “Northern Ireland is fast becoming one of the world’s great technology hotbeds and we want to create an event that reflects the thriving tech community here. With a world class partner in Deloitte Digital, an amazing venue in St George’s Market and speakers from some of the biggest brands on the planet, we’re confident that Digital DNA will again be a huge success, attracting businesses within Northern Ireland and further afield that have an ambition to grow.

“We have some phenomenal names lined up and in keeping with 2015, we have a really exciting social programme including dinners, street parties, an after party and awards. It really can’t be missed and we look forward to releasing more information over the coming weeks.”

Mike Robinson, CTO at headline sponsor

Deloitte Digital, said: “Belfast has become a vibrant hub for digital experts and bringing these experts together during Digital DNA is a catalyst for inspiring talent, nurturing innovation and growing the digital technology economy.

“Deloitte Digital is proud to be principal sponsor for Digital DNA, which has gone from strength to strength over the past four years, helping organisations embrace new technologies to drive performance and transform attitudes and behaviours.

“Over the past few years Deloitte Digital has grown its own team to almost 100 people in Belfast. This team of creators is busy building innovative digital solutions for some of the UK’s largest organisations across multiple industries.

“With studios in Belfast, London and Edinburgh, we combine creative innovation with the powerful Deloitte platform to help our clients find their own disruptive advantage.”

In addition to the conference in St George’s Market, Digital DNA has also organised a number of events taking place in The Mac, Cathedral Quarter and Life Church. Details on these exciting and exclusive events will be revealed soon.

Ward Solutions – promoting a new approach to information security

by Alan McVey, Northern Ireland business development manager, Ward Solutions

ybercrime is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. It is now virtually unheard of to turn on the news and not come across a report of a data breach, and the resulting financial and reputational fallout for the target company and its customers.

And it is no longer just major corporations that are the victims of cybercrime; hackers are increasingly turning their attention to small and medium enterprises, with the aim of scoring a ransom with the minimum of effort.

Such an attack can have a disastrous effect on smaller companies in particular ‐ start‐ups for example may never recover from the financial cost and reputational damage.

All of this has led to increased awareness at owner and board level of the threat posed by cybercrime, and the preventative measures that can be implemented to ensure data security. CEOs and CFOs are starting to ask questions of their IT departments ‐ about the various strategies in place, and how effective they will be in the event of a data breach.

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Benefits of aligning with a specialist information security provider Companies need to adapt to survive in this current climate, and the best first step is to align with a specialist information security provider. Information security has become such a complex area that many companies do not have the resources or manpower to effectively tackle the risks presented by cybercriminals.

As such, many organisations are now adopting an outsourced managed information security approach, pairing with a specialist provider that can implement a more effective and cost effective solution than would be possible to develop alone.

We at Ward Solutions have invested heavily

in our facilities and the services that we provide in order to tackle the rising tide of cybercrime. Last year we invested almost £1M in a state‐of‐the‐art Security Operations Centre.

So far this year, we have invested £50,000 in training a further ten ISO 27001 consultants, and we have budgeted another £150K in additional training.

Companies who choose Ward as their information security provider will experience all of the benefits of our cutting‐edge facilities and peerless service from our highly trained staff.

As well as partnering with a specialist information security provider, companies need to reassess their risk‐mitigation strategies in order to ensure that they are as well‐prepared as possible to deal with the risk of a data breach. Due to the development of new computing platforms such as cloud, and new advanced hacking techniques, organisations’ network boundaries have become more flexible and porous than ever before. This will undoubtedly lead to more businesses being compromised.

In the past, information security measures were almost entirely preventative, meaning that they were intended to prevent hackers from accessing the network in the first place.

However, recent research suggests that organisations may in fact have been compromised for up to 229 days before the intrusion is detected. This is more than enough time for any hacker to compromise the systems, and access any potentially sensitive data that they are interested in.

Developing a holistic information security model Instead of focusing on purely preventative measures, organisations now need to adopt a holistic approach to information security, implementing a lifecycle of:

• Identify – Identifying your key information assets, the risks, the likelihood of those risks to occur, and the impact to your business that those risks occurring on your information systems would have.

• Protect – Targeting appropriate amounts of people, processes and technology controls to protect an appropriately prioritised set of information systems and services.

• Detect - Putting in place measures to detect potential breaches or anomalies in your systems using key technologies such as security analytics, as well as highly experienced security personnel to analyse this information in order to determine whether it is a genuine breach or a false positive.

• Respond – Implementing appropriate rehearsed incident response processes and tools to investigate an incident to determine what is occurring, the seriousness of the situation, what and where it impacted, how it started and how to remediate it.

• Recovery – Again putting in place the necessary resources and skills to minimise the impact of a security incident, whether a breach or an outage and to recover services as quickly as possible with as little impact to the organisation and their users, customers or partners as possible.

Once recovered, organisations then need to restart this cycle to update their information security management with the lessons learned from the incident to continuously optimise and improve their information security posture.

Ward Solutions can work with organisations to implement a holistic information security solution such as that outlined above, and provide a tailored security information and event management (SIEM) service, to minimise the risk presented by cybercrime. Our core services, such as SIEM and also including managed firewall, digital forensics, eDiscovery, managed intrusion protection and detection systems are all delivered from our state‐of‐ the‐art Security Operations Centre, which allows us to give Northern Irish businesses comprehensive security protection and peace of mind.

Cybercrime may be more sophisticated than ever, but so are the techniques employed by information security specialists to fight it.

For more information on the range of information security services provided by Ward Solutions, visit wardinfosec.co.uk or call Alan McVey on 0749 666 3221.

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Let the battle commence:

PR vs Digital n the last number of years, we have seen the two faces of PR battle it out: traditional versus digital. As PRs, we have all asked ourselves whether traditional PR is still relevant in today’s digitally dominated business landscape. From attitude, cost to overall effectiveness; it is clear as day that the traditional forms of PR need to be re‐shaped and made relevant to the digital environment.

Today, PR campaigns aren’t standalone vehicles with their own set of goals, strategies and objectives. Effective PR should be integrated into marketing campaigns and overlap with both social media and online content to provide a combined method of achieving tangible business objectives that can be measured and evaluated.

Thanks to the online and social media revolution, stories are now issued and often published almost immediately, offering audiences fresh news and the opportunity for communications professionals to ensure that their client’s content is hitting audiences faster and more efficiently than ever before.

Digital communication is stronger than ever for brands as consumers are digesting information 24‐7 through via smart phones, ipads, etc. Social media communications are no longer a choice for businesses, but more about how social they are with their customers.

Consumers now have immediate access to vast amounts of information and have the choice to listen or engage with who and what they want. They also have the ability to understand when they are being lied too and how to see past the marketing spiel to get to the inner facts.

Digital communications should work hand in hand with PR, these should not work separately from each other or compete. The end goal has to be the same: a clear targeted message.

Brands must understand what their key marketing messages are in order to translate and communicate them across online and offline channels. Whilst traditional PR comms, are still as important than ever, businesses must understand the content that works online and what their consumers want to hear and read.

Consumers are no longer digesting marketing in the traditional mediums, and therefore control what they see, read, watch and influenced by. They now create a digital space where they feel comfortable, and which brands they want to listen to, interact with and engage communications with. Digital communications are increasingly creative.

In this digital era, PR managers have to

by Michelle Cassidy, Rumour Mill PR

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respond faster than ever to keep up with the increased demand for 24/7 news and social media output, and we now have many new platforms from which to communicate through including blogs, video and mobile as well as a vast number of quality online magazines.

In the past, online coverage was often seen as the poor relation to print and broadcast media, but today it is paramount. Digital coverage allows us to reach audiences quickly and allows us to measure and track the effectiveness of an article against our clients’ website viewing figures, which is vital in helping to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the articles that we place.

The truth is that most of these changes have merely impacted the syndication of a good message and the different audiences it can reach. It isn’t the hit, creative viral video that is going to bring automatic business success.

It’s the hit viral video that links to engaging Facebook and Twitter accounts with interesting articles, blogs, competitions and company endeavors. It’s the ability to easily use these sites to find a product, peruse user reviews and recommendations, or voice customer service concerns.

It’s the TV commercial that drives excitement over a new mobile app, and the mobile app that leads a customer to the nearest store location.

The entire puzzle is a complicated one that demands calculated integration, and PR will

most certainly continue to change and evolve as traditional media roles become outdated.

Companies that have the most initiative to invest in integrated communications effectively will ultimately be the ones to reap the benefits.

In an increasingly competitive landscape, targeted and direct communications are invaluable to connect with consumers. You must keep a close eye on what your consumers are saying about you online and listen to them. The power is now in their hands.

Brands must constantly add value to users when communicating digitally and traditionally. Therefore, your tone of voice must be adopted for both online and offline mediums, a healthy combination of monologue and dialogue.

Engaging a digital PR or integrated agency shouldn’t be about mimicking or rubbishing traditional PR. Like with everything that is cross platform, each service and tactic serves a purpose. For increased brand search and high value links, digital PR stands out! There is no battle!

Rumour Mill PR is an award-winning communications agency for the digital age.

Blending PR with digital marketing, advertising, design and brand, Rumour Mill PR creates a 360 approach to a client’s brief and messaging. For more information, check out our website www.rumourmillpr.com or call 028 9068 2185.

Why would you consider Cloud Telephony? to control costs more effectively.

With a cloud system most of the capital outlay covering the service including the line rental is removed and a simple per user per month cost system is in place. This teamed with not having to rely on in house expertise for maintenance makes a cloud telephony system a more attractive option for companies. elephony still dominates the business to business marketplace as the first tool of communication with customers but telephony is changing with delivery of telephony via the cloud growing.

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What exactly is Cloud Telephony?

It’s a telephony system that is housed in a Data Centre hosted within the Cloud and you access it via a high speed internet, rather than having to buy your own physical telephone system. In effect you rent a part of a much larger system.

Another advantage of Cloud telephony is the scalability.

These systems are ideal for growing business due to their flexible and scalable nature. Business can rent what they need now and add users or features as their employee base and needs grow, with minimal disruption. Sub offices can be connected to the Head Office system, meaning that growth of business is not delayed by the need to build new infrastructure.

Disadvantage of Cloud Telephony: Advantage of Cloud Telephony: A major benefit for businesses is the ability

Technically cloud telephony relies on an Internet connection for calls to be made. If the

Internet connection from your business premises to the cloud system is poor then the call quality will also be poor. With this in mind it is important to research to ensure that a high speed internet connection can be provided.

A big issue is how Cloud Telephony is sold in the market place. Though the technology is capable, the buyer needs to do their research carefully. Headline prices may not tell the whole story and support of the system is an issue too.

Key Questions for the buyer: 1. What is the reputation of the service provider?

2. What is their charge model?

3. How reliable is their service?

4. Can they provide maintenance cover for the service?

Richard Simpson, Managing Director of Atlas Communication. Atlas provides in-premises and hosted data and telephony solutions to businesses across Northern Ireland and can be contacted at 028 9078 6868.

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BEST PRACTICE

Mixing marketing ingredients for export success

by Carol Magill, Chartered institute of Management Network Manager Ireland etting the right message to the right customer is an essential component of good marketing. As Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink gets well underway, the role that marketing plays in this important sector will come under the spotlight.

The Year of Food and Drink is a positive marketing initiative spearheaded by Tourism Northern Ireland to build the brand by highlighting the great food and drink available here – whether it’s artisan products from small producers or multi‐million pound agri‐food businesses exporting on a global scale.

The BBC reported that only one in 10 visitors come to Northern Ireland for the food. So Tourism Northern Ireland is crafting a new and interesting narrative for its customers – tourists from both home and abroad – that these green fields are helping to produce unique foods and beverages worth experiencing. It’s aiming to create a brand image of a destination that offers new and unique flavours by telling the stories behind our food, whether it’s about specific dishes or the provenance of the products we bring to market.

Global or local, your brand image is vital to how customers can instantly recognise and relate to the business. With recent media attention on brand integrity, consumers are increasingly aware of how companies behave.

This makes it even more important for businesses to focus on building genuine and meaningful interactions with their customers.

All interactions need to build the brand across traditional media and social media, taking in the challenge of engaging with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Technology plays an essential role, with the ability to connect via different mediums.

Learning how to make a virtual handshake, and connect across language and time differences takes time, openness and patience.

Marketing know‐how in social media, search engine optimisation, cyber security awareness, app development and, in some markets, the use of gaming as a tool to reach customers are all part of the mix.

At last year’s CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards, two food businesses won awards for excellent campaigns that had a

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major impact on their brands. Both had shown a great ability to adapt to changing markets and communicate with their customers.

Moy Park, which won the FMCG and Retail category, is one of the UK’s top 15 food companies, Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of Europe’s leading poultry producers. Moy Park supplies branded and own‐label chicken products to leading retailers and foodservice providers throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe, and are the industry leading manufacturer of organic, free‐range and higher welfare chicken and turkey.

When they launched their new Roast in the Bag range, they were adapting to changing consumer lifestyles by offering a quality shelf‐ to‐oven product to appeal to families and young professionals. This campaign was able to tap into changing consumer behaviour and allowed Moy Park to provide a solution: Moy Park will do the work so you don’t have to.

Winner of the Food and Drink category, White’s Oats is one of Ireland’s oldest brands, milling oats in Tandragee, County Armagh since 1841. White’s is part of a local farmer’s co‐operative and works with a network of 25 local growers.

It needed to reassert its brand in the modern competitive breakfast cereal market, while also emphasising their values of heritage, provenance, expertise, care and uncompromising quality.

Both of these brands had a strong message to consumers and really understood their changing markets. They emphasised quality, while still saving their busy customers time.

Good marketing campaigns are also about timing, and there is a real interest in all things foodie – from new pop‐up markets and food events to a plethora of products being created on our farms, in micro‐businesses and from our major agri‐food companies.

Not to forget about the drinks industry, with creative and quality products such as Shortcross Gin, and craft beers from co‐ops like Boundary Brewing, Lacada Brewery and Farmageddon winning awards and international sales.

CIM’s spring programme will seek to explore the theme of local to global, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities of food and drink marketing. Keep an eye out for an upcoming event focusing on marketing in the agri‐food industry.

It will bring together some leading food and beverage producers for a series of presentations, and a panel discussion on the potential for growth into markets such as the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, the Far East and the US. Alongside this, CIM are planning a focus on digital marketing and measurement to ensure local marketers have the cutting‐edge know‐ how needed to make an impact across the world. Both Members and Non Members can attend network events on 10 May (on the potential of using an app in market research) and on 6 June when a legal perspective on digital marketing will be on the agenda. Non‐ members interested in “test driving” a network event are invited to contact Carol Magill, Network Manager (Ireland) at carol.magill@cim.co.uk for limited number of guest passes.

Find out more on www.cim.co.uk. And if you are interested in learning more about brand? Read CIM’s thought leadership report, supported by Brandworkz, which identifies the key areas within organisations that most urgently need tacking in order for marketers to deliver on their desired brand experience: exchange.cim.co.uk/thoughtleadership/brand-experience-report/.

BELIEVE 3D PRINTING

German Reprap establishes a presence in Northern Ireland through partnership with Believe 3D Printing I n its six years of existence, German RepRap has established quite a global presence, with resellers on four continents, and the company’s reach is continuously expanding.

The latest reseller to be added to German RepRap’s network is Northern Ireland’s Believe 3D Printing, a 3D printing service bureau and retailer founded in 2014. Until now, Believe 3D Printing’s printer stock consisted of 3D Systems‘ CubePro line, so the addition of German RepRap dramatically increases their inventory and marks their official expansion into the industrial 3D printing sector.

Believe 3D Printing now carries all four of German RepRap’s models: the x1000, the x150, the x350 Pro and the x400 Pro. The partnership makes Believe 3D German RepRap’s first value added reseller in either Northern Ireland or the Republic.

“We already have a number of customers there that have received our products from Germany,” said Florian Bautz, Managing Director of German RepRap. “With Believe 3D Printing our existing and prospective customers now have a local contact as well. We are confident this will further increase our market share for 3D printers.”

For Believe 3D Printing, German RepRap’s open source policy was a big sell, along with the quality of their industrial 3D printers.

There’s no shortage of case studies extolling German RepRap for the myriad ways in which their printers have made product development easier for a number of companies, and a visit to the company’s

facility confirmed the rumours for Believe 3D. “After an initial visit to Munich to meet German RepRap and see their facility and machinery, we were very impressed with all the machines build quality and the overall Strategic business direction of German RepRap focusing on Industrial 3D Printing,” said Richard Curry, Managing Director of Believe 3D Printing.

“That makes a perfect match for our companies’ strategic goals and target markets.”

Believe 3D Printing’s stock now includes German RepRap’s massive x1000 industrial 3D printer.

The partnership with German RepRap is part of what Believe 3D Printing plans to be a larger expansion.

The young company, which was founded two years ago, is looking to increase their presence in Northern Ireland, and the addition of such a prominent brand to their

stock should help them to draw in a wider pool of customers, particularly in the industrial 3D printing sector.

“Keeping our Fermanagh based office open for research and development, our recent expansion to our showroom and new offices in the centre of Belfast has accelerated our in house print bureau with a dramatic influx of clients requiring rapid prototypes produced and edited, with the German RepRap machines impressing everyone at every corner and excelling in all aspects.

“This vibrant location will also enable us to better service our current clients and offer on‐site demonstrations and training of the machinery and software to new and current customers from Northern Ireland and Ireland,” said Curry.

“With German RepRap we hope to grow the business and make Believe 3D Printing and German RepRap the number one 3D printer and 3D printing supplier in Ireland and the UK.

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BEST PRACTICE

Employers need support too

by Peter Wilson, Service Manager - Supported Employment Solutions, a partnership of seven disability organisations who work ‘better together’ to support employers and people with disabilities throughout Northern Ireland. SES comprises Action Mental Health, the Cedar Foundation, Action on Hearing Loss, Mencap, NOW, the Orchardville Society and RNIB NI. upported Employment Solutions continually develop working relationships with businesses, industry and local organisations to help employers support their staff.

Leanne McKee, Employee Relations Specialist at Concentrix commented ‘As part our continued commitment to make sure that Concentrix is an excellent and inclusive employer for all, I have been working with the Cedar Foundation to help a caseworker in one of our Belfast contracts who has Cerebral Palsy. The case worker, Suzanne Brown, uses a wheelchair due to her disability and Concentrix has been working to ensure a smooth transition into working life since she joined us in October.’

‘Through our contact with the Cedar Foundation we have been able to engage with Access to Work NI and discuss how to make our building even more wheel‐chair friendly.

Thanks to the guidance and support of Access to Work’s Jennifer Perry, we were able to organize for automatic doors to be installed on the building to allow easier access for Suzanne. As part of their Disability Employment Service, Access to Work NI kindly contributed a percentage of the costs.’

‘Since beginning her work on the contract Suzanne has gained confidence and experience and is thoroughly enjoying her role at Concentrix. This project will not only help Suzanne, but further demonstrates Concentrix’s dedication to working with individuals who have specific needs, providing innovative work solutions to enable staff to thrive.’

‘Being rich in diversity and fanatical about our staff are very important to us as part of our values‐based company culture, so the advice, guidance and support from The Cedar Foundation to us as an employer has been invaluable and a fantastic example of a mutually beneficial relationship allowing both organisations to achieve their goals.’

Robin Hamilton from The Cedar Foundation explains, ‘The Cedar Foundation helps support employees within Concentrix and also provides continuing advice, guidance and support to them. We have found this developing relationship to be mutually beneficial and have been very pleased with the commitment of Concentrix in supporting all their employees.’

Blu Marine are a company that provides innovative and quality outfitting services for the marine industry. They have offices based in Belfast, Salisbury and Hong Kong.

Currently in Belfast they are working on restoring the decommissioned Navy Cruiser

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HMS Caroline which will be opened to the public.

Mencap were first approached

by Craig McCoo, the company’s Managing Director, who wanted to give a job opportunity to a person with a learning disability.

Following initial conversations with Mencap, Craig and Daphne Francis (Personal Assistant to the Managing Director), said “We realised there were two very different opportunities we could make available, one in our workshop and one in our offices”.

Mencap job matched two trainees to Blu Marine’s job role and company profile. Both were subsequently interviewed by Craig and Daphne and offered an initial 12 week paid work trial. Throughout the 12 week period Mencap worked closely with Blu Marine to support the trainees develop within their new roles.

Daphne Francis said “Mencap has provided valuable support to the company as we had not previously employed someone with a learning disability”.

At the end of the trial period as a result of successful job matching, the support of Blu Marine and the hard work and commitment of both trainees they were offered contracts and became permanent members of the Blu Marine team.

Jim Boe, who had been supported by Mencap on DEL’s Work Connect Programme now works 40 hours a week as a Work Shop Attendant. Jordan Martin, who had been accessing Mencap’s ESF EmployAbility Project has been employed as an Administrative Assistant 16 hours per week.

Both are currently supported by Mencap under the DEL Workable NI Programme.

“Starting into full time employment has been a life changing experience for me” says Jim. He continues, “I have been able to go on holiday and move out of home, starting a life with my girlfriend. This is something I could never have done without a paid job”. Blu Marine have also put Jim through his fork lift licence which he passed with flying colours, achieving 92 per cent in the theory test!

Jordan says “This opportunity has given me my first ever experience of paid work and I really enjoy being part of the team in the office. I particularly enjoyed the office Christmas party and the social side of a well‐ paid job”.

Blu Marine continues to work with Mencap to fully support and develop the wonderful opportunity they have provided to these young men. Daphne said “they are assets to the company”.

SES is contracted by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) to deliver two specialist employment programmes in all areas of Northern Ireland. These programme provide an extensive range of support and practical assistance to both disabled people and employers: • Workable (NI) which provides intensive and on‐going support to people with significant disabilities who are employed for more than 16 hours per week.

• Work Connect which delivers a pre‐ employment support and a job finding service for people with disabilities and health conditions.

For further information on SES please contact Peter Wilson p.wilson@ cedar-foundation.org 028 9046 1834 028 9073 6366 or 07791 075921

At the helm of UK Export Finance No viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance, says Louis Taylor, six months after taking over as Chief Executive at the UK’s export credit agency. systems. We bring tangible pounds‐and‐ pence support to UK companies, and our involvement can be transformative, helping them compete in the global marketplace.

But we want to do more. As a recent finance markets report from our partner the British Business Bank makes clear, access to finance remains an issue for companies when exporting.

Using credit cards to fund export efforts can’t be the solution. Businesses deserve more options, and UKEF has plans to help provide them.

Exporting is GREAT

e know that finding the right finance or insurance can still be a struggle for UK companies selling overseas.

Here’s recent a real‐life example: CIGA Healthcare of Ballymena makes rapid self‐diagnostic kits for pregnancy, cholesterol, diabetes, temperature and heart monitoring.

It recently won a large order to supply diagnostic kits to South Africa.

However, as this was a new and unknown market to the firm, it raised elements of uncertainty around getting paid. The company looked for credit insurance but was unable to find the cover they needed.

Fortunately CIGA knew about the Government support available through UK Export Finance (UKEF). Working with one of UKEF’s regional export finance advisers, the company took out an export insurance policy from UKEF to cover the payment risk, which helped the contract go ahead.

UKEF has helped in hundreds of similar situations. Interventions vary from guarantees in support of working capital from banks to guaranteeing or making loans directly to overseas buyers.

UKEF also offers insurance against failure to pay by the buyer, used recently by companies selling to Greece and Ukraine.

Beneficiaries of our support now include exporters of all kinds of goods and services, from educational books to undersea cable

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The new “Exporting is GREAT” campaign demonstrates that a world of opportunity is out there for UK companies. The campaign is the fulcrum of a new whole‐of‐government approach to supporting exports. It brings together commercial partners that share the government’s interest in empowering more companies to export.

As well as showcasing real export opportunities, the Exporting is GREAT website also guides companies towards the most relevant support, including from UKEF. Finance is a critical piece of the jigsaw and UKEF, as the UK’s export credit agency, is the Government’s dedicated support mechanism, filling gaps in the private market to make exports happen. Exporting is GREAT will help make sure its support lands where it is needed.

Our team of export finance advisers will continue as a valuable resource for companies like CIGA Healthcare. Objective, free and impartial, they do not have a target for revenue, they do not get a commission and they are not chasing their own market share.

They are there to help companies to achieve their own market share ambitions through exporting. I am delighted that three more of our export finance advisers ‐ Anne Lockett, Hugh Francis and Phill Potter ‐ have recently received their Diplomas in International Trade from the Institute of Export.

The trouble is they cannot be expected to serve every potential exporter. So, in addition to working through Exporting is GREAT to raise awareness of the support we offer, we have three further priorities for 2016.

We are taking steps to work more effectively through banks, so they support more credit facilities for exporters by sharing risk with us.

We will make it easier for the banks to access our guarantees, and widen the scope of our support by extending the circumstances

in which it can be used.

We also plan to work more closely, and at an earlier stage, with UK prime contractors on export opportunities. We want to help them to win contracts, not just to fulfil contracts that have already been won.

These high value contracts are not just wins for the prime contractor, but bring enormous UK supply‐chain benefits. We estimate that for every company UKEF supports directly, about 30 smaller firms will benefit within export supply chains.

And thirdly, we are intending to live up to the government’s aspiration for a ‘whole‐of‐ government approach’ to support for business. We are already working closely with Invest NI, on events and advisory. And we will be looking to collaborate far more with our counterparts in government to bring support to Northern Ireland’s businesses.

There’s a long way to go, but UKEF’s ultimate goal is simple: no viable export should fail for want of the right finance or insurance.

Meet Louis Taylor Before joining UKEF, Louis held a range of senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, including from 2013‐15 as Chief Operating Officer of Group Treasury, based in London.

Prior to that, he spent three years as the bank’s CEO for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Louis is a former chair of trustees of the charity Music in Prisons, which runs music education projects to help rehabilitate offenders, and a former chair of governors of the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne.

He has an MA in Law from Cambridge University.

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COMMENTARY

Project Hope

by Conor Devine, GDP Partnership

ne of the first business books I read was Snowball by the Sage of Omaha, Mr Warren Buffet. He is one of the richest guys in the world and is well known for the following quote. “Be greedy when people are fearful, be fearful when people are greedy”.

This is something that I have thought a lot about given I have been working in the property industry nearly fifteen odd years now.

If we look back on the property crash and subsequent global financial crisis in 2007, the quotation is never too far away from the route of many of the world’s problems if analysed correctly.

There is no doubt about it, the world we live in today is a very dangerous place and this word "fear" keeps raising its head. The Wikipedia definition of fear is; “An unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

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In or Out Most of us are at this stage aware of the “in or out” vote on the EU referendum that is coming up in just over two months time, and again this word Fear has come up, as many of our politicians are using the term “Project Fear” to describe a side of the argument they are pushing.

For me a very interesting way to talk about something so serious. You would nearly think our politicians are trying to force us into a scenario based on a very sub conscious threatening style of behavior – very interesting.

In the last twelve months unfortunately this word fear continues to raise its head with many families, individuals and businesses who were unfortunate enough to have their property loans sold to private equity vulture funds. This has been an incredible development really given the fact that the parties who are buying these loans are not regulated by any body and for the most part have the run of the country.

To illuminate the situation anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in Ulster Banks property department since 2010, are at this stage pretty much “punch drunk” given the banks well documented stance in dealing with legacy debt challenges.

As a borrower and to now be asked to deal with a ferocious American hedge fund, well the word fear probably doesn’t do that scenario any real justice.

The seventy thousand or so families who are living under the threat of negative equity are also living under the threat of fear. They feel this as many of them cannot see how they, their business or their families are going

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to get out of that hugely distressing situation.

Its something that doesn’t sit well with me personally and it’s one if the reasons why both myself and my team get up in the morning to try and find a solution to these type of challenges.

It seems so long ago now that there was an air of hope and anticipation bringing in the new millennium. The emotions I had at that time, as a young man was one of excitement and adventure. Fast forward sixteen years and as we are in the thrust of another five years of austerity, and given what has happened across the country in the last eight years, I think it would be fair to say that this word fear has been a constant in many of our own lives.

Hope I decided in 2010 along with my business partner James Gibbons that as opposed to concentrating on fear we would focus all of our energy on hope, and do this by bringing a new business to the market place. Five years on and we are the leading firm of property debt advisors in the country and the only firm

regulated by the financial conduct authority.

Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.

We have been passionate about trying to bring some hope into play in Belfast and across the country over the years and have been successful in bringing this into many peoples lives by being able to get them out of difficult financial situations and get on with their lives. It’s this hope that has been the catalyst for our success in business and it is hope that has allowed us, and our team to make such an impact on a small country.

Maybe if others used hope, as a mechanism to persuade people and get to the outcome they so desire, they maybe more successful in getting what they want.

It sounds so simple but may be some people in society actually get their kicks out of fear, and it would appear that unfortunately that is the reality of the world we live in today.

Conor Devine MRICS – Link up with me on twitter conor_devine

The Energy Desk & ETI S tarting just over three years ago, Energy Trading Ireland, headed by founder Mike Jackson, sought to bring significant Income to medium and large businesses through the Demand Side Response scheme.

Since then the company has risen to become the largest provider in Northern Ireland, a significant player in the Republic of Ireland and has now set its sights on UK mainland, Europe and beyond.

It has already increased its range of services far beyond Demand Side Revenue for its customers and now offers a complete ‘end to end’ energy service as well as District Heating Schemes, Biomass, Renewal Energy, Procurement and Bill optimisation and the list goes on.

Mike has a wealth of experience within the energy sector having spent over 30 years in key roles within Generation and Grid Control and is seen by many as the ‘go to guy’ to get the maximum value out of any scheme!

The company also partners with The Energy Desk in Lancashire for some of the vital services that will assist its clients. Mike uses the expertise of TED for Procurement and Bill Validation, allowing Energy Trading Ireland to concentrate on large projects and new to market initiatives.

Energy Trading Ireland are about to release some exciting new products and business models for existing and new customers which will bring significant additional income to a large number of businesses in Ireland. These will be a first for the energy sector in Ireland and UK and is opening a new chapter in the success story of this bold new company.

The Energy Desk in Ireland has also started working in some very new areas with both clients and suppliers and this is energy generation.

We can take all forms of waste for chicken litter to checmical waste and many more and turn then into energy you can use one form

of feed stock or all at the same time. The energy produced through our process also has emits zero emissions. So creates energy from waste and is good for the environment.

TED continues to grow all other sides of our business in procurement energy management in Northern Ireland with end users from both the public and private sectors, bringing to you the end user cost savings and energy reduction.

This is also helping companies with their budgeting moving forwards. Below are some of the reasons it is worth talking with The Energy Desk & ETI

Energy procurement:Controls: • BMS Optimisation • Demand balancing response • Voltage optimisation • Variable speed drivers • Live (bespoke) energy management system • Boiler optimisation

Compliance: • Full CRC Management • ESOS ( accredited lead assessors and lead auditors) • Bill Validation and recovery • MOP agreements

Products – site survey’s, installation, maintenance and funding: • Solar PV & Thermal • CHPs ( gas, oil, biomass ) • Heat Recovery • Biomass boiler systems • Air source heat pumps • Wind Turbines • LED Lighting • New Connections & infrastructure • Anaerobic Digestion • PPA’s

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55

ENTERPRISE NORTHERN IRELAND

Working together to make local enterprise happen Gordon Gough, Chief Executive of Enterprise Northern Ireland, explains how the local enterprise agency network is working with key economic development stakeholders to help entrepreneurs across Northern Ireland. nterprise Northern Ireland is the representative body for the network of Local Enterprise Agencies across Northern Ireland and as such, is at the heart of a dynamic, high profile network of enterprise support providers.

Enterprise Northern Ireland is unique amongst other organisations working in the small business or enterprise development sector as we are dedicated to working with pre‐entrepreneurial start‐ups and early stage business start‐ups.

Enterprise Northern Ireland is committed to encouraging and supporting new business formation and supporting business growth through the delivery of small business support interventions.

The Northern Ireland Economic Strategy has outlined the need to rebalance the economy to create jobs, wealth and prosperity.

Enterprise Northern Ireland and the Local Enterprise Agency network is at the forefront of promoting an enterprising and entrepreneurial region.

Here are just two of the ways that we are supporting businesses across Northern Ireland.

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Supporting business start-ups Business start‐ups are key drivers in growing the economy in terms of job creation, wealth generation and innovation. A dynamic small business sector is vital to the success and prosperity of the economy by contributing to employment and

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competitiveness. Small businesses are an important source of employment; they also fulfil local consumer needs and are important elements within the supply chain of larger businesses.

Enterprise Northern Ireland is the incumbent contract holder for the Regional Start initiative, the national business start‐up programme for Northern Ireland supported

by Invest NI and local councils.

Regional Start provides a range of guidance, support, training and business clinics to develop and grow businesses, and is focused on encouraging aspirant entrepreneurs to produce a business plan as one of the key early steps to starting a business and moving into self‐employment.

The programme has been hugely successful, primarily derived from its national nature – the same level and quality of provision, support and guidance is offered across Northern Ireland ensuring the delivery of a high quality, co‐ordinated programme.

Since the Programme’s inception in October 2012, more than 15,000 business advisory meetings have taken place with potential entrepreneurs and over 10,000 high quality business plans were achieved through the network of Local Enterprise Agencies.

In addition, there have been over 5,000 jobs promoted and over 100 direct referrals to Invest NI. Emerging business sectors include leisure and personal services; professional services; retail; creative industries; hospitality and tourism. In terms of participants, we have seen a 63 per cent male

and 37 per cent female split, with 31‐50 year olds most likely to start their own business.

Business support initiatives like Regional Start demonstrate the significant contribution that Enterprise Northern Ireland and its network of Local Enterprise Agencies have made in providing focused and innovative advisory and training support to individuals across the region, in order to raise the overall number and quality of business starts.

Start up loans for small businesses As I talk to small business owners across Northern Ireland I get a real sense that access to finance remains a key issue.

That’s where Enterprise Northern Ireland members can help with our Start‐up loans.

Start‐up loans provide mentoring and financial support to start‐up businesses which

“The assistance that I also received from Enterprise NI and from our business adviser at Fermanagh Enterprise has been second to none and has really helped me navigate the complex environment that you are first faced with when starting up a new business.

Fiona Lydon, Seriously Juicy cannot access traditional business finance.

The scheme has just passed the £2m mark in terms of lending and the money that has been lent to date represents a significant amount of investment in small businesses at the early stage of their development.

Enterprise Northern Ireland Start Up Loans has set in motion the business ideas of hundreds of entrepreneurs here in Northern Ireland enabling them to grow by helping to create profitable businesses and jobs.

Enterprise Northern Ireland start‐up loans are unsecured personal loans for the purposes of starting a business. Loans of up to £25,000 are repayable between one to five years at a current fixed interest rate of six per cent. In addition, loan recipients receive up to fifteen hours mentoring support from their local enterprise agency.

One successful business which has been in receipt of Start Up Loan funding has been

Seriously Juicy ‐ a detox juice manufacturing business. Owner Fiona Lydon said: “The Start Up Loan fund has been vital in providing me with the finance to start my business.

“The assistance that I also received from Enterprise NI and from our business adviser at Fermanagh Enterprise has been second to none and has really helped me navigate the complex environment that you are first faced with when starting up a new business.

“We literally started at the kitchen table in the house, and with the support and encouragement we have received to date, we have now moved to a purpose built facility to help us keep up with the demand.

“We are now selling all over the island of Ireland and in the next few months we will be exporting to the GB market and moving to the exciting next stage of growth.”

Start‐up loans also provide access to a range of exclusive offers from various

corporate partners. To request an application pack or for further details call the Enterprise Northern Ireland office on 028 7776 3555 or visit www.eniloans.com. *Enterprise Northern Ireland is an official Delivery Partner of The Start Up Loans Company. For more information about The Start Up Loans Company visit www.startuploans.co.uk.

Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell with Gordon Gough, CEO, Enterprise Northern Ireland, Fiona Lydon, Seriously Juicy and Start Up Loans Company CEO, Tim Sawyer

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ENTERPRISE NORTHERN IRELAND

Supporting The Hatchery is a Ballymena start ups perfect home for business in Antrim

New and established businesses invited to join the East Belfast Community alling all SMEs, start‐ups and budding entrepreneurs. At City East we help businesses fulfil their potential. Five minutes from Belfast City Centre and beside the Titanic train station, we are a bustling business centre at the bottom of the Newtownards Road.

Established SME looking to upgrade offices? We are almost at full capacity, with everyone from accountants to designers, why not join them? We have fully serviced offices of all sizes as well as industrial workspace at our Albertbridge Road site.

Stand-alone Freelancer? Ditch the coffee shop or bedroom and work form our co‐ working space with other entrepreneurs and plenty of free caffeine from just £5/hour or £150/month 24/7 access!

Join the community and enjoy coffee mornings, business events and networking.

Alternatively, if you’re just starting on your self‐employment journey get in touch to avail of our mentoring services.

Join the conversation @teamfoundry or call Patrick on 028 9094 2010.

C inister for Finance Mervyn Storey MLA recently joined Ballymena Business centre as they reviewed their 2012 to 2015 Enterprise Plan and pledged their support for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s forthcoming Economic Strategy and Community Plan. During the previous 4 years Ballymena Business Centre has managed 835 Start Up Enquiries, delivered 244 Start Up Business Plans, delivered 11 Business Support Programmes, Manages 5 Community Enterprise Hubs, Donated £12k Enterprise Sponsorship, gave £80k in Voluntary Time Contribution and secured a Capital Investment for 8000 sq ft of Vacant Retail Space in Ballymena Town Centre.

PJ McAvoy, Chairman of Ballymena Business Centre, said ‘Since we started in 1989, we have played, and continue to play, a pivotal role in promoting an enterprise culture in Ballymena. We are fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead but we are determined to look forward with positivity.

With a clear focus on People, Business and Communities we look forward to supporting Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s forthcoming Economic Strategy and Community Plan as well as exploring partnerships which will benefit enterprise across Ballymena’.

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BALLYMENA 028 2565 8616 info@ballymenabusiness.co.uk www.ballymenabusiness.co.uk Ballymena Business Centre manages five Community Enterprise Hubs in urban, rural and neighbourhood renewal settings and offers over 120 enterprise units providing opportunities for retail, service and manufacturing sectors. Tenants benefit from wrap around enterprise support including start up, business development, networking, accessing finance and signposting. This nurturing enterprise environment provides vital incubation support for local micro businesses at the start up and growth phase.

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he ‘coworking phenomenon is fast becoming the norm for start up and existing entrepreneurs and microbusinesses alike. The reason for this is very simple ‐ it offers you dedicated office space (including support) for a fraction of the cost of business premises.

So why is this sweeping the micro business world? The answer ‐ users are finding huge extra benefits from using the concept. As well as minimal cost:‐ • You get a fully kitted out mini office for minimal outlay • It’s your office to use when you need it + you have meeting facilities at your disposal • You’ve access to the most up to date printing, scanning and copying services + fast broadband • You get a dedicated mail service and business address • You can exchange ideas, advice and get support from your fellow micro business owners • Most importantly the isolation you feel when working from your bedroom/kitchen/car evaporates And Antrim Enterprise Agency’s The Hatchery NI offers just that a professional but trendy coworking environment creating great opportunities for collaboration and sense of business community as well as having the ability to absorb new ideas from other industries you might not normally be in contact with.

Just ask James Butler of the More Partnership “The Hatchery NI is a brilliant venue for anyone looking for a flexible working space. I moved in 1 year ago when I outgrew my home office. It's cost effective, easy to get to, has great facilities and the staff are always ready to help with any problems you might have. It's a really stimulating and friendly environment and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a space to work for a couple of days per week or even just a few hours at a time”.

And the cost ‐ think of it like a gym, you take out the membership that’s tailored to your business needs; be it a few hours/week or occasional day or more permanent 247 access.

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EAST BELFAST 028 9094 2010 patrick@eastbelfast.org www.eastbelfast.org The City East Business Centre is the Local Enterprise Agency for East Belfast. A hub for startups and SMEs, we help hundreds of clients a year on their business journey, from free mentoring, business advice and networking events to providing top‐quality serviced offices and a brand new co‐working space.site

ANTRIM 028 9446 7774 nicola@thehatcheryni.co.uk www.thehatcheryni.co.uk The funky coworking environment offering the entrepreneur a menu option from mailing address service to telephone answering, occasional hotdesking to 247 coworking space to micro office. Full back office service available from photocopying to telesales to meeting rooms. Be surrounded by inspiration, innovation and creativity in a safe working environment.

CARRICKFERGUS 028 9336 9528 info@ceal.co.uk www.ceal.co.uk Our purpose built Conference and Training Facilities at Meadowbank Road provide all the benefits of a professional and modern training environment that can compete with the best around. Add the attraction of a tranquil location by the sea and you can see why Carrickfergus Enterprise is an ideal venue for holding training courses, seminars and conferences. Two large rooms are available with seating capacity of up to 60. Rooms can be set up in a variety of styles to suit your specification.

COLERAINE, MOYLE & BALLYMONEY 028 7035 6318 info@causeway‐enterprise.co.uk www.causeway‐enterprise.co.uk Causeway Enterprise Agency offers business premises and free business support including: • Business start‐up training • Business planning & free advice service • Business Development Programmes • Business seminars and networking events • Help accessing funding. • Flexible leases.

CRAIGAVON 028 3839 6520 concepta.heagney@cido.co.uk www.cido.co.uk CIDO offers quality business advice and support as well as a portfolio of rental workspace across four sites located close to the M1 motorway in Portadown and Lurgan Conference facilities at the i2 Innovation Centre allow you to create the right impression in a fully supported and professional environment.

COOKSTOWN 028 8676 3660 info@cookstownenterprise.com www.cookstownenterprise.com Cookstown Enterprise Centre has 25 years’ experience supporting business start‐up and delivering business development programmes within the Cookstown District.

Offering industrial units, offices, conference room facilities and a fully equip ICT Suite at competitive rates. CEC is the ideal setting for all your business needs.

DERRY 028 7135 2693 info@enterprisenw.com www.enterprisenw.com Enterprise NW provide business start‐up and support programmes, fully serviced office accommodation & light industrial work units.

Meeting, training & conference facilities for up to 100 delegates. Tenants can avail of 1,000MB broadband connection, free car parking, CCTV security, 24/7 access, onsite caretaking, administration back up & flexible easy in easy out leases

LARNE LEDCOM Willowbank 028 2826 9973 LEDCOM Bank Road 028 2827 0742 info@ledcom.org www.ledcom.org LEDCOM Local Economic Development in action since 1985. Over 30 years of customer service and community impact.

Supporting: • Business Start Up and Growth • Economic Development • Social Entrepreneurship • Community Engagement & Employability • Property & Conferencing

NORTH DOWN 028 9127 1525 lynne@nddo.co.uk www.nddo.co.uk NDDO Business offers • Office and workshop space available • Hire of Board Room & Training Room • Pre Start and Business Start Up • Business Development Programmes • Business Counselling & Advice • Accommodation address & answer service

OMAGH 028 8224 9494 info@omaghenterprise.co.uk www.omaghenterprise.co.uk Flexible, modern, well equipped and with more than a few extras. We are home to some of the best‐value business premises around.

• Business advice & support • Flexible office solutions • Coworking & Hotdesking • 24/7 access • Superfast Broadband • Free parking

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ENTERPRISE NORTHERN IRELAND

NEWRY & MOURNE 028 3026 7011 info@nmea.net www.nmea.net Newry & Mourne Co-Operative and Enterprise Agency has the primary objective of promoting jobs and creating wealth in the Newry & Mourne area.NMEA was the first Enterprise Agency to be established in Northern Ireland and has evolved to offer a wide range of services to its clients.

Aghanloo Road, Limavady, County Londonderry BT49 0HE 028 7776 3555 www.enterpriseni.com

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WEST BELFAST 028 9031 1002 hq@ortus.org www.ortus.org Twin Spires Complex, 155 Northumberland Street Belfast, BT13 2JF Ortus is a leading Business Development Agency with a strong portfolio of social and commercial businesses. Based in Belfast, The Ortus Group provides business support programmes and mentoring, affordable, quality commercial property and a variety of complementary services to a diverse range of companies from start‐ups to long established enterprises across all business sectors.

STRABANE 028 71382518 info@seagency.co.uk www.seagency.co.uk • Business Advice • Business Support Programmes • Access to other Business Finance • Easy in Easy out lease • Conference & training room & Boardroom • Business Accommodation Address • Full Secretarial Services

ASM Chartered Accountants making life easier for SME’s in 2016 In this article, Majella Hughes, ASM Chartered Accountants outlines the new SME initiative from the company ward‐winning firm, ASM Chartered Accountants, have today announced the launch of a series of free, downloadable Infographics aimed at educating and assisting SME’s in making the right choices in order to meet their accounting needs.

The first in the series focuses on ‘Real‐Time Accounting' and aims to demystify cloud‐ based accounting.

Majella Hughes, ASM Chartered Accountants Newry, explains the reasoning behind the idea: “This new initiative has been born out of a need to de‐mystify accountancy and make it more user‐friendly and easier to understand for the client “Business owners often feel overcome with the accountancy process, and we want to allay any fears or worries that they may have.

“Using visuals to explain the process often makes it easier to digest, we hope this series will help us to better communicate our offering to the end user.”

The infographic series launches with ‘Real‐ Time Accounting’, a cloud‐based, internet service which will allow SME’s, immediate and up to date access to their accounts, the ability to know how the company is performing at any given time and access to instant cash flow management.

Majella goes on to say: “We are confident that ‘ASM Real Time Accounting’ is the way forward for SME’s and their accountants, it allows managers to react much quicker to business needs, make more informed decisions and ultimately be more efficient.

“The service is simple and straight forward to use and will ultimately ensure clients make financial savings on their accounting costs – It’s a win‐win situation.”

Clara Scollay, Owner of Pizzaworks, Belfast has been a client of ASM Newry’s for the past two years and has recently made the transition to Real Time Accounting; She said: “I couldn’t be happier with this service, for my business it has a lot of benefits, first and foremost, it saves me time and allows me 24hr access to my up to date accounts.

“Secondly, it helps me budget, the service is charged at a fixed amount per month which means there are no surprises when the bill arrives.

“Lastly, I know exactly how my cash flow situation is at any given time – there are no worries about the unknown.

“Real Time Accounting has helped me run a proactive, more efficient business by giving me up to the minute information on the financial health of the business. This in turn

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Majella Hughes, ASM Chartered Accountants Newry is pictured with Eoin Scollay, Pizzaworks, Belfast.

allows better informed decisions to be made on a daily basis.

“I can make the right decision when the business needs it and not months down the line when I get my annual accounts.”

ASM Chartered Accountants has grown rapidly since its launch in 1995 and is now one of the largest accounting and management consultancy firms in Ireland, with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry. The company's 160 strong team comprises specialists in a range of accountancy disciplines and related skills that include:

corporate finance, audit and accounting, internal audit, consultancy services, taxation, hotels, tourism and leisure, insolvency, and forensic accounting.

Real Time Accounting is available for any small – medium business now at ASM Chartered Accountants. The first in the series of free, downloadable infographics can be accessed at www.asmaccountants.com.

If you wish to talk to Majella Hughes at ASM Chartered Accountants about Real Time Accounting call 028 302 69933 or email majella.hughes@asmnewry.com

NEGATIVE EQUITY

Negative Equity doesn’t have to be an enormous problem

by Phill Davidson, Negative Equity Northern Ireland egative equity means if you were to sell your home, the price it fetches would be insufficient to clear what you owe the bank or building society.

It’s a big problem in Northern Ireland where 41 per cent of homes – 63,000 households – fall into that category. If you are one of them, the two minutes it will take to read this article could be the difference between a happy outcome and a fresh start or on‐going misery.

Negative Equity Northern Ireland’s (NENI) managing director Phil Davison gets straight to the point.

“Negative equity has caught thousands of people here, through no fault of their own, and they have no idea of how they’re going to get out of it. We see them every day.

Thankfully we are in a position to give them the help they need,” he says.

“They can’t sell their home, even though they have outgrown it or can no longer afford the mortgage because of a change in their circumstances. They may be divorcing or moving because of work, or they simply want to downsize, but can’t.

“We can solve those problems.”

Although NENI are the local market leaders, he does not pretend that there aren’t others in the field.

“If you are in this position I would strongly advise that you review all of your options,” he urges. “We provide a service, not advice. We take the pressure off our clients and always get them the best result available."

So who are NENI, what exactly do they do and why would you consult them rather than somebody else who, at first glance, might appear to be offering a similar service?

They are a Belfast‐based company whose professionally qualified staff have backgrounds in accountancy, banking and finance. They also have an insolvency practitioner.

Director Tom Cardwell says: “It is

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important to our clients that we offer all the services they require. It can be a stressful enough process without having to deal with a number of different companies and we are the only local firm of our type to offer every option a client could need in‐house.”

As a potential client what protection do you have? How do you know you will be treated fairly? What stops NENI simply making promises they can’t fulfil? The answer is that all their resolution work is regulated by the FCA and their insolvency record is monitored

by CARB. This gives their clients the peace of mind they require.

It's an exacting standard so not every company can offer customers that level of scrutiny and protection. So make that your starting point before deciding to deal with any company offering help in such matters; first and foremost ensure they are FCA‐ licensed. If not, stop right there.

Negative Equity NI are knowledgeable professionals accustomed to negotiating with others of comparable ability. Their experience, coupled with that level of expertise, means they are respected and treated as equals when they sit down at the

table to negotiate for you.

Others offer advice, but then leave you to conduct your own negotiations. Not so with NENI. In addition, NENI’s first consultation – at which the exact nature of your problem is assessed ‐ is entirely free. If you decide not to proceed, there is no charge.

NENI’s primary goal is to write off the maximum amount of debt on your property.

To that end they have built their team and their business around their customers. People just like you.

Their staff’s vast experience after years of working in banking, property and all related finance means they understand how lenders think, how they operate and, crucially, what they will – and won’t ‐ accept.

Too good to be true? Just look at the testimonials on our website negativeequityni.com – and there’s any number of very relieved customers who are now getting on with their lives and able to confirm that there is a way out of negative equity in Northern Ireland.

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BEST PRACTICE

Harnessing digital analytics to develop a ‘smarter’ approach to our hospitality industry

by Dr Peter Bolan, Ulster University he tourism industry in Northern Ireland continues to grow and develop and it is clear that our hotel and hospitality sector has seen some strong growth and development in recent years. The vast majority in the sector now realise the importance of digital in terms of how we en‐ gage with our visitors.

Every day these guests are checking in with their own set of expectations. Meeting those expectations is the key to getting people to return, and increasingly our hotel and leisure operators need to be looking to analytics for clues about how to keep their customers happy.

In short it’s about getting ‘smarter’ in terms of approach to this. Every day hotels collect mountains of data ‐ from their PMS, reservation systems, and POS systems, not to mention social media, and each day, they have the challenge of sorting through that data, searching for a nugget of actionable information.

While the hotel industry enjoys a vantage onto guest behaviour that in many respects is unparalleled in terms of customer touch‐points and on‐site evidence of traveller sentiment, hotels are all too often neglecting to engage with the data they capture and own.

The hotel industry traditionally captures loyalty information, but not all go beyond the loyalty tier in how they consistently view and take action with their guests on a regular. The nature of guest data, how it is aggregated, and how it is analysed in the hospitality industry has of course changed.

Once upon a time it was very much the realm of the in‐room survey card and the checkout questionnaire, but now the digital landscape has plugged web and mobile‐savvy travellers into a fluid and ever‐growing process of communicating on what they liked, what they didn’t like and everything in between during their hospitality experience.

Not just in text form either, increasingly through photographic images and even video.

It’s also no longer in private between consumer and vendor but potentially there for the world to see.

If positive, there’s huge potential there for incredible brand awareness development and good PR, if negative, the dangers are pretty obvious, but either way its valuable data that needs to be mined, analysed, and utilised in management decision‐making.

While hotels today have all of this available and accessible data, it is not always a resource that such businesses are using to

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best advantage, however.

At the larger‐scale hotel and hotel chain end of things, the focus has been moving to investment in data‐analytics infrastructure.

Switched on progressive management now want to see free, high‐quality Wi‐Fi become a standard part of that infrastructure so that the business can serve and gather data about guests in the moment.

They also want to try and replace the prospect of costly in‐house information‐ technology equipment and software needed to drive data gathering, storage, and analysis with more cost‐efficient and nimble third‐ party provider partnerships.

And of course they want to claw back some percentage of the data that they give away to valuable, but at times revenue‐shrinking, partners in the online travel agency space.

Expansion of data use is also a goal for the larger hotels where the opportunity exists to truly leverage data and guest tracking. The goal is to create increasingly personalised and timely marketing touch points with guests.

However, proper use of such data has also become necessary to compete with other players in the marketplace as well. It is a lens for acquiring more granular perspectives into pricing, helping them to better compete in an increasingly complex ecosystem of digital and traditional channels and potentially shifting parity struc‐tures.

For smaller‐scale hotels they can increasingly see the value of mining data to align their properties even more closely with customer demographics. Rather than large‐scale segmen‐ tation, they can pursue specific consumer types and then dive deeper into data‐driven moni‐ toring and services to track and meet the demands of such guest categories.

It is a model some larger brands have also emulated, especially recently, in a clear shift to capture and harness niche aspects.

With people’s appetites for all things digital feeding the ever‐growing guest‐data scenario, travellers in turn have prompted the enormous growth and proliferation of online review sites. In this sector, TripAdvisor alone accounts for some 280 million visits by travellers every month. Using analytics technology to bring together transactional and customer data from the hotel’s own systems, and combine it with unstructured data such as customer feedback comments and reviews left on rating sites such as Tripadvisor and other social media plat‐ forms is where success truly lies.

However, quantity of data is not necessarily the hotel industry’s primary goal, rather it is about properly understanding and using the data it owns or can access that is the challenge for hotel managers.

The impetus is on the hotel sector, from a marketing and operations point of view, to acquire and use data as a way to not only remedy guest pain points, improve visits, and streamline interactions, but also to reach and convert new guests based on consumer sentiments that data highlights for hoteliers when it is properly analysed.

In an ideal scenario, gathering guest data information should lead to analytics that boost loyalty, and analysing data should drive repeat bookings while helping hotels to cut the costs of new customer acquisitions.

Predictive analytics, like forecasting and optimisation, can help management figure out why things are happening, suggest what will happen next and even lead to the best alterna‐ tive action considering all relevant operating constraints. Hoteliers are starting to use more and more predictive analytics to move from reactive to proactive decision making, which can enable them to stay one step ahead of trends, set strategy and achieve goals.

Those who do can gain advantage over the competition, increase value to stakeholders, and continue to surprise and delight their guests.

To harness this effectively takes nimble, future‐minded, and forward thinking leadership within our hotels to take advantage of collected guest data and applied data analytics.

All that starts with having clear customer‐ driven vision, before embarking on integrating and standardizing guest data from multiple channels, systems and properties into a unified, accurate view of all guest interactions.

If we have that outlook, approach and vision then our hospitality future in Northern Ireland looks potentially very bright indeed.

Improve wellbeing and save money overnment‐led salary sacrifice schemes have for years allowed companies nation‐wide to contribute what they normally pay in tax towards pensions, childcare vouchers or the bike to work scheme.

Thanks to this government‐led initiative for all UK businesses, both employers and employees can also take advantage of this tax benefit scheme that allows individuals to invest in their health and wellbeing.

The ability to simultaneously improve wellbeing and save money is exactly what Randox Health is delivering through their Workplace Wellbeing programme.

By taking what you would usually pay as tax and investing it in your health instead, employees can save up to 62 per cent on their income tax and National Insurance and employers can save 13.8 per cent on their National Insurance Contributions.

Jason Webster Business Manager of Randox Health, says the significance of our Workplace Wellbeing initiative is that by taking a simple

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yet sophisticated blood test, employees not only benefit financially, but also gain personal insight to prevent ill health and disease at a stage when corrective action can be taken.

The payment plan for the scheme operates on a monthly basis, which means that the cost is spread over 12 months. No need for cash or card transactions, monthly payments are transferred at source. Depending on tax bracket savings of up to 62 per cent can be made on the cost of a Randox Health preventative programme.

“The Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing programme is the most advanced diagnostic service in the world. Both employers and employees can have access to our unique premium service at a fraction of the cost, as a completely tax‐free initiative at no extra cost to the business. In addition to this, taking care of the health and wellbeing of your employees will reduce absenteeism and costs, resulting in improved productivity making this a win‐win programme,” says Jason.

From a simple blood test, which can take

place within the workplace, results can comprehensively identify the health and function of your organs, cancer surveillance, nutritional health, sexual health and fertility amongst our portfolio of 150 disease indicators. This is followed up with a scientific report, personalised health plan, consultation with a GP and ongoing retesting where necessary for each employee.

The Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing programme can save you from potential illness and disease in the future. Empower your employees to find out how healthy they really are and how they can continually improve their wellbeing. Don’t leave the health of your workforce to chance. Let Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing take control of your future business health.

For more information contact the team at Randox Health now.

Tel: 0800 2545 130 Email: wellbeing@randoxhealth.com Website: www.randoxhealth.com

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Economic Development: a challenge to our Councils

t is a year since our new (super) councils became operational – taking over the ‘legacy’ powers of the former councils and assuming some additional responsibilities.

While a year is too short a time in which to assess the effectiveness of many of their approaches, it may be an appropriate time to ask about some of their policy thinking.

They have had some time in which to assess the situation and to start thinking about what they might do in the longer term, but any decisions and subsequent new practice might not yet be so embedded that further suggestions would inevitably be resisted, no matter how appropriate.

One of the new responsibilities placed on the councils is local enterprise development which includes support for small locally‐ based start‐up businesses. This was part of Invest NI’s Regional Start Initiative and is often branded as ‘Go For It’.

The genesis of this initiative is traceable back to the 1980s in the era of LEDU (Local Enterprise Development Unit) which was the Northern Ireland Government’s small business agency. It was formed in 1972, tasked to support local small businesses and given a budget.

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When it asked businesses what they needed, they said money – so, because it had the funds, LEDU initially operated mainly by providing grants. However, in the early 1980s, it realised that its standard assessment procedure was too cumbersome for one person start‐ups so it introduced a simple quick standard enterprise grant.

Then it decided that it ought to ensure that those to whom it offered such grants had some of the basic business skills they would need to survive ‐ so it laid on courses for them in marketing/selling and book‐keeping.

LEDU was also looking at good practice elsewhere and consulting others – from which it was persuaded that networking was also a crucial business requirement.

Therefore, because the local enterprise agencies (LEAs) which were then being formed were in a good position to provide local networking links, LEDU asked the LEAs to deliver the business skill training as an opportunity to make those connections.

Eventually the grant support was also routed through the agencies so they were charged with delivering the complete support package. Initially, however, business plans

by Simon Bridge, visiting professor at Ulster University

were not included but, as banks started to demand them, help with them was often also provided.

That therefore was the basis for the local start‐up support structure which Invest NI inherited when it was formed – but it is not what appears to have been handed over to the councils.

The grants have been lost, the networking seems to have been forgotten and the skills training dropped – leaving only one‐to‐one help to construct a business plan, an aspect which was not part of the original rationale.

This may have been done to reduce costs – but it does appear to have thrown away the baby while leaving the bathwater.

The main focus of LEDU’s efforts in supporting businesses was employment because LEDU’s main target was the number of jobs it could claim to have promoted each year – whether from new businesses being formed or existing businesses expanding.

That might now be called an ‘enterprise’ policy and it included both a desire for more start‐ups – sometime called an ‘entrepreneurship’ policy – and a desire for more growth in established businesses – or a

Essentially there are two significant problems with the Go-For-It approach as a component of entrepreneurship policy: it does not help many new ventures and it does not encourage more start-ups. Professor Simon Bridge ‘small business’ policy. That distinction is important because it is clear that they are different objectives and therefore are unlikely to be achieved by the same means.

Therefore the new councils have been handed both an entrepreneurship policy remit for developing new locally‐based start‐ up businesses and ‘Go‐For‐It’ as the means for doing it.

However, before just applying the means to the remit, it might be relevant for the councils to ask what their objective is in this – and whether the means they have been given is likely to help.

For instance a council might want to help start‐ups in its borough as a service to those ratepayers who want to start a business or to help the economy of the area by increasing the number of start‐ups and/or helping them to be more successful.

Those are both legitimate reasons for supporting new start‐up and it might seem that the regional start‐up initiative was designed for just those purposes ‐ but unfortunately the reality is that it does not help with either of them.

The problems with the Go-For-It approach Essentially there are two significant problems with the Go‐For‐It approach as a component of entrepreneurship policy: it does not help many new ventures and it does not encourage more start‐ups.

Essentially, to help new ventures, Go‐For‐It offers assistance with a business plan – but, as it is usually formulated and in the way it is usually presented, the traditional business plan is not an appropriate help for many new ventures.

Skills are a help but they were dropped and social capital (wider than networking) is very relevant but that is not covered in the Go‐For‐ It package. For instance the sort of group training in business skills formerly provided not only imparted the skills, but by doing it in a group, it helped the participants to make connections and thus increase their social capital (even before social capital was recognised as a key ingredient).

Business plans are a tool sometimes useful for established big businesses and they were invented by business professionals who have acquired what is fundamentally a big‐ business based approach to business.

It is true that business plans are often advocated for start‐ups but usually by such

professionals.

They have been described as route maps for business success but route maps are only available when a territory has been sufficiently mapped for an appropriate route to be selected. Instead of being small big businesses, new small ventures are more like explorers venturing into the unknown.

They may have some idea about what might be out there but it is unsurveyed territory – so there are no credible maps on which to plot a route.

Business plans, once constructed, encourage people to focus on following the plan ‐ whereas explorers need to keep open minds looking for the potential opportunities which may only be revealed as they progress.

Therefore there is a limited, but growing, realisation that traditional business plans do not help – they are a left‐brained method where a right‐brained approach is needed.

But there is also evidence that even when support is appropriate and helpful, it does not increase the number of start‐ups. The assumption seems to be that more people want to start businesses but are prevented from doing so by external constraints.

Therefore, if those constraints are lifted ‐ for instance by removing barriers and providing funding, premises, skills training, marketing assistance and other support ‐ then more people will follow their inclination and become entrepreneurs.

That thinking follows the traditional economists’ assumption that humans react individually and logically to economic opportunities ‐ but it is increasingly apparent that that assumption is wrong – and starting businesses is no exception.

While across the world individual start‐up support schemes may be lauded there seems to be no convincing evidence that any of them have led to a significant and consistent increases in the rate of business starts.

And this should be not surprising because, as psychologists and similar observers of human behaviour are telling us, we are a very social species for whom social influence is very powerful. (But it is so pervasive that we hardly notice it and persuade ourselves that, while others may be subject to such influences, we always act rationally.)

Therefore, if you want to change human behaviour, try harnessing social influence rather that appealing to logic. That, for instance, appears to be the tactic now followed by those trying to reduce the

incidence of drinking and driving.

So, now that the new councils have had a while to settle in and address immediate concerns, is this a good time for them to consider their local economic development remit and to assess both what their objectives for it might be and how they might best achieve them? Unfortunately, however, the evidence seems to suggest that the methods apparently passed on by Invest NI are unlikely to help.

So, what can the councils do?

Again there would appear to be two main options. The first, and apparently preferable, approach would be to conduct an open and objective assessment of what the possibilities are and what, therefore, could or should be done to achieve the desired economic impact.

It means however being prepared to be different, to experiment and to stand out – but also possibly to be right. The alternative, and often chosen, course is what has been referred to as wilful blindness.

It involves managing not to know that the traditional methods do not work so that new methods do not have to be sought and there is no reason for not following the herd in continuing to do more of the same.

The former might produce something that actually works – but the latter is more comfortable and so it is often followed.

Which one will we chose?

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Business First celebrates your success [1] BDO NI has appointed Bronagh Bourke as Audit Director. Bronagh has worked in Dublin for the last 15 years gaining significant experience across a number of sectors, including manufacturing, retail and IT/software with her primary client base being entrepreneurial medium to large privately held businesses. Bronagh also has significant experience managing NASDAQ and FTSE listed clients. Bronagh is an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA), with diplomas in IFRS and US GAAP.

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[2] Sarah Gilpin has been appointed as Finance Director at local accountancy and advisory firm BDO Northern Ireland. Sarah is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and has over 15 years experience of working in finance in industry at a senior level. Sarah will take on responsibility of the internal finance team within the firm.

[3] Kirk Moffatt has been appointed as Director of Creative Services at ASG and Partners. With over 25 years’ experience, Kirk will be responsible for building new creative relationships with select partners to maximise innovative solutions for clients.

[4] Valerie Ludlow has been appointed Director, Strategy at ASG & Partners. Valerie has worked in the research and advertising industries for 15 years, including in London for global brands. Valerie will oversee strategic direction for the company, its clients and its partners.

[5] Karen Barr has been appointed Head of Client Services at ASG & Partners. Karen has worked in the advertising industry for 20 years delivering national and international campaigns for clients in both the public and private sectors. Karen will lead the Client Services team, providing an integrated marketing proposition for all of the agency’s clients.

[6] Rory Jeffers has been appointed as Creative Director at ASG & Partners. Rory has 17 years’ experience in branding and design and his work has been recognised by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Irish Design Institute and Publicity Association Northern Ireland. Rory will be responsible for the overall creative strategy for the agency and its clients.

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[7] Emma Murray has been appointed as Director, Recruitment at ASG & Partners.

With 18 years’ experience in recruitment advertising, Emma will oversee the company’s Recruitment division which is responsible for the design, media planning and buying of recruitment and classified advertising for clients throughout the UK and Ireland.

[8] Arthur Cox has appointed Emma-Jane Flannery as Employment Law Partner at its Northern Ireland practice. Emma‐Jane has 12 years’ experience of dealing with both contentious and non‐contentious matters, specialising in disciplinary and grievance issues as well as tribunal claims involving unfair dismissals and discrimination.

[9] A new Ombudsman’s office for investigating complaints about public services was launched in April and led by Marie Anderson. The Office of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) has been created by the Ombudsman (NI) Act 2016, a new piece of Assembly legislation aimed at making it easier for the public to complain about public services and at increasing the public accountability of public service providers.

Employers: it’s time to wake up to driver fatigue

by Dr. Alan Black, Director of Blackwell Associates

on’t sleep on the job is a phrase often used when it comes to engagement inside the workplace. The same rule applies to employees who are required to drive as part of their employment and indeed to all other occasions when behind the wheel.

Considering that driver fatigue accounts for as much as 20 per cent of all road accidents in the UK ‐ which are twice as likely to result in death due to reduced reaction time and concentration levels ‐ the issue of driving while drowsy poses a huge risk to businesses.

The fact is, an incredible 40 per cent of sleep‐related accidents involve commercial vehicles. This can be largely attributed to various factors such as stress and anxiety or long working hours.

Whether or not you are a professional LGV or PSV driver, or simply working remotely, all employers have a moral and legal obligation to ensure you are fit to drive before you sit behind the wheel.

To help prevent driver fatigue, employers should consider the following:

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Pre-employment Health Assessments Pre‐employment health questionnaires are designed to identify factors which may influence an employee’s driving performance.

This can range from pre‐existing medical conditions to lifestyle choices such as alcohol consumption and sleeping patterns.

In relation to driving for employment purposes, the assessment should ideally be

carried out by a qualified occupational health professional and adhere to patient confidentiality and data protection law.

If a risk is identified, HR should refer the employee to an occupational health doctor or nurse for further consultation.

An Open Communication policy Like with all workplace issues, it is essential that employees feel assured that any health‐ related concern they report will be handled compassionately, professionally and confidentially by both HR and occupational health departments without compromising job security.

Without an open door policy, staff will fail to confide any health issues they may have for fear of losing their job or being treated differently.

A “driving for work” module within stress risk assessments Employees who have experienced driver fatigue will often admit to feeling stressed prior to the event.

HR and occupational health departments should therefore collaborate to regularly assess and identify who is most at risk of experiencing work‐related stress and use that to determine their fitness to drive.

Factors which often contribute to high levels of stress include long working hours, heavy workloads, stretched resources and

ongoing personal issues.

By assessing these factors, measures can be put in place to help ease the mental pressures posed on employees to reduce levels of stress and absenteeism in the workplace.

With 20 years of experience in the health sector, Blackwell Associates provide various occupational health services and advice for businesses across Northern Ireland.

If you would like to know more about the occupational health services, training and consultancy Blackwell Associates provide, please call 028 9065 6131 or follow them on Twitter @BwellAssociates.

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BUSINESS IN COMMUNTY

Creative training offers creative business solutions M any businesses are engaged with culture because it makes good business sense and because the arts can offer creative business solutions. A selection of inspirational Allianz Arts & Business NI Award winners share how using the arts has helped them achieve their business objectives.

Creative Training uses arts‐based techniques and processes to include drama, magic, music and dance and all are underpinned by strong methodologies that can be applied for business Learning & Development outcomes. These partnerships demonstrate how creative experiences can help people and their organisations become successful.

Some arts and business collaborations prove to be truly transformative for all concerned. That’s just what happened when these Award winning partnerships paired up.

AES Northern Ireland, Arthur Cox, Solicitors & Cinemagic and Stephen Beggs partnership Lecturing about the importance of health and safety in the workplace can only get you so far. You have to come up with something more novel to drive the message home which lead to this collaborative partnership.

When Jane Smith took to the stand to talk about the effect her husband’s death had on her life and those of her children, there wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom. Jane’s husband John had died in a workplace accident, and his boss and company had just been found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety Act. They would ultimately be fined £500,000 between them. Thankfully, this wasn’t a real case, but a mock trial involving a fictitious company, a training project with a difference.

A small team of actors, co‐ordinated by Beggs, played the accused and the witnesses.

Holly Lyons and Karla Dooey, associate solicitors at Arthur Cox, one of Northern Ireland’s leading law, firms helped to led the defence and prosecution with the ‘trial’ held in Carrickfergus Council Chamber, which was once a courtroom, in front of a judge. Over 40 selected AES employees and industry guests formed the jury, and asked to consider a verdict.

“The purpose of it was to demonstrate to people how a series of small omissions or a culture ignoring safety can lead to tragic consequences for a wide group of people.

“We’re trying to bring training to life and to engage our people. The feedback we have had has been tremendous. The key aspect was the

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Herbert Smith Freehills LLP & the National Trust

reality of the event.” said Davy Elliott, AES Northern Ireland

Edwards & Company Solicitors & the Lyric Theatre Sponsorship of the Lyric’s summer school brought a number of Edwards & Company’s staff into contact with theatrical voice coach to help the lawyers on argument and rhetoric in Shakespeare’s texts. Leading onto their next project saw Edwards & Company join forces with Lyric’s creative learning department in its work with the young offenders at Hydebank Wood College in Belfast.

This culminated in a short radio play based on the project, ‘Life at Hydebank and at Edwards & Company’. Penned by Philip Crawford, the play satirised the earlier series of interviews which had taken place between the solicitors and the Hydebank boys, but this time the roles were reversed to great comic effect.

“This was a great fit for us on many levels as an educational project that our employees could be actively involved in with the potential for long‐lasting benefits for all sides.

It also gave our staff a chance to practise the vocal skills they had picked up from theatre coach.”

“Overall we have gained so much through our association with Lyric Theatre, redefining the relationship between solicitors and these young men, who normally engage with lawyers under more stressful conditions.”

“It brought benefits we had never imagined to the business – it brought our staff together in a creative, enjoyable way that also produced measurable and practical rewards for the firm,” said David McClurg, Edwards & Company practice manager.

The relationship between law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and the National Trust was formed when the company was involved in the provision of wooden chainsaw sculptures at the Trust’s south Belfast Minnowburn property.

Moving onto more ambitious projects firstly with The Pleasure Grounds area of the Rowallane Garden property in Saintfield, County Down was chosen as the project location as visitors had indicated that they would like to stay longer in this section of the garden if seating were provided. Enlisting the help of arts student from Ulster University who submitted designs with the winning designed sculpted and turned into seats. One third of Herbert Smith Freehills Belfast workforce volunteered (50 employees) at the property over six weekly sessions preparing the site for the seating and helping maintain and improve the gardens.

A second element of the partnership saw the National Trust and Herbert Smith Freehills engage with the Rowallane Plays.

Herbert Smith Freehills staff sat with Rowallane locals to discover their memories of the garden as a private‐ owned estate.

After many hours of research the lawyers worked together to write scripts, forming the Rowallane Plays. Four scripts were chosen, professional actors were hired and 32 performances were held in Rowallane Garden. Herbert Smith Freehills staff took on all the roles to manage the production from press officer, photographer to videographer and wardrobe assistance for the event.

Lyn Harris, deputy director and practice group lead for disputes, with Herbert Smith Freehills and artistic director and founder of Belfast‐based theatre company Rawlife directed the plays said “the project had a number of business benefits, the most obvious being employee and community engagement. While we are a global brand and a global firm, we are here in the midst of the Belfast community. We employ local people and want to be part of that local community.

We can form a really important partnership that is so relevant to Northern Ireland in terms of the National Trust properties that are here. It’s something that our staff can touch and feel that related so inherently here to the culture in Northern Ireland.”

Interested in partnering with the arts, contact Arts & Business NI 028 9073 5150 or email info@artsandbusinessni.org.uk

Summit on responsible business announced

Jenni Barkley, Belfast Harbour; Katherine McDonald, Carecall; John Brolly, The Irish News; Gillian McKee, Business in the Community; Richard Donnan, Ulster Bank; Ann McGregor, NI Chamber of Commerce; Joe McDonald, ASDA; and Claire Hutchinson, Diageo

usiness in the Community has launched its 2016 Responsible Business Summit, which will take place at the newly extended Waterfront Hall on Wednesday 5 October.

‘Tomorrow’s World’ will be hosted by BBC presenter Declan Curry and will feature a range of expert speakers and thinkers from the worlds of business, academia and the third sector. Aimed at a business audience, the Summit will explore the challenges facing business and society in the next 10‐25 years and how we can plan responsible business approaches to meeting those challenges.

Ulster Bank is the key sponsor of this bi‐ annual event, along with media partner the Irish News and ASDA, Belfast Harbour, Diageo and Carecall, who all supported the event in 2014.

For the first time, Business in the Community is partnering with the NI Chamber of Commerce on the Summit in an attempt to reach a broader base of business opinion and take its messages around

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corporate responsibility to a wider audience.

Business in the Community Deputy Managing Director Gillian McKee said “Since our first Responsible Business Conference in 2012, we have been using the event to focus business attention on the future – the challenges we are likely to face in relation to a changing workforce, environmental sustainability and social and technological change – and to encourage new ways of approaching those challenges.

“With an expanded space available at the Waterfront Hall and working in partnership with the NI Chamber, we are looking forward to expanding the audience and reaching more businesses than ever to ensure that we face the future with corporate responsibility at the heart of business here in Northern Ireland.”

Richard Donnan, Head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland said “Ulster Bank is delighted to be lead sponsor of the Responsible Business Summit for the second year. Future‐scoping is a vitally important activity for business and doing so with a

‘responsibility filter’ is vital for companies that want to remain successful and sustainable in a rapidly changing world. The line‐up for this event is always impressive and the content thought‐provoking, so I look forward to a stimulating event in October.”

Details for the Responsible Business Summit will be regularly updated on a dedicated website – www.tomorrowsworldni.com or can be found at www.bitcni.org.uk.

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This is a beauty! hen Volvo build cars there is always one thing you can be sure of – they build them right: strong, safe and built to last.

At times some of their models have not been that easy on eye. But in recent years that has certainly changed as the design is really appealing and very creative with a premium finish.

The new Volvo XC90 is one good example of this. The XC90 is a rather large SUV with Nordic good looks and practicality. The seven seater has five seats that recline and the two extra seats are a good size so it really is a full seven seater.

Volvo’s legendarily safe, spacious and useful seven‐seat SUV has been given a nut‐ and‐bolt re‐boot. One major principle remains: the engine is transversely mounted, and so a huge proportion of its length can be given over to the interior. More than ever this time, because they didn’t leave space for a V8 option. Pretty well every part is fresh, even the redesigned Volvo badge.

The all‐new platform, engines and dash interface are Volvo’s own work, so if you like they don’t go thinking you can find them cheaper on another brand – this company acts independently these days, albeit under hands‐off ownership of a large Chinese conglomerate. Which makes Volvo that bit unique?

The 2.0 litre 225bhp 4 cylinder diesel engine fitted to the XC90 I drove was a real a surprise. This is a rather large vehicle and I felt it may be a little underpowered – but I was very wrong! The four –wheel drive system works through the eight speed automatic gearbox with ease and even when

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by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

pushed it is virtually silent – when you floor the accelerator this Big Lady gets up and really goes sprinting to 60mph in 7.4 seconds and is fit for shade below 140 mph.

The steering is a little lifeless but weigh that up against the comfort and control offered by the air suspension and the whole package drives with some aplomb. The XC90 is probably the best large SUV I have driven all year.

The interior is simple, well laid out and beautifully built using premium materials everywhere. There is plenty of space for all passengers and even the with seven onboard there is still enough room for a large weekly

shop (do people still do that?). Anyway it is a very practical SUV and Volvo has not taken any shortcuts and has thought about everything an SUV should be.

Being a Volvo you get all the latest safety features as standard and this new XC90 adds an extra edge in design rather than looking staid like the model it replaces this XC90 looks really handsome‐ even Regal and it certainly stands out from the crowd in a very good way.

With prices starting at around £46,250 which for a large SUV of this quality is not bad at all‐ saying that with a few extras my test car came in at £69,350.

BMW presents number two B

MW has always used numbers to distinguish their models. But for quite a while there was a few missing like the two series, and the four series. Both those slots have now been filled which means BMW offer a range running from one through to eight.

The new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer is the first premium compact model to offer up to seven seats and fully meet the mobility requirements of young families. Compact exterior dimensions go hand in hand with tremendous flexibility on the inside: a sliding second row of seats with adjustable backrest, a third row of seats that fold into the floor, and provision for up to five universal child seats are just some of the features on offer.

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

The test car was the 220d xDrive and it certainly offers seven seat capability an elevated driving position gives you the feeling of a SUV. The two litre diesel engine seems to be more refined than previous BMW engines I have driven offering smooth power delivery and it was noticeably quieter than the normal BMW diesel offering.

The 2 series Gran Tourer has the BMW face and from the front is attractive, the side view is a bit bland and a bit van like, but on the plus side the accommodates seven seats‐ so really BMW has done a fairly good job.

The interior is real BMW: the dash, the controls, the switchgear and the general

layout is the same as in all BMW models and it is starting to show its age. An interior facelift would do no harm. As one guy said to me when you have sat in one BMW you have sat in them all. The quality is certainly there so it is really just a dated design or maybe some would describe it as a ‘traditional’ design.

The 2 Series Gran Tourer is good to drive as it is lively and fairly economical. I was able to achieve 42 miles per gallon. Not near the 57.8 mpg claimed by BMW but not bad. The eight‐ speed automatic gearbox works well and the test car I drove was fitted with the 10‐ millimetre‐lower M Sport suspension that is a feature of the M Sport model and is also available as a separate option. It is based on a tauter spring/damper calibration as well as stiffer anti‐roll bars.

As an alternative, drivers can choose a chassis with Dynamic Damper Control: using the Driving Experience Control switch, two different damping settings are available. In fact, ECO PRO, SPORT and COMFORT modes

are available via this switch in front of the centre console.

A press of a button calls up a predefined set‐up that configures the powertrain and chassis components accordingly.The additional option of variable sport steering allows the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer to be steered with even greater agility and precision. There is certainly a difference between each mode.

The body roll is kept in check when in sport mode and it really does tighten things up , for everyday driving I found Comfort was great the 2 series just glides over pot holes and bumps with aplomb.

The 2 series Gran Tourer is really a premium practical vehicle that would suit any growing family extremely well. The four wheel drive system adds that extra bit of practicality and safety –so it is perfect for all year round use for a busy family. The 2 series Gran Tourer starts at £24,710. The X220D I drove with a few extras is £32,540 plus the extras would leave no change out of £40,000.

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Design Special?

he all new Citroen DS4 is the second model to enter Citroens premium brand which is known as DS. It follows its highly successful smaller hatchback the DS3.

The DS4 is a different kind of car. It is quirky in its design and very good looking, but I was left wondering: is it a five door family hatchback; a crossover, or a sporty hatchback. The DS4 sits quite high from the ground on its 19inch wheels has five doors but looks like a handsome coupe – so is it an all rounder ?

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by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent

Available with both petrol and diesel engines the test car I drove had a 1.6 130 bhp turbocharged diesel engine, fitted with a six speed manual gearbox. The engine is no flyer but works well with the tall ratios of the six speed gearbox and was super economical averaging 60 miles per gallon.

It was also a very quiet engine and with an abundance of torque it feels a lot livelier than the performance figures would suggest. The only time I noticed it labouring was when travelling in the new 20mph Belfast Speed

Limit as I was passed by three Lycra clad cyclists and the DS4 in third gear was struggling to go that slowly.

Citroen has done away with the iconic double Chevron badge on the DS range, but apart from that the front of the DS4 is still easily recognisable as a Citroen, The body then flares out and becomes more curvaceous. At the back the rear door handles are hidden and yes the DS4 does look like a coupe as the roof line drops down at the rear.

The inside is very Citroen. Nicely designed, not cluttered and making use of high quality brushed metals and plastics. The illumination of the dash can be changed to whatever colour suits your mood and the driving position is good. And apart from the middle headrest blocking full rear view vision, the visibility is good.

There is plenty of interior space in the front of the DS4 and I would feel that two passenger in the rear would be fine but it’s a bit of a squeeze for three.

On the road the DS4 drives well, as it sits quite high it is hard to make it very dynamic, but Citroen has come up with a good compromise. The DS4 handles well, body roll is kept well under control and on A roads and Motorways it is extremely comfortable and quiet.

The DS4 is no hot hatchback and neither is it a crossover. I think it sits somewhere in between and really is an eye catcher.

Practically perfect VW V

olkswagen has given their Golf GTI a near perfect life and it keeps on going.

The GTI started life a three door hot hatch and really was the king of them all in the 80’s. Then Volkswagen added a five door version which was as successful if not more so than the three door model as it appealed to family owners.

Then along came the diesel revolution and the GTD was born. This again was super successful as it was in the market place at the right time. It featured all we loved about the GTI golf and was powered by a sharp 2.0 litre turbocharged engine‐ it also was extremely economical.

In addition to the Golf Estate’s usual array of safety, comfort and convenience features – which include Adaptive Cruise Control, City Emergency Braking, driver alert, pre‐crash protection, post‐collision braking function and advanced touchscreen infotainment system, the GTD model gains sports suspension (lowered by 15 mm compared to standard Golf) and progressive steering which gives a sharper response during high performance driving as well as ensuring greater comfort in normal conditions and is well weighted and offers plenty of feedback.

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New Golf GTD Estate’s sporty character is reflected in its exterior design: along with special GTD bumpers and the honeycomb radiator grille, it gains smoked rear lights and flared sills The look is completed by 18‐inch Nogaro alloys, black roof rails, dual chrome tailpipes and bi‐xenon headlights Naturally no high performance Golf, with or without boot, would be complete without a gear knob styled as a golf ball which fits your hand perfectly and enhances the change of the six‐speed gearbox

The benchmark 0 to 62 mph sprint takes 7.9 seconds, with a top speed of 143 mph But the Golf GTD lives up to its benchmark economy, returning 64.2 mpg on the combined cycle which I felt was about right.

The interior is clean uncluttered and if you need space drop the back seats and you have a flat loading surface capable of swallowing a double wardrobe.

This Golf works for everybody‐ it is very practical and really covers just about anything you could want from a car. It is great fun to drive and it is a handsome car.

The Final Word

Looking ahead to the new Government Departments

by Chris Brown, Director, MCE Public Relations Connect with Chris @CB_PAandPA s you read this we are digesting the results of the recent Northern Ireland Assembly Election.

To be honest, things won’t actually be that different. Faces may change, policies tweaked, new legislation brought forward, but the traditional power blocs are likely to remain.

We’ve now made an allowance for an official opposition, but the shape of the political institution, and the mechanisms within, will only shift marginally over the next mandate.

One change we know for sure is the number and shape of the nine new government departments as laid out in the Stormont House Agreement at the end of 2014.

Reduced from twelve, we will see newly named departments with existing functions retained and the movement of some functions across departments.

When examined in detail, it’s not actually going to be that drastic, bar the reduced number of civil servants who flocked to the doors when the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was announced last year.

With the local election and the EU Referendum in the way, it may all seem a little bit abstract and confusing at this point, but we are not too far off. Here I have outlined in as few words as I can an outline of the new regime.

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Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Will retain most of the existing functions of DARD. Takes on sustainability from OFMDFM, inland fisheries function from DCAL, and environmental functions including regulation from DOE.

Department for Communities Brings together existing functions of DSD and DCAL. Scoops up OFMDFM functions such as the Social Investment Fund, disability and poverty, racial equality, gender and sexual orientation.

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Department for the Economy

Department of Justice

Will combine the functions of DETI and DEL, except for the Employment Service.

Will stick with existing functions but takes on Public Safety and also the Planning Appeals function from OFMDFM.

Department of Education Maintains all existing functions and takes on OFMDFM policy responsibilities for the Childcare Strategy, however child protection will stay with the Department of Health.

Department of Finance Will continue with existing functions, but takes over from OFMDFM in relation to the NI Direct Central Editorial Team and Government Advertising Unit.

Department of Health Gets rid of public safety, but takes on OFMDFM policy responsibility for older people and the Active Ageing Strategy.

Department for Infrastructure Retains responsibilities of DRD, but takes on vehicle regulation, road safety and Driver and Vehicle Agency. Also takes on Rivers Agency from DARD, inland waterways from DCAL and the strategic investment unit from OFMDFM.

The biggest change of the whole lot will be with OFMDFM. Its new name will be the Executive Office, which will have most of its functions transferred out to the new departments.

It will retain its role in support of the Executive, and the central institutions, including the Programme for Government, international relations and the Executive Information Service.

Sponsorship and support for a number of key institutions will also be retained such as the Attorney General’s Office, the Equality Commission, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Commission for Victims and Survivors and the Victims and Survivors Service.

The new department layout is expected to reduce the burden to the taxpayer of around £2.2 million each year, or £11 million per Assembly term, in wages, expenses and office costs.