Business Eye May 2021 by Buckley Publications

Issue 206 May 2021 £2.50 Voted best Business Magazine in Ireland 2005 and Magazine of the Year for Northern Ireland

Danske BankBacking Business With £500 Million Growth Fund Features:

Dalradian - A Golden Opportunity For Northern Ireland

John McGrillen - Tourism Chief Assesses The Scale Of The Challenge

Climate Action Challenges And Chances

Electric & Hybrid vehicles can bring a lot of benefits to your business. Find out more about our emotive offering... fleetfinancial.co.uk/emotive

Contents 18

Abbey Autoline - Serving A Changing Insurance Market

Julie Gibbons, Managing Director of Abbey Autoline, talks about the challenges of merging two of Northern Ireland’s market leading insurance broking businesses and the fast pace of change in the consumer insurance industry.

Danske Bank - Backing Business With £500 Million Growth Fund

Richard Buckley talks to Geoff Sharpe, Head of Corporate, and Robert MCullough, Head of Organisational Development, at Danske Bank about the bank’s post-Covid plans and the launch of its new £500 million Business Growth Fund.

Dalradian - A Golden Economic 24 Opportunity For Northern Ireland Dr. Brian Kelly, Managing Director of Dalradian Gold, highlights the unique opportunities that could stem from the company’s plans to extract gold, silver and copper from the Tyrone hillsides. The Curraghinalt project is expected to the subject of a public inquiry.

Ivan McMinn - Ex-Banker Joins Team At City Auction Group

When Ivan McMinn brought the curtains down on a 36-year career in banking at the age of 55, he’d no intention of taking up gardening or spending more time on the golf course. Instead, he’s part of the management team at fast-growing City Auction Group.

BDO - Squaring Up To The Challenges Ahead

BDO partners Brian Murphy and Michael Jennings talk about the post-pandemic economic future facing businesses in Northern Ireland and how optimism must be tempered with an element of caution.

John McGrillen - Tourism NI Chief Assesses The Scale Of The Challenge

May 2021 ISSUE 206

Harbinson Mulholland - Steering Homegrown Businesses Towards Post-Covid Recovery

Harbinson Mulholland Senior Partner Darren McDowell isn’t afraid to say what a lot of business leaders are thinking. That a lot of companies here in Northern Ireland have come through the worst of the pandemic in surprisingly good health. But, given the challenges ahead, any advantage will be welcome.

Visit Belfast - Bringing The City Back To Life

Gerry Lennon and Kathryn Thomson are both optimists by nature. It’s almost a prerequisite for anyone working in or close to the tourism sector here in Northern Ireland. The Chief Executive and Chair of Visit Belfast look at the post-Covid future.

Climate Action - Challenges & 56 Opportunities For Our Region Business Eye joined forces with NIE Networks to stage a virtual round table spotlighting Northern Ireland’s targets and progress towards a greener future and looking at the economic opportunities arising from positive climate action. What can this region achieve and what spin-offs benefits might it bring?

Musgrave NI - Together We Are Stronger

The Covid pandemic has brought challenges to every aspect of every business and CSR is no exception to the rule. But, as Musgrave NI’s Marketing Director Desi Derby tells Richard Buckley, CSR, like any other part of business life, can be adapted for success.

& Overy - Ten Years 48 OfAllen Making A Difference As one of the world’s largest and most connected law firms, Allen & Overy is committed to making a difference. Over the last year, the Belfast office has contributed GBP100,000 locally through fundraising and community engagement projects.

As the hospitality and tourism sector slowly gets back into action, Northern Ireland’s tourism chief assesses the challenge that lies ahead. But John McGrillen is optimistic that the region, and its industry, is up to the task.

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As we continue to ease our way back towards normality, its impossible to ignore the fact that there is a very different atmosphere out there.

Richard Buckley EDITOR Irish Magazine Editor of the Year 2005

Comment

“We’re already in the foothills of a post-pandemic recovery. Thanks to an unstoppable wave of lostlockdown optimism, thanks to the country’s real hero, vaccine supremo Kate Bingham, and thanks to a nice little build up of spare cash in plenty of coffers, things are looking up.”

ospitality is opening up again, hotels and pubs are next, retail is back with us and, come the end of May, there will be nothing much left to be pulled kicking and screaming out of lockdown. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that, by the third week of June, most restrictions will have been binned. And that, by many accounts, might include the concept of social distancing and the requirement to wear masks in shops and other indoor environments. Our own NI Executive likes to be contrary. It likes to be different. It likes to pretend that it has a whole lot of power and the money to back it up. But, of course, it doesn’t. That won’t stop us being held back by local politicians who, even if they’ll rush to deny it, have savoured the hold that they’ve had over our lives during the pandemic. But, as vaccination success continues unabated and the country opens up, they’re going to have to release that grip. What we need now from the NI Executive is two-fold. We need stability. The new leader of the DUP needs to be able to bring stability to the table. But, given the party’s record on these things, it’s entirely possible that the new leader will bring anything but stability. Any threat to an already shaky Stormont isn’t something that any of us need just now, even though some of us might fancy a spot of direct rule. Could it be any worse? But the NI Executive also needs to be positive, another thing it’s really not very good at. We need positivity around our economy, we need positivity around tourism as it struggles back to life, we need positivity around promoting the benefits and not the downsides of the Northern Ireland Protocol and the unique position that we find ourselves in.

We need leaders who’ll talk up Northern Ireland and its businesses in the post-Covid era. But will we all be holding our breath for that to transpire? Probably not. The UK Government, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak in particular, can hold its head high in terms of how it has treated business during the Covid pandemic. It’s response was exemplary, and it’s response saved many jobs, many companies and many livelihoods. The NI Executive, by contrast, has done precious little to help businesses here in Northern Ireland. Instead, it slavishly followed the edicts of a Department of Health agenda... and failed to listen to the concerns of businesses at every turn. Perhaps now it can step up to the mark. But the odds are that businesses here will be left to ride the waves of a post-pandemic recovery on its own. That’s something that it’s well used to and something it’s more than able to do. We’re already in the foothills of a post-pandemic recovery. Thanks to an unstoppable wave of lost-lockdown optimism, thanks to the country’s real hero, vaccine supremo Kate Bingham, and thanks to a nice little build up of spare cash in plenty of coffers, things are looking up. Yes, there’s a bit of a repayment hangover waiting in the wings. But it’s not something that anyone wants to focus on just at the moment. We’re coming into summer. The pandemic is all but over bar the shouting (and don’t let Robin Swann tell you otherwise). The sun is shining...or it will be very soon. So the message is simple. Get out there and make some hay. richard@businesseye.co.uk

EU Exit

BUSINESS ADVICE Customs, VAT & post EU Exit trade Return to business informed Learn from PWC experts how the NI Protocol impacts trading in 2021 Join Us Live Wednesday 12 May, 10-11.30am* Free 1:2:1 advice consultations also available after the event. From sole traders to corporations, anyone can register now for free at investni.com/eu-exit-events *This event is part of a series.

BUILDING BUSINESS FOR A STRONGER ECONOMY

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Eye on News

Hastings Hotels Partners With seemehired.com To Hire 100 New Employees As the local hospitality industry scales up its preparations for reopening on 24 May 2021, Northern Ireland’s largest independent hotel group has confirmed that it is to create 100 new roles across its seven properties in the coming months.

astings Hotels today announced a new partnership with Belfastbased applicant hiring software solution business SeeMeHired. com to hire 100 new employees across its hotels, independent restaurants and health club spas. Comprising a range of full-time, part-time and casual opportunities, the 100 roles will be spread across the Group’s accommodation, food and beverage, spa and health club, and administration offerings. With many of the roles now live, candidates are invited to apply via theSeeMeHired.com platform. SeeMeHired.com’s applicant hiring platform enables employers

to recruit staff in a much more streamlined, compliant and timesaving manner, fully automating the sourcing, engaging, selecting and hiring of applicants. Through the cloud-based platform, employers can advertise and manage their vacancies across a wide range of sourcing channels anywhere in the world such as job boards, social media and recruitment agencies. According to Managing Director Dr Howard Hastings OBE, Hastings Hotels Group’s people will be critical to its recovery and growth in the coming years. “Hastings Hotels has always been renowned for the exceptional service enjoyed by guests at our hotels

Pictured at Hastings Hotels’ Grand Central Hotel are Dr Howard Hastings OBE, Managing Director and Gary Irvine, CEO, SeeMeHired.com

and that is very much down to our outstanding team of employees at all levels within the business,” he said. “As a progressive employer, we are passionate about investing in our people from the offset, providing best-in-class training and development opportunities that enable them to grow and excel throughout their career in hospitality. “Our partnership with SeeMeHired. com will enable us to really showcase our business and profile employees in various roles across our hotels, ensuring that we attract the very best candidates who align closely with our culture and ethos. “In addition to vastly reducing the administration time and burdensome process involved in hiring new talent, the SeeMeHired.com platform will enable us to engage with potential employees in a much more meaningful way right from the offset of their journey with Hastings Hotels.” SeeMeHired.com CEO Gary Irvine commented: “Hastings Hotels is

an outstanding example of a wellknown brand that is truly committed to adopting innovative technologies to increase efficiencies within its business and, in particular, across its talent acquisition strategy. “We are proud to partner with the Group and are confident that Howard and his team will quickly reap the many rewards delivered by the SeeMeHired.com platform as they hire and onboard new talent in the coming months.” Hastings Hotels will benefit from a wide range of innovative features delivered by the SeeMeHired. com hiring platform, including a built-in diversity enabler to remove unconscious bias from the shortlisting process and a fully integrated video interviewing and interview management tool. SeeMeHired.com’s applicant tracking information, meanwhile, will ensure the Group is fully updated in real-time throughout the hiring process on all candidates.

Helping Northern Ireland grow again danskebank.co.uk/business

Eye on News

MILLS SELIG NAMED AS OFFICIAL LEGAL PATRON OF CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS FEDERATION (CEF)

ills Selig has become the official legal patron of the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) it has today been announced. Representing the interests of approximately 800 member companies, CEF is the sole certified representative body for the construction industry in Northern Ireland. The patronage offering from Mills Selig will offer CEF members specialist, full-coverage commercial legal guidance including in relation to matters of construction, corporate, employment, litigation, energy, property and commercial law. Adrian Kerr, Construction Lawyer and Partner, Mills Selig said: “The global pandemic caused unprecedented disruption for the construction industry. Trends like the rise of teleworking, requirements for social distancing, shifts of resources, breaks in supply chains, and cash flow disruption has resulted in business change at every level. “Our patronage with CEF has come

L-R Kiera Lee, Employment Lawyer and Partner Mills Selig, Emma Hunt, Head of Litigation and Partner Mills Selig, Mark Spence, Managing Director CEF, David Fry, Director of External Affairs CEF, Adrian Kerr. Construction Lawyer and Partner Mills Selig, Tracy Windrim, Office Manager CEF.

at a pivotal time for CEF members across Northern Ireland. Our focus as a firm is to navigate our clients through their commercial operations using no-nonsense, straight-forward language focused on practical solutions and advice.

“We are honoured to become a patron of CEF. As a local business ourselves, we look forward to supporting CEF member companies and delivering a holistic legal service.” Welcoming the announcement of

the new patronage, Mark Spence, Managing Director at CEF, said: “Our membership accounts for over 70% of construction output in Northern Ireland. We represent businesses employing a handful of people to some of the largest construction companies in Northern Ireland. Queries from our members are varied in terms of complexity, urgency and need. Mills Selig is the perfect fit for taking on the role of legal patron. They have the ability to offer members a truly unique legal service in terms of tailored expert advice that fully encompasses every detail of our member queries. “We are emerging slowly from the pandemic, and Brexit may still throw up a few more curve balls but knowing that Mills Selig are on hand to provide their expert legal guidance is welcome news for CEF and its members alike. “We look forward to working with Mills Selig as we guide and support construction companies through the coming weeks, months and years as we adapt to the new ways in which we now operate.”

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Eye on News

Lidl Plans Three New Stores For North West Northern Ireland’s North West is on track for an investment of more than £26 million and the support of at least 655 new jobs after Lidl Northern Ireland confirmed it is progressing the construction of three new stores in Derry and Strabane.

he new stores will create more than 55 new permanent retail jobs with the retailer and support up to 600 more jobs during construction phases over the next three years. Derry City and Strabane District Council has received plans for a new 2,080 sq. metre store at Crescent Link Retail Park, paving the way for a local investment of £8 million and the creation of at least 35 new in-store jobs. Subject to final planning approval, construction is expected to commence in the coming months, with store opening expected by the end of 2021. Planning approval was also granted in July last year to invest a further £8 million in building a new 2,217 sq. metre store at the junction of the city’s Buncrana Road and Springtown Road as part of a new, enhanced development and a relocation from its current base at 24 Buncrana Road. The project will create 10 new local jobs in the community when it opens in June 2021. Construction is already underway, and a lane closure is currently in place on the Buncrana Road until May 10 to facilitate works. Meanwhile, plans have been submitted for a new 2,300 sq. metre store in Strabane Shopping Park to replace Lidl Northern Ireland’s existing store at Bradley Way which was constructed in 2002. This significantly larger store represents an investment of nearly £10 million and will create 10 additional new retail jobs to bolster its existing 20 strong team. The store is expected to open in 2024. Lidl Northern Ireland Regional Director, Conor Boyle, said: “As Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing supermarket, we’re delighted to continue moving confidently forward with our long-established investment plans for the North West, bringing new employment opportunities to the local community as well as our fresh, high-quality products and market-leading value to more shoppers in the region for many years to come. We look forward to welcoming our loyal customers and new shoppers to these outstanding new, state-of-the-art stores when completed.”

Pictured in Derry city centre are (L-R) Christopher Speers, Property Executive Lidl Northern Ireland and Conor Boyle, Regional Director Lidl Northern Ireland.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds was briefed by Lidl Northern Ireland on its new regional plans and ambitions for the future: “As a key retailer and employer in Northern Ireland, I am delighted to hear of Lidl Northern Ireland’s latest plans to expand its store presence across the region, increase employment and invest in modern, sustainable new stores for the benefit of local communities and the environment. Following Lidl Northern Ireland’s announcement in November last year to open five new stores in the Greater Belfast region, it’s fantastic to see this continued momentum expand across the region to the Derry City and Strabane District Council area which continues to be a key economic hub. I wish all the team every success on its latest renewed growth and on delivering its plans for the future.” The three new Lidl Northern Ireland stores are part of wider plan to enhance its store presence across Northern Ireland and are part of a multi-million-pound investment programme to expand its visibility in the region. In addition to the five Greater Belfast stores announced last November, the North West investment will see the retailer expand its presence across the region, with 42 stores open by the end of 2021. With additional parking, higher ceilings, a more spacious interior layout, enlarged bakery

areas and a Lidl To Go coffee machine, the new state-of-the-art stores are designed to offer shoppers an exceptional shopping experience from the moment they enter the car park. Built with sustainability as a priority, both Derry – Londonderry stores will incorporate a range of environmentally friendly features including an ISO 50001 certified Energy Management System and electric vehicle charger spaces, enabling customers to charge their electric vehicles for free whilst they shop. Welcoming the announcement, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Brian Tierney, said: “With renewed focus on economic recovery and growth, Lidl Northern Ireland’s latest investment in the region is much-welcomed and it confirms its longstanding commitment to the North West. Retail, along with other sectors, remains important to our growth. Lidl Northern Ireland’s new plans can only further assist in underlining the area’s attractiveness as a great place to live, to visit and to invest.”

For further information visit www.lidl-ni.co.uk

Eye on Cloud Communications

Economic recovery: Let’s press the ‘on’ button together As the economy moves to safely unlock, businesses will be eagerly looking forward to a successful reboot of activity and a pick-up in growth. Businesses of all sizes will be eager to lift sales, grow market share and drive new opportunities.

fter a busy year supporting hundreds of local businesses to keep connected, Rainbow Communications is looking forward to renewed growth and assisting our clients to get the best head-start they can. As part our new and exciting partnership with Sunday Times Top Track 100 company Radius Payment Solutions, we’re already adding exciting products and solutions to our award-winning IT and telecoms portfolio. With our strong and established team, we’ve been fast-tracking digital solutions to keep managers, staff and clients connected. We’ve installed and enhanced hybrid working solutions - at home and in the office - that have kept our customers productive throughout the lockdown. Where companies used to manage everything centrally, we’ve helped hundreds of organise everything remotely. From MS Teams and Office 365 which utilise all the safe and secure benefits of the cloud to voiceover-the-internet telephony solutions to mobile, broadband and mesh Wi-Fi networks, our clients have never been so switched on and ready for the future. We are committed to invest in staff training and grow our team in the years ahead. Later this year, we will expand all our operations and divisional strengths by bringing them together in new Grade A office space in Belfast city centre. So, what more can we do right now? Much, much more. With Radius, we’ll be expanding new services in mobile device management, productivity software and cloud data hosting services which will drive connectivity and reliability to new levels. We can also offer customers the full range of Radius’ business solutions. Radius, under the DCI brand name, is Ireland’s largest provider of fuel cards for fleet vehicles from the global energy brands, smaller networks, supermarkets and combined multi-brand networks. Radius also owns a user-friendly vehicle-tracking platform designed to manage drivers out on the road. Our vehicle tracking and fuel card portal has won a string of awards for clarity and improving safety. You

David Beatty, Director of Technical Sales

can see and pay your fuel invoices, see your vehicles on a map in real time and calculate their estimated time of arrival, get accurate driver timesheets and check the miles per gallon of each vehicle. Radius’ UK-wide experience in business insurance goes back to 1958 with a deep specialisation in covering clients with motor fleets. The division describes itself as “big but not too big” and takes pride in negotiating claims on behalf of each client to make sure that the final cost – and therefore the price quoted for renewal – is always as low as possible. We are excited to make this high quality service available in Northern Ireland for the first time. Our renewed focus on telephony is also backed by Radius’ 30 years’ collective telecoms experience providing sophisticated solutions to major UK financial clients as well as simpler, mobile, fixed and Voice-over-Internet Protocol products to companies and organisations of all sizes. Already one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies in the sector, our combined division has a turnover of more than £50 million, providing solutions with our major mobile network partners including Vodafone, O2 and EE. From our offices in Belfast, our focus remains

on supporting you, our customers, so that your business can make the most of every investment. For 2021 and beyond, we’re bigger and better. Forging ahead with a new, strategic partnership for growth that will transform the way our customers work, we look forward to playing our part in driving local and regional growth in every area. Let’s get ready. Let’s press the ‘on’ button together.

An accredited Microsoft Silver Status partner, Rainbow Communications is Northern Ireland’s leading cloud telecom and IT provider. For more information on its full range of services, including bespoke solutions, visit www.rainbowcomms.com

Eye on News

Catalyst And FintruTeam Up To Help Grow NI’s Fintech Sector

Catalyst has announced a new partnership with FinTrU, which will see the two organisations work together to grow and enhance Northern Ireland’s fintech sector.

atalyst is an independent, not-for-profit organisation focused on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, supporting transformative businesses and developing Northern Ireland’s tech industry. As one of Catalyst’s platinum partners, FinTrU will have the opportunity to engage with the Catalyst ecosystem, to learn from other partner organisations and to influence the range of programmes it runs for entrepreneurs and startup companies at all stages of development. Founded in December 2013, FinTrU is a multi award winning RegTech company in the

financial services sector that is committed to giving local talent the opportunity to work on the global stage with the largest international investment banks. FinTrU works with clients in North America, Europe and Asia to design technology enabled solutions to help them meet their regulatory obligations. FinTrU has enjoyed rapid growth in the past few years, adding more than 300 staff during 2020 to give it a total headcount of more than 750 in Belfast, Derry-Londonderry, London and New York. The company is currently hiring for roles in software engineering, user experience, quality assurance and legal & compliance,

FinTrU CTO Emma Pollock and Catalyst Programmes Director Elaine Smyth mark the start of the new partnership between the organisations.

Emma Pollock, Chief Technology Officer at FinTrU, said: “There is a really vibrant ecosystem of technology companies at all different stages of growth in Northern Ireland and FinTrU is really ambitious for these companies and their people to play on the global stage. We are already embedded in the local tech community but to be able to expand what we’re doing in a more structured way through this new partnership with Catalyst is really exciting for us.” She added: “We want to play a part in the growth of the Northern Ireland technology industry, not just in Belfast but also in the north west. Our footprint there is expanding and we are targeting further growth there to tap into the talent that exists in the north west, so we look forward to partnering with Catalyst to

support its work in the region.” Elaine Smyth, Programmes Director at Catalyst, said: “We are proud to have FinTrU joining as a Platinum member company and look forward to working with them to to further enhance Northern Ireland’s global reputation as a tech hub. “Catalyst has identified fintech as one of the key clusters that will drive Northern Ireland’s economy in the coming decade so it is fantastic timing for us to start building a close working relationship with an entrepreneurial company like FinTrU and have them bring their perspective and expertise to our community.”

We are building the economy. Dalradian are a mineral exploration and development company who have been working on the Curraghinalt project in County Tyrone since 2009. This area currently holds one of the world’s most promising undeveloped gold, silver and copper deposits. In that time, we have completed a rigorous environmental impact assessment to ensure any work we do meets the requirements of Northern Ireland’s strict environmental laws. For 11 years, we’ve been exploring this area of Tyrone to understand the size and quality of the deposit, studying how to best realise the mine’s potential and maximise the benefit to local businesses, community and Northern Ireland. We already have developed a supply chain of 470 suppliers across the region and post planning approval, this supply chain will increase, providing more opportunities and building local prosperity. Once the mine is fully operational, the project is estimated to operate for at least 20 years, contributing £750m to the local supply chain in that period. A recent external review by EY (formerly Ernst & Young) concluded that the project would mark a “significant and timely stimulus” for the Northern Ireland economy.

Key findings from this review conclude that the project will: • Boost the construction sector by £158m • Annually generate £21m in salaries and £46m in supply chain expenditure • Employ 350 people directly and 650 people indirectly • Help produce a long-term counter cyclical effect to mitigate the projected downturn of Northern Ireland’s GVA (3.4% lower in 2022 than pre-pandemic levels) The project’s planning application is currently being assessed by The Department for Infrastructure, who will take your views into account. For more information on how to show your support for the project or register your interest in joining our supplier network, please visit Dalradian.com/suppliers

Eye on Energy

Woodlawn Re-Invests Energy Savings In New Online Store Carryduff-based garden and lifestyle complex, Woodlawn, has set up a new online shopping facility on the back of annual savings of £1,800 following grant aided LED lighting installation throughout its main showroom, gift and clothing shop and popular Maple Café outlet.

he centre is supplied by leading energy supplier, Power NI, who advised on and helped facilitate a NISEP (Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme) grant to part-fund the cost of installing LED lighting. Woodlawn director, Robin Wylie, explains, “Not only does LED lighting help us save cash as bulbs use less electricity and have a longer lifespan, but the brighter and excellent quality of light creates a much more welcoming ambience in store and ultimately an improved customer experience. “Interestingly the higher lumen rating of LED bulbs means that houseplants really thrive. During the installation phase we noticed the difference between those plants housed under the old lighting and others bathed in the new LED lights. So, as well as saving money, we have happier indoor plants.” Founded in 1974 by Robin’s dad, Garvin Wylie, Woodlawn was Northern Ireland’s first garden centre and the family run business has continued to expand, develop and adapt to changing lifestyles, new technology and economic impacts – both anticipated and totally unexpected. “70% of our outdoor shrubs and plants are sourced from local growers located throughout Northern Ireland including Seaforde, Katesbridge and Enniskillen. We have always bought local and that is helping us to navigate round the impact of Brexit to a large extent. However, you have to buy houseplants from Holland. We have a superb relationship with our supplier there and have worked with them for many years and are continuing to do so. There is extra paperwork of course, but we need to look at ways of managing everything as best we can. “During the first lockdown last Spring, we concentrated on click and collect and local delivery services taking orders via telephone, online and

through our own social media channels. When we were allowed to open our doors to customers, we were able to reap the benefits of people falling back in love with their gardens and wanting to create interesting outdoor spaces – particularly as travelling abroad was, and still is, challenging.

Emily Fair from Power NI joins Woodlawn director Garvin Wylie at the Carryduff-based garden and lifestyle complex.

“During January, when nurseries and garden complexes are traditionally a little quieter, we spent the time working on a new online offering. At the moment, we are using an off-theshelf system from the States and are only able to include core gardening products and some fruit and vegetables. Customers can also buy outdoor furniture, birdcare, BBQs, outdoor pots, lawncare and tools online. We hope to add in seeds, bedding plants and potentially clothing later down the line. Our strategy is to start small, review and evaluate customer needs and then

develop further. Ultimately, we’d like to build our own bespoke online shop.” Woodlawn’s USP is its more personal approach to online shopping. Now, contactless home deliveries are available to the centre’s main customer catchment area including Belfast, Lisburn, Hillsborough and South Down. “People like to see certain products in their own garden setting – outdoor furniture, for example, can look very different depending on the location. We can deliver a sample to a customer’s house to help them decide on a certain range. Our highly experienced team can

also help with advice before a customer makes a purchase. I think it is all about utilising our digital channels as that is the way forward, but combining it with personal, localised support. “Whilst online is important, people still want to see and smell plants and we’re delighted to be able to welcome customers back to our showrooms and outdoor spaces. We look forward to when we can re-open our well-liked Maple Café. We’re hoping for a busy year ahead both in store and online.” Emily Fair, Commercial Marketing Executive at Power NI, said, “It’s fantastic that Woodlawn has enjoyed the many great benefits of installing energy saving technology, as well as being able to re-invest their savings back into growing their business. At Power NI, we have a long-term commitment to sustainability, and we’re delighted to be able to offer NISEP-funded grants to businesses and farms in Northern Ireland.”

For more information on Woodlawn’s online offering, visit: shop.woodlawn.co.uk and to register your interest for NISEP’s 2021/2022 grant scheme, visit: powerni.co.uk/businessgrants

Eye on News

Family Firm Opens Magheramorne Estate As Private Hire Venue

With more than 30 years’ experience as a leading caterer on the island of Ireland, the family behind Jane’s Kitchen is using their expertise for a new venture, Magheramorne Estate, creating 30 new jobs in the local area.

ituated just 30 minutes from Belfast, on the beautiful Antrim Coast, Magheramorne Estate is a luxury, private-hire venue, set in over 40 acres of stunning grounds. The 30 new jobs created at Magheramorne Estate include, Executive Head Chef and a kitchen team, Head Gardener and waiting staff, as well as jobs in finance and events roles. Jane Allen, founder of Broughshane-based catering company Jane’s Kitchen, and her family have taken over the 43-acre, 19th century estate with the support of local property investor, Magell Limited. The team has made a significant investment in the property, creating an exclusive hire, luxury wedding and corporate event venue with accommodation for 76 guests on site. Jane founded Jane’s Kitchen in 1988 and catered her first wedding in 1995. Since then, the business has continued to grow, now providing employment

Pictured celebrating the opening of the luxury, private-hire venue, Magheramorne Estate, are Miss Sara Allen, Mrs Jane Allen, Mr James Allen, Mr David Allen and Miss Katherine Allen.

for over 100 people and catering weddings and events across the island of Ireland and the UK. The well-known business is truly focused on family. Jane is the Founder, her husband, David, is the Director and their three children each play a role: daughter Katherine is Wedding and Events Co-ordinator, son James is Operations Manager and daughter Sara, who trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School is the food and beverage manager. All five have used their extensive catering and event expertise to create this stunningly unique venue, which opened its doors in August 2020. Jane Allen, Managing Director, JKS Magheramorne Estate Ltd, said: “This past year has been incredibly tough for our industry, for couples and event planners, either having to postpone or cancel weddings and major corporate events. “We received the keys to Magheramorne Estate in March 2020, the week that the UK went into lockdown, and could never have imagined the challenges that would lie in the months ahead. I would like to thank our investors, my family and our entire team for their dedication and hard work throughout the past year. “We are so proud of Magheramorne Estate and I

am very excited for the next chapter. My family and I have been working in events and catering for more than 30 years. We wanted to use our expertise to build on what Northern Ireland already has to offer in hospitality and provide a beautiful estate that is not only a stunning setting for a wedding but that also offers private luxury accommodation. Magheramorne Estate can be your private country estate for the day or even the entire weekend. “Our goal is to build on our Jane’s Kitchen reputation for providing a quality, premium service and present that on a new stage. We want to offer a premium experience, from the moment an event is booked to the last dance at the reception, giving our couples the wedding day that they deserve. We look forward to welcoming guests to Magheramorne Estate and hope they love it as much as we do!”

For more information about Magheramorne Estate or to enquire about a wedding or corporate event, please visit https://magheramorneestate.com/ or emailevents@magheramorneestate.com

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Eye on Insurance

Julie Gibbons – AbbeyAutoline MD Sees Growth In A Changing Market

The insurance industry might have changed and continued to change in more recent years, but AbbeyAutoline Managing Director Julie Gibbons reckons that the Northern Ireland-based Insurance Broker has what it takes to continue to grow.

ollowing the acquisition of Autoline by Prestige Insurance Holdings, parent company of Abbey Insurance Brokers, AbbeyAutoline was formed in September 2020 and is now recognised as Northern Ireland’s largest insurance brokers. “Both companies were established and led by local entrepreneurs and both were fiercely proud of their roots in the local community. Abbey Insurance was a market leader right across personal lines insurance, while Autoline had developed a comprehensive business insurance portfolio,” she says. “We were always very confident that the combined might of Abbey Insurance and Autoline was going to be more powerful than the two separate entities.” Julie Gibbons joined Autoline as Operations Director at its Newry headquarters back in 2006 at the start of the major growth period for the company, and was proud to be appointed to the position of MD of the combined broking business following the acquisition.

AbbeyAutoline has some 450 employees and 18 branches across Northern Ireland. They specialise in a range of insurance products including Car, Home, Taxi, Van, Motorbike, Farm and Business Insurance. Julie continues: “Another important area of our business is Learner and Young Driver Insurance. Learner drivers in particular have suffered as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic with lessons and driving tests being put on hold. With restrictions now starting to lift, and DVLA opening up the booking system for driving tests, it is important to have the correct insurance in place. “ChilliDrive, powered by AbbeyAutoline, provides young drivers with affordable Car Insurance and promotes safe driving. It uses telematics technology which records and monitors driving behaviour.” The Covid pandemic has brought its own challenges for AbbeyAutoline, as it has for just about every company. “Pre-Covid, we were entirely office-based and didn’t have any kind of plan to revert to home working,” says Julie Gibbons. “But we surprised ourselves at how quickly we were able to move everyone to home working whilst continuing to provide an essential

service to our customer base. Our number one priority has been and will continue to be the safety of our staff and maintaining the highest level of customer care. “It was also a really busy time for us. Customers were faced with many challenges as a result of the pandemic and I know they appreciated that we were only a phone call away when they needed help and support in relation to their insurance cover. This is a relationship business. It’s not just about selling insurance,” she says. “We’ll continue to operate from our local branches across the province, and we’ll consider a hybrid or flexible working model for the rest of our staff going forward, giving them the opportunity to mix home working with office working in a way that suits them best. “It’s something I was keen to support even before the pandemic came along, to be honest. I think it will be good for us as a company and good for our people.” The insurance industry has been through a lot of changes, particularly with the rise of online comparison sites and a move towards the online purchase of insurance products. “Some customers want to talk to us via telephone, some want to visit us in branch, and others prefer to do everything online without any interaction,” says Julie. “So our role as a broker is to ensure all channels are available to our customers so they can decide how they want to interact with us.” It’s hardly surprising that Julie is a little wary of the comparison site phenomenon. “Insurance is one of those things that a lot of people take for granted, but one thing is for sure, insurance can be straightforward until something goes wrong. So advice is important and that’s where brokers come into play.” Judging by its customer retention stats, AbbeyAutoline must be doing something right. Retention rates are regularly above the 90% mark with customers choosing to stay with the insurance broker year after year. “The Covid crisis has accelerated the cementing of relationships, both within the company and with our customers. “But we know that we can’t be complacent,” Julie adds. “My vision is to continue to grow our commercial business and we’re looking at opportunities in all markets, as well as extending our reach into the Republic of Ireland. If opportunities come up, we’ll certainly consider them, and we’ll always keep an acquisitive eye.”

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Dream Mentoring with Tom Smyth ‘Identifying challenges and working together to overcome them.’

o you want to live your dream life? Belfast-born hospitality owner and business entrepreneur Tom Smyth has recently launched his mentoring programme, ‘Dream Mentoring’, which has been a massive success. Using both his business and life experiences, his aim is to help and guide individuals to achieve the success they have always dreamed of. Tom is the owner of multiple successful companies including Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments, who have rapidly expanded since opening in June 2017 and continue to do so amidst a global pandemic. Tom has had no head starts in life, with his first job being in the local fish and chip shop at aged 10. He has built all his businesses from scratch and is living proof that success will follow hard work. On his birthday last year during lockdown, Tom chose to write his very successful self-help book ‘Fear Less: An Antidote to Self-Doubt’. It has been a huge success, with individuals from all over the globe picking up a copy. Using his own experiences of a working-class background and growing up in a war-torn society, Tom has written this book to help everyone struggling under self-generated fear. Fear Less is a guide for those who want to change their mentality and achieve massive success. “Fear and self-doubt have a paralysing effect on people’s ability to think and work out a strategy for success. It has a very negative impact on physical and mental health, and it is often the root cause of failure,” Tom says. After putting the final touches to his book, Tom wanted to take it to

the next level and put his teachings into practice. Dream Mentoring offers both one to one and group mentoring with Tom, where he personally guides individuals using his Dream formula. The formula is inspired by his own life and brand, a developed and unique self-improvement system. It is based on the five simple core principles of Determination, Regeneration, Energisation, Ambition and Motivation. Tom Smyth believes that by taking massive action, you will see massive, lifechanging results. By pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you will be forced to become the best version of you. That is what Dream Mentoring is all about - pushing yourself to the point where selfimprovement follows naturally. Understanding that there is always something new to learn or improve on and that there is no such thing as having too much knowledge,

Tom recently became a certified 10x mentor, coach & speaker with Grant’s Cardone’s Licensee Program, and is continuously improving his skills to better himself as well. The opportunity to join American billionaire Grant Cardone’s Licensee Program has been an absolute honour for Tom as he finds Grant’s books and teachings a source of inspiration throughout his own self-development journey. Both the one to one and group mentoring courses run for a total of six months, covering topics such as overcoming failure, self-

talk and facing inner demons. These are important topics to cover as with the highs of success, also come with the lows. Tom’s current mentoring clients have been reaping the benefits and success that Dream Mentoring has helped them to achieve. With Tom’s guidance, they have been able to set their goals and watch them come to life. Tom mentors many clients from around the world, including UFC fighters, entrepreneurs, makeup gurus, professional footballers and actresses - Dream Mentoring really is relevant to everyone.

If you or your business are looking guidance from an individual who has massively grown his own businesses and brand and continued to do so throughout a pandemic, check out Dream Mentoring. Head on over to www.dreammentoring.co.uk or follow Tom on Instagram @tomsmythentrepreneur to follow his journey.

Eye on Cover Story

Danske Bank

Backing Business With £500 Million Growth Fund Announcing the bank’s quarter one financial results some weeks ago, Danske Bank CEO Kevin Kingston talked about economic recovery and the role that the bank will play in the post-Covid era.

Having been quick to provide Government-backed support in the early days of the pandemic, and throughout the crisis, Danske now wants to ensure that the finance for growth and renewal is available to the NI business community. Backing up those optimistic words, it has launched a £500 million Business Growth Fund aimed at mid to large-sized enterprises. Richard Buckley caught up with two of Danske’s senior business bankers to find out more about the fund and get their views on the challenges and opportunities of the short-term future. Geoff Sharpe is Head of Corporate, heading a team which looks after banking relationships with many of Northern Ireland’s largest businesses, and Robert McCullough is Head of Organisational Development within the Corporate & Business Division.

ressed in suits for the first time in quite a while, Geoff Sharpe and Robert McCullough are clearly glad to be back in Danske Bank’s Donegall Square West headquarters. It’s a sunny day outside and Belfast city centre has a buzz about it, the kind of buzz sadly lacking in the first few months of 2021. “There’s no doubt that we’re seeing a real turn in the economic cycle now,” says Geoff Sharpe, echoing the words of his CEO Kevin Kingston. “Consumer confidence is improving all the time and there is a real positivity out there.” Both senior bankers, in common with the entire corporate and business banking team at Danske, have been in emergency aid and then support mode for the 14 months of the pandemic. It’s been well documented that Danske was one of the first banks to respond in the very early days of the crisis back in March, 2020. “That was all about short-term

emergency funding and we worked day and night to support cash flow for our business customers. That’s what was needed,” adds Robert McCullough. “But we’re in a very different scenario now. The future, for a lot of customers, is about growth and investment. “Customers are telling us that they are thinking about investment now. There seems to be an appetite for it. They’re focused on the future. So we’ve turned our minds towards next stage funding. “Also, it’s clear that there is a build-up of cash reserves out there, a legacy of the Covid crisis. Across Northern Ireland organisations are bringing forward investment plans.” Both Robert McCullough and Geoff Sharpe are quick to add that this post-Covid buoyancy isn’t the case for every business. Like any other bank, Danske has customers in hard-hit sectors whose businesses will need support going forward and aren’t yet near the investment and growth stage.

“Customers are telling us that they are thinking about investment now. There seems to be an appetite for it. They’re focused on the future. So we’ve turned our minds towards next stage funding.”

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“At the end of March there was just under 100,000 people still on furlough here,” says Geoff Sharpe. “So, for a lot of businesses out there, the crisis isn’t over just yet. As a bank, we have to be aware of that. “On the other side of the coin, a lot of businesses are emerging from the crisis in better shape than they might have anticipated. To a certain extent, that’s down to the scale of the government support made available right at the start of the pandemic.” As Northern Ireland’s biggest bank, and the clear leader in the corporate and business banking marketplace, Danske’s management ethos is that it has a clear societal role to play. “We believe that our role now is to be proactive,” adds Robert McCullough. “We have to keep close to our business customers and we have to adapt to what they intend to do going forward. But that’s nothing new. It’s how we’ve always worked with our customers.” Both agree that the business community and the local economy has to face up to what many describe as a ‘repayment hangover’ – the

repayment of government-backed CBILS and Bounce Back Loans as well as deferred HMRC tax bills. “Yes, it’s a challenge,” says Geoff Sharpe. “But we’ve heard from a lot of companies who’ve already started to repay, as well as some who only took the loans on a ‘just in case’ basis. For others, meanwhile, it could be some time before they can even think about repayments. So it will have an impact and it has to be factored into our thinking.” Danske’s new Business Growth Fund is open to the bank’s existing customers, but it’s also open to those interested in switching from other banks and Danske has effectively removed the cost of switching to make it easier for customers wanting to make the move. New business customers who borrow from the fund will benefit from no arrangement, valuation or legal fees, as well as a 75% transactional fee discount for six months. “It’s a very strong proposition,” says Robert McCullough, “and we’ve worked hard to make it as easy as possible for

businesses to come on board with us.” The bank has also continued to work hard on refining its digital channels, where it’s regarded as a market leader locally. Business customers can work with the bank via those digital channels, but they can also take advantage of a tried and tested relationship management operation, where each customer has a dedicated manager at their disposal. The importance of digital banking, of course, has been reinforced by the pandemic. “We’ve seen a massive reduction in the use of cash and cheques, a trend accelerated by the pandemic,” says Geoff Sharpe. “But our relationship managers have been on call and available to customers right from the very start of all of this,” he adds. “Like everyone else, we quickly switched to a home working model and some of our managers had to put in some very long hours indeed to help Danske customers through the early days of the crisis.” The bank hopes to adopt a hybrid mix of home and office working as the pandemic recedes, and it’s

confident that a new way of working will be smooth and effective. “My view is that a lot of our people will want to be in the office for a few days every week. It’s important for communication, it’s important for team working and it’s important for spontaneity and creativity,” Geoff Sharpe adds. Both men have a message of optimism as life returns to Belfast city centre and beyond. “We’re not just entering the postCovid era. We’re also entering the postBrexit era,” says Robert McCullough. “We can accelerate out of one and the other brings real opportunities. Yes, there have been supply chain issues as a result of Brexit but these seem to be improving all the time. Against that, the opportunities are very real. “On the inward investment front, we can and should be attracting companies here because of the unique position we find ourselves in. “There is a lot to be positive about. But, to capitalise, we have to be outward thinking and we have to be strategic.”

Eye on News

Construction of Dataworks at Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park complete

The first phase of development of the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park has been completed and handed over to developers Benmore Octopus by construction firm H&J Martin.

recision Medicine hub Dataworks – part of Kings Hall Life Sciences – sits adjacent to the iconic Kings Hall building and will welcome its first tenant Diaceutics, the Londonlisted diagnostics firm, in the coming months. It is expected to be joined by other indigenous and global medical technology companies in the near future in a development which will provide a secure and collaborative space for companies to focus on the rapidly growing and highly valuable healthcare data market. Dataworks is in close proximity to healthcare professionals operating within the park and near Belfast’s major hospitals and universities. It sits within Kings Hall Life Sciences, a hub for life sciences companies of all sizes, from startups to large multinations. It will provide state-of-theart grade A office, laboratory and shared space within the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park. Construction of Dataworks began in late

Pictured, from left: David Burrows, Director at Benmore Octopus, and Gareth Moore, Director at H&J Martin.

2019 by local firm H&J Martin. The building stretches to 40,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet of which will be occupied by Diaceutics. Funding for the development is being provided by the Department of Finance under the Northern Ireland Investment Fund, a £100m fund which provides debt finance for real estate, regeneration, low carbon and infrastructure projects. The fund is managed by CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, part of CBRE Capital Advisors. Planning permission for the next phase of development at the iconic site has just been granted by Belfast City Council and construction is expected to begin in May this year. The development of the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park will see the iconic Kings Hall building – which has been vacant since 2013 – and surrounding site transformed into the most innovative health and wellbeing hub in the UK. As well as Dataworks, the extended Kings Hall site - formerly the Balmoral showgrounds - will also include care for the elderly andage appropriate living, a mixed-use medical facility, a multi-storey car park and childcare nursery Malone Kindergarten. David Burrows, Director at Benmore Octopus, said: “We are delighted to have completed construction of Dataworks. It marks a major milestone in the transformation of the site to become the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing

Park and the next step on our mission to create a hub for the global life sciences sector. “Diaceutics’ commitment to Dataworks is testament to the location, space and collaborative potential of the site, one which will meet the needs of the growing precision medicine sector here in Northern Ireland and around the world. We look forward to welcoming others to the site and building a worldclass hub capable of tackling some of the biggest medical challenges in the world today.” Gareth Moore, Director at H&J Martin, said: “H&J Martin are delighted to deliver the Dataworks building on behalf Benmore Octopus Healthcare Developments Ltd. As design and build contractor, we feel privileged to have constructed such an integral part to an iconic development. We have no doubt all the tenants of the Dataworks will be able to enjoy the building for what it is; a world-class facility for the life sciences sector.” Benmore Octopus is a joint venture between local developers Benmore Group and Octopus Real Estate. The second phase of development of the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park include an outline consent for additional age exclusive living, medical and life sciences accommodation, a multi-storey car park and the creaton of a central plaza and further landscaping works and a detailed consent for age exclusive living.

Eye on Economic Development

A Golden Economic Opportunity For Northern Ireland When Brian Kelly left his native Donegal to study for a geology degree in Belfast, he might well have dreamt of heading up an exploration and mining company at some stage. But he wouldn’t have thought that it would be in Northern Ireland.

A modern underground mine, operating for at least 20 years, boosting the local economy.

r. Kelly is Managing Director of Dalradian Gold, the US-owned company which is currently seeking planning permission to establish an underground mining operation in County Tyrone, some 12 miles north east of Omagh. The Curraghinalt deposit is reckoned to be one of the world’s highest quality untapped gold deposits, and it also contains substantial quantities of both silver and copper. Dalradian has been working on site since late 2009. It has completed 200,000 metres of drilling and demonstrated that Curraghinalt contains an estimated six million ounces of gold. Given that the retail price of gold is (at the time of writing) close to £1,300 an ounce, that’s a lot of potential impact and benefits spread across the local community, suppliers, employees and others. “The history of gold in the area goes right back to 1982 when an Irish company started to dig and explore,” says Brian. “But those were very

different times, they couldn’t get an explosives licence so they couldn’t get very far and the whole development was put on hold for quite a few years.” Wind forward to 2009 and Patrick Anderson, the Toronto-based CEO of Dalradian Resources, and a Canadian with Irish roots, learns about the Tyrone deposit and acts quickly to secure the necessary exploration licences. “The first question we had to answer was – is the gold there? Equipped with licences from the Department for Economy and from The Crown Estate, who have jurisdiction over gold and silver exploration, we set about drilling and exploring. “Previous operators had identified about 500,000 ounces of gold but we could see there was potential for a lot more,” he says. “Our investment since then has proven that thesis, growing the size of the known deposit more than tenfold. We also discovered back then that the site was poly metallic – it has gold, silver and copper.”

Dalradian’s teams moved on from initial exploration to more detailed underground exploration, obtaining an explosives licence and tunnelling a full kilometre into the hillside...all to establish the feasibility of mining the ore and being able to extract the metals from it. The company, which currently has 38 employees here, has been busy since then and now it’s waiting for a decision at Stormont level on when a public local inquiry, standard for an application of this size, will be held into its application to develop a working underground mine. Leaving Ulster University in the late 80’s with his geology degree, Brian went to England and worked for cement giant Lafarge, returning home to add a PhD to his qualifications before returning to the London area to work for RMC, moving from there to Cork and then – from 2010 to 2014 – to Northern Ireland, where he was RMC’s (by now owned by Cemex) regional managing director. He joined Dalradian in 2014 when the company’s exploration phase

was already well advanced. “It has cost the company more than £130 million just to get to this stage,” says Brian Kelly. “So we’d like to be able to get the project into operation to the benefit of its stakeholders.” It’s well documented that the plan has met with opposition from some environmental campaigners and other local groups concerned about a range of issues, from the use of potentially toxic chemicals in the mining process through to increased traffic levels on local roads. There are also local supporters of the project who have spoken to politicians and the media about the opportunities they see for the area’s workforce and businesses. Dalradian says that it has acted swiftly to counter some fears and emphasise the benefits of a modern underground mining operation. “When there was concern about cyanide being used in the process, we modified the processing to remove cyanide use from our planning application. That is just one example of how we

Eye on Economic Development

With £40,000 average salary, the project will offer job opportunities across various skillsets.

Rigorous monitoring ensures work meets NI’s strict environmental regulations.

have listened to feedback received in the planning process to enhance the application. As for traffic, we’ve also been able to reassure people that it really won’t be a major issue. Local roads now run at 10% capacity, which we estimate will rise to 11.5% during our operations. For us this will be about having local traffic stay local.” In fact, Dalradian Gold is setting out to create a mining facility that won’t just blend fairly seamlessly into the surrounding countryside, but it will also minimise negative impacts to the environment. It’s a carefully laid out plan which includes a dry stack facility, the best available technology to handle mine tailings, a reverse osmosis water treatment plant to recycle and treat water to agreed quality levels and even a firm commitment to ensuring zero carbon emissions, thanks to electric vehicles, advanced site machinery and a carbon offset scheme. Dalradian points to the example of the Tara zinc and lead mine at Navan south of the border. It’s a busy underground mining operation which lies just 100 metres from a major shopping centre, and 450 metres from a school and hospital in a region renowned for its thriving tourism and agriculture sectors. “We’re planning a very targeted,

specialist operation. This isn’t open cast mining, it’s all underground. And it’s not bulk mining either. Our planning application, first lodged back in 2017 and now with the Department of Infrastructure, is for a mine with a 25-year lifespan producing 3.5 million ounces of gold, 850,000 ounces of silver and 15,000 tonnes of copper. “That means that we’ll be bringing a new industry to Northern Ireland and contributing to both the local and regional economies for 25 years by creating hundreds of new jobs for local people and bringing major opportunities to the supply chain.” Dalradian says it will invest £15 million in skills and training programmes alongside local colleges. “We’ll need mechanics, drivers, electricians, IT specialists, engineers, geologists and a lot more, and we’re talking about a lot of jobs with an average salary of £40,000 as well as a £150 million plus boost for the construction sector here.” Then there’s the supply chain. The company already works with close to 500 suppliers across sectors like environmental, engineering and fabrication, haulage, fuel suppliers and health and safety. If and when the mine goes into fullscale operation, the supply chain

£15m investment in skills & training development over three year period.

opportunities will grow exponentially to an estimated £750 million. Dr. Kelly is keen to emphasise the natural link between Dalradian, mining in County Tyrone and the county’s well established cluster of companies manufacturing and selling mining and quarrying technology and equipment – companies like Terex, CDE Global and Sandvik. “The arrival of mining operations in the same county will bring new opportunities for the firms manufacturing in the area and it will strengthen the cluster,” he says. The company also has an active community relations team, led by Peter McKenna, with offices in Omagh and Gortin. “We have made a commitment to contribute £4 million to community projects via the Dalradian Community Fund, and we’ve already provided support totalling over £1 million to more than 600 different groups.” At the moment, exploration continues at the Curraghinalt site, while Dalradian and the company’s parent back in Canada plays a waiting game. Next

milestone could be an announcement from Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon that the application has been referred to the Planning Appeals Commission for a public local inquiry. It’s something the company would welcome. “Our project is a good project,” Brian says. “It’s a progressive project with real economic and community benefits. We’re committed to the region and we’re determined to do everything to the highest standard, minimising any environmental impact. Modern mining operates in tandem with local communities and the environment across Europe - from Sweden to Ireland - and we want to replicate that here.”

For more information on how to show your support for the project or register your interest in joining the supplier network, please visit dalradian.com/suppliers

Eye on Motoring

Ivan McMinn Former Senior Banker’s New Role At Fast-Growing City Auction Group

When Ivan McMinn brought the curtains down on a 36-year career in banking at the age of 55, he’d no intention of taking up gardening or spending more time on the golf course.

Eye on Motoring

City Auction Group CEO Michael Tomalin with Ivan McMinn, Head of the Asset Management & Recovery

“T

here’s only so much golf you can play,” smiles the former Head of Corporate Banking at Danske Bank, and a man who held no less than 28 different roles during a long and distinguished career at Danske and its predecessor Northern Bank. “I was keen to find something to suit me so I took my time doing it. “I’d quite a few phone calls from business contacts but I had a firm idea of what I was looking for... an ethical organisation, a role that gave me the chance to talk to customers and contacts and , more importantly, something that I’d enjoy doing. Money was at the bottom of the decision-making tree.” He came away from Danske’s Donegall Square West headquarters, he says, with ‘a fantastic contacts book. “As well as a whole host of individual businesses across a range of sectors, I was familiar with most of the key professional advisers out there, accountants and solicitors included. Oh, and a few bankers as well.” His new role as Head of the Asset Management & Recovery division at City Auction Group is ideal, he says. “It’s a business role, it’s financial but it also involves a lot of direct contact with customers. So it’s right up my street.” He’d first come into contact with City Auction Group when he was

Head of Corporate Acquisition at Danske and had transferred the company over to the bank from another financial institution. “If you’ll excuse the car pun, that role gave me a unique opportunity to get under the bonnet of a lot of different companies. The same rationale that led me to bring City Auction Group into Danske also led me to want to be part of this company.” Ivan heads up the Asset Management & Recovery operations within the Group, one of the UK’s biggest vehicle auction businesses, handling upwards of 4,000 vehicles a month across its two centres at Carryduff outside Belfast and at Rockingham in Northamptonshire. In essence, asset management means providing valuations and managing assets from liquidations, matrimonial disputes and a wide range of other commercial situations. “On the business front, we could be called upon by a company simply wishing to de-stock, or we could find ourselves handling the assets in a large-scale liquidation,” says Ivan. “Either way, we’ll provide all the advice and we’ll handle every aspect of the resulting sale or sales.” He continues to work closely with the founder of City Auction Group’s predecessor, Carryduff Auctions, Raymond Hill. He might

be officially retired but the highly experienced auctioneer and asset specialist continues to bring his expertise to bear when required. Ivan McMinn and the team at City Auction Group was appointed by BDO to manage all aspects of asset disposal for the former Eason & Sons (NI) Ltd retail business back in the pre-Christmas period - and that means selling everything from books, DVD’s and confectionery through to much more valuable assets. Potentially, he sees busy days ahead in later 2021 and beyond as the economic out workings of the Covid crisis begin to bite. “We have to deal with customers and talk to customers during difficult times,” he says. “That’s something that we always have to bear in mind. But we also have to be fully accountable and we have to have the right processes in place. Processes and an eye for detail are factors that have always impressed me about this company.” When it comes to sales, City Auction Group can bring assets to market in real time through live auctions and also in a marketleading online auction facility. Ivan McMinn’s job at the moment is to spread the word about what City Auction Group has to offer outside of its core vehicle sales operations.

“And that’s where the contact book we talked about comes into play,” he says. “Northern Ireland is a relatively small place and a compact market, so I’m working my way around those contacts. The services we can offer are relevant to a lot of companies out there.” Going forward, he aims to build an Asset Management team around him, including - for instance - fellow former bankers and specialists in areas like real estate. “I’m really enjoying the challenge and I’m certainly enjoying being part of a really dynamic team at City Auction Group,” he says. “Then again, I was never going to get involved with something that I didn’t enjoy.” He pays a warm tribute to the Group’s CEO Michael Tomalin, a man who’s energy and passion for the business is clear to anyone who comes into contact with him. “It’s hard not to be infected by Michael’s enthusiasm for this business, but also to be impressed by his attention to detail. I’m really looking forward to playing my part in driving this company forward.”

Ivan can be contacted on 07711 885142 or by email imc@cityauctiongroup.com

Eye on News

Translink makes public pledge to reduce GHG emissions by 2030

Translink CEO Chris Conway with Kieran Harding of Business In The Community NI

Translink has signed the Climate Action Pledge NI, a public commitment to achieving an ambitious target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030.

he Pledge is a driver for business to take action on the climate emergency, working to ensure a liveable future and limit the increase in global temperatures well below 2°C. By signing the Climate Action Pledge and setting and striving to achieve ambitious GHG reduction targets, Northern Ireland organisations can demonstrate their commitment and willingness to collaborate to address this critical issue. Chris Conway, Group Chief Executive, Translink, said: “Our pledge announcement coincides with the launch of our new Climate Positive Strategy that sets out our

ambitious plans to deliver a clean transport future achieving net zero emissions across our buses, trains and buildings by 2040. “Our journey will not end there as we aim to go beyond Net Zero and become Climate Positive by 2050, removing additional harmful carbon dioxide and NOX to clean the air we breathe while also incentivizing the use of public transport as a greener, healthier, smarter lifestyle choice. “This Climate Action Pledge is a key milestone on our Climate Positive mission. Our strategy focuses on key priorities including: Greener Vehicles – bus and train fleet strategies, Green

Sustainable Infrastructure, Biodiversity, the Circular Economy (designing-out waste) and active travel strategies. “As we emerge from Covid-19 the business sector has a real opportunity to reset, join forces and tackle the global climate crisis for a green recovery – we hope more local organisations will sign this Pledge and take action now to secure a brighter sustainable future,” said Chris. Kieran Harding, Managing Director, BITC, said: “Signing the Climate Action Pledge is an act of public accountability that proves to an organisation’s stakeholders, customers and employees that they are taking ambitious action on the climate crisis. “To make a real difference, businesses need to collaborate and act now. We are delighted that Translink has joined our growing group of Northern

Ireland organisations that have made a public declaration to take action urgently.” Translink has also recently retained its top Platinum status in the NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey which assesses the extent to which organisations have embedded environmental business practices within corporate strategies and operations. The Translink Youth Forum is the co-signatory and witness to this BITC Climate Action Pledge and will be provided with an annual update on progress towards delivering targets as well as being given the opportunity to provide advice and challenges to shape Translink’s climate action plans.

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Belfast’s major tech firms get behind EmTech Europe conference

Seven local firms whose innovative technologies are shaping the post-pandemic world have signed up to be the Bright Future Partners of the EmTech Europe conference.

icking off its three-year series in Belfast on 1 and 2 July, EmTech Europe will explore the technologies at play in a world undergoing rapid digital transformation. The two-day conference is set to unite CEOs, researchers and policymakers at the forefront of technology. Local firms with expertise in Cybersecurity, Connected Health, Digital Transformation and Financial Services have now thrown their weight behind the event. EmTech Europe will be supported by Aflac Northern Ireland, Bazaarvoice, Liberty IT, Unosquare, Rapid 7, Neueda and KPMG. Together, the sponsors represent the calibre of Belfast’s tech sector and reputation as one of Europe’s most promising innovative hubs. Bringing specialist knowledge in cloud engineering, software development, cognitive technology and digital transformation, the sponsors employ hundreds of tech professionals in Northern Ireland and have a global footprint that spans Dublin, New York and Japan.

(Left to Right) Representing EmTech Europe’s Bright Future Partners, William Hamilton, Managing Director of Liberty IT, Seamus Cushley, Vice-President of Research and Development at Bazaarvoice, Brendan Monaghan, Executive Chairman of Neueda, Alan Lavery, Director of Applied Intelligence at KPMG, Sarah Miliken, Leader of Talent and Culture at Aflac NI, Roisin Hughes, Vice President of Human Resources at Unosquare, and Neville O’Neill, Director of Engineering, Rapid7.

Brendan Monaghan, Executive Chairman of Neueda said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with EmTech Europe in the first of an exciting three-year conference series in Belfast. After a year where technology has really come into its own, the conference will encourage innovation, inspiration and collaboration among some of the most renowned CEOs at the centre of the next big developments in tech. “As a Belfast born company, it is fantastic to see EmTech Europe come to our city. Over the past decade, we have seen a real boost in talent and expertise in our tech sector, and it is right that this is being acknowledged by a global commodity such as the MIT Technology Review. We are proud to be joining with the rest of the tech ecosystem here to support EmTech Europe and play our role in advancing the technology frontier.” Roisin Hughes, Vice President of Human Resource at Unosquare said: “EmTech Europe is a fantastic opportunity for the best and brightest in Belfast to showcase what the city has to offer the international technology market. “From establishing an office in Belfast in 2017, Unosquare has been confident in the city’s ability in the tech space. EmTech Europe only further cements

Belfast as a top region for tech entrepreneurship and talent, which will further bring investment and excitement into the city. We are thrilled to be a part of the EmTech Europe journey this year. Johnny Hanna, Partner in Charge at KPMG Northern Ireland said: “Technology sits at the heart of KPMG’s work in Northern Ireland so partnering with EmTech Europe is a perfect fit. We see first-hand the rapidly changing needs of clients as technology adapts to an evolving world and have created the KPMG Centre of Excellence at our Belfast headquarters to meet those demands. “Conferences which explore innovative, practical and commercial ways to bring positive change to society are needed now more than ever before. Belfast has a lot to offer in terms of tech and a probusiness environment that will be the envy of many European tech leaders when they unite to share their latest research and breakthroughs this July.” EmTech Europe 2021- Forging a Brighter Future will explore the themes of A Sustainable Future; An Intelligent Future; and A Healthy Future. It is supported by Belfast City Council and Invest NI and will take place virtually in July 2021 before returning to Belfast in 2022 and 2023.

Eye onEconomic Review

Eye on Economic Review

Squaring Up To The Challenges Ahead Both Brian Murphy and Michael Jennings well remember the very early days of the pandemic, that highly charged few days between when the economy was shut down and Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his business-saving package of support measures, including furlough.

“B

usinesses were looking at a cliff edge,” says Michael Jennings. “Some of our early meetings were critical and they were emotional. People were genuinely scared that they would go hungry.” The two BDO Northern Ireland Partners have found themselves working for the common good throughout the crisis. Brian Murphy was asked to chair the Hospitality Industry Response Group while Michael Jennings has been involved with a number of other sectoral bodies to help facilitate the recovery. “We committed to these roles because we saw the scale of the issues facing businesses. Back at the start, like others, we were very concerned. We did it because it was needed and because we weren’t prepared to sit back and let the crisis unfold without at least attempting to mitigate the impact on local businesses and on our economy” says Brian Murphy. Now that we’re eventually heading in the opposite direction, both men are all too aware of the challenges. “None of us know what kind of normal we’re heading back to but it will be gradual and some business sectors will need a lot more support than others,” says Jennings. “Not all of the issues are obvious. Hospitality businesses, for instance, have been struggling to recruit because former workers have gone elsewhere. There’s no doubt that many on furlough are working in other roles and effectively getting a double income.” “Then there are the cashflow issues. The range of loans and tax deferrals have been important but there are plenty of questions around how these can be repaid when businesses are not able to get to full capacity.” “What Government and our Executive have done has been unprecedented,” Murphy adds. “It has saved millions of jobs

BDO Partner, Michael Jennings, was appointed joint administrator of Harland & Wolff Group Plc and Harland & Wolff Heavy Industries Limited (together “Harland & Wolff”). Here seen at the completion of InfraStrata’s acquisition of the company.

and many thousands of businesses.” Brian Murphy points to wholesale behavioural change during the Covid crisis. “As we ramp up the recovery, those behaviours have to realign again. That will have to be managed. Then there’s speed of recovery. Furlough ends in September and, by then, the economy will have to have built up sufficient momentum to absorb the potential jobs crisis. If the progress isn’t there, there will be significant redundancies. Going forward, the economy really needs to be supercharged to cope with the tax rises that will be needed to pay for all of this. “On top of that, there is Brexit. We simply cannot afford to be regarded as a place that’s just too much hassle to trade with. Hopefully the issues will prove to be short term and we can positively overcome them.” “Brexit also means that we’re in a unique position that can still give us something of an advantage. But we need to grasp the opportunity and sell the advantages.” Both BDO Partners expect to see some sort of bounce and a consumer boom. “There is pent up demand, no doubt about it, so we’ll see a consumer boom,” says Jennings. “Whether that extends to the wider economy remains

to be seen. As a firm, we’ve been busy across advisory and corporate finance and we’ve seen several business sales, so that’s a positive sign.” Brian Murphy agrees. “The conditions and the motivation are all there to support a consumer boom, and it will start in the sectors hit hardest – hospitality and retail. A consumer boom, in turn, could help fuel a longer-term lift. What’s more, some sectors have performed well throughout the crisis. So I think we’re quietly confident and hopeful of a positive recovery.” The banks will also have a key role to play, both agree. “Banks need to stay close to customers going forward and the same applies to other key stakeholders and advisers. They did an incredible job at the outset, extending existing facilities and processing thousands of new loan applications. The downside is that they now have enormous Covid loan books and run the risk of getting bogged down with that debt, rather than helping to fuel the recovery.” BDO sees a hybrid working future for its Belfast city centre staff in common with most other big professional firms. Michael Jennings describes it as ‘agile working’. “I’ve heard it said that ten years of behavioural change has been condensed into 12 months.

Eye on Economic Review

BDO Partners, Brian Murphy and Michael Jennings meet with the NI Finance Minister, Conor Murphy and Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster.

Home working is part of what most of us do now – it’s as simple as that. Each individual can strike the balance that works for them, and that has to be a positive. “The city centre faces challenges, of course, but there will still be demand for city centre office space. In fact, we heard from one agent recently that there is some 800,000 sq ft of office space under construction at the moment. But the fact remains that there will be less people in the city centre on a daily basis and that will have an effect.” Brian Murphy argues that the city centre will evolve. We don’t have city centre living the way other cities do so this is a prompt, an opportunity, to move to a work, play, live, and shop model. This evolution is long overdue in Belfast city centre.” Moving to specific sectors, Michael Jennings

“Many businesses have taken on substantial debt during the COVID pandemic. It is vital that banks and the Treasury support businesses to manage this debt as they work towards recovery.” Finance Minister, Conor Murphy

was the liquidator of the former Eason & Son retail business, an early casualty of the pandemic. “Retail is a sector that we need to look at closely and will need some targeted help. The High Street Stimulus scheme, announced by the NI Department for the Economy, providing those aged 18 and over with a pre-paid card worth £100 to spend in their high street is a very welcome development

BDO Partner Brian Murphy with NI First Minister, Arlene Foster, NI Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster, Colin Neill discussing potential Government financial interventions at the outset of the pandemic.

and, other such support around rates for example would be beneficial to the sector.” On tourism and hospitality, Brian Murphy doesn’t attempt to gloss over the issues. “We have a fantastic product, but we face stiff competition from the RoI and other destinations. Visitors to the island tend to spend most of their time in the Republic and maybe only a couple of nights here. Our product offering is better than that and we need to do more to capture the direct access visitor.” “The hospitality industry just wants to be allowed to open and they’ll do the rest. The two challenges to the success of hospitality are the restrictions that may remain in place, and the servicing of debt by businesses which have had little to no income over the last year. We have calculated that the industry was burning £1 million a day just to be closed. £100 million of costs were accumulated between Boxing Day and the end of March alone. “But if you’re asking me if they’ll succeed, of course they will. They’re innovative, they’re passionate and they’ll make it work. “Furlough, perhaps, could evolve into a wage subsidy scheme which could help the hospitality sector and, potentially, retail. With social distancing in place, revenue will be slower to build so a scheme like that could be critical.” Brian Murphy ends on a positive note. “If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s this. The pandemic has made everyone stop and think. Think about what they can do differently and what they can do better. This rethink has resulted in the strongest possible economic foundation for us to build a successful and sustainable recovery.”

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

John McGrillen –

Tourism NI Chief Assesses The Scale Of The Challenge Like plenty of others, John McGrillen is dismayed that he finds himself talking about the recovery of the tourism industry in Northern Ireland a year on from the last time he talked to Business Eye about post-pandemic growth.

“T

he industry here had a very good summer season last year, but little did we know when we were planning for it that we’d be heading back in the wrong direction in the autumn and into the winter,” he says. But things are different this time around. As Northern Ireland opens up stage by stage, our remarkable progress on vaccinations should ensure that tourism is back to stay. The Tourism NI Chief Executive is all too aware that the customers will be domestic tourists, visitors from the Republic and tourists from Great Britain, potentially a huge market this summer particularly in what’s called the VFR (visiting friends and relatives) sub-sector where there is a hefty pent-up demand. But he’s also aware that the industry has taken a prolonged battering. “There are operators out there, small and large, who’ve really struggled to get through this and who’ve been losing money every week and every month through the long period of closure. “The resilience in this industry

Tourism Northern Ireland CEO John McGrillen

has been incredible. But it can only be maintained for so long. So, as an industry, we’re cautious but we’re definitely ready to get going again. Recent better news from south of the border, with the announcement of re-opening plans, means good news and bad news for Tourism NI. It means that the market for southern tourists coming north should open up, but it also means that the rest of Ireland will potentially do battle for local and GB visitors. John McGrillen and his team recently held their annual Meet

The Buyer event, staged virtually for the second year running. “It’s something like a speed dating event with tourism buyers from all over the world meeting operators and businesses here in Northern Ireland,” he says. “And we had our biggest participation ever, virtual or live. That has to be a good sign.” Looking a little further down the line, he sees international tourism opening up again in time for the 2022 season. “That said, a lot depends on air connectivity, and the airline industry has been hit harder than most during the

pandemic. It’s been estimated that it could take the aviation sector up to seven years to fully recover.” It’s an interesting statistic that less than 25% of Northern Ireland’s tourism business, in the past, has come from overseas (ie outside of GB and Ireland). The Republic’s proportion of international visitors is much higher. Not surprisingly, John McGrillen would like to close the gap. But there is a flip side to that. “Once international tourism kicks off again in earnest, we have to be prepared to see a drop off in people

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

holidays at home, once they get a chance to get back on a plane to the Mediterranean or wherever.” The Executive Minister responsible for tourism, Diane Dodds, is due to launch a major Tourism Recovery Action Plan in mid to later May outlining a broad range of key action areas across the sector. Meanwhile, on the marketing front, Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland have a series of TV ads and other activities ready to roll aimed at

the ROI and GB marketplaces. “I think that a lot of visitors will want to stay on the coasts and in the rural areas, so we’ll need to make a big push to get visitors back to Belfast,” he says. “The city has been hammered in just about every way. Business tourism and business events have disappeared and will take some time to come back.” A number of industry working groups, including leaders like Titanic Belfast chief Judith Owens, Petra Wolsey of the Beannchor

Group and Galgorm’s Colin Johnston, have been busy behind the scenes over recent months looking at how to counter the key challenges. Tourism NI has been running a ‘Good To Go’ certification scheme aimed at reassuring visitors that establishments and facilities are Covid-safe and have all the necessary safeguards in place. “In addition to the various grants from the Executive, we at Tourism NI invested around £25 million on a wide range of support to the industry and to assist business to prepare for recovery this year and into the future.” Some parts of the industry will need specific help for some time. John McGrillen singles out coach operators and event organisers and venues, whose core business is going to take considerably longer to return. “It’s important that we invest to protect the tourism infrastructure and that means that we will have to be targeted when it comes to funding.” One of the initial objectives is to double the spend from Republic of Ireland visitors. “In recent years, 95% of domestic tourists from the Republic stayed south for their holiday breaks, with only 5% coming north. We

want to double that to 10% and we think it’s achievable.” Speaking of targets, the Tourism NI Chief Executive thinks that, by the end of the 2022 season, Northern Ireland could be back to 80% of where it was in the summer of 2019, the year of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. But, whilst it’s not a point he wants to dwell on, he says simply that recent images in the wider media of street rioting and burning vehicles can and do have an immediate and damaging impact. “I’ve talked about the resilience of the people and organisations in this industry,” he says. “But it’s also an industry populated by people who are really passionate about what they do. That passion has helped us to get through the pandemic and it will help us re-build this season and onwards towards 2022. “We all know about the big companies, the famous hotels, people like Howard Hastings and Bill Wolsey. But a heck of a lot of operations in the tourism sector here are one and twoperson outfits with a real love for what they’re doing, and a real knowledge as well. “That will stand us in good stead. I know it will.”

Eye on Economic Review

Thriving city centre key to Belfast’s recovery A thriving, reimagined city centre will be key to Belfast’s long-term recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic according to Belfast City Council.

he Council is recasting its plans for the city by renewing the focus of its Future City Centre Programme in light of recent challenges. The programme will focus on delivering a thriving, vibrant city centre by creating a “multi-purpose location”, combining business, retail and hospitality with an emphasis on increased city centre living and place-making, innovation and digital technology, whilst creating space for culture, leisure and families. Covid-19 has struck at the very heart of what cities do best and a recent report by ‘Centre for Cities’ has emphasised the importance of thriving city centres in aiding recovery, creating jobs and bringing about economic benefits for the wider region. Councillor David Brooks, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said: “Council has renewed its focus on

2. Business and investment -

the programme and is working closely with the Department for Communities, Department for Infrastructure and other key city partners to roll out the fundamental next steps. It is critical that we work together with all stakeholders across both the public and private sectors to plan for the future of our city and long-term recovery.”

The Future City Centre Programme consists of six priority areas: 1. Regeneration and connectivity

- improving the physical built environment to create vibrancy, sustain our economic recovery and support an inclusive, accessible and connected city centre.

supporting and sustaining existing and new businesses and attract new businesses. 3. City centre vibrancy - encouraging vitality, vibrancy and increased footfall, maximising upon the city’s cultural and tourism offering and building on the Council’s ten-year cultural strategy, A City Imagining. 4. Position the city to compete building on the Council’s reputation as a unique destination for investment, tourism and development. 5. Digital innovation - maximising and deploying digital technology and innovation solutions to position the city as a key location for innovation and support indigenous and new businesses to thrive and grow. 6. Clean, green and safe - enhancing the city centre experience through a clean, accessible, safe and pleasant environment.

Eye on Economic Review

Cathedral Quarter Gardens from above. Photo credit: MARTIN www.wearemartin.co.uk

In keeping with the commitment in the Belfast: Our Recovery plan, the Council will focus on a jobsled recovery with its approach acknowledging the importance of Belfast and the city centre in particular, in creating new jobs across a range of sectoral areas. The Council’s joint City Centre Connectivity study with DfC and DfI; ‘A Bolder Vision’ will now move to the next stages, involving a significant re-think of how the City’s streets and places are used and develop informed scenarios about the future of city centre infrastructure. This next phase of A Bolder Vision will set out how a green, walkable, cyclable network of streets and places will improve health for everyone, as well as help to build a sustainable, revitalised economy in the longer term. The city connectivity work and planned developments will be transformational in terms of how our streets and places will be used going forward. Covid-19 has brought about an accelerated need to rethink how we use our city’s spaces and places, and in tandem with this Bolder Vision, a number of initiatives and pilot ‘reimagining public spaces’ projects continue to be brought forward in conjunction with partners. Examples include

the Entries & Lanes Programme involving the transformation of a number of historic entries, providing enhanced permeability, vibrancy and potential for spill out space for businesses. In partnership with the Business Improvement Districts, DfC and DfI, various ‘parklets’ and temporary pedestrianisation and outdoor social space projects are also being delivered. The Council’s Cathedral Gardens temporary project, a colourful landscaped park, opened last August and was showcased by LA Times who listed it in its top 10 examples of best design solutions in response to the global pandemic. It is the first multifunctional space of its kind in the city centre and was jointly funded by DfC. These interventions form part of a much wider drive to create a liveable city with a key focus being on increasing city centre living, with the Council working with other stakeholders to bring forward housing as part of a multifunctional city centre that will help support existing businesses, as well as attracting new business, investment and cultural activity. Councillor Brooks added: “We need to inject new life into the city core - encouraging city centre living is a priority area. This is critical

now more than ever as a thriving residential population will be integral to a reimagined city centre. “We recognise that our city centre is key in driving recovery, as well as generating longer term economic growth. To this end, the city centre is at the top of our agenda as the city reopens over the coming months. “There is a pressing need, now more than ever to plan ahead with our city partners to ensure a joined up and collective approach is adopted in order to facilitate recovery and create an attractive, healthy, vibrant and accessible city centre.” As well as creating a vibrant shared place where people will want to live, work and invest, the programme also aims to improve sustainability and connectivity within the city and surrounding communities, as well as continue investment and inclusive economic and cultural growth. Councillor Brooks said: “It is clear that Belfast, in line with other

cities, needs to reconsider the purpose of the city centre and how we can create a multi-purpose location. We are exploring how we combine retail and hospitality with business, culture, housing, community and other facilities. We are also embracing innovation and digital technology in new ways that will help aid recovery. “It is critical that we remain agile as we re-imagine our city centre, dealing with the ever-changing challenges and responding swiftly to opportunities. Belfast will remain the economic driver for the region so fostering a vibrant city centre and social hub is vital in keeping our city thriving and the region strong.”

For more information, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ futurecity and follow @belfastcc on Twitter.

Eye on Economic Review

Harbinson Mulholland Steering Homegrown Businesses Towards Post-Covid Recovery

Eye on Economic Review Harbinson Mulholland Senior Partner Darren McDowell isn’t afraid to say what a lot of business leaders are thinking. That a lot of companies here in Northern Ireland have come through the worst of the pandemic in surprisingly good health.

“I

certainly don’t mean all of them,” he says. “We all know that there are plenty of companies and small businesses in certain sectors that have been devastated by this crisis, and it’s going to take a lot of time, effort and understanding to get them back to where they were pre-Covid.” “But the fact remains that the government’s support packages were difficult to criticise and they did exactly what they were supposed to do – protect jobs and livelihoods.” “Just as the banks are telling us that there is plenty of money on deposit waiting to be spent by consumers once this is all over, there’s no doubt that a lot of businesses are sitting on a lot of cash.” But he goes on to warn that cash reserves might just come in handy as the economy and local businesses are taken off the governmentrun life support systems. “It’s an unavoidable fact that there are a lot of loans to be repaid and a serious amount of deferred tax payments to be confronted. I read a recent estimate that £1.7 billion in Bounce Back and CBILS Loans had been injected into the Northern Ireland economy. That’s what makes it so vital that we can get the economy up and running again to prepare it for the repayment hangover that lies ahead. “I’m not one for trying to predict the future. But I will say this. It’s not easy for any accountant to do a set of financial projections at the moment. There are far too many uncertainties still out there even though we’re on the road to recovery.” Fellow Partner Angela Craigan adds, “These are still very early days. We still have what amounts to a zombie economy and there are plenty of challenges around transforming a zombie economy into an effective one.”

While she lauds the Westminster government for its package of support measures, announced right at the start of the Covid crisis, she adds her voice to thousands of others calling on the NI Executive to give clear direction on re-opening dates and plans. Darren also also comments that the banks have a very clear role to play. Having played their part, and it was an important part, in channeling the CBILS and Bounce Back grant money into the veins of local organisations, he urges the banks to stay close to their business customers and to provide ongoing support and advice. It’s something that he and his colleagues at Harbinson Mulholland will be doing. The majority of the firm’s clients are homegrown Northern Ireland businesses. “We’ve been helping them every step of the way to steer their businesses through the uncertainty of the pandemic and towards the light at the end of the tunnel.” Harbinson Mulholland was the first local accountancy firm to

help produce a major business survival survey, focused entirely on the Covid challenges facing the family business sector. “Being part of the all-island survey means that we can not only support the sector but also share the positive steps and outcomes that other family businesses have put into place.” The firm’s list of clients includes quite a few from the badly-affected hospitality and retail sectors. Darren McDowell agrees with others who’ve said that these sectors will need to be offered targeted support from government as they work to come out of prolonged periods of enforced closure and continue to have to work within Covid restrictions. Like others, Harbinson Mulholland had to send everyone home from its city centre offices at the start of the crisis. Now, anywhere between 10 and 15 of its 50-strong staff might be in the office at any given time. “But we’d like to get more interaction in the office once we’re allowed to do so. The business misses the benefits of the office environment. We might not return to 9-5 working five days a week but we’ll certainly work towards an office-based hybrid model.” “Some people can work very effectively from home. Others can’t. But there’s no doubt that mixing, interacting, collaborating and being creative in an office

environment remains very important to any business.” As a city centre based business, he’s also keen to see a return to commercial life in the city centre backing up the recent re-opening of the city centre retail sector. “It would be good to see the lights coming on in more offices, and it would be good to see some of the public sector workers returning to city centre offices. A lot of small businesses, don’t forget, rely on city centre workers for their very survival.” Darren McDowell is hopeful about the short to medium-term future for businesses and the economy as the Covid bounce starts to kick in. “As I’ve mentioned, I think a lot of companies have come through this in a lot better shape than they might have expected. That’s because they’re led by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs here in Northern Ireland have knuckled down and got on with it through the troubles, various recessions and a financial crash.” “We’ve even worked with a number of client companies who’ve made strategic acquisitions over the past 12 months, businesses and business leaders who are always looking to the far side of the crisis for the opportunities ahead.” “Thanks to government support, this hasn’t been the worst crisis for some sectors. But it’s been incredibly tough for others.”

“These are still very early days. We still have what amounts to a zombie economy and there are plenty of challenges around transforming a zombie economy into an effective one.” Angela Craigan, Partner

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

Visit Belfast – Bringing The City Back To Life

Gerry Lennon and Kathryn Thomson are both optimists by nature. It’s almost a prerequisite for anyone working in or close to the tourism sector here in Northern Ireland.

ut a couple of factors back up their optimism that, once a few more restrictions have been lifted, Belfast will bounce back into action as a visitor destination this summer and make further strides in the coming years as a pandemic – hopefully – fades into the past. “The first factor is that there is definitely a huge pent up demand for short breaks,” says Visit Belfast’s

Chief Executive Gerry Lennon. “The travel website Booking.com recently quoted a survey finding that 71% of people would prefer to travel in 2021 than find true love...” “The second is the fact, born out by the banks, that there has been a lot of money put into savings accounts over the pandemic to spend on trips and holidays, amongst other things. Belfast, as a destination, clocked

up 70% growth in the seasons leading up to the summer of 2019, the last one before Covid struck. “Covid hasn’t changed that growth. It simply stopped it in its tracks,” says Lennon. Both Gerry Lennon and Kathryn Thomson, the organisation’s Chair as well as the Chief Executive at National Museums NI, are patiently waiting for news of when the ban on non-essential travel into Northern Ireland will be lifted. It’s the key that will open up the 2021 visitor season in Belfast. “This industry is nothing if not resilient,” says Kathryn Thomson. “It has taken a massive knock, but it has continued to innovate and

create. Look at how the hospitality sector rallied and pivoted to selling home meal kits. They’ve been brilliant and now all they want to do, along with the hotels and others, is to be allowed to trade.” Visit Belfast sees recovery in a number of phases this summer. First up, it’s encouraging locals to get back out and re-discover their very own city. Then, it’ll be enticing those from the rest of Northern Ireland to come and stay in the city, once hotels re-open later in May. After that, depending on restrictions, will come the visitors from ROI and GB. Gerry Lennon is well aware that there is huge potential, particularly from the valuable VFR

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

“Belfast is almost an exotic destination for some of our potential customers. It’s still got that curiosity factor and it’s different. The success of the vaccination roll out across the UK brings a welcome confidence boost too.”

(Visiting Friends & Relatives) market. “Belfast is almost an exotic destination for some of our potential customers,” he says. “It’s still got that curiosity factor and it’s different. The success of the vaccination roll out across the UK brings a welcome confidence boost too.” The industry, both agree, is ready and waiting. “We have initiatives like ‘Good To Go’ ready to reassure visitors that all precautions are in place and we’re focused on what has to be done.” “We’re expecting that it will take us two or three years, providing there are no setbacks, to build tourism in Belfast back to where it was or near to it,” Kathryn Thomson adds. “That means Visit Belfast’s strategies and plans contributing £120 million to the visitor economy by next year

and £150m in 2023/24 bringing us back to 2019 outputs.” What can government do to help? “It can prioritise tourism,” says Gerry Lennon. “Tourism is vital to the economy as a whole. It creates a valuable spend and it floats all boats. But it has to be allowed to trade, and this place has to be sold effectively.” Whilst the short breaks market – and weekend tourism – can start to recover this summer, Belfast (in common with most cities) also depends on major events and business tourism. It’s something the city had been doing very well at until Covid arrived, with the Belfast International Convention Centre and a number of new hotels making a big difference. As far as larger-scale events are concerned, there have been encouraging signs at a national

level – the trialling of music events for young people in Liverpool, a full crowd at the recent World Snooker Championship final in Sheffield and an audience of 4,000 at the Brit Awards in London’s O2 Arena. Visit Belfast, according to its Chief Executive and Chair, managed to retain 108 conferences worth a cool £85 million by shifting their dates further down the line, as well as booking 13 new conference events for the city worth £15 million during the lockdown period, “So we have a strong events pipeline, and we also estimate that we have £145 million worth of business leads for Belfast,” adds Kathryn Thomson. “We’ve all been doing business in a very different way during the pandemic, we’ve all attended virtual events and virtual conferences and they’ve filled the gap very well. But the vast majority of us just want to get back to face to face events and events where was can mix business with social life....they’re where a lot of business is done after all.” Cruise ships are also expected back in Belfast Harbour this summer, with the first of them due to sail up Belfast Lough in mid-June. A sizeable number of

cruise ship visits are scheduled between June and November as the cruise lines pivot towards domestic cruising within the UK. “We’ve worked with Belfast Harbour to set up a safe environment for the ships and their passengers when they berth here,” says Gerry Lennon. “It’s great to see so many coming back this summer, and it gives us real hope of getting back to the number of ships the city welcomed pre-COVID in the next few years. There are of course a number of challenges to still overcome, particularly in rebuilding air connectivity so badly impacted by the demise of Flybe and then the pandemic. “Aviation has been dealt a hammer blow over the last 14 months,” adds Kathryn Thomson. “Our airports have worked immensely hard to reconnect Northern Ireland ahead of the summer season and this in turn will help us attract more visitors here. The news of the development of the Northern Ireland Domestic Aviation Kickstart Scheme announced by Minister Dodds is truly welcome in enhancing air connectivity with the rest of the United Kingdom following the pandemic.”

Eye on Economic Review

Lisburn Castlereagh Plans for the Future

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) is committed to assisting the development and recovery of the local economy through creating opportunities, supporting businesses, and encouraging new investment.

e continue to work in partnership with key business stakeholders including Invest NI, SERC, NI Chamber of Commerce, Lisburn Chamber of Commerce as well as Lisburn Enterprise Centre and Inspire Business Centre. The most recent partnership is a ‘Labour Market Partnership’ response initiative funded by the Department for Communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on Northern Ireland and the economy of Lisburn Castlereagh is no exception. The council’s ambitious Investment Plan sets out a vision to ‘Connect, Invest and Transform’ the Lisburn Castlereagh area. We remain committed, over the next 10 years to investing in our communities, capital and infrastructure

projects, and our local economy. In order to promote and strengthen local businesses we have undertaken a number of initiatives. David Burns, Chief Executive said: “From the start of the pandemic our Business Solutions team created or adapted programmes to provide local businesses with the skills to survive, innovate and incorporate sustainable practices. They also worked with our Environmental Health team to ensure that Lisburn Castlereagh remained a safe and welcoming destination for businesses and visitors alike. “Our mission is to work together to deliver better lives for all – and, in doing so, develop a vibrant and growing economy.” The council’s future objectives incorporate a range of activities to

support the growth of local businesses and to regenerate the Lisburn Castlereagh area through place-based initiatives. We will also work with our partners to identify trade opportunities for local businesses and encourage private sector investment in our area.

Recovery and Support Alderman Jim Dillon MBE, Development Committee Chairman advises: “As we look forward to the revitalisation of the economy with the relaxation of restrictions, the council is on hand to offer a tailored programme of support to assist local businesses to recover. This is through the creation of opportunities, providing support, and encouraging new investment from both start-up and established

businesses and everything in-between.” “Our City Centre Management team continues to deliver initiatives to support the business community across the urban centres of Lisburn city centre, Dundonald village and Carryduff town centre. Ongoing grant schemes such as the Urban Investment Fund are available to support public facing businesses to purchase equipment to ensure their services are safe for customers and staff.” A further Shop Local marketing campaign will take place in the summer to encourage everyone to visit our Lisburn Castlereagh retailers. Figure 1 highlights how the council has assisted businesses and communities during the pandemic and its plans for investing in its seven District Electoral Areas (DEAs) throughout the 2021/22 financial year.

Eye on Economic Review

Rural Development The Programmes team based in the council has successfully delivered a range of funded programmes bringing much needed financial assistance to local rural businesses. This has included; million NI Rural Development Programme funded by DAERA and the European Union. Business Development Grant Scheme is expected to open in June/July 2021 Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Scheme (TRPSI) supporting the sustainability and development of rural micro business to local rural companies with funding of up to 50% of purchases up to a maximum grant of £4,999

Business Support With the over-arching aim of providing recovery, response and resilience support to every aspect of our local economy, our free Business Solutions programmes enable us to work closely with our local businesses to assess their needs and offer: managing finances, generating sales and continuity planning such as remote working and managing customer relationships from a distance

the ongoing pandemic adapting your business and winning new business

A Closer Look at Our Programmes Digi-Growth provides businesses with vital assistance to think digital. Mentor Growth enables local businesses to access free essential business expertise through a mentor. GB/RoI Sales and Trade Programme is a dedicated business response programme to help local businesses get better equipped to generate sales at home as well as explore new potential markets in both RoI and GB. Entrepreneurs Network is a free networking and discussion breakfast forum for small businesses based in the council area. These events offer practical information aimed at addressing key business issues and promoting local business development. BID2WIN offers free business mentoring and specialist workshops in the area of procurement and tender opportunities. SuNSE (Support Network for Social Entrepreneurs) supports existing Lisburn Castlereagh social enterprises and nurturing future social entrepreneurs. It will include new social enterprises emerging as a support system during COVID-19.

digitalisation and innovation equipment to optimise business productivity and efficiency e-commerce websites reaching new customers and opening the door to the global market.

knowledge to recover now and build resilience for the future.

Interested businesses located in Lisburn Castlereagh area should email economic.development@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk to apply for any of the above programmes or phone our dedicated Business Support Helpline on 07715 269688.

Eye on Economic Review

Derry and Strabane open for business and ready for recovery

The shutters are up and there’s a new energy about the streets of Derry and Strabane as retailers and hospitality owners welcome customers back to enjoy the shops, restaurants and hair and beauty services they have been missing since Christmas.

hings may look a bit different with business owners investing in adapting premises to meet the expectations of Covid conscious customers, and compliance is key to the recovery of the local high street. But the welcome is just as warm, if socially distanced, as retailers greet those who are flocking back over 100 days since the beginning of lockdown. It’s been an extremely challenging time for businesses who have been impacted significantly across all sectors during the pandemic. Their focus is now on recovery and moving towards

a sustainable and secure future once again, and Derry City and Strabane District Council has been working closely with the business community to identify the interventions that will help get them swiftly back on their feet. Council’s Environmental Health Officer team have joined forces with its Business Support team to take a collaborative approach to providing both the health and business advice needed for effective recovery. So far there have been a range of initiatives developed to help navigate the new restrictions, including the launch of a COVID

Reassurance Mark aimed at supporting local businesses and re-instilling confidence among the public. The scheme involves a five-step range of measures that businesses can undertake in order to achieve the COVID Reassurance Mark, including a risk assessment that comprises important elements such as cleaning, hand sanitising, social distancing, respiratory hygiene and employee health. Once businesses are satisfied they have met the criteria outlined in the selfdeclaration they can apply online to Council to display the Covid Reassurance Mark on their premises. It offers an extra level of reassurance to customers, and clear guidance for businesses trying to get to grips with the challenges of reopening and safeguarding their own staff as well as customers. There are also a range of business support mechanisms available to

anyone in need of further advice and support. This month sees the relaunch of Council’s ‘Your Small Spend Makes a Giant Difference’ campaign, with a strong Shop Local focus to encourage people to invest in local products and services to buoy up the local economy. Council’s Director of Business and Culture, Stephen Gillespie, said his team are now looking at further ways to keep the momentum behind driving steady and sustainable economic growth. “Throughout the pandemic we have been channelling support to local businesses, with over £350k allocated to date through our Covid Recovery and Revitalisation Scheme which is funded by the Department for Communities, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Department for Infrastructure. We recognise that while shops and restaurants are reopening, that in

Eye on Economic Review

itself will bring its own challenges as furlough ends and businesses learn to operate in a much more restrictive retail environment. This will be a critical time when businesses will really need the support of the public to help them get back on their feet. “Our Shop Local campaign aims to raise awareness and highlight the wider benefits of investing in local products and services rather than shopping online. It creates a better city and town centre experience for everyone if we can attract a diverse range of shops, restaurants and services to locate here. “We continue to roll out our Business, Innovation and Growth Programme which drives the productivity of local businesses through a series of interventions that aim to assist companies to become more competitive in both indigenous and export markets. It provides the fundamental

building blocks to transform customer experience, operational processes and business models ultimately resulting in commercial success and the ability to create new jobs. “The programme has a strong focus on digital adoption and transformation which has experienced a massive acceleration as a direct impact of Covid19. “So while these have been unprecedented and challenging times, we are very much focusing our attentions on the future and helping businesses with the next phase in the journey to recovery.” Another key element of the local recovery campaign is creating the right environment in terms of infrastructure that will ensure visitors feel at ease as they go about their business. Director of Environment and Regeneration, Karen Phillips,

explained that the work would involve reimagining public spaces, and creating more opportunities for outdoor trading and activities. “Council’s Regeneration Section has been working with a range of partners to deliver improvements in both Derry City and Strabane Town Centres,” she explained. “We have engaged a design team of architects (OGU/MMAS) to deliver the plans which will support the work of the Council’s Business Section to promote vibrancy and increased footfall but within a safe and accessible streetscape. “Among the exciting plans underway are the introduction of a new vehicular traffic management system in the city centre and the temporary repurposing of on-street car parking bays in the Diamond area to create a dedicated pedestrian friendly area of new public realm for people to access in a safe and enjoyable way. “There are plans in development to repurpose areas of Queens Quay and Waterloo Place to create more accessible public spaces for people to safely socialise in a socially distanced manner. Strabane meanwhile will see improvements to the streetscape along Castle Street, with new civic spaces and environmental improvements planned for the area. “I think we need to start thinking more creatively about how we use our city and town centres, and these are the first steps towards utilising our outdoor spaces to the full benefit of tourism and trade.” With everyone becoming used to new ways of working, Derry and

Strabane has emerged as one of the best locations to work remotely, a big plus for companies considering new blended approaches. DCSDC has been designated as N. Ireland’s top remote working location, and sits in the top four locations in the UK in terms of what it delivers for anyone able to work from home. If you want better broadband speed, access to green spaces, better air quality, low crime rates and good quality of schools then this is the place to relocate. The City and District is well-positioned to offer businesses and investor solutions to whichever business model works best for them – and is one of the most competitive cost locations in UK and EU. While this has been one of the most difficult years for the region since the Troubles, Derry and Strabane is famed for its resilience. The delivery of the City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund for the Council area – the largest ever single investment package by government in the City and District - will bring about further transformational change over the next few years through a raft of strategic innovation and capital projects. There is much to look forward to and much to be done, but Derry and Strabane is already taking those first vital steps to recovery.

For full details of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s services including the initiatives to welcome the public back to its towns and cities visit derrystrabane.com

Eye on Economic Review

ABC: setting out the pathway for a prosperous future How Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has developed a framework to rejuvenate the region’s economy and ensure inclusive growth for all.

rmagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) has long been regarded as the bread basket, the engine room and the beating heart of the Northern Ireland economy.

Goods and services from the region go to serve the needs of populations in geographies as local as Craigavon and as far afield as Cape Town, from Banbridge to Boston and from Armagh to Auckland.

It is home to one-third of all Northern Ireland businesses - including a large number of the Top 100 companies such as Moy Park, Almac, Irwin’s, White’s Oats, Hyster-Yale and Tayto - accounts for 200,000 jobs, three-quarters of which are in the private sector, and represents 10% of Northern Ireland’s total GVA.

There’s little doubt ABC has punched above its weight in the past when it comes to its economic footprint but, as with all regions, it has been hit hard by the Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions, which have hamstrung the ambitions of its businesses and put pay to the growth aspirations of some.

Faced with such challenges, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has been proactive and fast paced in its response to provide the support needed to help the economy get back on its feet and back into growth mode. It commissioned KPMG to carry out a broad piece of research to assess how businesses in the ABC region have been impacted by the events of the last year and from that developed a framework to help the local economy quickly recover and forge a path to future inclusive growth.

Launched in February, the ABC Recovery and Growth Framework focuses on how the council can create the right social and economic conditions to help the borough recover from the pandemic, and drive sustainable long-term growth for the region. It sets out a series of aims which will meet the immediate needs of companies within the borough, such as boosting tourism and footfall in towns, and delivering support to business of all sizes, as well as longer-

Eye on Economic Review

Guests at the virtual launch event heard from Roger Wilson, Chief Executive of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Ashleen Feeney, Partner at KPMG in Northern Ireland; Trevor Lockhart, Group Chief Executive of Fane Valley and Adrian Farrell, Chair of the Business Partnership Alliance.

term interventions, which will boost efficiency and competitiveness. The aims contained within this Framework are very much achievable in the near term, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kevin Savage said. “We have made sure to carry out an in-depth analysis of how we, as a council, can act as a catalyst to recovery for the local economy and in so doing help our stalwart companies create jobs and boost prosperity for society. It’s clear the economy in ABC, as with those throughout the globe, has been hit hard by the pandemic but we are committed to doing all we can to provide targeted assistance and support to help businesses recover, not just to pre-Covid levels but to regain their growth ambitions and compete on the world stage. “Our potential is enormous, and we should not underestimate the fantastic opportunity which lies ahead to enhance the fortunes of our place, our people and our future.” The Framework emphasises the regional focus on driving economic investment for Northern Ireland around key sectors such as; agrifood, health and life sciences, and advanced manufacturing, where the borough already excels and which, with support to improve skills, connectivity, and productivity, can become global exemplars.

It also highlights the need for a specific focus on the case for investment in sustainable roads and rail infrastructure, for urban regeneration and rural development; for education and training to upskill the talent pool; for support of technological developments including Industry 4.0 and investment in manufacturing research and development; and a commitment to driving regional competitiveness through the development of a start-up and innovative business ecosystem. Targeted actions like these feed into council’s overriding focus to accelerate the borough’s recovery and set it on a path of renewed inclusive growth and prosperity. The Recovery and Growth Framework presents a roadmap to recovery over three years – how the council first responds to the crisis, manages through a period of uncertainty, identifies opportunities and then adapts to a new world. Meanwhile, the longer-term investment plan centres on infrastructure, on driving urban regeneration and rural development, on supporting education and training, on enabling technological developments and on supporting regional competitiveness. The Framework provides examples and case studies of what has been achieved in other parts of the world, everywhere from Madrid to Milton Keynes, all led by confident leadership.

Medium-to-long-term actions suggested in the ABC Recovery & Growth Framework Infrastructure – Council should influence relevant stakeholders to build a future-proof / ‘green’ case for road investment, integrate the case for roads with wider electric and autonomous vehicle, cycling and air mobility thinking, collaborate on evolution of the bus and digital infrastructure. Driving urban regeneration and rural development – Reassert a clear vision for Craigavon, support Armagh’s tourism potential, practical improvements in town centres (e.g. development of shared office precincts and improving pedestrian design, clear and distinct architectural themes per centre). Improve turnaround for planning permissions. Investments in town centre programmes with the Department for Communities and rural towns with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Supporting education and training - Support upskilling of regional labour, particularly with improvements to industry apprenticeships and providing industry relevant courses aligned to core sectors. Enable retention of talent in engineering firms. Enabling technological developments - Supporting Industry 4.0 and manufacturing research and development whether

through relevant event hosting, specialist forums, direct or incentivised capex in robotics, IoT, etc. in the borough. Supporting regional competitiveness - Develop start-up and innovative business ecosystem, whether through sector forums, direct or incentivised capex in research and development, marketing, logistics, etc. in the region, supported by available funding sources e.g. the Shared Prosperity Fund, Peace Plus and the Mid South West Growth Deal funding.

For further information, please contact the Economic Development department at Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Telephone: 0300 0300 900 Email: info@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk Website: www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk

Eye on Economic Review - Law

The Workplace Renaissance By Judith Allen, partner at UK law firm TLT

It has been over a year since the nation was first thrust into complete lockdown, forcing organisations and their people to adapt to new, flexible working methods.

eploying a remote working programme for the first time is no easy feat, particularly in the midst of social disruption and economic uncertainty, so transformation at pace has been necessary. Necessity is the mother of innovation, and many organisations have been remarkably successful at implementing new working methods, sparking a monumental shift in attitudes towards flexible working, with few now favouring the idea of returning to the office full time. Businesses are therefore re-evaluating the way in which they operate, and while momentum for new working arrangements had been steadily building pre-Covid, the pandemic has accelerated these trends dramatically. One of the most common trends is ‘co-working’. We’re seeing a mass migration from offices in the city to smaller and localised ‘urban hubs’, which allow employees to benefit from increased social interaction, improved connectivity, reduced commuting times and a more balanced quality of life. More and more businesses will be tempted by the co-working model, but administration must not be overlooked. As contracts and leases become reflective of their requirements, privacy and confidentiality concerns arising from shared workspaces must also be factored in. For businesses looking to maintain a physical office presence, a hybrid

office approach allows the flexibility and facilities of a co-working environment, with an increased level of permanence and security. Contracts and documentation will need to evolve to meet these new requirements. In Northern Ireland, many co-working spaces have already moved to flexible contracts which would typically be in the form of a licence, to meet the changing needs of the occupier. This provides more certainty and security while still providing flexibility around shared services and spaces. Similarly, flexible (or ‘serviced’) offices, will allow businesses to manage workplace mobility, provide business continuity and ensure operational resilience but may also represent a useful cost-saving tactic for many businesses as well as supporting their changing property needs. Previously landlords relied on long-term arrangements that provided them with a steady income, and legislation was built around this. While there are no legislative barriers preventing agreements from becoming more flexible, landlords and tenants will need to work together to adapt to these arrangements in a way that will be beneficial and provide security for both parties. With short-term lease agreements becoming increasingly common, investors will have to navigate new challenges as this new model may not support the capital value of the property typically required by the likes of pension

funds. This increased risk will likely have a knock-on effect on investor appetite, however it will no doubt settle as the market continues to adjust. Another important consideration for businesses will be how they respond to the employment challenges of adopting new working methods. From data sharing, remote monitoring and cybersecurity threats, businesses will need to ensure they are complying with the most up-to-date regulation, as well as carrying out all the necessary impact assessments before implementing any new systems. We can expect these flexible working trends to stick around long after the pandemic has settled. The

positive impact they are having on productivity, employee wellbeing, mobility and talent attraction will be supplemented by a continued positive impact on the environment due to reduced emissions, which will help boost businesses’ sustainability efforts. In response, towns and cities must continue to adapt so that they have the appropriate infrastructure to help support new working models in an environment which also drives the UK’s green economic recovery.

Judith Allen, Partner at TLT Judith.Allen@TLTsolicitors.com +44 (0)7824372009

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

Plans underway to bring visitors new NW experiences

As restrictions ease and the Vaccination Programme continues to make steady progress, the thoughts of many are returning to the prospect of travel to distant, and for a while, not so distant shores.

ith that in mind Derry City and Strabane District Council has been focusing on the development of its tourism product, and welcoming visitors back to the historic city which already has so much to offer in terms of culture and heritage. Derry’s scenic streets, stunning riverfront and iconic Walls are already perfectly suited to the outdoor visitor, and further work is now underway to create new experiences across the City and District that will fulfil the changing expectations of visitors. Council’s Head of Culture, Aeidin McCarter, said there was a palpable sense of anticipation building as shops reopen and we see the first signs of summer. “There’s no doubt that we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the easing of restrictions, and our visitor attractions have been making the necessary preparations to reopen their doors later in May,” she said. “During lockdown there has been time to reflect on our current tourism offering and to consider how the industry will have to change as society adapts to a more cautious way of living for the foreseeable future. We’re very lucky here in the North West to be literally surrounded on all sides by areas of great natural beauty, and all with their own story to tell in terms of culture and heritage. “This year I think we will see lots of visitors from both NI and ROI looking for new experiences closer to home, and we’ve been exploring ways to bring our tourism businesses together to build collaborative experiences which will allow visitors to really immerse themselves in all the North West region has to offer.” There has always been a strong cross-border element to the North West’s tourism focus, and Council continues to work with its partners in Donegal County Council to promote the many benefits of visiting both locations.

The Councils are currently working in tandem on the North West Tourism Product Development Programme, which runs for the next two months assisting local tourism and hospitality businesses as they explore the potential of product development and new collaborative products. The programme offers mentoring support, workshops, group mentioning and grant support opportunities for 30 businesses from both regions to help boost the recovery of the tourism industry in the region. The Programme is funded through the North West Development Fund, in conjunction with The Executive Office and the Irish Government.

With vast areas of beautiful rural landscape running through Derry and Strabane a new programme engaging with rural tourism businesses is also in the pipeline, opening in May. The Derry & Strabane Rural Trail programme offers another opportunity to help local businesses develop attractive individual and collaborative experiences which will form a dedicated Rural Tourism Trail within the council area. The Trail will bring together a diverse range of partners to help co-develop a combined experience bringing together a diverse and exciting array of activities and experiences across a variety of locations. Whether it’s hiking in the Sperrins, angling on the Mourne or exploring the history of the International Appalachian Trail in the Glenelly Valley, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. The programme is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) and Council. For businesses taking those first tentative steps towards welcoming visitors once again the Tourism Experience Programme opening this month will offer support to urban tourism enterprise planning for recovery. The programme is open to businesses with ideas for a new experience, or to help develop or adapt an existing experience to make it more appealing and accessible to visitors. The programme will also support collaborative work for businesses keen to strengthen their experiential offering.

Tourism enterprises taking part in all these programmes may be eligible to apply for grant opportunities to support their work, and anyone seeking more information can contact tourism@derrystrabane.com

Eye on Economic Review - Tourism

Tourism prepares for the ‘new norm’ Restrictions on travel and gatherings affected the Tourism and Hospitality sector more than others throughout the pandemic.

hese restrictions meant that attractions, accommodation and the food & drink industry were unable to operate for some time. However, the council’s Tourism team has been working with this sector to help them adapt and prepare their businesses for market recovery in line with government guidance. To support this sector, the council opened a local Tourism & Hospitality Support Grant. Alderman Jim Dillon MBE, Development Committee Chairman, speaking about its success, said: “I am delighted the council provided funding support to over 28 local tourism and hospitality businesses. Tourism is important to our local economy and we wanted to offer the opportunity to introduce initiatives that will support the industry to make adjustments and prepare for re-opening.” Looking forward, we expect the tourism and hospitality industry to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic. As summer approaches there will be a desire for travel and recreation as restrictions continue to ease. It is expected that bookings for accommodation, attractions and activity providers will come primarily from the domestic/ staycation market. Attractions like the new Haslem Hotel in Lisburn city centre and

Hillsborough Castle & Gardens alongside hidden gems within our historic and cultural sectors will appeal to the ‘Culturally Curious’ and ‘Mature Cosmopolitan’ individuals. As a council we will promote staycations and work in collaboration with our food and drink sector to create attractive packages throughout the council area. As domestic and staycation visitors spend time in the area, the new Hinch Distillery is a welcome addition to the exceptional food and drink offering in Lisburn Castlereagh. It is hoped that we will also see the return of the Moira Speciality Food Fair, Hillsborough Farmers Markets and a Hillsborough Christmas Market.

For the active visitor, Let’s Go Hydro is an attraction with plenty to offer. During the day, you can enjoy wakeboarding, open-water swimming, kayaking, ringo rides and more. In the evening, you can stay over in a Forest Dome, Safari Tent, Igluhut or Lake Pod. As we look to a post-COVID tourism industry, we will continue to work with Tourism NI and Visit Belfast to maximise the marketing opportunities within the Lisburn Castlereagh area for staycations and day trips. A new dedicated Lisburn Castlereagh tourism website is due to launch in late June 2021. It has been developed in partnership with Tourism NI and encompasses the Discover Northern Ireland ‘Embrace a Giant Spirit’ theme;

and utilises new technologies to assist visitors to plan and book their visit to the area. Over the past 18 months, we have enhanced the tourism and recreation offering of Hillsborough Forest in partnership with DAERA. We have created new walking trails, signage, viewing platforms, pedestrian bridges, car park and a woodland themed play area. Phase 2 of the works has commenced with the development of a Digital Sculpture Trail that includes nine bespoke themed sculptures. These will be linked together via a digital App and this project due to be completed next summer is funded by the council and DAERA.

Eye on Marketing

Connection is Key to Effective Creativity Creativity joins a long list of words that gets liberally used in a whole host of contexts. We’ve all been in a situation throughout our careers where we’ve been called into a meeting room for a “creative brainstorm” and left unable to really account for the previous two hours of mind map drawing. Paul Bowen, Executive Creative Director at Ardmore

s our local businesses begin to navigate their way out of lockdown, many will be thinking about how to continue to use the creativity they demonstrated during this period of restrictions to bounce back even stronger – capturing the imagination of the excited consumer eager to get back to the hustle and bustle of our high streets. Whilst a lot has changed in the last year, the principles of real, authentic creativity haven’t changed at all, and those who understand how to use it correctly and respectfully harness enormous growth potential. Creativity, simply, is how we bring ideas to life. What is often mistaken

for creativity, in the deep, dark vaults of the corporate meeting room, is the application of some new colours and fonts to a problem, or indeed opportunity, that hasn’t been properly defined. Creativity is ultimately a problem-solving tool, and without a defined purpose, all you’re left with is a few bean bags, some coloured pens and loads of sticky notes. As with many things in life, it’s very difficult to develop a solution to a problem that isn’t clearly understood. The first step in any creative process, therefore, is defining what the creativity is designed to achieve. A necessary part of overcoming this first hurdle is identifying who exactly you are trying to solve a problem for – your audience.

But what does brilliant creativity really look like? I read a lot of artist biographies, particularly music, as I am fascinated by where creative people draw their influence and inspiration and the parallels with what we do are remarkably similar. Brilliant creativity should feel like a reward to the audience, they should enjoy it, identify with it, want to share it, and it should inspire them to feel a certain way or to act, to motivate them. The only difference for us is that we do it to address a particular opportunity or challenge. Artists can only hope that their self-expression connects, ours is specifically designed to establish a connection.

And it’s not all about origination, creativity is equally about recognition. Being able to distinguish what makes a good idea is as important as coming up with a new one, and you can only do that when you understand why it will connect. Take B&Q, for example. Up until last year, the B&Q strategy was primarily focused on a tactical message around the product and the price. All this approach did was tell the customer who might be thinking about buying a strimmer that they have strimmers. For those who have seen the more recent B&Q campaigns, they’re brand focussed. They have stopped selling products and started selling a way of life. Now, we don’t go to B&Q for a strimmer, we go for inspiration. And the results? B&Q’s profits have soared. Of course, this is in part down to the pandemic and the increase in DIY, but B&Q wouldn’t have achieved these results without understanding why their audience would connect. When creativity meets purpose, we can inspire change. If it’s done right, your audience will embrace it and become your advocates. At its heart, this can be a very simple proposition. It is a mistake to assume all excellent creative ideas are complex, elaborate or abstract. The best ideas are simple in what they say, but intelligent in what they do. At Ardmore, we are in the middle of delivering a campaign about a really important and timely issue – a suicide dissuasion campaign for Network Rail. Already this campaign has received significant national attention and the results are speaking for themselves with three quarters of the intended audience recognising Network Rail’s role in promoting positive mental health. But the idea behind the campaign is beautifully simple – railways stations are places brimming with life and hope, and yes, that word again, connection. As businesses ponder their creative ideas for making the most of the reopening of our economy, it will be connection that builds that momentum they are looking for.

Eye on Technology

Openreach to support economic recovery and digital Connectivity in Northern Ireland Openreach, Northern Ireland’s largest digital infrastructure provider which is at the forefront of the Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband build, recently announced a commitment to invest £100 million in the region over the coming 12 months.

his significant investment will help bring Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband to at least 100,000 additional homes and businesses across Northern Ireland and forms part of Openreach’s plans to build Full Fibre broadband to 20 million premises across the UK by the mid to late 2020s. Openreach has been building its Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network at pace over the last 18 months. Now more than 65%

of properties in the region, over 530,000 homes and businesses, can access ultra-reliable broadband at speeds of up to 1Gbps on Openreach’s network – making NI the most digitally connected region in the UK*. With the dramatic escalation in both demand for and usage of online services over the last year, greater access to fast, reliable, and futureproofed connections will be central to economic recovery and long-term

socioeconomic growth in NI. As part of Openreach’s £100 million investment, Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband will be built to at least 100,000 additional premises in NI in the coming year, which will support even greater digital connectivity in the region. This will include premises in rural towns and villages spanning the length and breadth of NI – from Castledawson in Co. Londonderry to Aughnacloy in Co. Tyrone.

Alongside this announcement, Openreach has also unveiled plans to recruit 100 new apprentices in 2021/22, who will all receive 18 months’ training and an NVQ before graduating as fully qualified engineers. The new recruits will play a role in the Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband build as well as working to manage and maintain the Openreach network - keeping critical services, homes and businesses connected.

Eye on Technology

First Minister Arlene Foster, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Mairead Meyer, Director Openreach Northern Ireland are pictured Openreach engineers Darrel McVitty and Sarah McMaster.

Commenting on the announcement, Arlene Foster, First Minister of Northern Ireland, said: “I welcome the commitment by Openreach to enhance and extend digital connectivity in Northern Ireland over the next 12 months. The £100m investment plan will mean that well over two-thirds of homes and businesses here will have access to its Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network. “This pandemic has shown us how important online services are to how we live, work, and engage together. Greater access to fast, reliable connections will make a real difference to people’s lives and will also play a key part in the recovery and renewal of our economy. “Importantly, this investment will also focus on the skilled workforce of the future with the creation of 100 new apprenticeship roles who will be supported to achieve engineering qualifications.’’ Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister said: “This investment of £100 million by Openreach is hugely significant and very welcome as we work towards economic and societal recovery. I’m particularly encouraged by the much-needed job opportunities that will be

provided through the creation of 100 new apprentice roles. “Online connectivity is absolutely crucial to our economy and in our daily lives. The way people work, learn, do business and connect with one another means that access to quality broadband has never been more important. “The availability of better broadband will be transformative for individuals, families and businesses. Openreach has already brought Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband to 65% of premises across the region and I’m delighted that this latest investment will help to bring the latest broadband technologies to even more people and communities.” Mairead Meyer, Director of Openreach in Northern Ireland, commented: “As a major employer and the largest infrastructure builder in NI, we believe Openreach can play an important role in helping the region to build back better and stronger. We know that full deployment of Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband by 2025 could boost the NI economy by £1.3 billion and employment by 1.6%**. We also know that the network we’re building will deliver even greater benefits in

“As part of Openreach’s £100 million investment, ultrafast Full Fibre broadband will be built to at least 100,000 additional premises in NI in the coming year, which will support even greater digital connectivity in the region.”

terms of levelling up connectivity to provide economic and social rebalancing across the region as well as having green benefits by enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips. “Our Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network build is rolling out at pace, with 65% of premises in NI, including 75% of those within the capital of Belfast, now able to access Full Fibre on our network. We’ve ambitious plans in place to continue to drive this forward over the coming months and this investment will support these efforts. “We’re now looking for more people to join our multi-generational team and to build a career at Openreach and I’m delighted to announce a further 100 new apprentice roles in the coming

year. We take great pride in being an inclusive and diverse place to work, creating a supportive working environment and providing opportunities for development and growth. We’re encouraging anyone, no matter their background or experience, to apply and join us on the journey to build a network that will support the people of Northern Ireland for decades to come.”

Sources * Ofcom (2020) https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/209443/connected-nations-2020-ni.pdf ** CEBR (2019) https://www.openreach.com/content/dam/openreach/openreach-dam-files/images/hidden-pages/full-fibre-impact/CebrReport_online.pdf

Eye on Office Space

Belfast Chamber Chief Executive Welcomes Growth of Serviced Office Sector Simon Hamilton claims sector is key in aiding Belfast’s economic recovery

Following a recent visit to the Scottish Provident Building, located in Donegall Square, Belfast Chamber, Chief Executive, Simon Hamilton spoke out to welcome the recent growth of the serviced office sector, despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

anaged by bespoke serviced office provider, VenYou, the Scottish Provident Building, which recently became a member of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, has seen a great improvement in occupancy levels in recent months with several new companies moving into the building. VenYou Client Services Director, Donna Linehan reported that the Scottish Provident Building’s occupancy levels are currently at a strong mid-80 per cent compared to last March when it dipped to 70 per cent after the first COVID-19 lockdown, having been in the high 90s. The Scottish Provident Building houses businesses from a variety of sectors, namely, financial corporations, recruitment agencies, corporate travel management companies, television production companies and creative agencies to name but a few. Recent new tenants of the building include Hool Law, one of Belfast’s leading law firms, CAA Base, an agency for professional footballers and the Watts Group, which offers mechanical and electrical building services, are returning to the building having been in a conventional office space for a period. As well as new tenants, a number of existing tenants have expanded their services and have moved into larger office space. This includes HHAeXchange,

Provizio, Overwatch Research, AP Consultants, Artemis Human Capital and Germinal holdings. After touring the building and meeting with staff, Mr Hamilton commented: “I was very impressed by the top-class facilities available at the Scottish Provident Building and the friendliness of the staff during my visit. “After one of the toughest years for Northern Ireland businesses, the effects of which few sectors managed to escape, I’m delighted that the Scottish Provident Building is offering a supportive environment for businesses to establish themselves and grow. “One of the Belfast Chamber’s main objectives is to promote and support local businesses and as such, I’m keen to encourage office workers to return to the City Centre as we look to aid our economic recovery. “Throughout the past year, we have worked together to help keep each other safe, and now we must work together to help our city recover and to encourage businesses to return to Belfast. I’m confident that the serviced office sector will play a key role in achieving this.” Elsewhere, Donna Linehan, Client Services Director at VenYou added: “We were so pleased to welcome Simon [Hamilton] to the Scottish Provident Building to discuss our facilities and the packages we offer local businesses. “We are delighted to see new companies joining the building

Belfast Chamber Chief Executive, Simon Hamilton and VenYou Client Services Director, Donna Linehan pictured on the Terrace area of the Scottish Provident Building during his recent visit.

and indeed some of our existing tenants experiencing such business growth that they require a larger office space. “In terms of the flexibility and services we provide, we know that the serviced office sector is very attractive to business owners. In a post pandemic world, the serviced office sector could be vital when it comes to offering business owners an alternative to conventional office spaces and the limitations that occasionally come along with them. “With lockdown restrictions beginning to ease and with many business owners considering a return to Belfast City Centre, the serviced office sector could provide a flexible and manageable way forward and ultimately, could be extremely important to our city’s economic recovery.” Elsewhere, Harry Dowey from the Watts Group claims that VenYou’s flexibility coupled with the Scottish Provident Building’s prime location was a major plus for the company moving away from a conventional

space and returning to serviced offices within the building. Harry Dowey commented: “The nature of our work requires us to be in the city centre where we can easily network with clients and industry colleagues. The great thing about the Scottish Provident Building is not only the superb facilities of this beautiful building but it’s location – it’s close to restaurants, cafes, car parks and is easily accessible by bus and train which is fantastic for us. “The flexibility offered by VenYou also made our decision to return to the Scottish Provident Building a very easy one. Flexibility is vital for many businesses, especially in this current economic climate and the team at VenYou is able to deliver that and so much more.”

For more information call the VenYou team on: 028 9091 8500 or visit the website: www.scottishprovidentbuilding.co.uk

Safe Protected Businesses scottishprovidentbuilding.co.uk

Eye on Round Table

Climate Action – The Economic Opportunities For Northern Ireland The Participants

Rosemary Stalker Chair Invest Northern Ireland

Mark McCall Co-Founder NI Electric Vehicle Association

David Tyler Commercial Director Artemis Technologies

Business Eye joined forces with NIE Networks to stage a virtual round table spotlighting Northern Ireland’s targets and progress towards a greener future and looking at the economic opportunities arising from positive climate action. What can this region achieve and what spin-offs benefits might it bring?

ichard Buckley, Editor of Business Eye, guided the discussion from NIAVAC’s studio in Belfast where he was joined by Paul Stapleton, Managing Director of NIE Networks. Joining by Zoom were:-

Rosemary Stalker, Chair of Invest Northern Ireland Mark McCall, Co-Founder, NI Electric Vehicles Association David Tyler, Commercial Director, Artemis Technologies Roger Wilson, Chief Executive, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Randal Gilbert, Head of Network Strategy, NIE Networks

Roger Wilson Chief Executive, Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Counci

RB - Paul, NIE Networks is right at the centre of this and has its own vision of where we should be in the future. Can you set the scene for us? PS - The challenge is to recover from the Covid pandemic and then focus on climate change. We need to align those two objectives into what’s commonly called the green recovery. The UK government has set a headline target of net zero carbon by 2050. Here, the Assembly is considering a Climate Chang Bill and the Department for the Economy has published a consultation on a new Energy Strategy that has sustainability and affordability at its core. In short, we have to replace our dependency on imported fossil fuels with indigenous renewable energy sources, and we have to invest in that indigenous sector and supply chain. We have to do that while keeping our customers front and centre and without increasing costs or diminishing living standards.

Randal Gilbert Head of Network Strategy NIE Networks

RB - How important is it that we’re talking about opportunities and not threats and challenges to businesses? PS - It’s important that we’re positive and focus on the opportunities. Covid has been hugely difficult for many businesses, but I really do think that aligning our economic recovery with green goals offers a real opportunity. RG - Northern Ireland is going to have to meet its fair share of the UK’s commitment to net zero carbon and that should be reflected in the NI Climate Change Bill. We’re involved in four of the five working groups advising on the Department of the Economy’s consultation process. We’d concur with the view that electrification has a key role in decarbonisation. The networks will be central to the wider effort and we have to help ensure that the transition is affordable for consumers and that the opportunities are equitable

Eye on Round Table

across the board. As operators, we have to rise to that challenge. Rather than a network owner, we’ll become a system operator looking at all different technologies and at how best the network can be optimised. So there are challenges but there are also opportunities and Northern Ireland must be seen to be open for business. RB - Where do we stand as a region? RG - Public consultation on the Strategic Energy Framework ends in June and it’s due to be signed off in November. We’d hope to see actionable targets in that document. But we’d also liked to see real progress on the Climate Bill within the term of this assembly. RB - How important is climate action for Invest NI, Rosemary, in terms of seeking mobile investment? RS - We see green growth as an imperative for Northern Ireland going forward. We should use energy

transformation as a catalyst for significant economic growth. It’s encouraging to see companies like Artemis locating here but we have to maximise the spin off from that. We’re uniquely placed in that we have single energy regulator, a single network operator in NIE Networks, a single

water company, a single transport company as well as initiatives like City Deal. We also have plenty of natural resources. So the potential to create clusters is tremendous and that’s something we must work towards. We can’t do everything, we need to focus on the areas where we can

lead. Hydrogen is a great example and there is real potential in creating a cluster around hydrogen technology. Clusters are definitely the way to go. RB - David, you’re Commercial Director at Artemis Technologies. Tell us a bit about the company and why you chose Northern Ireland. DT - We’re a spin off from the Swedish American Cup team Artemis Racing and we were formed to see how we could adopt technology developed for ocean racing, concentrating on solid wing sail and hydrofoiling technology and how both could contribute to the decarbonisation of the shipping industry. We were based originally at the University of Cambridge but as we scaled up we came to Northern Ireland and we were impressed with the skills here, the existence of a strong aerospace cluster and the expertise around the use of new materials. Also, setting up in a place with an amazing maritime history just felt right.

Eye on Round Table here already, others are in the pipeline. I’d like to see more companies like Artemis coming to Northern Ireland. We have the people, we have the skills and we must make best use of both. There are real opportunities to build back greener and better. Let’s get some actionable targets and let’s get on with it now. The Republic of Ireland has had a climate action plan since 2019. We need to get our’s on the table. RS - As we look towards the next generation of green technologies, we need to make sure that Northern Ireland gets in on the supply chain. We’re well placed to be able to export skills and technology to the rest of the world. We have to come out of the Covid crisis fighting and, although it’s a well-worn phrase, we do have to build back better. There is a real opportunity to be grasped. In the case of Artemis, they’re building on one of our stronger areas, but we need to ensure that the supply chain is in place for them.

RB - What are your aims in the longer term? DT - Our main project at the moment is a high power all-electric hydrofoil vessel with aircraft control systems that lifts out of the water at a certain speed to reduce drag. Our job is to turn the concept into commercially viable vessels. For us at Artemis, and for the Belfast Maritime Consortium, we see a hub, both here and internationally, concentrating on the development of a range of high speed zero carbon vessels. Huge challenges but also huge opportunities. RB - Mark, let me bring you in. We wonder sometimes about public buy-in to climate change but one way the public can buy in is to buy electric vehicles. Where does Northern Ireland stand? MM - We have around 4,200 electric vehicles here. If we were pro rata with the rest of the UK that should be more like 15,000. So we’re significantly behind. We started off well and we might even have been European leaders at one point. But we’ve fallen off since then. Our charging network isn’t fit for purpose and it has become a disincentive to buying EVs. That’s not how it should be. The Executive should be showing a lead, we think.

RB - Roger, you’ve made changes as a council. You have targets going forward. How important is climate action for a progressive local council like your own? RW - It’s really important for us. We launched our recovery and growth strategy in February and the climate agenda is at the core of it. There is a lot of work going on right across government and the public sector. I look at it from three perspectives; as an organisation, our buildings, fleet, facilities etc. We also have some of NI’s largest employers and its important that we keep working with them. Thirdly is the innovation strand. I believe there a great opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into climate action and develop new products or interventions that will help drive the agenda. Once NI has its strategy finalised and agreed, investment needs to flow quickly afterwards. RB - We’ve talked a bit about government. What would you like to see coming from government at this stage, Paul? PS - Progress has been made. But I think we’d like to see a real sense of urgency now and we’d like to see policy moving to implementation. Mark is right. There has been no real investment in charging networks over the past 10 years. Yet, in 10 years time, it won’t be possible to

buy a diesel or petrol car. So we’ll have 400,000 electric vehicles on the road here and we’re nowhere near ready for that. There should be a compelling urgency to act where action is needed. RB - We’ve talked about business buy-in, but what stage are we at with the general public. Are young people more engaged? RG - Yes, young people are going to drive us all. But it is also consumer driven, and young people are very important consumers. They are activators and drivers in this space. RB - We’ve heard about being able to re-build better, and re-build greener, post-Covid. What do we think? DT - Transport is vital to achieving the targets set for 2050. It’s lesser known that maritime produces more emissions than buses and trains as things stand and that’s the area of our focus. A transition to zero carbon maritime is all about innovation and it presents all sorts of opportunities for a broad range of companies here in Northern Ireland. But time is of the essence because there are international competitors doing the same thing. RG - The coming five or 10 years can be a period of collaboration and partnerships. Some technologies are

RB - It strikes me that local councils can take something of a lead here. Would you agree, Roger? RW - I would agree. We need to move more quickly as well. We have very innovative SME’s and we need to find ways of assisting them to flex to this new agenda and design and develop solutions that will be needed. We have a strong talent pool and I believe there is an opportunity for Northern Ireland companies to lead the way in this sector. We can build back better and this shouldn’t be optional. RB - What do we need to do right now or very soon to realise our climate ambitions? MM - We’ve got to invest. The time for talking is over. We need the political will to move forward. DT - Strong leadership is really important. We also need ambitious targets, otherwise nothing will actually change. There are barriers and we need support to get across those barriers. PS - We need the Assembly to agree and approve a climate action plan for Northern Ireland. It’s important for all of us and we all need to contribute to it. We also need to change the thought process around infrastructure investment and see it as an investment in the future rather than a cost burden.

Eye on Round Table

And we need to get away from the build it when we need it mentality. Our planning process is not fit for purpose from anyone’s perspective. I know that there is a review underway and it’s a very important one. RB - Paul, we have a target of 70% renewable energy here by 2030. Is that achievable and what needs to happen to make sure it happens? PS - The target is at least 70%, it could be even higher, it’s ambitious but it is achievable if we start now. If we spend the next two years finalising policy and then start, we won’t achieve it. Key to achieving it is investing in the network and that comes back to us. We need to address the planning issues we talked about and we need to look at skills and continuing to develop the skills we require across this sector.

to our attitudes, how we deliver services and how we support our businesses in this new world. DT - We’d like to see real progress towards multi-modal transport and a whole new transport future that includes zero carbon ships. But we need to keep looking further into the future - 20 years, 30 years.

the next 10 years, we’ll struggle to make the target set for 2050. It’s all about having a sense of urgency now and getting things underway. But plenty of questions need answered and there are different pathways we could take. I do think that this is at the top of everyone’s agenda now and that can only be a good thing.

PS - The challenge for us is to provide an electricity network that can support decarbonised ships, 400,000 electric vehicles on our roads, than can enable us to attract investment and develop clusters, and can support local councils in providing all of their services. We have an enabling role and we want to help drive all of the targets we’ve mentioned today.

MM - 2030 is a big date for us, the year which the government has earmarked for the beginning of a new transport future. Let’s hope that there is real investment and that all the opportunities are realised over the coming years. Let’s stop planning and start acting.

RB - I’d like to wrap up by asking each of you what your vision is of where we’ll be in 2030. We know the official vision. What is your own?

RS - I’d like to see Northern Ireland as a global exporter of green technology. I’d like to see the elimination of fuel poverty. And I’d like to see Northern Ireland being much more self sufficient in terms of its energy, instead of being an importer of raw materials.

RW - I’d like to think that we’ll have made significant changes

RG - I’d like to see us achieving our targets. If we don’t make progress in

Eye on News

Leading Belfast Retail Park Goes On The Market

ne of Belfast’s leading retail parks has been placed on the market for offers in excess of £19.7m. Shane Retail Park, which was constructed in 2003, comprises over 170,000 sq ft of prime retail warehouse units, and is located at the southern entrance of the Boucher Road. The scheme is anchored by a 50,000 sq ft Homebase store, as well other retailers including Oak Furnitureland, Smyths Toys, Dunelm Mill, EZ Living, Costa Coffee, Carpetright and Dreams. It boasts a fantastic location with excellent transport links given its close proximity to Belfast city centre, as well as a one-minute drivetime to the M1 motorway. Commercial real estate agencies CBRE NI and Savills have been appointed as joint agents on the sale. Robert Ditty, Senior Director at CBRE NI, commented: “Shane Retail Park is

one of the best ‘Bulky Goods’ retail developments in Northern Ireland, and given that it is fully let with a wide range of well-renowned tenants, we are anticipating extremely high levels of demand from a variety of investors.” Andrew Coggins, Director at CBRE NI, added that ‘out of town’ retail has performed exceptionally well throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to strong tenant demand as well as a healthy investor appetite for such schemes within the sector. Ben Turtle, Director at Savills, said: “Despite a decline elsewhere in the UK and Europe, retail remains an attractive investment asset class in Northern Ireland – evidenced by a number of transactions over the past year including Slate Asset Management’s acquisition of Abbey Retail Park for £33m last year, and the sale of Lisnagelvin Retail Park to David Samuel Properties for £9.7m.”

Commenting on recent lettings at Shane Retail Park, Alana Coyle, Director at CBRE NI, commented: “The recent deals agreed with EZ Living and Dreams, both of which have doubled their floorspace and have committed to investing heavily in new stores,

highlights the underlying strength and confidence that occupiers have in this location. There is a strong retail park renaissance taking place at the moment and we expect this to continue as retailers continue to expand and make the most of the available space.”

Ebrington development partner to manage £1.5m office refurb at iconic Derry site

brington Holdings Ltd, the development partner of the NI Executive on the Ebrington site in Derry/Londonderry, has said that it is delighted to have received planning permission on the well-known Building 85 within the site, which will be transformed into Grade A office accommodation, representing a £1.5m investment. Building 85, which is the former ‘Officers’ Mess’, comprises c.13,500 sq ft and will undergo internal alterations with the addition of a lift shaft and a flat roof extension, converting the building into a modern office space, adding to Ebrington’s growing portfolio of modern business facilities. Kyle Porter, Ebrington Holdings Ltd, said: “We are thrilled to have secured planning for Building 85, which will become a high-end, versatile office suite that will be suitable to a vast array of occupiers. “Building 85 is very well-known to those familiar with the Ebrington site, and boasts stunning elevated views over Ebrington Square, the Peace Bridge and River Foyle, as well as the Guildhall. Furthermore, it boasts a prime location,

Pictured [L-R]: Andrew Coulter, ACA Architecture; Lisa McAteer, CBRE NI; and Kyle Porter, Ebrington Holdings Ltd, outside Building 85 at Ebrington in Derry/Londonderry.

both in relation to the site itself as well as its close proximity to the city of Derry and the new transport hub. “The recent announcement regarding the Derry and Strabane City Deal is a significant step towards the economic future and success of the north west region, and we have ambitious plans

to continue to invest significantly in all of the units under our control. We are confident that we will add high-quality real estate assets to the market across a number of sectors in the near future.” Commercial real estate agency CBRE NI has been appointed as the letting agent on the property. Lisa McAteer,

Director, commented: “It is encouraging to see Building 85 achieve its planning permission, which upon completion, will contribute significantly to making the Ebrington site an unrivalled mixed-use development in the north west region. “Major refurbishment works are planned to go ahead this month, and we are pleased to have already received a high level of interest from a wide range of businesses looking for new, innovative and flexible office space as we begin to see companies make a return to the workplace following the pro-longed period of remote working.” ACA Architecture has also been appointed to work on the project. Managing Director Andrew Coulter said that Building 85 was a significant structure on the Ebrington site, given its prominence and red-brick facade. He added: “Building 85 is one of the most prominent properties within Ebrington given its grand position within the site. It has uninterrupted views over the riverside, along with unique, period-style features that we will ensure to maintain throughout the refurbishment, helping us restore the building to its former glory.”

Eye onCSR

Eye on CSR

Musgrave Northern Ireland – Together We Are Stronger The Covid pandemic has brought challenges to every aspect of every business and CSR is no exception to the rule. But, as Musgrave NI’s Marketing Director Desi Derby tells Richard Buckley, CSR, like any other part of business life, can be adapted for success.

Launch of new Big Bus - Gareth Kirk CEO Action Cancer; Lucy McCusker, Corporate Fundraising Manager Action Cancer; Trevor Magill, Managing Director Musgrave NI; SuperValu & Centra Retailer, Philip Woods

he simple fact that Musgrave’s brands raised £130,000 for Action Cancer and £50,000 for NI Chest Heart & Stroke over the past 12 months proves Desi Derby’s point about adapting CSR to changed circumstances even before he makes it. “When Covid first struck, none of us knew whether we’d be able to sustain any kind of corporate social responsibility or charity activities. Back then, we had to focus entirely on keeping our stores open safely and looking after our customers and colleagues. That

was the only item on the agenda.” The wholesale and convenience store group is involved in CSR throughout its network, from big charity partnerships right through to a huge array of charity and community initiatives carried out on a daily basis at local community store level. “At the top of the tree, we’re very proud of our partnership with Action Cancer,” says Desi Derby. “It’s a partnership which has lasted for 18 years. That’s remarkable in itself. Most CRS partnerships run for a few years before they get a bit tired and are replaced by something

different. This one has kept up the pace and we’ve managed to raise an astonishing £3.3 million for the charity. “What’s more, it’s a partnership that is now in our DNA and one that means a lot to the colleagues working in our stores right across the province” Within Musgrave Northern Ireland, Supervalu and Centra stores help to raise money for Action Cancer whilst Mace and Musgrave Marketplace outlets are linked with NI Chest Heart & Stroke. In Covid times, with direct charity initiatives, activities and even collections either

not permitted or severely disrupted, the links with a busy retailer are all the more vital for the charities concerned. Musgrave’s activities help to fund Action Cancer’s Big Bus, a fully equipped mobile cancer screening facility which travels all over Northern Ireland. But the company’s CSR activities go a lot deeper than the headline partnerships. Its independent retailers (some of its stores are company-owned and operated, the majority are run by independent retailers) invest hundreds of thousands of pounds each year in community activities.

Eye on CSR Launch of face masks initiative - SuperValu ambassadors Kerry and Tara of Sisters & Sons and Centra Ambassador Pete Snodden pictured with Lucy McCusker of Action Cancer

Desi Derby, Marketing Director at Musgrave Northern Ireland

“Within the marketing department, we talk about local initiatives – basically the big ones – and we talk about ‘local local’, the broad range of things happening at community level, driven by our local stores. “It could be a screening unit at a local hospital, it could be a village football team, it could be church or youth club group. I’ve heard of local stores sending platters of sandwiches to a wake in the town. And, just recently, our Supervalu store in Newcastle provided much-needed food and water for the firefighters working on the Mournes wild fire.”

The arrival of Covid, arguably, has deepened local retailers’ roots within their communities. More than 90 SuperValu & Centra local stores quickly established home delivery operations where none had existed before. And they were able to look after vulnerable home-bound and shielding customers in a very specific way. “Our stores were doing the kind of things that were really invaluable to some customers during the worst of the pandemic.” But Desi Derby is the first to admit that the Covid crisis has brought with it plenty of challenges. “A lot of activities that we would normally have supported – big events like the annual Bra Walk for Action Cancer and our Run Together programme – couldn’t happen in their normal format. So we had to think differently. We had to take things in a different direction.” It’s clear that it worked. To raise £130,000 for Action Cancer in a year dominated by Covid is quite an achievement. To underline that achievement, that money is enough to fund 1,100 breast screenings and 2,600 health checks on board the Big Bus. “That’s 3,700 medical interventions that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible during the Covid era,” says Desi Derby. “So it’s no small wonder that the colleagues throughout our store network are really proud of what they’re part of.”

In the early part of the pandemic, Musgrave stepped in to sell NHS/Support Our Key Workers rainbow stickers with 100% of the revenue going to NHS and associated charities as well as their partners Action Cancer and NI Chest, Heart and Stroke. Then, when face masks became mandatory, it raised another £25,000 through the sale of limited edition masks in store. It also ran a Local Store Hero award scheme, recognising colleagues from stores who’d gone above and beyond during the Covid period and donating £1 to Action Cancer for every nomination received. “We had one store colleague who ran the equivalent of a full marathon, 26 miles from one of our stores to another and then back again,” says Desi Derby. “We’re currently waiting for a final total from our May Day Weekend activities which saw the launch of a 600-km “One Step at a Time” initiative around all of the stores in our network which has set out to raise £18,000.” Looking to the future, he is confident that Musgrave’s CSR programme can see some level of normality returning over the coming months. “We’d love to see Action Cancer’s Health Action Programme, which works directly with schools, returning from the start of the new school year in September. Action Cancer’s activities

are built around the three themes of prevention, detection and support, and we can help them to fund all three areas. It’s also hugely important to get the message out that there is life after cancer detection and diagnosis. “We’re also quietly hopeful that our Run Together events can take place live once again at Ormeau Park come September rather than virtually. But we know that it will depend on what restrictions are in place.” The Action Cancer CSR programme is hugely popular with colleagues throughout the retail network, says Desi Derby, because it is so easy to relate to. “Almost everyone has been affected by cancer in some way or another,” he says. “So everyone finds it easy to relate to and easy to get behind. It’s very real to them and they see that we can actually help to save lives. Therefore it’s a very positive partnership for our business.” Back at the beginning of the Covid crisis, Musgrave NI came up with a slogan to rally around – Together We Are Stronger. Desi Derby reckons that together we are all stronger as a result of what we’ve learnt during the Covid era. “I do think that we’re coming out of this stronger. We look after each other better, and we’ve learnt what the real priorities in life are.”

Eye on CSR

A&O – Celebrating 10 years of making a difference As one of the world’s largest and most connected law firms, Allen & Overy is committed to making a difference. Over the last year, the Belfast office has contributed GBP100,000 locally through fundraising and community engagement projects.

Community Responsibility

Angela Clist, Partner, Allen & Overy Belfast

atricia Rogers, Head of Support Services Centre, and Angela Clist, Partner, Allen & Overy Belfast, reflect on the impact of pro bono and community investment activities as the firm prepares to celebrate its tenth anniversary in Belfast. Patricia explains: “Since we opened our doors in Belfast in 2011, we have put

Patricia Rogers, Head of Support Services Centre

responsible business at the heart of everything we do. It underpins our employee value proposition, how we face a highly competitive recruitment marketplace and how we engage with our suppliers and stakeholders. We invest in our people but we also empower them to give back to their communities.

“Community responsibility is part of our culture and every employee has two days paid leave every year to undertake volunteering or pro bono activities. Our Pro Bono Community Investment (PBCI) Committee in Belfast, co-ordinates our charitable and volunteering work. It is staff-driven and comprises employees at all levels within the firm who actively encourage peers to participate in their local communities. They have championed Business in the Community’s Time to Read and Time to Code initiatives at Mercy Primary School, a partnership now in its ninth year, with 150 members of staff volunteering their time. Angela adds: “In the last year our lawyers in Belfast recorded 700 hours of pro bono work. We have helped the Advice on

Individual Human Rights (AIRE) Centre, a specialist legal charity which promotes awareness of legal rights and assists people in vulnerable circumstances and Amicus, a UK charity providing assistance to US attorneys working on death penalty cases. We are proud of what we have achieved, but we want to challenge ourselves further.”

Fundraising Activities The PBCI Committee is also responsible for organising fundraising activities and raising awareness of local charity partner, Sands NI, which supports anyone affected by baby loss and global partner, Hope and Homes for Children, which works towards ensuring every child grows up in a loving family. Staff have raised almost GBP35,000 for the

Eye on CSR

A&O Belfast Time to Read volunteers celebrating World Book Day at Mercy Primary School.

partnerships through raffles, special collections and, since lockdown, online quizzes. The Committee organises annual donations of outdoor clothing, sleeping bags and food for the Welcome Organisation and arranges regular donations of sanitary and hygiene items for the Homeless Period Belfast. A&O Belfast also set up a matchedgiving scheme in 2020 to support individual employee fundraising resulting in over GBP11,000 donated to 18 charities.

Belfast Grants Committee Every year around GBP40,000 of funding is made available from the Allen & Overy Foundation, which is funded by contributions from A&O partners worldwide. Funding for projects in Northern Ireland is administered by the Belfast Grants Committee of which Angela is a member. She says: “Funding is given to charitable organisations that have at least one project or area of focus in Northern Ireland addressing our core themes of increasing access to justice, and the advancement of education or employment across Northern Ireland.” Charities to have benefitted

include Career Ready, which has operated across Northern Ireland since 2012. The charity works with 17-18 year olds from non-selective schools and FE Colleges to provide key employability skills, mentoring, workplace visits and internships. Angela comments: “Thanks to the support from our Belfast Grants Committee, the charity was able to develop new virtual resources to deliver its schools programme online, provided virtual mentoring for 60 students and secured paid internships for 35 students. We also helped Flourish NI, a charity which supports survivors of human trafficking in communities across Northern Ireland. Our support provided funding for a part-time caseworker enabling the charity to provide intensive casework support to 12 individuals and their immediate family members. “This year we have set ourselves the target of achieving 4,000 hours of volunteering and pro bono work and the Belfast Grants Committee is looking for charities that can benefit from our professional skills and volunteering time. We have over 600 people working in the Belfast office, all of whom have a significant contribution

to make, offering their skills, time and energy to benefit those who need it most.”

Education Opportunities Speaking about the importance of advancing education opportunities Patricia says, “Our community benefits from our education partnerships. We work with schools to equip the workforce of tomorrow with the skills and confidence to succeed beyond their school years. Through our partnership with Hazelwood Integrated College we provide professional support and advice, mentor their LGBT network and offer work experience opportunities. We support and recognise talented students and sponsor awards at both Queen’s University and Ulster University, provide bursaries for students and fund the Legal Innovation Centre at Ulster University. “We are particularly proud of the growth of our apprenticeship programme, which offers a viable and alternative route into employment. We currently have 22 apprentices across IT, Finance, HR, Marketing, Legal Tech and Business Projects. Our apprenticeship programme demonstrates our commitment to investing in young

talent, creating more and better job opportunities and accelerating economic growth while young people gain valuable experience and a recognisable qualification.”

CORE Accreditation From 2019 A&O Belfast has achieved Gold Level CORE accreditation from Business in the Community, recognising its corporate responsibility and leadership. Patricia concluded: “We would encourage all businesses, large or small, to actively engage with their local communities. It can be as simple as offering work experience, engaging in staff fundraising or volunteering opportunities. For us, it has helped with staff development, broadening technical, communication and interpersonal skills such as coaching and mentoring. We see the difference it makes to staff engagement with annual survey results showing a 5% increase and has enhanced our ability to attract and retain the best people. Crucially though, it’s about giving back and we all have a role to play in creating a fairer society. The ethos of A&O has always been about making an impact in our local community – and that is something we are committed to continuing.”

Eye on CSR

Henderson Group reflects on SPAR NI’s community impact over past 60 years

As a business established over 120 years ago, Henderson Group is part of the fabric of Northern Ireland. With a presence in every town, village and community through the SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO retail brands as well as connections with multiple local farmers, growers, suppliers, community groups and charitable organisations, each facet of the Group makes an impact here.

n 1961, the SPAR brand came to Northern Ireland, meaning 2021 marks 60 years of SPAR stores becoming part of these communities, and making their own impact in terms of charitable support, contribution to local economies and enabling entrepreneurship for local families. Patrick Doody, Sales and Marketing Director at Henderson Group says the impact of SPAR here cannot be underestimated; “It is easy to dismiss a brand as just that, however we have worked tirelessly to ensure that the SPAR brand is more than

just a familiar place to shop. “Since coming to Northern Ireland 60 years ago, SPAR has raised over £7,000,000 for local charities, supported foodbanks and local care homes, and over 24,000 other local organisations and even saved lives.” 12 lives have been saved since 2015 thanks to the installation of 242 defibrillators outside stores here, the largest network of public access defibrillators in the UK. “Our shoppers have raised over £360,000 to help our local retailers install these lifesaving devices, which are available to the public

24/7. Engaging our retailers and shoppers in this initiative has given a sense of ownership and pride, and ensures there is a device available in every town in the country. We are working to get them all registered with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service on ‘The Circuit’ which is the National Defibrillator Network launched by the British Heart Foundation. This will allow a quicker connection between both the NI Ambulance Service and the public to our network of devices.” In the past decade, SPAR’s local credentials have grown to reflect the

increasing number of locally sourced fresh products and ranges available instore, from own-brand lines such as The CHEF and enjoy local, to big brand names. Fresh food sales at SPAR now account for almost 50% of retail sales, ensuring millions of pounds go back into the local economy, year on year. In the past year alone, the company’s locally made pre-prepared products have experienced sales of over £14M. And so impressive is the quality and unique standing of SPAR’s local sourcing, that an agreement was entered at the beginning of the

Eye on CSR

year with Sainsbury’s for Henderson Wholesale to provide local SPAR products for Sainsbury’s shoppers due to disruption in the supply chain. “This is a prime example of the benefit in local sourcing of certain products. Brexit disrupted the supply chain from GB to Northern Ireland at the start of the year, but we were able to supply Sainsbury’s so their shoppers were still able to buy the products they expected, only this time they are buying local produce and supporting local farmers. It’s win-win for the Northern Ireland economy.” With a unique proposition available, it has led to the growth of local entrepreneurs buying into the franchise. There are now almost 300 SPAR stores in Northern Ireland, and Henderson Wholesale supplies to almost 500 outlets throughout the company operated and independently owned network. Patrick continued; “Our SPAR retailers engage with their local schools and community groups to provide support for their own initiatives, sponsorship for sporting events and encourage healthy eating and staying active. That is a huge responsibility as a local retailer, and one we take very seriously.” In fact, SPAR NI supports sporting initiatives from grassroot

“Since coming to Northern Ireland 60 years ago, SPAR has raised over £7,000,000 for local charities, supported foodbanks and local care homes, and over 24,000 other local organisations and even saved lives.”

community programmes to globally recognised sporting events, such as the SPAR Craic 10K, The Deep River Rock Belfast City Marathon right through to its partnership with Healthy Kidz more recently to provide Virtual Sports Day activities during lockdown. “We have supported Sports Days in schools for over 10 years, providing bottles of water, runners’ number bibs, finisher medals... everything needed to create a fantastic end of term event, and of course provide even more support to local primary schools. “We have been title sponsor of the SPAR Craic 10K since its inception and in recent years, SPAR has awarded grants of £40,000 to sporting community groups through our Peoples Podium initiative. We are very much looking forward to the return of the Deep River Rock Belfast City Half Marathon and Marathon this May and September.

“In response to the COVID-19 emergency, we launched the Community Cashback Grant where we distributed funds of £20,000 to 16 deserving groups, charities and community organisations.” SPAR has recently hit a milestone £400,000+ in funds raised for its most recent charity partner, Marie Curie. Since 2017, the brand has created multiple campaigns to provide support to community nurses on the frontline, and towards the running of its Hospice services. Most recently, SPAR shoppers raised £30,000 thanks to the Henderson initiative Buy a Bunch to Give a Bunch, which supported the organisation’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal. The total surpassed the team’s expectations and target by 66%. The aim is to raise £60,000 in line with the 60th birthday this year, which, subject to restrictions, will see SPAR NI hosting celebrations in flagship stores on Saturday 19 June.

Patrick finished; “June will see the return of Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Tea Party, which SPAR will turn into a birthday celebration with bumper fundraising plans in partnership with Tayto. “On this 60th year, we are celebrating all the good our stores, teams, shoppers and owners have done for their communities and we look forward to a summer of reconnecting with groups and clubs as restrictions ease and they are able to start operating again. Our birthday celebrations will see a continued boost of support towards Marie Curie, and we will celebrate our local suppliers with the launch of more locally produced own brand products available at superb value for our shoppers. “It may have been 60 years, but this is also a new beginning as SPAR is front and centre in those communities rebuilding after the challenges of COVID-19. We look forward to growing alongside them for many more years to come.”

Eye on CSR

Diageo’s ‘Smashed’ Live Virtual Tour Helps Educate Young People on the Dangers of Underage Drinking

ast month students in Northern Ireland became the first in the world to experience the ‘Smashed’ Live Virtual Tour, a global programme sponsored by Diageo that is dedicated to supporting young people in resisting the peer pressure of underage drinking. Northern Ireland was the first region to host the virtual tour which was live-streamed into classrooms as part of a two-week programme in April, reaching over 4,500 children aged between 11yrs and 14yrs. Smashed is a theatre-based programme designed to educate young people on the dangers of underage drinking in a way that is creative, engaging and hard-hitting. The programme, which Diageo has been running for five years in Northern Ireland, has traditionally

been delivered through live performances within schools. However, in 2021, Smashed was updated to replicate the interactive excitement of a live theatrical performance and workshop in a format that still allows engagement ‘in school’ in a covid-safe way. With a cast of local actors, the performance was live streamed into schools from a purpose built studio space with the aim to empower young people by equipping them with the information, awareness and confidence to make responsible choices around alcohol. The performance was accompanied by interactive workshops, evaluation and teaching resources for schools, which have been endorsed by The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and Assessment in Northern Ireland. The launch of the Smashed

virtual tour in Northern Ireland supports Diageo in achieving its Society 2030 ambition of educating over 10 million young people, parents and teachers globally on the dangers of underage drinking. Education Minister, Peter Weir, joined Year 8 pupils at Ashfield Boys High School for one of the world’s very first performances and to see how engaging with young people can help them make the right choices around alcohol. Education Minister Peter Weir said: “I fully support the ‘Smashed’ programme which to date has been delivered to 50,000 students across Northern Ireland. “This important programme, which is aimed at the prevention of underage drinking, educates our young people about the dangers associated with alcohol misuse

and providing them with information, awareness, and confidence to make responsible choices around alcohol. “The Executive places huge importance on tackling the issue of alcohol misuse and programmes such as ‘Smashed’ have a very positive impact not only on our young people’s lives but also on our local communities and wider society throughout Northern Ireland.” Claire Hutchinson, Corporate Relations Manager, Diageo Northern Ireland, said: “Working in partnership with Collingwood Learning we have had an overwhelming response from students, teachers and stakeholders since we introduced the Smashed programme five years ago. This last year has been like no other and the challenges of COVID have highlighted the need for all of society to be alive to, and help address, the challenges, needs and expectations of young people. “It is for these reasons that we are especially pleased that Northern Ireland is hosting the first ever virtual Smashed series reaching a further 4,500 students and ensuring that the programme

can be delivered in a way that provides the impact, relevance and engagement of a live performance. We are delighted that through this programme and our current activity we will have reached over 50,000 pupils in Northern Ireland over the past five years with our messages of positive drinking. “We are grateful to the Education Minister for his participation and his support for the wider programme. We are fully committed to partnering with the Department of Education and the wider Executive in helping younger people to make the right choices around alcohol.” For those who missed out this time on the live virtual tour, there is also the opportunity to engage with Smashed Online, a brand new Alcohol Education e-learning platform that takes users on an interactive, cinematic journey into the lives of three teenagers and their early experiences with alcohol. Also designed for 11-14 year olds, the immersive online experience allows teachers and young people alike to explore the health, social and personal implications of underage drinking.

Smashed Online is available at https://online.smashedproject.org/uk

Eye on News

Belfast Harbour Invests £2.5M In Refurbishment Of Belfast- Heysham Terminal

elfast Harbour has announced plans to undertake a full refurbishment of the Victoria Terminal 1 Roll-on Roll-off ferry berth this summer, from which Stena Line operate their successful Belfast to Heysham freight service. The programme of work, which represents a £2.5million investment by Belfast Harbour, will effectively

renew and modernize the terminal infrastructure, extending its life span for a further 25 years. Work will include refurbishment of the berth ramp, the access walkways and the fenders. Local contractor McLaughlin & Harvey has been engaged to deliver the project, which is due to commence in early summer. To facilitate these works the

Belfast-Heysham service will operate from the Ballast Quay Terminal during the summer period. Belfast Harbour has continued its long-term investment programme in port infrastructure in recent years, including the £40million redevelopment of Victoria Terminal 3 container terminal, with more than £20million invested in new cranes, and the installation of a new £15million two tier linkspan ramp at Victoria Terminal 2 ferry terminal to accommodate Stena’s new Embla and Edda vessels on the Belfast- Liverpool route. Michael Robinson, Port Director, Belfast Harbour said: “We are continuing to invest in our port infrastructure and equipment that will help us achieve our goal of becoming the best regional port in the world. “Roll-On-Roll-Off freight, including on the Belfast to Heysham route,

BUSINESS ADVICE EVENTS Fortnightly webinars & 1:2:1 advice consultations As a result of EU Exit, there are new and evolving rules for Northern Ireland businesses trading with Great Britain and the EU. If you trade across borders, you need to understand these rules and adapt to minimise any disruption.

performed strongly last year, reflecting the importance of our freight traffic routes to Scotland and England and the essential supply chains we serve to the Northern Ireland economy. We want our facilities to be best in class and having undertaken a full structural assessment of the VT1 facilities we believe that making this £2.5million investment now will provide both this standard and a long-term life extension for the terminal.” John Mariner, McLaughlin & Harvey Contracts Director, said: “We are delighted to deliver another project for Belfast Harbour; building on our successful long-term relationship which includes Victoria Terminals 3 and 4. This project will be delivered using a local supply chain, and will utilise our extensive marine civil engineering expertise to support the harbour in its programme of continual investment to improve facilities in the port.”

We are hosting fortnightly webinars which focus on subjects such as changes to tax, customs & VAT, moving goods across borders and employing staff from outside the UK. We can provide the information you need to continue trading in these uncertain times. Afterwards, experts from leading consultancies will be available to answer your business-specific queries. Every business in Northern Ireland, big or small, can avail of up to three free 20-minute consultation sessions. These pre-booked slots will take place after the webinar, from 11.30am to 4pm. From sole traders to corporations, anyone can register to attend our EU Exit advice events for free. To find out more about upcoming events that are part of this series, please visit our website: investni.com/eu-exit-events

Join Us Live Dates: 14th May, 26th May, 9th June, 23rd June

Eye on Finance

Is going green a smarter way to do business? By Maeve Hunt, Chair, Chartered Accountants Ulster Society

The environmental challenge facing us all is stark particularly when we consider that the reduction in global carbon emissions in 2020 as a result of the worldwide pandemic lockdown is estimated to be just 8%.

report from the International Energy Agency says that while this reduction is six times larger than that experienced during the 2009 global financial crisis, we risk a rebound in emissions once lockdown restrictions ease. This rebound may exceed the 2020 decline unless the investment to kickstart world economies embraces cleaner energy. According to UK climate website Carbon Brief, the UK reached a record-breaking 11% fall in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, largely due to the pandemic. It also notes that emissions are likely to rebound as the economy recovers. It seems that lockdowns have enabled many countries to reach their emissions targets but only just. In response to this great challenge, governments across the world are unveiling plans and measures to severely reduce emissions, as well as tackle waste and work towards building more resource-efficient economies. In the UK, we are a year away from the new plastic packaging tax for products which do not have at least 30% recycled content. Northern Ireland’s Economic Recovery Action Plan set out key actions to build a more inclusive

and greener economy and highlights that substantial investment is needed from consumers and businesses in contributing to the UK’s 2050 net-zero target. Central to all these plans is a theme that businesses must lead the way towards a sustainable future. The world needs it, but can business respond, particularly at a time when many are suffering the hardship of the current pandemic? Pressure on businesses to operate more sustainably is increasing from investors, consumers and employees, making it clear that businesses of all sizes can no longer afford to ignore sustainability. But with the challenges facing businesses to survive and rebuild given the impact of COVID-19, how can business reduce their carbon emissions, improve their diversity and inclusion, and meet sustainability goals? The answer is simply to start small, plan and keep going. Sustainability is broad, but the learning curve is lower than you may think. And you are probably doing more than you realise. Small businesses can embrace sustainability and build it into their operations quickly without significant costs being incurred. STEP 1: Think about what ‘sustainability’ means for your organisation.

For some, it might mean succession-planning, producing a quality product, or providing full productive employment to the community. For others, it could be fostering innovation, ensuring sustainable production, and improving gender balance in your organisation. To some, particularly SMEs, it may mean “going concern” – sustaining your business to keep contributing to the economy. STEP 2: Measure what you are already doing.

Remember: it is not just about climate. Businesses have a social, economic and cultural impact too. Do you provide employment to the local community? Are you developing your teams’ skills? Maybe you contribute to local charities. You are probably doing more than you think. STEP 3: Start small.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a good place to start. You could choose three that you and your organisation are passionate about or are important to your community and build from there. For example, can you switch to electric vehicles? Can you recycle products and measure your supply chain’s environmental impact? Do you provide access to the Cycle To Work scheme? Is your electricity provider providing 100% renewable energy?

STEP 4: Keep it simple.

Once you have identified your goals, monitor how you are meeting them and what you plan to do to go further. Small actions can have a big impact. For example, separate your electricity, heating, water, waste, oil and recycling invoices into a separate ‘green’ folder. Record your monthly costs and consumption. Then set targets for reduction over a certain period of time. STEP 5: Start now.

Create an action plan to achieve the goals. Not only is this a valuable scoping exercise, it will provide a roadmap with milestones for you and your team to follow. STEP 6: Lead.

Sustainability cannot be done without leadership. Make it a strategic priority in your organisation. Involve your whole team. Ask for committed volunteers and support them. Employ local people where possible. STEP 7: Build the habit.

Do something every day, even if it is reading a news article, choosing a café that use compostable coffee cups or checking the labels when purchasing products. Think of it like health and safety: do it gradually and soon it will just become embedded within the practice of everything that you do. STEP 8: Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Check what organisations of a similar size in your sector or industry are doing. You can adapt and scale the approach of a large organisation that is doing this well. Use existing frameworks to help you. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals framework is broad enough to apply to all organisations, but you can use local frameworks too. These will help focus your efforts, provide a framework and tools and set targets and monitor progress. STEP 9: Communicate.

Describe what you do, publicly. Not only will this inspire your team it will inspire others to join you. Write a diversity and inclusion statement. Publish your climate-action pledge. Post your goals on your website, and in your social media channels. Publicise your commitment to this and keep updating your content to show what you have achieved. STEP 10: Don’t panic.

Remember – this is a journey. It won’t be completed overnight. Take pride in your progress and keep going. The world needs it.

Eye on Environment

Using waste to generate energy is key to Northern Ireland making the most of its rubbish By Jacob Hayler, Executive Director of the Environmental Services Association (ESA)

The world of recycling and waste management is largely unseen, unheard, and not something many of us consider as we go about our daily business. In fact, the only time we notice it is on the rare occasion when something goes wrong and our bins aren’t collected.

his is testament to the fact that this industry has become a well-oiled machine – quietly dealing with the many thousands of tonnes of food, product and packaging waste we collectively produce every day. The population of Northern Ireland actually produces around a million tonnes of household waste every year and about 50 per cent of this is recycled – but what happens to the rest? In Northern Ireland, the majority of the waste that can’t be viably recycled (which the industry calls “residual” waste) is currently sent to landfill, while some is exported to other European countries where it is used to generate energy in specialist power plants – but landfilling and exporting residual waste is expensive, carbon-intensive and environmentally unsustainable. This poses a significant challenge for Northern Ireland to catch up to England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, which are all rapidly moving away from landfill and waste exports towards greater recycling and increased domestic

arc21 proposed waste infrastructure Hightown Quarry

use of energy-from-waste technology. These specialist energy-from-waste (EfW) power plants use the residual waste as fuel to generate heat and electrical energy and, compared with landfill, save the equivalent of around 200kg of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere for every tonne of waste they process instead of sending it to landfill. This is because waste rotting in landfill releases significant quantities of methane – a powerful greenhouse gas. New infrastructure projects like Arc21’s proposal for an integrated recovery facility at Hightown Quarry near Mallusk are therefore critical to Northern Ireland reducing its reliance on both landfill and exports; for helping Northern Ireland to deal with its own waste material in the long term; and for lowering carbon emissions associated with waste treatment. This project alone is anticipated to save 57,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year compared with landfill and will generate enough electricity to meet the annual power needs of around 30,000 homes. Major waste infrastructure projects like this also make a significant contribution to the local green economy – supporting hundreds of jobs as well as delivering other forms of social value. Widening the outlook across the United Kingdom, the waste industry’s transition away from landfill to energy recovery is acknowledged by the UK Government’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in its recent Sixth Carbon Budget, which points out

that efforts to move the nation’s general rubbish to energy recovery have resulted in a 63% reduction in the waste sector’s carbon emissions since 1990 – a performance matched by few other sectors. The UK has also committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the waste industry anticipates that it will be able to decarbonise its activities sooner than that (with some support from new policies to drive investment in zero-emission technology), but this will not be possible while significant tonnages of waste are still sent to landfill. Of course, moving away from landfill to energy recovery is just half the story and, in accordance with the “waste hierarchy” (the policy framework which determines the best way to manage waste), it is better to reduce or avoid waste in the first place; to then re-use items wherever possible to extend their life; and to then recycle as much as we can. In the UK, our national average recycling performance has gone from dismal single figures to around 50 per cent of everything we throw away over the last twenty years. The UK Government wants to get to 65% recycling for all council waste by 2035 and this is going to require a seismic change in the way products and packaging are made; how they are sold and how they are collected and recycled – but even under the most ambitious recycling scenarios, we still need a solution to deal with the waste that cannot be recycled, and energy recovery remains the best environmental option.

Eye on Young Enterprise

Is this seat taken? Carol Fitzsimons, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise NI, charts the international pedigree behind the YE Academy, delivering enterprise education directly to young people all over Northern Ireland. for the next 100 years. An opportunity to share pilot work from other nations. An opportunity to connect with each other. I brought the LMS idea back and we tested it out. A good idea for the future. Maybe one day. We understood the potential but realised the investment of time needed for system development to make it worthwhile. Maybe it wasn’t our time yet.

BERLIN, OCTOBER 2019 The days of travel and international conferences. 300 international delegates. Where to sit? I sat down next to Alison Gottsch-Walton, a decision I’ve rejoiced in over the last year. Call it destiny, fate, serendipity or chance, I got lucky. Over the next 3 days, Alison and I discussed the new project she was working on – a pilot Learning Management System (LMS), allowing students and educators to access enterprise education directly. She introduced me to Alex from Romania and Hala from Bahrain who had been involved in the initial testing. The conference was to celebrate 100 years of Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise. Over 300 delegates from the global not-for-profit network that today serves more than 12 million young people in over 100 countries. An opportunity to look back on 100 years of achievement and more importantly plan

BELFAST, MARCH 2020 Schools closed. We were not the first country it happened to. There had been time to plan. We had watched our colleagues in Italy adapt as Covid-19 hit and had prepared basic online activities which launched the day schools closed. A quick fix. The requirement of an LMS to be able to manage and scale more sophisticated content became immediately clear. The Board quickly gave the green light to for the investment, I gave Alison a call and we had our logins. We were ready to build our own system the only way we know how - ‘learning by doing’ - the Young Enterprise motto. Everyone had a role to play. Our Finance team took on login creation and admin support. They gave Alex in Romania a call and bonded over a shared passion for Excel and process for managing thousands of logins. The delivery team created video content of both themselves and volunteers. A small team worked on the back end of the LMS, building the online content. The marketing team created explainer videos to encourage teachers to sign up. The programmes retained the ethos at the heart of Young Enterprise – developing entrepreneurial skills in young people. The skills we have valued most as employers over the last year of creativity, resilience, creativity, adaptability. ONE YEAR ON A TechEd charity. 7 programmes for both Primary and Post Primary created digitally, all in-house. 40,000 young people have registered to date. Over 200 schools involved. A new way of working implemented at speed with local educators and direct to students, at a time when there was a real need to let young people continue to develop those skills

we need as employers, at a time when it was almost impossible for them to do so. Digital will not replace in-person learning, any more than the internet has replaced books, or streaming has replaced vinyl (because it really hasn’t!). Digital brings opportunities to scale and to extend learning. It allows the charity to ensure the precious face-to-face time in school is used for the high impact interventions, time with business volunteers, and interactive, collaborative learning. We look forward to getting back into the schools, back to face-to-face learning, back to having volunteers from across NI business tell their stories of resilience and creativity over the last year. Our LMS – YE Academy – is here to stay to complement and supplement the work we do. Our bonds with our global colleagues are strengthened and we continue to learn from global shared practice in enterprise education. If you want to learn more about how your business can back the work of Young Enterprise NI, get in touch.

www.yeni.co.uk/partnership-opportunities

Eye onAgriFood

Eye on AgriFood

Entrepreneur Darlene sets the pace in exports with plant-based foods

Organic high protein porridge from That Protein, the multi awardwinning innovator and producer of plant-based superfood powders in Northern Ireland, is now being enjoyed by families in Amsterdam at breakfast.

he business there is the latest in a series of export contracts won by the small enterprise which is developing into a key player in dynamic plant foods. The recently launched natural oat porridge is among the full range of That Protein’s superfood powders which are now on sale at Vegabond, the leading plant-based food store and deli for vegans and café for health conscious consumers in the Dutch city.

Darlene McCormick, That Protein’s founding managing director, says: “I was thrilled to receive the request from such a prestigious and influential food store as Vegabond for our complete range of products. It’s our first business in Amsterdam. “The Vegabond team had heard about our healthy superfood products including our unique double chocolate porridge from the media and contacted me directly to see if I would launch the products in the Netherlands with them. As a result, the products are now on the store’s shelves and are doing really well.” That Protein has also just launched a Pure and Organic Gluten Free Protein Porridge produced using the finest British gluten free oats with pumpkin seeds. Each serving of the porridge provides 20g of plant protein, according to Ms McCormick. Vegabond, based near Amsterdam city centre, specialises in plant-based foods especially for vegans. It features a café in which everyone can enjoy delicious plant-based food. The store stocks a wide variety of vegan products, such as handmade plant-based cheese, egg-replacers, vegan ice-cream, vegan beauty products and sustainable life That Protein’s protein porridge also recently gained FODMAP certification as suitable in particular for sufferers of IBS and other digestion issues. The important certification for its natural oatbased porridge product follows rigorous independent testing by FODMAP dietary experts. The low FODMAP certification for the organic porridge is the third achieved by the small Northern Ireland business for its innovative products. It became the first in

the UK last year to gain FODMAP approval for its award winning Blissful Raw Cacao Organic Super Protein. The company’s Chirpy Chirpy Choca Mocha Super Protein product subsequently gained the accreditation. Ms McCormick, commenting on the accreditation, adds: “We were delighted to receive this endorsement by dietary specialists in extensive laboratory tests for our new organic porridge.” The small innovation-led enterprise has also won three major endorsements from the quality and innovation of its high protein products in the Nourish Awards, the most important event in the vegan foods calendar. Ms McCormick, a qualified clinical nutritionist based on Co Antrim, launched That Protein in 2015. She created the business and its products on five value pillars. Everything had to be: plant-based; chemical free; organic, offer something totally different in terms of something raw, pure and new; and to be the best quality That Protein products, launched around three years ago, are on sale all over the world including Spain, Scandinavia and the Middle East and in health stores like Holland and Barrett in the UK. “It’s been a fantastic experience and we are only just beginning,” she says. The products, she continues, are “a fusion of plant proteins like pumpkin seed protein powder which we make by cold pressing Styrian pumpkin seeds to create an organic protein powder”. “They are all high protein and the highest quality. Each of the products has additional benefits that come from the superfoods such as building muscles, supporting immune system,

That Protein’s High Protein Porridge

supporting a healthy heart, reducing tiredness and fatigue. The powders can be added to smoothies, to make protein shakes, used in porridge or overnight oats to make ‘proats’, added to baking to turbo charge the protein and nutrition in recipes. That Protein’s increasingly successful products are entirely organic and free from sweeteners and thickeners often associated with some old style ‘protein shakes’. The products are high in protein, fibre, vitamin C and omega 3. They are also organic, dairy free, sugar free and contain no additives or allergens. They have been recommended by Vogue as “The purest plant protein and nutrition powders”. Ms McCormick is passionate about plant based living and creates all the recipes for the products on the back of extensive research. “I am the kind of person who takes research seriously,” she says. “While I am not a practising nutritionist, I needed to understand the subject to enable me develop a successful health business.” She subsequently qualified as a nutritionist and has used this knowledge in the creation of her award winning products.

Eye on AgriFood Northern Ireland cider processors are increasingly winning business in Britain and the Republic because of the premium quality and outstanding taste of their products. Sam Butler spoke to three local success stories.

Armagh cider processors score in markets outside Northern Ireland C ider processors Long Meadow, Mac Ivors and Tempted, all based in Co Armagh, recently secured major deals that will see their products on the shelves of major retail operations in Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Long Meadow in Loughgall has won its first business with online retailer Amazon, while Mac Ivors in Portadown is now supplying all Dunnes Stores in the Republic as well as in Northern Ireland, and Armagh’s Tempted has just been listed by leading online retailer Ocado. The deals reflect the growing recognition of Northern Ireland as a location for quality and value for money cider products. The rich flavours of the ciders have also been endorsed in competitions such as the UK Great Taste and the Blas na hEireann Irish National Food Awards. In addition, the deals reflect the successful pivoting of the companies to a greater retail presence in place of sales to bars, hotels and restaurants shut down by the lockdowns. Based on a family apple orchard, Long Meadow, owned by experienced farmer Pat McKeever and wife Catherine with son Peter, is now responding to orders from Amazon customers for its range of ciders in what is a major breakthrough for in a market it has been targeting over the past few years and especially during the pandemic. The important deal, according to Catherine McKeever, followed an introduction from friend and neighbour Ryan McCracken of McCracken’s Real Ale in Portadown. Catherine explains: “Ryan made an

Greg Mac Neice, managing director of Mac Ivor’s Cider – major business with Dunnes Stores in the Republic

introduction for us to Copperstar, one of his customers, on the Wirral in Liverpool. As they didn’t have a craft cider in their portfolio they were keen on the quality and outstanding taste of our ciders. Our discussions led to a listing with them, and we were delighted by their interest in our craft ciders. “They also offered the facility of our craft cider range being listed on Amazon, an exciting opportunity we obviously jumped at, through their business with the very influential and successful online retailer. “As a result of both listings with Copperstar and Amazon, orders for our ciders are coming in regularly. This is a great boost to our family business considering Covid has closed the hospitality sector, one of

Peter and Pat McKeever of Long Meadow Ciders now listed by Amazon

our most important sources of sales especially in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,’ adds Catherine. Long Meadow Cider was established in 2014 on the back of a family heritage of growing applies for more than 50 years. The listing by Dunne Stores is regarded by Greg Mac Neice, the managing director of Mac Ivor’s Cider, as an immensely important stage in his objective to complete coverage in the Republic. Based near Portadown on familyowned orchards, Mac Ivors is now supplying its varieties: Traditional Dry Cider, Plum & Ginger Cider and Alcohol Free Cider to Ireland’s leading retail chain of over 100 stores as a result of an agreement with Dundalk-based Noreast, the Armagh company’s exclusive distributor in the Republic. Greg, who founded and managing director of Mac Ivors Cider in 2011, says: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Dunnes Stores on the development of sales of our ciders across the island of Ireland. This is a tremendous boost for our business with such an important nationwide retailer. “We were given the opportunity to present our full cider range to the Dunnes buying team in person over a year ago and they were extremely well received. The fact that the all core lines had been awarded Gold medals from the International Brewing and Cider Awards gave Dunnes further confidence in the quality, outstanding taste, consistency of our ciders. However,

the discussions had to be paused due to Covid pandemic,” he adds. The discussions resumed earlier in the year and agreement reached to give shoppers a broad choice of the company’s extensive range of ciders from Armagh’s Orchard Country. The company also supplies ciders to Supervalu/Centra and Tesco for stores in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Tempted range - Tempted Dry, Tempted Medium Dry, Tempted Sweet, Tempted Strawberry and Tempted Elderflower – is now available from leading online retailer Ocado. Inspired by founder Davy Uprichard’s childhood memories of making wine as a hobby with his father, Tempted Cider was established in 2009. Davy, a horticulturist by trade, set up a small cidery at the family home and began pressing apples. This humble hobby kick-started a mission to make the world’s most-loved and enjoyed craft cider and now, Tempted Cider is the most-awarded cider in Ireland with five styles in its full range and Davy’s passion for celebrating and sharing local apples poured into every single drop. Davy says: “Craft cider-making is a promising, passionate local industry and to have the range made available to UK consumers with Ocado is hugely rewarding. The listing marks a significant milestone for Tempted Cider, making it available in the UK grocery channel and increasing brand presence nationwide.

Eye on AgriFood

Allan Wilkinson,

Head of Agrifoods for HSBC UK Commercial Banking Beyond Brexit While the pandemic has been seen as the catalyst for advances in the sector, Brexit has brought permanent structural change. Familiarity of the processes involved in importing and exporting will increase over time and expertise will become more matter of fact. Firms will become more comfortable with procedures such as rules of origin and the more finite complexities of imports and exports. Given the intricacies of society in Northern Ireland none of the post-Brexit options to keep goods moving were perfect, but businesses who want success must believe there is a will to move forward. Whatever your thoughts may be on the protocol, there has to be genuine will and belief for the sector to progress. As I’ve already mentioned, the food industry has a brilliant history of facing up to these challenges and unearthing opportunities to adapt and grow.

Focus on sustainability

As society begins to recover from the pandemic and restrictions on daily life are lifted the food and drink sector is facing into a land of opportunity.

he last 14 months have been unlike anything experienced before and the sector has been one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic, stepping up when needed and making sure people had food on their plates as consumer behaviours were forced to change dramatically. In Northern Ireland food and drink producers proved their resilience by changing at pace and taking advantage of structures in their supply chains built up over many years. Through

my 30 years of banking it’s been clear that when an industry faces any major challenge there will be opportunities as we come out of it. Businesses must hang on to the outstanding work that shone through during the pandemic, adapting these new operations and procedures into their future plans to help achieve sustainable growth. As we look ahead I see there are three challenges that, if navigated in the right way, will provide the sector with opportunities to thrive.

Northern Ireland is in a unique position, with more food production happening than in Scotland and Wales combined. That provides a huge opportunity for the food production cycle to lead the way on modernisation and adopting sustainable practices. The focus in this area to date has largely been on farming which faces clear vulnerabilities to climate change. In the last 12 months, demand from government, retailers and consumers has also increased on farms to produce their food products in increasingly sustainable ways. As we begin to move past the pandemic I expect to see this focus move around the food chain and hone in on other aspects such as packaging and energy use as businesses strive to incorporate new practices that will put them in a strong position for the future both financially and reputationally.

Investing in innovation Technology has a huge part to play in the bounce back. It will be essential as an enabler for businesses to become greener and it will also provide them with the opportunity to streamline and evolve their day to day operations. Automation is one area I expect to see huge growth in during the coming years as businesses look to manage the cost of labour inflation and overcome the challenge of recruiting large numbers of low skilled workers. We are already seeing businesses using the opportuneness that the pandemic has presented to drive through change. As an example we’ve seen a simplification of packet sizes in many businesses as they focus on making their production lines as efficient as possible. This has not only made commercial sense but is quicker, uses less energy and reduces stress and servicing costs on existing machinery. While some may fear the shortterm outlay on technology to move them forwards they should take great confidence from those who have already done so and are succeeding. Overall we are very positive about the sector in Northern Ireland and clearly see the huge growth opportunities for new and existing producers. We’re absolutely committed to doing out utmost to support these businesses as they face up to the challenge of moving on from the pandemic and securing growth for the future.

For more information about how HSBC UK can support your business visit www.business.hsbc.uk.

Eye on AgriFood

Shopper demand for convenience sparks major investment in premium prepared meals

Henderson Wholesale has responded to a sharp rise in consumer demand for convenient fresh meals by investing an extra £120,000 into the recipe development, brand and packaging of The CHEF range of locally made, premium pre-prepared meals.

dentifying a fast-growing trend as shoppers seek homecooked meals with a difference, the Fresh team at Henderson Group which owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO brands in Northern Ireland are responding to the growing trend for convenient fresh food that saves shoppers prep time, but still delivers a freshly cooked, premium dish. Henderson Retail has reported the amount of The CHEF meals being picked up in its stores doubled in the past year, with over 10,000 meals being sold per week. In 2020, sales grew by over 30% throughout all own-brand pre-prepared meals compared to the previous year, positioning the retailer as the destination for choice and convenience during lockdown.

Gareth McAnlis, Food Development Manager at Henderson Wholesale with Chef Carl Johannesson, Head Chef at the Henderson Kitchen

This growth in demand meant that sales of all own-brand ranges and pre-prepared products offered by Henderson Wholesale, rocketed to over £14M in the past year. Neal Kelly, Fresh Food Director at Henderson Wholesale which currently distributes the range to over 70 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland commented; “Our own brand proposition developed with local suppliers is second to none. Sales growth in the past year shows consumer behaviour is changing. Shoppers are looking for those simple yet full of flavour solutions to give themselves a night off cooking and our retailers are experiencing the benefit of that because they are choosing to shop locally instead of travel to larger supermarkets. “Building the Henderson Kitchen and continuing to invest in it, Chef Carl Johannesson and his team and the products, has given us the freedom to create exactly what shoppers are looking for, now that we’ve seen such a change in the way people are shopping, cooking and eating. The range encompasses handmade mains and sides, meals for one and well-rounded Under 500 calorie meals as a nutritious lunch option, all using flavours from around the world, made with the best ingredients in collaboration with local suppliers.” A £100,000 investment reflects the growing team of 24 now employed at the

purpose-built and expanding Henderson Kitchen facilities, as well as six new products to make up the 36 products which are live in the range. The most recent additions to The CHEF include two new Under 500 Calorie options, and four new meals for one. Chef Carl Johannesson who heads-up Henderson Kitchen and was part of the creative force that established The CHEF with his team added; “The recipe development for our new products comes from shopper feedback, taste testing and food trends that we take inspiration from. Our team has over 25 years of experience to put into creating a premium range to enjoy at home, is packed full of flavours from around the world and uses great ingredients to make it. There is quite simply no other proposition on the market right now that compares to The CHEF.” The investment figure also includes a £20,000 new, premium look for the brand which celebrates the restaurant-level quality of the products, at convenient prices. The new packaging also represents a commitment to sustainability with the sleeves and trays of each product now 100% recyclable. The wholesaler continues to champion local suppliers, with Bradmount Foods, K&G McAtamney, Daily Bake and Elmore Fish all providing ingredients for the range.

Eye on AgriFood

Public Encouraged to Experience Local Farms with Virtual Event

L-R Pictured are Richard Primrose, Bank of Ireland UK Agri-Business Manager, Edwin Poots, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Ulster Farmers’ Union Deputy President, David Brown at Hillstown Farm & Farm Shop, Randalstown

Eye on AgriFood

This year’s Bank of Ireland Virtual Farm Weekend, which will take place virtually on Friday 30 July-Sunday 1 August, is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a packed schedule of virtual activities to showcase Northern Ireland food and farming at its best. The free initiative, led by the Ulster Farmers’ Union is yet again set to capture the imagination of families and foodies from across the province and give a real behind the scenes snapshot of the local farm to fork story. Pictured are Callum and Carys Logan.

Members of the public are encouraged to experience their local farm virtually in one of the biggest free awareness initiatives of its kind in Northern Ireland.

lmost thirty farms including Millbank Farm (Killinchy) are participating virtually in this year’s Bank of Ireland Virtual Farm Weekend on Friday 30 July-Sunday 1 August and due to Covid restrictions all activities will be shown online through social media channels. Led by the Ulster Farmers’ Union and with the support of Bank of Ireland UK, Asda, Moy Park, NFU Mutual, and the Livestock and Meat Commission, the initiative is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a packed schedule of virtual activities to capture the imagination of families and foodies by giving a behind the scenes snapshot of the local farm to fork story.

This is the second year the Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend has been delivered in a virtual format. The physical event usually attracts upwards of 16,000 visitors from rural and urban towns and cities, but the new format is attracting a different type of audience. David Brown, Ulster Farmers’ Union Deputy President, said, “Last year’s Bank of Ireland Virtual Farm Weekend was a runaway success, with the activities over the weekend and the buildup having an online reach of around 250,000. We had viewers engage with us from across the island of Ireland and far beyond these shores, highlighting our belief that Northern Ireland has a global reputation for high quality food production.

“The Covid experience has reinforced the importance of the local food chain and buying produce reared and grown in Northern Ireland is vital for the long-term success of the industry. Highlighting this is a core objective of Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend and why we re-invented our initiative into a virtual format to continue to showcase the work of our local farm producers. “I would encourage the public to follow our social media to get a flavour of the range of farms we have in Northern Ireland and hear the real life stories behind them. Hopefully next year they will be able to visit the farm they have seen online and experience their hospitality in person.” Bank of Ireland has been closely associated with Open Farm Weekend for many years and has renewed its title sponsorship for 2021. Richard Primrose, Bank of Ireland UK Agri-Business Manager, said “The last year in

particular has shown how vital this industry is to communities within Northern Ireland and as a Bank we are proud to be showing our continued support. We believe the reason the Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend has thrived over the past 10 years is because it captures the true spirit and ethos behind the local farming industry and how committed farm families are to showcasing the quality of food produced in Northern Ireland. We are looking forward to this year’s virtual event and building on last year’s success.”

All details on how to watch Bank of Ireland Virtual Farm Weekend can be found at www.openfarmweekend.com

Eye on Health

New Fat Dissolving Treatment Today we discuss the new, revolutionary fat dissolving treatment Aqualyx, with Dr Lisa Neligan

qualyx is a fat dissolving treatment that targets fat removal from certain areas. Excess fat in localised areas can be an issue for many men and women, despite exercise and a good diet. These localised fatty deposits are sometimes are hard to remove, liposuction may seem too extreme. That’s when Aqualyx Fat Dissolving Injections can help! Aqualyx FAQ’S An alternative to liposuction is Aqualyx Lipotherapy Injections they can be used to treat the following areas:

How does the treatment work?

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

A solution is injected into the localised deposits of tissue into areas which liquefies the fat cell and destroys it permanently. The lipids are then released and eliminated through the lymphatic system. Why are Aqualyx injections a great alternative to liposuction? It’s effective and minimally invasive the treatment only requires a local anaesthetic. How long will it take before I see the results? Results take up to 3-4 weeks but it’s recommended to have between two and five sessions to see the best results.

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Fat dissolving injections are available at Cosmetech Clinics call 02890423200 to book a complimentary consultation with one of our Consultant Surgeons or visit www.cosmetech.co.uk for further information. Other treatments available at Cosmetech include: Anti-wrinkle Injections, Dermal Fillers, Thread-lifts, Cryolipolysis, Skin Treatments, Thread Vein Removal, Skin Tag and Mole Removal, Micro-pigmentation.

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Eye on News

Blackheath Pottery Opens On The Causeway Coast Ceramic artist Babs Belshaw has returned to live and work outside Coleraine and has opened her new pottery in the courtyard of Blackheath House, near Aghadowey.

lackheath House is a Grade-II listed house and the former stables have been refurbished to include a pottery studio, shop and coffee shop. “The house is full of historic connections and dates back to 1791” says Babs. “We are 9 miles from the coast. In addition to my pottery studio and shop we have a coffee shop for customers who make the trip” The Blackheath Pottery was completed last October but unable to open due to Covid restrictions. The building has a glass wall feature to view Babs at work in her studio whilst enjoying a cup of coffee and wee bundt cake in the coffee shop. She has partnered with 3fe, the speciality coffee roaster out of Dublin to offer the best experience possible. The coffee is roasted in Dublin and sourced directly from farmers all over the world. Pottery sales to date have been on-line and Babs has already built up a loyal following for her wares, particularly after Vogue Magazine featured the pottery as number one on its list of Christmas decorations, ahead of such famous names as the Conron Shop and the National Gallery. Babs Belshaw specialises in porcelain tableware and is inspired by the past honouring the craftsmanship that existed all over Ireland in years gone by. She graduated in Ceramics from Cardiff School of Art and Design and previously worked from studios in Wicklow and Dublin. Irish scenery has proved her inspiration. She says “Potters and scenic coastlines are synonymous. The famous post-war potter Bernard Leach inspired a ceramics movement in Cornwall that’s still going strong to this day. The Causeway Coast and Glens in Northern Ireland is worldfamous for its beauty. It’s an ideal area to develop as a destination for pottery and ceramic lovers” The new venture is also a family affair. Babs’ brother Stephen is in charge of the coffee shop and baking. He has a background in catering and hospitality in the Isle of Man and Australia. So expect some interesting food combinations! “We are so happy to be open at last and the garden at Blackheath House is perfect now that summer is on its way” says Babs.

Eye on News

ULSTER BANK RELAUNCHES ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME

Ulster Bank has today relaunched its Enterprise programme to boost its support for high-growth SMEs, as well as climate, fintech, and B-Corp focussed businesses.

he free programme is open to applications from Northern Ireland SMEs from today, for businesses who will join the programme in June. Through its Belfast accelerator hub and the wider network of hubs around the UK, Ulster Bank and its sister brands Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest will support over 1,400 businesses at different stages of growth through the programme, with a particular focus on those companies that grow their turnover or employment by more than 20% each year. The bank now also commits at least 25% of space on the programme to climate-focussed businesses whose main objective relates to environmentally sustainable practices, building on

its sponsorship of the forthcoming UN COP26 climate summit, to be held in Glasgow in November. The relaunch follows recent findings from the bank’s report into SME recovery in the UK, which found that working with SMEs to increase productivity, and driving a shift towards sustainability were two priorities which, if addressed, could help unlock £140bn of economic growth by 2030. Mark Crimmins, Head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, said: “The findings of our recent Springboard to Recovery report showed that scale-ups will be crucial to economic recovery post Covid-19. Scale-ups are 50% more productive than other SMEs, but only a small percentage of all businesses fall into the scale-up category. That’s

Ulster Bank’s John Ferris, Regional Ecosystem Manager and Gabi Burnside, Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager.

why we’re relaunching our Ulster Bank Enterprise programme to help more SMEs reach this next level of growth and productivity. “Combined with increased representation and support for female led businesses and Black, Asian and ethnic minority entrepreneurs, throughout our new cohort and a focus on businesses with sustainability and purpose at their core, we’re excited to be opening our doors again to support the next generation of business success stories in Northern Ireland.” During the pandemic, Ulster Bank moved its Enterprise programme to a virtual model, offering coaching sessions, virtual events, and specialised 1-1 support to entrepreneurs who would normally be based in the physical accelerator hubs. Over the course of this year, the bank aims to support those on the programme through a blended model, resuming use of its hubs once coronavirus guidelines allow, in conjunction with virtual

aspects of the programme that have proved most valuable to entrepreneurs over the last year. As well as the Accelerator programme, as part of its wider Enterprise programme the bank offers its Business Builder programme, a digital qualification offered to early stage start-ups; and Dream Bigger, an education programme aimed at 16-18 year olds, encouraging them to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice. NatWest Group is committing to supporting 35,000 UK entrepreneurs through its Enterprise programmes in 2021, and a further 200,000 interventions with future entrepreneurs through mentoring, webinars and coaching. To date, the bank’s initiatives have created nearly 1,300 jobs and contributed in excess of £103million to the economy with nearly half of all businesses supported since launch female led. Interested businesses can apply to join the June cohort at the Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator site.

Eye on Drinks Trade

Bushmills Launches Caribbean Rum Cask Finish Bushmills® Irish Whiskey has announced the release of the Caribbean Rum Cask Finish, the first in a series of exciting and innovative whiskeys from the new Bushmills® Original Cask Finish range.

he Caribbean Rum Cask Finish, available from Thursday 15 April across the island of Ireland, features the award-winning single malt used in Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey, finished in hand-selected fine oak Caribbean Rum casks. It’s then blended with the brand’s signature triple distilled Irish grain whiskey to create tropical fruit and dry spice flavours. The secret lies in the casks. First used in the Caribbean to hold rich rum for a minimum of seven years, each cask has been carefully selected by local rum makers and transported to Ireland. Over years in Bushmills’ warehouses, these casks impart mellow aromas and flavours to our wonderful single malt in the cask finishing process. The casks impart pineapple sweetness, caramelized brown sugar notes and toffee tones, delivering a long, smooth finish to this rich gold spirit. Helen Mulholland, Bushmills Master Blender, commented: “The launch of the Cask Finish series

is an exciting and innovative move for Bushmills® Irish Whiskey. The Cask Finish series adds an extra dimension to our acclaimed Bushmills® Original. As the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery, The Old Bushmills® Distillery has warehouses bursting with unique casks ageing exquisite whiskey. We’re very excited to bring our latest innovation to new and discerning whiskey drinkers across the island of Ireland.” The Bushmills® Original Cask Finish range is the newest addition to the Bushmills® family. Each unique cask finish creates extra flavour, choice and variety for premium Irish whiskey drinkers and spirits explorers. For established Bushmills® brand lovers, they represent an exciting alternative and a special reward. The Bushmills® Caribbean Rum Cask Finish is on sale from Thursday 15 April via select online and in-store retailers, bottled at 40% ABV, and priced at €30 / £24 for 700ml.

Eye on News

MILLS SELIG PROMOTES TWO SENIOR ASSOCIATES TO PARTNER POSITIONS

L-R: Kirsten Magee, Partner, Mills Selig, Emma Hunt, Head of Litigation and Partner, Mills Selig, Chris Guy, Managing Partner, Mills Selig and Maeve Fisher, Partner, Mills Selig.

ills Selig, a leading corporate and commercial law firm in Northern Ireland, has announced the promotion of two of its Senior Associates to Partner. Maeve Fisher and Kirsten Magee, who are both part of Mills

Selig’s Litigation team, have been promoted to the position of Partner in recognition of their continued excellence in their relevant fields and overall contribution to the firm. Maeve Fisher is an experienced litigator who has been with the firm

since joining as a trainee. She is also a market leading expert in all aspects of liquor licensing law including advising on complex applications and contentious objections. Her expertise in this field has been repeatedly applauded by Chambers and Partners legal directory. Kirsten Magee is an experienced commercial litigator with a background in advising both private and public sector clients on a wide range of high value disputes. Her expertise is invaluable to clients who are skilfully guided by her ability to navigate through, for example, insurance claims including coverage issues, emergency injunctions as well as Intellectual Property disputes. The promotion of Maeve and Kirsten means Mills Selig now has twelve partners. Led by Managing Partner, Chris Guy, the local law firm continues to show its commitment to investing in its people and retaining and developing the best talent across its wide range of practice areas. Announcing the promotions of both Maeve and Kirsten, Chris Guy, Managing Partner said,

Centra Reaches Landmark 100th Store in Northern Ireland

Pictured (L-R): Musgrave managing director Trevor Magill with store owner of Centra Dunman Cookstown, Daniel Conway.

et against an ambitious growth strategy, local convenience retail brand, Centra continues its expansion across Northern Ireland with the opening of its 100th store. The landmark achievement comes as Musgrave Northern Ireland, which operates the SuperValu, Centra and MACE brands, announced further investment plans of £12 million for 2021. This includes the opening of over 20 new stores, creating up to 500 jobs and follows on the back of an investment heavy year in 2020, despite the pandemic. As part of this significant investment, an additional 17 existing stores across the network will also benefit from a revamp. Centra Dunman Cookstown is the 100th store in the convenience brand’s portfolio in Northern Ireland and is located just outside Cookstown on the Moneymore Road. In addition, Lusty’s Centra in Larne Harbour recently opened its doors and the next few weeks will see further openings in Knockbreda and Toome. Significant refreshes are planned for SuperValu Portstewart, McGleenan’s Centra Keady and McCool’s

“With our commitment to investing in our people, we are investing in the future of Mills Selig. Part of our mission is to strive for excellence through our people and we are a firm that helps everyone to be the best they can be. At Mills Selig hard work and commitment to the business is rewarded with the opportunity to progress and develop both personally and professionally. We are truly delighted to announce the promotions of both Maeve and Kirsten who are well respected by their colleagues, peers and clients alike.” Welcoming the promotion of her colleagues, Emma Hunt, Head of Litigation and Partner said, “The promotion of Kirsten and Maeve confirms the strength and breadth of expertise within Mills Selig’s litigation team. Our clients’ concerns are our concerns and having the best people means we offer the best service to clients.”

Centra Ballymena, providing more inspiration and ideas for shoppers with a focus on quality across fresh produce, meat, and food-to-go. Musgrave has invested heavily in its convenience offering in recent years, including its artisan on-the-go coffee brand, Frank and Honest, which is available in over 150 SuperValu, Centra and MACE stores across Northern Ireland. With over 800 Frank and Honest locations across the island of Ireland, Frank and Honest is now the largest on-the-go coffee brand on the island. Moo’d ice-cream, now available in over 20 stores, provides shoppers with a range of sweet treat options while Green Kitchen, the Centra salad bar offering, expanded its food-to-go menu. Speaking today, Trevor Magill, Managing Director for Musgrave in Northern Ireland said – “We have ambitious plans for our network with the focus clearly on our vision to ‘redefine convenience’ in Northern Ireland. The development of new stores alongside the refurbishment of existing stores and continuing to innovate when it comes to product lines, ensures we are always focused on what matters to our shoppers. “Our teams, across the SuperValu, Centra and MACE brands, are dedicated to providing great quality and choice in terms of our offer, with value for money and exceptional levels of customer service at the heart of what we do.”

Eye onCyber Security

Eye on Cybersecurity

Creating a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Most businesses will complete regular risk assessments as standard practice. They’re crucial to reducing the threat of financial or reputational loss and give you an overview of the high-risk areas you must address.

ne type of risk analysis that is critical but sometimes overlooked is a cybersecurity risk assessment. In today’s digital-first world, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of analysing and addressing threats to your IT security. Making it a regular occurrence is also advised because cybercriminals are finding new holes in your defences every day. To address these threats, full and frequent cybersecurity audits are necessary to review:

of your employees. Here are the basic steps you need to take to perform a cybersecurity risk assessment. Audit your hardware and business systems You can’t understand the risks associated with your technology if you don’t keep track of it in the first place. Maintaining a comprehensive record of all the technology in your business can sometimes be tricky. If departments in your business are making shadow IT purchases – implementing technology without sign-off from your IT team – it can quickly become unmanageable. Identifying and auditing your most important and widely-used IT assets will help you understand which solutions make up the biggest percentage of your attack surface. For example, most of your employees will likely use your customer relationship management (CRM) software. If you haven’t tied down access rights, hackers could get in through a backdoor. Similarly, you can stop people from sharing customer information externally by limiting the number of people who can download large amounts of data. Keeping a rolling kit of your hardware will also allow you to schedule your patching. Updating well-known security risks like unsupported devices or operating systems (OS) should be a high priority. Windows 7, which reached its end of life in January

2020, has been targeted with a passwordstealing scam due to its vulnerabilities. This highlights how critical it is to patch software and hardware regularly. Address the most likely incidents When we think of strengthening our cybersecurity, it’s natural to focus on protecting your business from external threats like hackers. That’s important, but you also need to look at other common incidents and their risk. With GDPR in force, data security is a high priority for most businesses. It’s important to note that business data can be compromised accidentally as well as deliberately. If your people use removable storage devices like USB sticks, there’s a risk they could be lost or stolen – like in the case of Heathrow Airport. Equally, if cybercriminals are targeting your business with phishing emails, consider the risk level of your people clicking on the malicious links and filling in their login details. You can reduce the likelihood of these threats reaching your employees in the first place by using powerful email filtering tools. As hackers’ tools, like the highly evolved Ryuk ransomware, are continually becoming more sophisticated, you need to consider what will happen next. Educating your workforce about the cyberthreat landscape and how they can play a role in keeping your business secure is vital. You can do this by: training materials. test existing staff knowledge. managed IT support organisation. Identify the level of risk and prioritise actions A risk assessment isn’t finished once you’ve identified the most pertinent risks. Next, you need to understand how to address the risks you’ve identified. Let’s say you know a lot of your

employees take confidential information to on-site customer meetings using USB sticks. They travel via public transport and their storage devices aren’t encrypted. This means your vulnerability is high: there’s a high risk of those items being lost or stolen and accessed by a malicious third-party. This should therefore be one of the first items you address. You can split down actions into quick wins and long-term strategies. So, a quick win would be implementing a policy that states removable storage devices must be encrypted and/or passwordprotected. A long-term strategy could be implementing a cloud storage solution to allow your people to access their documents anytime, anywhere, and eliminate the need for USB sticks. Don’t forget about your remote workforce If your business has back-office staff, chances are a proportion of them will be working from home at the moment. In fact, according to a survey by IESE Business School, SD Worx and CASS Business School 65% of all British employees switched to remote working during lockdown. That presents additional risks to the security of your business. A study by IBM found that 53% of remote workers are working using their personal devices, while 61% say their employer hasn’t issued any guidance on securing those devices. This presents a number of risks to your security, including: on your employees’ personal devices, leaving gaps for hackers

has been unknowingly installed by non-employees. You can easily mitigate these risks by providing employees with laptops or, if that’s not possible, enterprisegrade cloud storage solutions which add layers of protection to work files. Similarly, unsecured home WiFi networks present a risk to security. By installing a business virtual private network (VPN), you can encrypt employees’ connection to your network. In today’s information age, cybersecurity risk assessments are an integral part of your business’ processes. Hackers are taking advantage of businesses and their homeworkers right now, meaning an increase in your attack surface. By carrying out a thorough risk assessment, you can identify the systems which need protecting most urgently. You can then create a comprehensive action plan which addresses the high-risk areas of your business first, before looking at securing every potential entry point for cybercriminals.

Barry O’Donnell is the Chief Operating Officer at TSG, offering managed IT support in London, with expertise across a range of areas including Office 365, Dynamics 365, document management and business intelligence.

Eye on Cybersecurity

TitanHQ ramps up hiring, almost doubling its workforce over 6 months TitanHQ, the award-winning provider of cloud-based email and web protection, has recently embarked on an extraordinary hiring spree, seeing a recruitment surge of almost 45% since September 2020.

he expansion comes as TitanHQ has welcomed an influx of new business as more managed service providers and SMBs seek better and more powerful email and web security solutions. Headquartered in Salthill, Galway, and with offices in Tampa, Florida, TitanHQ are a 25-year young multi-award-winning cloud security vendor. Areas of expertise include advanced web filtering, email security, and email archiving. The TitanHQ team is 93 people strong now, with hires in multiple functions across sales, marketing, customer success, renewals, finance, software engineers, and DevOps. At the executive level, TitanHQ added marquee signings with Sean Morris joining as CTO from Fidelity Investments and Brian O’Driscoll coming on board as CFO from Qualtrics. Speaking about the recent rise in recruitment, Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, said “As a result of increased demand globally for our solutions, we have invested heavily and embarked on a recruitment campaign to double our workforce in a programme that will allow that growth to continue.” He continued “We have also invested because while we believe remote working is a by-product of the current pandemic, it is very much going to be the mode of future work. The quick move to remote working last year has made us all aware of how important it is to be adaptable and have the right security solutions in place to protect users, customers, company data, and systems.” Despite the pandemic, new starters have been warmly welcomed to the company through engaging meetings, virtual ‘fireside’ Q&A sessions, and even a special home delivery or two. The company is trusted by over 12,000 businesses including 2,500 MSPs across 150 countries, protecting companies including

Photographed [L-R] at TitanHQâ s Virtual Fireside Chat and Q&A session with Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, is Eoin Higgins, Donna Miskell, Michale Kitt, Hina Garg, Thomas Flynn, Ronan Kavanagh.

Staff receive a number of welcome packs as they start their new journey with the growing company.

T-Mobile, Virgin, O2, ViaSat, Pepsi, and Datto. In addition to its organic year-on-year growth, recent significant investment from Livingbridge investor group has turbocharged the company’s growth. This has allowed TitanHQ to accelerate ambitious growth plans through increased investment in product development - and in people. TitanHQ is set to continue multiplying its workforce. The new roles will span from software development, technical support, sales, and marketing to allow a larger team to reach even more clients internationally.

Photographed with their Dough Bros Pizza home delivery complimentary of TitanHQ’s Sports & Social Club is Neil Farrell, Chief Product Manager and his son Alex.

Looking to join the TitanHQ team? Don’t miss the opportunity to join this innovative and growing workforce. Check out available positions today at https://www.titanhq.com/about/vacancies/

Eye on Cybersecurity

Over half of businesses are without cyber-security insurance as threat levels increase New research has revealed the extent to which middle-market businesses are exposed to cyber-attacks in the UK with 56 per cent of businesses operating without any form of cyber-security insurance.

his is despite one in five companies reporting an attack in the last 12 months and the likelihood of a continued surge in cyber-attacks in the coming months, and beyond. Of the companies reporting a cyber-attack, over half said security breaches were up in 2020 compared to the previous year. 73 per cent of those surveyed also said their business was at risk of unauthorised users deliberately and illegally attempting to access their data or systems over the next 12 months. The Real Economy survey, by leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM, questioned over 400 middle market business leaders to uncover the cyber

security challenges they have faced during the coronavirus pandemic. 80 per cent of those who had experienced a breach said the attack was an indirect result of the pandemic. The sudden shift in remote working practices from March 2020 and the need to adapt in such a short space of time appears to have created a weakened cyber infrastructure that criminals have capitalised on. With security breaches a certainty for many businesses and yet well over half of companies still having no cyber security insurance policy in place, it is perhaps surprising that 92 per cent of those surveyed were confident in their existing measures to safeguard sensitive data. Paul O’Leary, technology risk assurance and cyber security partner at RSM, said: ‘We know many businesses are facing significant challenges around managing the impact the pandemic has had. With employees working remotely and not being fully safeguarded by corporate infrastructures, recognising and mitigating against cyber threats is more important than ever. ‘The challenge with cyber insurance sits in the fact that businesses still don’t know what they need their insurance to provide cover over. Conversely the complexities and intangible nature of what’s required for that business make it difficult for insurance companies to provide coverage that has an adequate reach and is sufficiently tailored. The burden of the time and cost of recovering from an attack is where a cyber insurance policy could prove invaluable. There is still a lot to be done to define what cyber insurance

Paul O’Leary, technology risk assurance and cyber security partner at RSM

looks like for businesses, as a policy that would have provided effective cover one month ago might not cover the new threat variation. ‘Additionally, questions remain on whether the UK workforce is adequately skilled with technicallytrained cyber security professionals, and the hand in hand role security measures will have for businesses when looking at their wider cyber footprint.’ Richard Gardiner, managing partner of RSM’s Belfast office, added ‘The growth of Northern Ireland as an global hub for cyber security gives

our local businesses advantageous access to internationally accredited cyber-professionals. It is fantastic to see Northern Ireland at the forefront of new developments of emerging technologies and risk advisory.’ RSM’s cyber security survey was the second in The Real Economy series of topical quarterly surveys focusing on the middle market as a powerhouse of the UK economy. It is also the first authoritative source of economic data for this crucial area of UK market, sharing insight and perspective for the wider economy.

Eye on News

Hotels Suffer Profit Hammer Blow in 2020

ASM Chartered Accountants has released the 2020 edition of its annual hotel industry survey:

he impact of COVID-19 on international tourism has been devastating and while the local tourism industry has felt the full force of the pandemic, today’s publication of the ASM Northern Ireland Hotel Industry Survey for 2020 quantifies for the first time, the scale of the damage done to the local hotel industry through the loss of visitors, periods of lock down and social distancing measures. It reveals that the commercial performance of hotels during the year was the worst on record. The headline performance figures from the report show that:

only 230 days or 62.8% of the year; periods of lock-down resulted in the lowest demand for hotel bedrooms across Northern Ireland in decades, with average bedroom occupancy reaching only 30.0%. After a watershed year in 2019 when bedroom occupancy rates averaged 79.3%, the number of rooms booked in 2020 was lower than in 2019 by 1.67 million; of VAT remained relatively strong

Adrian Patton, Director, ASM Chartered Accountants is pictured alongside Stephen Meldrum, General Manager Grand Central Hotel and President, HIHF, Michael Williamson, Director, ASM and Janice Gault, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation (NIHF).

at £96.97 as against £100.89 in 2019 when Northern Ireland hosted The Open. Overall, revenues from accommodation sales dropped by 63% year on year and total revenues excluding grants declined by 62%; depreciation and amortisation decreased by an average of 90% compared to 2019. In some market segments, hotels recorded negative earnings; and the important role that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme plays in protecting jobs, the number of full-time equivalent staff employed by hotels declined by 2,100, or 29%, by the end of the year. Had it not been for the scheme, hotel operators say that job losses would have been higher. Other findings by the survey include the cost to hotels of dealing with Covid. After the first lockdown, getting “Covid ready” cost an average of £18,775 per hotel. Ongoing expenditure on PPE averages £2,200 per hotel per month while stock wastage arising from enforced periods of closure averaged £4,600 per hotel per shut-down.

Commenting on the survey results for 2020, Michael Williamson, Director of Consulting at ASM Chartered Accountants noted: “The thoughts of everyone in the industry are for those that have lost loved ones or who have contracted COVID-19, but the devastating impact of Coronavirus on wider society means that we have all been directly affected in one way or another. “Non-essential retail, tourism, close contact services and others have been especially hard hit and we have all been blind-sided by this global pandemic. Even in early 2020, there was confidence that tourism would set another new benchmark for Northern Ireland and that the near £0.5bn of investment in hotel stock during the preceding 6 years would prove to have been very timely. That all changed literally overnight with businesses having to close. “Trading was seriously compromised at hotels during the year, with some areas faring worse than others. In the Derry City and Strabane District Council area, hotels were open for only 195 days on average which means that earnings were virtually wiped out. Worryingly, staff numbers declined

by 54 per cent. The basic principle in business that costs reduce at a slower rate than a decline in revenues was proven in 2020. Average income including grants reduced by 56 per cent, but earnings reduced by 90 per cent compared to 2019. This was a hammer blow to the industry”. Adrian Patton, Director at ASM, added: “Indeed, had it not been for support provided by the NI Assembly and the UK Government, matters would have been much worse. That support whether through the numerous grant programmes, the rates holiday, VAT reduction, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and so on have probably helped many businesses survive the most challenging times that any of us have faced. Unfortunately, 2021 will be another difficult year for the industry. Assuming hotels can re-open on 24 May and there are no further periods of closure, then the number of trading days available in the year is less than in 2020 and with loans and other liabilities due for repayment, those businesses will be under a high level of pressure, therefore, the industry will need further support. Having made the point, re-opening gives them a chance to fight back and start making headway”.

Eye on Health

Cosmetic Mole and Skin Tag Removal Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr Chris Hoo specialises in the removal of cosmetic moles and skin tags. In the vast majority of cases all of these lesions are benign. But if there is any clinical concern about the nature of the lesion it can be sent off for testing.

Common Q&A for cosmetic skin tag and mole removal: Q: How are skin lesions removed? “In most cases these can be done under a local anaesthetic. If there are no concerns about its nature they can be either shaved off, or excised. Some skin lesions can also be treated by freezing the skin – termed cryotherapy. All options are discussed with the patient beforehand” Q: Does it hurt having these removed? Since these are treated under local anaesthetic it shouldn’t!! The worse bit is having the injection of anaethetic, which many patients describe as a mild stinging sensation. Cryotherapy does not even need an anesthetic” Q: How long does the procedure take?

For further information or to book a consultation please call Cosmetech on 028 90423200 or visit www.cosmetech.co.uk

This depends on what’s being done, but most procedures take between 15 and 30 minutes or so Q: Can I drive home afterwards? That depends on you! If you are the sort of person who can drive home after a filling at the dentist then there should be no reason why not. But if you are a bit squeamish, best to bring someone with you. They can at least tell you how brave you were, even if they don’t need to drive! Q: What about aftercare? If stitches have been necessary these are generally removed after 5 – 7 days. For best results a combination of steristrips and scar massage are required and which you need to do will be discussed Q: Will I have a scar? Scarring is an inevitable consequence of surgery in anyone’s hands, so yes. But of course the whole point is to be cosmetic and so everything is designed to minimise this. It’s best to consider this as replacing one cosmetic blemish with a another one, which should be much better. But it is unrealistic to expect an invisible scar no matter who your specialist is.

Eye on News

Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel & Lodges Unveils £1.5 Million Investment

One of Northern Ireland’s favourite hotels has announced a £1.5 million investment which will see the addition of six luxury Woodland Lodges, complete with private hot tubs where guests can relax while taking in the breath-taking views.

hese additional luxury self-catering lodges within the grounds of Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel will complement the hugely successful existing 14 Lakeside Lodges which opened in March 2017. In line with its continuous improvement programme, the award-winning Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel has also taken the opportunity to complete a major refurbishment of its luxury hotel bedrooms. The six new Woodland Lodges, aptly named after woodland birds, complete with two en-suite bedrooms, are due to be completed by mid-July 2021. The facilities include a fully equipped kitchen, complimentary Wi-Fi and open plan lounge leading onto a private outdoor decking area with hot tub and patio furniture. lending perfectly into the Woodland setting, the timber clad lodges from modular housing company BuildWright Modular Homes, epitomises modern living. The units have been constructed offsite in a streamlined factory environment, reducing waste and fast-tracking the construction programme substantially.

Beautifully finished and well-insulated, the concrete-built lodges are low in energy demand and designed for a 100-year lifespan, reflecting the hotel’s belief in sustainable, high-quality experiences. The family run hotel is in The Fermanagh Lakelands less than one mile from Enniskillen, Ireland’s only island town which is steeped in history. The Woodland and Lakeside Lodges will be the ultimate destination for families and small groups who wish to ‘make memories by the lakes’ of Lough Erne but remain just a stone’s throw from the bustling town centre whilst immersing themselves in nature. Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel & Lodges Joint Directors Jacqueline Wright and Leigh Watson are excited to announce details of their investment programme, commenting: “We are really delighted to announce this significant investment in Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel & Lodges and look forward to welcoming guests to experience our new Woodland Lodges and upgraded bedrooms. The exciting investment project is being delivered by a number of local businesses including BuildWright Modular Homes, Elliott York Partnership, Kavanagh Construction and By Raymond Kelly. “With the increased demand for self-catering accommodation, considerable planning and meticulous design work have gone into the creation of our state-of-the-art Woodland Lodges, which will provide a major boost to the local tourism sector and present a fantastic option for a relaxing staycation. “We have worked closely with Elliott York

Partnership to ensure the Woodland Lodges sit perfectly within the remarkable Woodland setting. We have also worked with Northern Ireland interior designer, Raymond Kelly, to create a contemporary yet ‘home-from-home’ guest experience to complement such an outstanding setting. “Without question it has been a very testing and extremely difficult year for the tourism sector, and although we have had to adapt, the team at Killyhevlin has been extremely dedicated in working towards reopening with the wellbeing of our guests being of utmost importance. “We are committed to providing a unique visitor experience and believe that the addition of our much-anticipated Woodland Lodges and upgraded hotel accommodation will be very well received by our guests.” Furthermore, Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel & Lodges has also invested in its website which has undergone improvements to create a more userfriendly browsing experience, including an upgraded booking engine and enhanced mobile experience. Lodge and hotel guests can enjoy a choice of lakeside dining experiences including an Outdoor Terrace as well as complimentary use of the on-site Health Club, complete with an indoor swimming pool, outdoor hot tub, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room, gym and enjoy some pampering at Kalm Spa with a range of Elemis and beauty treatments. The ‘Killy Kids’ outdoor playground located within the hotel grounds is a popular area for families. A Padel tennis court is also being added to the many leisure options available on site and will be the first hotel in Northern Ireland with this facility.

AIB Business Eye AWARDS 2021

AWARDS 2021

Eye on Awards AWARDS 2021

Company of the Year

Covid Business Hero Award

Northern Ireland’s overall company of the year in the opinion of the judging panel. Companies can be of any size/scale, number of employees, and must be able to exhibit exceptional performance, especially but not exclusively during the 12 month period to 28th February 2021.

A new award reflecting the Covid era and recognising the outstanding contribution made by an individual on behalf of a specific sector or the wider business community during the crisis.