Business Eye November 2018 by Buckley Publications

Issue 183 November 2018 £2.50 Voted best Business Magazine in Ireland 2005 and Magazine of the Year for Northern Ireland

Frank & Honest... SuperValu and Centra’s Coffee Success Story Features:

HSBC… Paving The Way For Export Success

ICONIC

Waddell Media… Pioneers In The Creative Sector

HISTORIC

UNIQUE

ICC Belfast… New Era For Award-Winning Venue

TITANIC VENUES BELFAST T I TA N I C V E N U E S B E L FA S T. C O M

Contents

November 2018 ISSUE 183

Cover Story

Frank & Honest... Supervalu Centra’s Coffee Success Story

Bank of Ireland Enterprise Week 2018 ‘Helping Local Businesses To Thrive’ was the theme for Bank of Ireland UK’s latest Enterprise Week which took place in October. We take a look back at a successful week of business in initiatives.

When Musgrave, owners of Supervalu & Centra, decided that the time was right to launch its own coffee brand in its stores across Ireland, the company didn’t realise that it was about to have a major success story on its hands. Business Eye talks coffee trends and investment with Musgrave Supervalu Marketing Director, Desi Derby.

A New Voice For Tourism In Northern Ireland

Creative Industries

Waddell Media… At The Leading Edge Of TV Boom

The newly formed Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance brings together the important voices of stakeholders within the broader tourism industry in Northern Ireland in a new umbrella group which sets out to reflect the views and concerns of the industry and its key players.

Award For Local Financial Advisory Firm

Waddell Media has been turning out television programmes from its Holywood, Co. Down, base for close to 30 years, making it a true pioneer of the television and creative industries sector here in Northern Ireland. Established by former UTV executive Brian Waddell, the company is now run by Brian’s daughter Jannine and her husband David Cumming.

Lisburn-based independent financial advisers Fairstone Northern Ireland has been celebrating the success of one of its advisers, Wanda Moore, on the national awards stage.

New Partners At Harbinson Mulholland

Business Tourism

ICC Belfast... New Era Begins For Award Winning Venue

Harbinson Mulholland (HM) have appointed Mark Coleman and Vincent Bradley as Directors. Both have over 15 years with the firm and (like any respectable accountant) have a healthy skepticism for marketing. So, rather than have them endure a journalist led interview we let them interview each other!

Digging Deep For CSR

With the international conference market targeted to deliver £100 million for Belfast by 2021, it’s no surprise that the city’s premier venue has to keep moving fast to stay on the ball. Just last month, Belfast Waterfront, the multi-million pound conference and events centre on the banks of the River Lagan, officially became ICC (International Conference Centre) Belfast.

As Phoenix Natural Gas celebrates the completion of a major construction milestone in the East Down gas network extension project, Executive Director, Jonathan Martindale, reflects on the role of corporate social responsibility in connecting with the community.

HSBC…Paving The Way For Export Success

Commercial Property

Belfast... A City On The Move

HSBC’s significant international connections have been making a real difference for leading Northern Ireland-based companies, as two of those companies have been telling Business Eye.

NI Water…A Green Energy Approach

Brexit uncertainties and an absence of devolved government apart, the Belfast commercial property marketplace is more active now than it has been for a number of years. Business Eye takes a timely look at the commercial property sector and listens to the views of the professionals who keep the wheels of commercial property business turning.

Regulars

Specials

NI Water, the largest electricity consumer in Northern Ireland representing over 3% of Northern Ireland’s total annual electricity consumption, is well on track to achieving its’ demanding 40% renewable electricity mix target by 2020.

Eye on Finance

Eye on Export

Moving On

Eye on Communications

Eye on Insurance

Eye on Events

Eye on Personal Finance

Eye on Technology

Eye on Motoring

Eye on Awards

Eye on Media

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Editor Richard Buckley Commercial Director Brenda Buckley

Business Development Manager Ciara Donnelly

Design Hexagon Tel: (028) 9047 2210 www.hexagondesign.com

Photography Press Eye 45 Stockmans Way Belfast, BT9 7ET Tel: (028) 9066 9229 www.presseye.com

The phrase ‘At the time of writing...’ is a bit of a catch-all in the world of journalism. But in the Brexit era, it’s become something of an essential.

Comment

“The thing about business is that it takes a dispassionate and non-political view of what’s happening around it. Politicians might profess to put the economy at front and centre. But, as ever, they don’t really mean it. For business, it’s personal.”

nd so we have to start our Comment piece in this edition of Business Eye with those very words. At the time of writing, Prime Minister Theresa May had decided the enough was enough and slapped a 500-odd page Brexit deal in front of her Cabinet. The next step, presumably within days, will see her plan being put to MP’s in the House of Commons. And that’s where the fun and games will begin. It’s fairly clear by now that no one is very interested in what the business lobby in Northern Ireland thinks. The odd Tory minister might fly in and out again and listen without much interest. The DUP, meanwhile, has zero interest in what business has to say. There’s little doubt in the minds of most business people here that a plan that allows Northern Ireland a little bit of special status, and that’s what the plans amounts to, is no bad thing. It might not offer the much talked about ‘best of both worlds’ but it could give us a fighting chance of being a region with a lot to offer. The thing about business is that it takes a dispassionate and non-political view of what’s happening around it. Politicians might profess to put the economy at front and centre. But, as ever, they don’t really mean it. For business, it’s personal. So, while leavers, remainers, lefties, right wingers, Uncle Tom Cobley and all queued up to slap the Prime Minister when she announced the draft agreement, there were plenty around in the business community here who were quietly thinking that it sounded pretty good. But will it become a real Brexit agreement? It seems unlikely that it will make it through Westminster, and it also seems unlikely that Theresa May will survive for much longer at 10 Downing Street. At the time of writing, of course.

Richard Buckley EDITOR Irish Magazine Editor of the Year 2005

To be honest, none of the politics really matter to business here in Northern Ireland. We want the uncertainty to end, and if Northern Ireland can gain a little edge of two here and there, all the better. And that’s about the height of it. We’re fed up with the party politics. We’re fed up with the arrogance of the DUP. We’re fed up with the dithering and the endless arguments. We’re fed up with the cloud of Brexit hanging over our heads. In short, we just want to get on with the business of doing business. So, if certain politicians can claim to speak for everyone in Northern Ireland, then we can speak for everyone in business around here and say that we’ve had just about enough.....of the whole bloody lot of them. At the time of writing... As for Theresa May’s deal. We’d take it....with both hands.

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Eye on News

Carson McDowell Is Leading NI Firm In Chambers And Legal 500 Directorie

Belfast-based law firm Carson McDowell has been recognised as Northern Ireland’s leading law firm in the latest editions of the two main reference directories for the legal profession.

arson McDowell was the leading Northern Irish firm in the 2019 edition of the Chambers UK guide, ranked as a “band one” firm in more practice areas than any other local firm for the fifth year running, with 28 individual solicitors listed in the guide, including 24 partners. The Chambers UK guide, which ranks the best law firms and lawyers, covers 50 cities and counties in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Published annually, the rankings are based on extensive research and the independent opinions of clients. In the latest edition, Carson McDowell has been ranked in 25 different practice areas, 19 of which have been given the highest ranking of “band one”. Northern Ireland’s largest independent law firm was also ranked as a Top Tier firm in 10 practice areas in the Legal 500 series, more categories than any other Northern Ireland firm. The Legal 500 directory is an independent series which is regarded as the world’s largest legal referral

guide. Over four million users visit The Legal 500 website each year, where firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit. Published annually, the rankings are based on the independent opinions of clients and research carried out by a team of editors. Of the 14 categories reviewed Carson McDowell was recommended in them all and ranked in the top tier for 10 in total, including Dispute Resolution, Corporate and M&A, Banking and Finance, Employment, Energy, Construction and IT and Telecoms (TMT). Michael Johnston, managing partner at Carson McDowell, said: “We are delighted to once again have such a large number of recommendations in the Chambers UK Guide and Legal 500 and I would like to thank all of our clients who took time to provide feedback. “That the firm has achieved top tier rankings in Chambers for so many of our lawyers is testament to our continued efforts to recruit and retain the best talent, and the importance we

place on delivering for our clients. It is also pleasing that we have maintained our position as a top tier firm in the Legal 500 for the tenth year running.” He added: “The past 12 months have been particularly exciting for the firm and we recently announced that our corporate team has had a record year, advising on transactions with a combined value of more than £750 million for clients in Northern Ireland and other markets. “We continue to provide a full-service offering to clients with accomplished specialists in each practice area. This month we expanded our litigation practice with the merger of defence insurance litigation specialists Francis J Irvine Solicitors into the business.” “Businesses in Northern Ireland are demonstrating ambition and resilience in the face of uncertainty around Brexit negotiations and the lack of our own devolved government. We look forward to the future with the same optimism and commitment to bringing in the best talent and delivering the best service for our clients.”

passion of the staff in Belfast. We have enjoyed a record year and are now the undisputed no 1 independent auction business in Ireland, selling more vehicles than any of our competitors. “We have built the business over the last few years and now work with Ireland’s largest rental and leasing companies; dealer groups; and manufacturers. Over the next two years, we are planning to expand our nationwide coverage across Ireland, by introducing more defleet centres to compliment Omagh, Dublin and Cork. We are also offering

all our vehicles digitally, through our soon to be released version four smartphone buyer application. “It’s an exciting time for the City Auction Group across Ireland and the UK and we have every intention to grow our share of the vehicle remarketing business by a third over the next 24 months.”

Ireland’s Largest Independent Auction Firm Celebrates Record Success

reland’s largest independent auction firm, City Auction Group, has achieved a record-breaking year, after winning a host of new corporate vendors, including most recently, LeasePlan - a major contract win. LeasePlan is a world leader in automotive fleet management providing smart, cost effective solutions for fleet management, business and personal leasing and is one of the most trusted names in leasing. This success is hot on the heels of a major £1 million investment in City

Auction Group’s UK facility at Rockingham, which will see the development and restructuring of the 250 acre site, upgrade of auction halls and new HQ offices to be introduced in January 2019. City Auction Group’s facility in Belfast has recorded a 23% growth in volume sales over the last 12 months and turnover has also increased by 11% to £37 million in the same period. Michael Tomalin, Managing Director of City Auction Group comments: “We are delighted with our success, which is due to the commitment and

Full listings, images and NAMA grades can be reviewed at www. cityauctiongroup.com. For further information. For further information call me Michael Tomalin on 07808 791210 or email fleet@cityauctiongroup.com

Eye on News

BT’s Engineering Division Renamed Openreach Northern Ireland F rom today (1 October 2018), BT’s Northern Ireland Networks engineering division will be renamed Openreach Northern Ireland. The local fleet of BT vans will gradually be replaced by Openreach branded vehicles and engineers will wear new uniforms and carry Openreach identity cards to introduce themselves to customers. The engineering division builds and maintains the copper and fibre lines that run from telephone exchanges to the vast majority of local homes and businesses. Most Communications Providers operating in Northern Ireland, including BT, use this open access network to connect Northern Ireland customers to phone, broadband, data and TV services. The Northern Ireland Networks team already delivers Openreach products and services in Northern Ireland and will continue to focus on providing better, broader and faster connectivity for customers. The use of the Openreach brand, in place of the BT logo,

will provide greater clarity for Communications Providers. The rebranding is in line with voluntary commitments made by BT, following regulator Ofcom’s UK-wide Digital Communications Review in 2017. This builds on changes that the BT Group has already made in Great Britain, including the creation of Openreach Limited with its own independent Board. Whilst the Northern Ireland Networks team will report into Openreach, it will remain part of BT plc and will maintain its local management team, strategic responsibilities and organisational structure. Mairead Meyer, Managing Director of the newly-named Openreach Northern Ireland team, said: “This is an exciting and significant day for Northern Ireland Networks and I’ve been talking to my 750-strong team about the great opportunity this gives us. “The decision to move our reporting line into Openreach is a logical one, and we’ll be working together to achieve our shared

vision of driving the country’s digital future. We’re committed to staying at the forefront of broadband innovation and maintaining our strong record for serving customers across Northern Ireland; they will continue to receive the same levels of service. “Over time our customers will start to see the Openreach brand replace the BT logo on our vehicles and uniforms but our fibre investment and roll-out plans remain unaffected. Superfast broadband coverage in Northern Ireland is over 88% and we’re on track to reach our target of connecting 25% of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland to ultrafast broadband by the end of 2019.” Over the coming months, Openreach Northern Ireland will run a national campaign, involving outside advertising, to promote the brand change. There will be no change to how BT’s other business units operate and support their local customers in Northern Ireland, including the Enterprise and Consumer divisions.

Mairead Meyer, Managing Director of the newly-named Openreach Northern Ireland team with engineer Philip Lorimer

Gemma Joins CMI Board as First Female Chair

Commercial Banker with Ulster Bank has been appointed Chair of the board of the Chartered Management Institute in Northern Ireland, (CMI). Gemma Jordan, who works as a Senior Commercial Relationship Manager, is the first female to have been appointed to the role of Chair, a position she will hold for two years. The CMI is the only chartered professional body for management and leadership and is the only body currently able to award individuals Chartered Manager status. Locally, CMI Northern Ireland acts as the professional development and networking platform for its 1,200 members and helps connect

them with professional bodies, trade associations and other community partners in the region. In her two-year term as Chair, Gemma hopes to work closely with the CMI board and members, helping them achieve their strategic objectives while also representing this region at the national board of The CMI. Gemma has over ten years’ experience in the banking sector, joining Ulster Bank after achieving a first-class honours degree in Economics and Sociology from Queen’s University. Having trained as a chartered accountant through Ulster Bank, professional development has been of great importance to Gemma throughout her career and she is

currently studying to become a Chartered Manager through CMI. As a commercial relationship manager based in Belfast, a typical day for Gemma sees her supporting 100 businesses, providing them with the financial solutions they need to exceed their growth trajectory. Along with this busy role, Gemma has also found the time to prepare for the Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, and her Diploma in Lending Skills from the Chartered Banking Institute, both of which are being funded by Ulster Bank . For more information on the work of the CMI in Northern Ireland or to find out more about courses offered, visit www.managers.org. uk/northernireland

Eye on News

Fitzwilliam Hotel Takes Centre Stage At The Grand Opera House

Pictured celebrating the new sponsorship deal are Ian Wilson, Chief Executive of the Grand Opera House and Cian Landers, General Manager of the Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast.

The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast, and Northern Ireland’s premier theatre, the Grand Opera House have announced the launch of their new official three-year sponsorship deal, aimed at strengthening the local night time economy to give theatre goers a greatly enhanced night out.

he five-star Fitzwilliam Hotel is a prominent feature in the Belfast City skyline and, since opening almost 10 years ago, has become the hotel of choice for visitors who want to experience the best Northern Ireland has to offer. Sitting in the heart of the city, the hotel is situated next door to the iconic Grand Opera House. This new sponsorship deal ensures that visitors to Belfast can enjoy a five star hospitality and entertainment experience. Cian Landers, General Manager of the Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast, commented: “We are so proud to be sponsoring the Grand Opera House, one of Northern Ireland’s best-loved landmarks and venues. At the Fitzwilliam we aim to provide our guests with the best possible experience and this partnership will also allow our customers to enjoy the finest entertainment in Belfast.”

The Grand Opera House has been providing world-class entertainment for almost 125 years, offering a wide variety of art forms ranging from opera to panto, unforgettable experiences and vital outreach programs that allow the Theatre to engage with the local community and ignite a love of theatre in young and old alike. Speaking of the sponsorship, Ian Wilson, Chief Executive of the Grand Opera House said: “I am delighted to welcome The Fitzwilliam Hotel as the Theatre’s preferred dining and accommodation partner. Over 300,000 people visit the Grand Opera House each year and the Theatre’s wide-ranging and high-profile performance programme is attracting more people into Belfast than ever before. Our partnership gives theatregoers the opportunity to enjoy food and accommodation steps away from outstanding entertainment.”

Hagan Homes To Build 2000 New Homes In The Next 10 Years Hagan Homes, Northern Ireland’s largest homebuilder, has announced its plans to build 2000 new homes over the next ten years, as part of an ambitious £300million development programme.

he investment will create and sustain hundreds of jobs in the local construction sector. The announcement was made as part of the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations this month. James Hagan, Chair and Founder of Ballyclare-based Hagan Homes, discusses the company’s plans to build approximately 200 new homes each year for the next ten years: “Hagan Homes has built over 4,000 homes across Northern Ireland since it was established three decades ago. Our success, despite a turbulent operating environment, is an indication that the Hagan Homes offering, in

terms of specification of build, is exactly what our customers want. “We build affordable, quality, stylish homes by appointing award-winning architects, interior designers and craftspeople. Our homes reflect the needs of the modern-day family and are designed to cater for changing needs as families grow.” Mr Hagan continues: “We have a very loyal and talented team at Hagan Homes and I would like to thank each and every one of our staff, past and present. The company’s success is thanks to the effort they invest day after day to deliver an exceptional standard of

service and their ability to adapt to an ever-changing market has been an integral part of our success.” New sites that the award-winning Hagan Homes will be developing across Northern Ireland include The Rose Garden, Derriaghy; Shimna Mile, Newcastle; Ballyoran

House, Dundonald; Lawnbrook Avenue, Belfast; Old Dundonald Road, Dundonald; Utility Street, Belfast; Gaffiken Street, Belfast; Burn Road, Coleraine; Charlotte Street, Ballymoney; Enler Village, Comber; Ballyveigh, Antrim and Thaxton Village, Lisburn.

Eye on News

FLYBE CELEBRATES 35 YEARS IN NORTHERN IRELAND Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, is celebrating 35 years operating from George Best Belfast City Airport.

o mark the occasion, representatives from Flybe including the Chief Executive, Christine Ourmières-Widener; the Chief Commercial Officer, Roy Kinnear and Flybe’s Country Manager for Ireland, Ken Harrower, hosted a celebratory reception in Belfast’s Grand Central Hotel on Monday 1st October. The event was attended by a many of the leading figures from across Northern Ireland’s tourism industry who have supported Flybe during the last 35 years. Ms. Ourmières-Widener took the opportunity to thank those in attendance for helping Flybe succeed in Northern Ireland and highlighted the wealth of routes and connections from Belfast City to the rest of the world through Flybe’s airport hubs. Originating as an air-taxi company owned by a family run steel company C Walker & Sons, Spacegrand Aviation as it was known then, made its first official flight to Belfast Harbour Airport from Blackpool in 1983. A few months later Walkers Steel Group bought over Jersey European Airways and the airline

L-R: Katy Best, Commercial and Marketing Director, George Best Belfast City Airport; Roy Kinnear, Chief Commercial Officer, Flybe; Christine Ourmieres-Widener, CEO of Flybe; Anne McMullan, Director of Marketing and Communications, Visit Belfast; Susie Brown, Interim Director of Corporate Development, Tourism NI and Ken Harrower, Flybe’s Country Manager for Ireland.

began commercial activity from Belfast. From those early days of 19 seater Twin Otter aircraft and limited destinations Flybe has grown and evolved alongside Belfast City Airport to offer up to 295 flights per week to 15 destinations across the UK using a core fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft. Christine explained, “We are extremely proud of our long association with Belfast City Airport and have been privileged to both serve our customers in Northern Ireland for over 35 years and employ over 200 local people at what is one of our top four UK bases. Today we not only offer a

comprehensive range of domestic destinations from Belfast but through numerous codeshares and our hubs at Manchester and Birmingham, Flybe’s customers can seamlessly travel to almost anywhere in the world. Such local and global access highlights the sentiment behind our new strapline ‘Close To You’ which is all about convenience both in time and place and strongly reflects our commitment to passengers in Northern Ireland now and for many years to come.” In 1985 Jersey European Airways became known as Jersey European offering flights from Belfast Harbour

to Exeter. Birmingham was added in 1986 which remains the airlines longest served destination from Belfast. By 1993 another six routes had been added. In 2000 the airline was re-named British European to better reflect the range of UK destinations. Responding to radical changes in the aviation sector Flybe was born in 2002 when the traditional airline repositioned itself as a low-fare airline. Investment in new fleet and services followed with a total brand overhaul to the now familiar purple branding in 2014. Brain Ambrose, CEO at George Best Belfast City Airport, said: “Belfast City Airport’s relationship with Flybe dates back to when we began commercial operations in 1983 and over the years we have forged a trusting and respectful partnership. Together we have grown, offering passengers an ever-increasing flight network from a modern terminal with facilities aimed at delivering an airport experience that exceeds our passengers’ expectations. The economic impact of Flybe operating from Belfast City Airport cannot be underestimated both in terms of job creation and allowing business people and leisure travellers the opportunity to connect seamlessly with all parts of the UK. I congratulate Flybe on this milestone and look forward to continuing and evolving partnership.”

Joan Burney Keatings Joins Isle of Media Panel Joan Burney Keatings, the driving force behind the awardwinning children’s charity Cinemagic for the past 17 years, has joined the Advisory Panel of Isle of Media, the national development agency for the thriving Isle of Man video, television, and media technology cluster.

he Panel drives the direction and strategy of the Isle of Man media hub and helps to spread the word globally about the advantages of setting up media ventures on the island. Joan has steered and catapulted the Cinemagic brand from being a Belfast-based film festival for young people to now hosting Cinemagic film

festivals across the world including Dublin, London, Castres (France), Los Angeles and New York. The Festivals engage with over 40,000 young people from all backgrounds and abilities. To date the charity has engaged with over 500,000 young people, screened over 3000 films, and hosted over 500 masterclasses,

workshops and special events. Cinemagic film production projects have received international acclaim for their ambition, quality and reach. Isle of Media’s Chief Executive is Michael Wilson, the former Managing Director of UTV Television in Belfast. The organisation has also announced two other new Advisory Panel members. They are Dr. Bettine Brinkmann, an experienced TV and media senior executive based in Switzerland and Clark Bunting, the CEO of Digital Circus Media and formed president and general manager of Discovery Channel.

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Eye on Enterprise

Bank of Ireland UK Enterprise Week Helping Local Businesses To Thrive

Pictured at the Brexit & Beyond event, Belfast is Henry Cleary, Bank of Ireland Global Markets with Angela Keery of the BDO Brexit Taskforce and Alan Bridle, UK Economist & Market Analyst, Bank of Ireland UK.

‘Helping local businesses to thrive’ was the theme for Bank of Ireland UK’s latest Enterprise Week which took place from October 5–12, 2018.

entral to the packed week long programme of events, was a series of seminars delivered in partnership with the Centre for Competitiveness, to provide local companies with advice and information on how they can improve their business performance and enhance their competitiveness.

The seminars urged businesses to look beyond Brexit and to focus on performance enhancing strategies that are within their control such as, benchmarking, innovation, digitisation and the adoption of specific legal approaches to ensure they can sustain a competitive edge. A panel of experts provided a

wealth of insight at the five freeto-attend seminars including the bank’s UK Economist & Market Analyst, Alan Bridle, who gave the economist’s perspective of the postBrexit commercial landscape for local businesses. Chief Executive of the Centre for Competitiveness Bob Barbour highlighted the importance of driving competitiveness through digitalisation, Colm Higgins of Queens University Technology Centre focused on innovation strategy and support in an everevolving landscape, while Rory Campbell, Director, Forde Campbell

led businesses through the legal implications of Brexit for business. Gavin Kennedy, Head of Business Banking NI at Bank of Ireland UK said: “We were delighted to join forces with the Centre for Competitiveness to provide these new, practical and timely seminars for local businesses, particularly those in the manufacturing and agri-food sectors.” Outlining some of the challenges local companies currently face - a shifting economic landscape with the as yet unsettled question of Brexit, continued rapid technological

Eye on Enterprise

Pictured at the bank’s Newry Enterprise Week event ‘Succeeding in Your Game’ is from left: Gavin Kennedy, Head of Business Banking, Bank of Ireland UK, Sean Cavanagh, 5 time All Star Winning Tyrone Gaelic Footballer, Newry Senior Branch Manager Geraldine O’Hagan, Lizzie Colvin, Ireland Ladies Hockey player, Diane McCall, Senior Business Manager, Bank of Ireland UK, Niall Devlin, Head of Regional Business Banking NI, Bank of Ireland UK and Tommy Bowe, Ulster, Ireland & British & Irish Lions Rugby player.

advancement, a shortage of skilled talent and the repricing of labour – he urged businesses to focus their efforts on things they have in their control to ensure they can compete now and into the future. “Through these seminars and our many and varied Enterprise Week events we want to empower businesses in Northern Ireland to act now. There is no better time for businesses to have a strategic re-think. As we look ahead to a post–Brexit economy, it is vital that local companies look at ways to improve their competitiveness and take action. “Adopting and embracing a digital strategy is an imperative. In business, digitisation has the potential to be transformative with greater efficiencies through automation, delivering quality through performance measurement and providing a first class customer experience – all of which can help local companies to prosper.” Enterprise Week saw Bank of Ireland UK deliver a further twelve events engaging more than 500 business customers across Northern Ireland. Continuing with the theme of thrive, key highlights included

Succeeding in Your Game in Newry which saw more 150 attendees head to the Canal Court Hotel to hear from Sean Cavanagh: Five time All Star winning Tyrone Gaelic Footballer, Lizzie Colvin: Ireland Ladies Hockey player and member of the 2018 World Cup team, Tommy Bowe: Ulster, Ireland and British and Irish Lions Rugby player and All Ireland Basketball player and Head of Business Banking, Bank of Ireland UK, Gavin Kennedy. Benny Tierney former Armagh goalkeeper brilliantly compered a lively, engaging and interesting panel discussion about the correlations in leading sport performance and driving business. In Belfast, Angela Keery of the BDO Brexit Taskforce shared some of BDO’s work on company preparations and scenario planning for Brexit. Alan Bridle shared an update and outlook for the Economy while Henry Cleary of the bank’s Global Markets team looked at currency volatility, and ways to help mitigate risk during uncertain times. Cyber Security Awareness was the focus of a trio events across Coleraine, Cookstown and Belfast as Paul O’Brien from the Bank of Ireland Group Fraud team shared

Pictured at the bank’s Enterprise Week event, ‘Cyber Protection and GDPR Awareness’ in Cookstown is D/Constable Sam Kinkaid, Cyber Crime Unit, Alan Bridle, UK Economist and Market Analysis, Bank of Ireland UK, Paul O’Brien, Fraud Operations, Bank of Ireland, Dublin and Mark Raine, Prestige HR.

vital practices for business and individuals to build their awareness. Topics included email phishing, invoice fraud and password and data protection to enable businesses and their teams to be more vigilant to fraudsters. Gavin Kennedy concluded: “As a leading business bank, our Enterprise Week initiative demonstrates our continued

commitment to provide much more than finance to local companies who want to realise their growth ambitions. “Once again we will support local businesses with a variety of events that provide important networking opportunities as well as the chance to be inspired, share learnings and develop new skills.”

Eye on Communications

Barclay Communications Public Sector Proven after Second Year Endorsement E

ndorsed as a trusted public sector supplier, the company continues to show its level of experience in the digital communications industry and dedication to exceed customer expectations. Established in 2012, the Digital Framework is designed to provide public sector bodies with a single marketplace where they can source approved digital products and services such as Barclay Communications innovative converged mobile solution and its Workflow Management Software. The company has over 20 years’ experience in providing communication solutions to the UK and Ireland, and after steady success and growth with private sector businesses, Barclay Communications felt the public sector could gain the benefits of their product and services. Barclay Communications, which was established in 1997, has seen extensive growth in its 21 years of business. Starting from a single mobile phone shop in Larne, it now serves 65,000 connections across the UK and Ireland. Its digital products incorporate all elements of communication technology from its unique converged mobile solution that puts the control and choice back into the hands of the customer to a Workflow Management Software that streamlines business processes. Barclay Communications boasts a range of IT and digital services which are all available on the Government Framework. WorkPal, a sister company also on the Government Framework, is a mobile and desktop application designed and developed in-house to streamline a company’s workflow process. It offers a

For the Second year running Barclay Communications secures its place on the Government’s Digital Framework.

range of features including job management, tracking, reporting and invoicing and provides businesses with the ability to As a continued public sector supplier Barclay Communications has the opportunity to present its offering to a range of public sector bodies including schools, universities, police and fire services, NHS hospitals, administrations and agencies. The framework enables approved suppliers and buyers a transparent environment where availability, stock and pricing is readily available. Businesses have the opportunity to develop new trading partnerships and tender for public sector projects with a clear and open purchasing process. Furthermore, time constraints and different office hours for international trade are no longer

issues as it’s possible to operate on a round the clock basis. Britt Megahey, managing director of Barclay Communications, said: “Local government and wider public sector organisations are at the front-line of public service delivery. We have developed a deep understanding of the challenges facing these organisations currently and how it’s imperative for them to have access to the right technology and digital capability to ensure that there are innovative digital services available to all. “The Digital Marketplace enables us to engage directly with organisations across the whole of the UK and offer unique solutions that drive efficiencies and enable these organisation’s transformational programmes. “Combining all these services

through one trusted partner and giving our customers the highest level of customer service is always at the centre of everything we do at Barclay Communications. Britt continued: “It’s a huge achievement that Barclay Communications and WorkPal have been awarded supplier status on this new Government Framework, helping to cut down procurement time with this faster and easier to use service. Buyers no longer need to carry out lengthy tender processes as the frameworks on the Digital Marketplace are fully compliant with procurement regulations. “We are delighted to be part of the government’s vision for a digital future and look forward to engaging with public sector customers from all parts of the UK.

Eye on Travel Industry

A New Voice for Tourism in Northern Ireland

Tourism is the great white hope of the economy here in Northern Ireland, but it’s an industry that’s been fragmented when it comes to speaking with one voice.

irlines and ferry companies might have one view, airport and ports another, whilst hotels and tourist attractions had their own axes to grind. And that is the underlying rationale behind the new Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance, officially launched at the front end of the summer, and now getting into its stride as a new and united voice for the wider industry. “It was disjointed,” says Doreen McKenzie, CEO of the Alliance and a veteran of the travel trade here in Northern Ireland. “We had lots of isolated voices speaking out on the big issues affecting tourism, but what we really needed was a single, strong body to champion tourism and push it higher up the agenda.” Both Doreen McKenzie and the

NITA Chair, Brenda Morgan, Key Partnership Manager British Airways go on to stress that the new body intends to work closely with the big tourism authorities, Tourism Ireland the Tourism Northern Ireland, as well as with the region’s local councils, all of whom now have more progressive and active tourism strategies. “At council level, we’ve come a very long way,” says Brenda Morgan. “There are some really positive and ambitious council tourism strategies out there. But what’s important is that we can all work together as an efficient industry. There are huge opportunities, but we have to be on our game.” Tourism last year contributed a record-breaking £926 million to the Northern Ireland economy and the upward trajectory looks set to

continue. That’s despite the challenge of having no working Assembly and Executive in place at Stormont. “Having one credible voice for tourism means that we can capture the attention of key people. Not having an Executive doesn’t help, but we have to move on regardless,” Brenda adds. The industry certainly has its key challenges. The whole question of VAT on hospitality came up once again recently when the Republic of Ireland raised its VAT rate....but it still remains well below the rate imposed here. Then there’s a question of Air Passenger Duty (APD), an issue that is close to Brenda Morgan’s heart. “There’s no doubt that air passengers here in Northern Ireland are being punished unfairly by APD, and as our airports have pointed out many times, it’s helped to create an uneven playing field between the Belfast airports and Dublin. It makes us uncompetitive as a region and it’s an unfair tax on flying in a region that is dependent on air travel.” Other issues affecting tourism

here include a pressing need for investment in infrastructure, the roads networks being a prime example. Then there’s the reality of a skills shortage affecting the industry as a whole. And, looming over all of that, is the issue of Brexit. That’s one that certainly isn’t specific to the tourism sector here in Northern Ireland. “Where is makes an impact is around the fact that a large proportion of jobs in our hospitality industry are filled by workers from other countries. The industry is completely dependent on these workers and any visa or immigration issues could lead to major problems for hospitality employers,” adds Doreen McKenzie. The Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance is putting the finishing touches to its new website, and has also been embarking on a regional roadshow. Doreen McKenzie and Brenda Morgan have been touring Northern Ireland to talk to members and potential members. “There are a number of key priorities for us,” says Brenda Morgan. “We have to deal with government at the highest level, and at the moment that means in London. And we have to work towards a joint strategy for tourism here in Northern Ireland, tying in the views of all of the vested interests and partners. “There are government-led tourism strategies but we think that it is vital that there is a private sector-led strategy in place. “Tourism is a major contributor to the local economy and that contribution is growing all the time. But we all recognise the simple fact that there is a relatively small window of opportunity open to us. Tourists are fickle and Northern Ireland might not always be on the ‘hot list’ of destinations.” Doreen McKenzie readily agrees. “We see ourselves as the voice of tourism. But our credibility and power will be determined by our capacity to work in partnership to achieve our goals, and we’re really encouraged by the response we’ve already received. “Now that tourism has found its voice, don’t expect us to whisper.”

Eye on News

200 New Jobs Created At Innovation Factory Innovation Factory in West Belfast is celebrating the creation of more than 200 jobs on its second anniversary.

he business hub on the Springfield Road opened in October 2016 with the aim of encouraging entrepreneurship, innovation, and helping new high-tech businesses to grow. The 70 businesses located at Innovation Factory are some of the most ground-breaking, innovative companies in Northern Ireland dealing with areas such as 5G technology, software development, film production and digital applications. Majella Barkley, Innovation Director, said: “The key to the success of Innovation Factory has been flexibility and support; modern businesses need to be able to change and adapt their environment rapidly. We work closely with them to ensure they have all the tools they need to thrive. “We have exceeded our target in the first two years and have helped boost the economy in this part of Belfast by being at the forefront of new ideas and technologies. We look forward to this

trend continuing as more and more start-up companies see the benefits of locating in a vibrant business hub in the west of the city,” she added. As a centre of innovation and business development, Innovation Factory has exceeded all of its targets with almost 800 businesses accessing its services through a mix of support, masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring and applied innovation events. Innovation Factory has engaged closely with the local community, working extensively with colleges organising placements for young people and with schools inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs. With 96% of IF procurement spend to date committed locally in Belfast, it has also developed relationships with West Belfast businesses to stimulate the local economy and increase local supply chain expenditure. Innovation Factory is owned by Belfast City Council and operated on their behalf by Oxford Innovation.

(left to right): Shane Smith (Community Engagement Officer), Majella Barkley (Innovation Director) and Anna McDonnell (Centre Manager) celebrate the second birthday of the Innovation Factory.

The £9.1m business hub was funded by Belfast City Council and Invest NI with support from the European Regional Development Fund. Customers include a range of start-ups and growing businesses in a variety of sectors including

Sugar Rush Creative: California Dreaming With New Business In LA

ward winning Sugar Rush Creative, which operates with a team of designers and developers based in Belfast and London, have been California

dreaming with new business. Sugar Rush Creative founder Ali MacFarlane travelled to California where he struck the deal to develop an app for a Los Angeles based tech start up which has received an overall six figure investment in its new product. Speaking of the new contract, Ali said: “For a home brewed company based in South Belfast to be clinching a deal of this magnitude for a project in America, it is something I could only have dreamed about a year ago. We’re really looking forward to helping build and support this LA tech start up. “The app we have been contracted to develop has the potential to reach

around six million users initially in the state of California. Plans are underway to take it America wide within the next year and although it is being created for a niche target market currently, there is global opportunity to literally provide it to billions of users.” “As we competed with global digital agencies for this business we are excited and extremely proud to be putting a locally owned Belfast based company on the US app development map whilst trying to keep our feet firmly on the ground in South Belfast in order to deliver what will be a ground breaking product in this sector.” Ali attributes the winning of the

digital services, creative industries, business services, financial services and research and development. For more on the Innovation Factory visit: www.innovationfactoryni.com

contract to Sugar Rush’s reputation in app development and software and also to being recognised with awards - picking up the prestigious App of the Year awards in 2017 and 2018 for their work in the tech sector. He added: “Sugar Rush has a reputation for developing apps which have real business impact and substance here in Northern Ireland and throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2017 we took a decision to enter our first awards which would showcase our work and provide us with industry recognition from our peers. We won both App of the Year awards last year at two separate awards and retained the accolade this year in 2018.” “I certainly believe that these award wins have had a real positive influence on our existing clients and would say it has certainly helped in securing new business.”

Eye on Awards

Business Women Recognised at Prestigious Award Ceremony THE WINNERS INCLUDE: Award for Excellence in IT Adrienne Hanna, Right Revenue Ltd. (Sponsored by The Irish News) Award for Best Marketing Campaign Olga Lynch, The Transfer Tutor (Sponsored by Kaizen Print) Best in Professional Services Award (Corporate) Aideen Duggan, Keenan Healthcare (Sponsored by Grafton Recruitment) Best in Professional Services Award (Individual) Tracey Schofield, A&L Goodbody (Sponsored by Grafton Recruitment) Award for Best New Start Up Katie Matthews, Excel In Education TutoringSchool Ltd (Sponsored by Go For It) Award for Best Customer Service (Corporate) Noreen Courtney, Bombardier Belfast (Sponsored by RSA) Pictured at the Women in Business Awards are Roseann Kelly, Women in Business Chief Executive, Elaine Birchill, Elaine Birchall who received the accolade of Business Woman of the Year 2018, Tamara McMillen, Excecutive Sales Director for Virgin Media Business and Pamela Ballentine.

Award for Best Customer Service (Individual) Claire Stewart, Cartmill Stewart & Co (Sponsored by RSA)

Women in Business recognised outstanding business women from across Northern Ireland at the 8th Annual Women in Business Awards.

he prestigious gala awards celebrate the dedication, achievements and talent of female business women and this year the awards received an impressive number of submissions from a diverse cross-section of high calibre women and organisations. Fourteen inspirational women and one organisation were acknowledged for their outstanding contribution to business in Northern Ireland with Elaine Birchall receiving the accolade of Business Woman of the Year 2018, sponsored by Virgin Media Business.

Elaine has been Chief Executive Officer at SHS Group since 2014 following two decades of international business experience. Throughout her career Elaine has directed finance, supply chain and general management operations for organisations based in the US, South Pacific, Europe, the UK and Africa. She currently has responsibility for developing and growing SHS across its divisions and is widely recognised for her business acumen and for being an inspirational leader in her field. To celebrate the 100 Anniversary of Suffrage, a Special Lifetime Achievement Award, was awarded to Monica McWilliams. Monica has filled many roles and fulfilled many duties throughout her impressively rich and long career as a politician, Human Rights defender and professor, giving women a voice over many years. Chief Executive of Women

in Business Roseann Kelly commented, “We are thrilled to honour all our finalists and winners through this awards ceremony and I am delighted that their amazing achievements are being acknowledged. All the women who entered have proven themselves to be highly skilled in their field and demonstrated tremendous determination and passion for what they do. I would like to congratulate each one of our winners on their award tonight and wish them every success for their future endeavours. “Women are often reluctant to put themselves forward for acknowledgement and are humble about their abilities and talents. This is why celebrating and highlighting the inspirational women at these awards is so important. It promotes positive recognition of women in our society and in turn, encourages others to strive to achieve their goals.”

Award for Outstanding Innovation Cara Macklin, Macklin Care Homes & Malone Lodge Hotel (Sponsored by First Trust Bank) Corporate Award for Advancing Diversity in the Workplace (Corporate) Allstate Northern Ireland (Sponsored by Queen’s University Belfast) Individual Award for Advancing Diversity in the Workplace (Individual) Vicky Davies, Danske Bank UK (Sponsored by Queen’s University Belfast) Award for Best Small Business Claire Hunter, Marine Hotel Ballycastle (Sponsored by Danske Bank) Outstanding Management & Leadership Award Maeve Monaghan, NOW Group (Sponsored by Fleet Financial) Young Business Woman of the Year 2018 Deirdre Lynch, Vector Improvements Ltd. (Sponsored by Ulster Bank) Business Woman of the Year 2018 Elaine Birchall (Sponsored by Virgin Media Business)

Eye on Cover Story

Frank & Honest...

SuperValu and Centra’s Coffee Success Story Musgrave, owners of SuperValu & Centra, decided that the time was right to launch its own gourmet coffee brand in its stores across Ireland, and over the last two years the success of Frank and Honest has been phenomenal.

rom a standing start, the Frank & Honest coffee brand has become the biggest selling take-away coffee brand on the island of Ireland, beating much more established competitors at their own game....and in double quick time. Underpinning that growth is Musgrave’s focus on food and brand innovation. Musgrave Northern Ireland’s Marketing Director, Desi Derby, takes up the story in the comfortable surroundings of the barista-staffed sit-down Frank & Honest Cafe, at the busy SuperValu store in the centre of Comber, Co. Down. “There’s a really big boom in gourmet coffee at the moment, even in our small towns and villages. Customers are demanding top quality coffee and they’re prepared to pay for it,” he says.

He homes in on an article by Jennifer O’Connell in the Irish Times recently, in which she described the three waves of coffee culture development. The first wave, many years ago now, saw the arrival in our shops and kitchens of the Nescafe and Maxwell House instant coffee brands. The second was the advent of the big coffee chains like Costa and Starbucks. And the third is the current gourmet coffee boom, which has seen the rapid growth and development of independent, artisan coffee outlets all over Ireland. “Translating that to our business, it’s all about offering the best possible quality with real convenience,” says Desi. “We have 120 SuperValu and Centra outlets across Northern Ireland, and part of our job at a headquarters level is to help them to increase footfall and become more profitable. “A strong coffee offering helps them to do that, and the research proves it. Customers love Frank & Honest coffee and they’ll come into our stores to get it. And, of course, while they’re in store the likelihood is that they’ll buy something else. It’s not rocket science. It’s about becoming coffee destinations.” One in three Irish people now buys a coffee at least once a day, an increase of 10% on the previous year. The number

of specialist coffee houses, meanwhile, grew by 8.5% in 2016, while the overall market for coffee in Ireland will grow by 7% over the next five years, it is predicted. Stats like that will come as an encouragement to Musgrave, which has invested in state of the art bean to cup Swiss-made Eversys coffee machines for all of its 700-strong Frank and Honest sites right across the Island. Each store, whether under the SuperValu or Centra brand, has its own distinctive Frank & Honest dispensing station with a range of coffees backed up by a tempting bakery range. Store owners and staff have been trained in the operation, maintenance and cleanliness of the Frank & Honest stations. But the all-important bottom line is that, on average, retailers have seen a 40% increase in sales volume as a result of having the Frank & Honest coffee offering in store. “It’s important for us to show our independent retailers how successful the Frank & Honest concept is,” says Desi Derby. “Some of them saw the potential immediately. Others were a bit harder to convince. But even the biggest sceptics have been impressed by the results that they’ve seen in store since the Frank & Honest brand has arrived.” Musgrave operates a number

Eye on Cover Story

Eye on Cover Story Fergal O’Kane, Category Manager, Musgrave.

of company-owned stores, including SuperValu Comber, but the majority of its stores are owned and operated by franchisees. “This enables us to test and prove a concept first ourselves, taking the risk, before introducing the potential

rewards to our independent retailers”, said Desi Derby. The Frank & Honest brand is aimed at a wide variety of potential customers, but Desi Derby highlights the fact that the biggest growing demographic for coffee is among the 18-35

year olds. With that in mind, Frank & Honest has been heavily promoted using social media channels and coffee fans can use a ‘Find Your Nearest Cup’ coffee locator to track down their favourite cup of coffee in 700 locations across the island, 100

“There’s a really big boom in gourmet coffee at the moment, even in our small towns and villages. Customers are demanding top quality coffee and they’re prepared to pay for it.”

of which are in Northern Ireland. “Self-service bean to cup machines have come a very long way,” Desi Derby adds. “We’d challenge coffee connoisseurs to tell the difference between a barista-made coffee and a coffee from one of our bean to cup machines. They really do produce a great cup of coffee – each and every time.” On that note, and for the connoisseurs, it’s worth noting

that Frank & Honest uses 100% arabica coffee beans sourced from Brazil and Colombia....with tasting notes that describe hints of gingerbread, white chocolate, brown sugar and (believe it or not) sherbet. Alongside the coffee, Frank & Honest has announced its intention to become the first retailer to use 100% compostable coffee cups. The brand has also been extended to cover customers who have their own coffee machines at home via a range of take-home products, including a coffee pod, coffee beans and ground coffee, carrying Frank & Honest into the domestic marketplace. At the same time, telemetry technology means that the exact number of cups of every type being sold in each retail outlet can be monitored on a real time basis. “The telemetry is important, but it’s imperative to combine technology with the quality of the coffee and the training that we’ve provided for our in-store colleagues. “We’re very proud of the Frank & Honest brand and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved from scratch. It’s been quite a journey....but a very successful one for both our retailers and our business.”

Eye on Communications

Are You Putting Your Business In Harm’s Way Some years ago, major cyber-system attacks were exclusive to big US blockbuster movies featuring Hollywood stars such as Will Smith and Matthew Broderick – and whilst botnets, zombies and worms all sounded fictional then, the reality now is that they are all too real. By Stuart Carson, Rainbow Communications

nfortunately, in today’s world, a threat to an IT system is almost always imminent. As we all get ‘smarter’, and as we continually transmit, collect more data and leave digital footprints on multiple devices, it’s becoming increasingly likely that cyber-attacks will continue to rise in both number and severity. You will be acutely familiar with a recent big UK cyber-attack, when ‘WannaCry’ malware attacked major NHS databases in what was considered a ‘category two attack’ that had a serious and costly impact on a large portion of the population. This unprecedented, damaging event highlighted just how important it is for businesses and organisations here to be one step ahead and to leave nothing to chance. Would you leave your car open in a multi-storey car park? Or your front door wide open if you weren’t at home? Similarly, by ignoring the risks and the focus required, you may well be leaving your business and

your clients open to a significant threat or harm. Your website, your emails, your server – in fact all your online activity - poses a huge threat if not suitably protected. As this year’s GDPR rules detail, your business information is extremely valuable to those who try to access it without authority, from client lists and customer databases to financial details and in-progress deals.

online threats and cyber-crime will continue to grow as the demand for online services increases and criminality evolves. With these innovations, new dangers will surface. However, not all businesses have the confidence or resources to give security the attention it warrants. If this rings true for you and your business, it’s worth considering an external security service that can

“Would you leave your car open in a multistorey car park? Or your front door wide open if you weren’t at home?”

In last month’s edition, I spoke about the importance of having a strong team to manage your IT requirements. This need becomes even more acute when we consider how a cyber-attack or security issue can drastically affect profits and business reputation. Despite government efforts,

seamlessly manage and maintain all aspects of your online security, saving you both time and money. Ultimately this will help your valuable eco-system of information to stay shielded from harm. At Rainbow Communications, we routinely carry out IT System audits to discover if a business is

vulnerable to risk. Where needed, we devise a clear, action and education plan which requires teams to be more aware of potential risks and suitable prevention. We also build unique firewalls giving systems an added layer of protection. We regularly perform back-ups and tests to ensure the security we put in place is working as intended, often-times revealing the need for remedy. Whilst those big blockbuster movies almost always have a happy ending, it may not always play out this way for your business. Can you afford to take the risk?

Stuart Carson is Sales and Marketing Director at Rainbow Communications, Northern Ireland’s largest independent telecom provider. For more information on its full range of services, including bespoke solutions, visit www.rainbowcomms.com

Eye on Awards

Prestigious Award for Fairstone NI Fairstone NI mortgage adviser Wanda Moore has won a coveted national industry award.

anda has been named Mortgage Planner of the Year at the Money Management annual Financial Planner Awards, recognised as one of the most prestigious awards in the advice profession. Now in their 23rd year, the awards celebrate excellence within the financial planning sector. Wanda, an Independent Mortgage and General Insurance Adviser at Fairstone NI, beat off stiff competition to be presented with the award at the glittering ceremony in London’s Oxo Tower. Commenting on the sought-after award Wanda said: “I was incredibly overwhelmed by the whole interview process and it wasn’t until I arrived at the Financial Times’ large offices in London, that I realised the magnitude of the process I had entered. “I come from a small, tight-knit office in Lisburn and the team’s support has been brilliant. I feel incredibly humbled and thankful to all my colleagues, family and friends, as without their backing, none of this would have been possible.” Wanda, who has over 24 years experience working in the financial services industry, started her career working for a major UK bank as a Premier Manager and Mortgage Adviser.

As part of the award process, candidates were asked to supply an example of client work and a written piece describing how their work fitted the criteria. Leading contenders were then invited to a face-to-face judging session to answer questions on a case study and provide solutions to numerous situations of a complex nature.

This process was designed to highlight Wanda’s knowledge of the mortgage and protection sector and the international financial planning standards set by the Financial Planning Standards Board. Celebrating Wanda’s achievement, Fairstone NI Business Principals Sean Larkin and Peter Savage, said the

award acknowledges Wanda as one of the industry’s best and brightest at a time when good financial advice has never been more important. Sean Larkin said: “The Fairstone team are incredibly proud of Wanda’s achievement, which shows great determination, professionalism, knowledge of the mortgage market and first and foremost, her passion for the job and her clients. Wanda always puts her client’s best interests at the heart of everything she does, and this award is a testament to her expertise and selflessness.” Peter Savage added: “Wanda is an outstanding mortgage adviser and this accolade and recognition is very much overdue and well deserved.”

If you would like to speak with Wanda or one of our independent mortgage advisers, further information is available by telephoning 02892 605 088 or emailing info@fairstoneni.co.uk

Eye on Finance

Getting to know you

Eye on Finance Harbinson Mulholland (HM) have appointed Mark Coleman and Vincent Bradley as Directors. Both have over 15 years with the firm and (like any respectable accountant) have a healthy skepticism for marketing. So, rather than have them endure a journalist led interview we let them interview each other! Vincent Bradley, Director of Forensic Services So Vincent how did you come to work for HM? I was 2 years into my training contract with a ‘big four’ firm when I was seconded to the forensic department. I was hooked! Shortly after Harbinson Mulholland advertised for a position in their commercial and criminal forensic team. I got the job and completed my training contract working alongside Brendan Dwyer and Jeremy Harbinson. The rest as they say, is history. Why Forensic Accounting? I like that there is a different backstory every time. My job is, as the title suggests, forensic by nature. We get right into the detail and to places that your day to day accountant need not tread. Most practice accounting is still compliance based but in forensics and with a court’s direction, I get to be explorative. The key output from our investigations, aside from an appearance in the witness box, is a report which requires us to communicate the technical and detailed work we do into clear language. I hold dear the challenge of working on contentious matters. You are a huge fan of a TV show called ‘The Wire’ where the police officers refer to their ‘career case’. Do you have a ‘career case’? There have been a few, but one of my all-time favourite cases was connected to our fabulous local fishing industry. We’ve had numerous aquaculture cases over the years and its remarkable that each has featured the fisherman’s stereotypical tendency to overstate (Vincent moves his

hands apart as the fish gets larger). Sliding a page across the table that showed the fish business wasn’t quite as big as being made out, still delights me to this day and motivates me to look for answers from unexpected places. It sounds like the stakes are pretty high for many of your cases. Clients must get quite emotional? I work on contentious matters every day. I’ve seen careers ended and saved on the back of our work which obviously causes great emotion but some of the most fraught cases have involved family disputes over land or shares in a farming businesses. We have enough experience to know which matters are best served by adopting an approach which will help each side to walk away reconciled rather than driven further apart. For the client, litigation can be a once in a lifetime experience. Going through protracted court proceedings can be distressing and full of unknowns. My duty is not to be an advocate for a particular side but to give the court a sense of the key issues based on my experience of financial matters. Why have you stuck with HM? In HM I work in one of the most highly regarded local forensic accounting teams so I work alongside some of the best in this business. I’ve 15 years under my belt and until recently I was the youngest in the team, which says a great deal about the depth of experience our team has to offer. The bottom line on why I remain is that I genuinely value my colleagues and their experience and I feel when it comes to forensic accounting, we do it better.

Mark Coleman, Director of Tax It seems only fair that I take you back to the start as well. How did you come to work in HM? It’s a similar story to your own in that I also trained in a ‘big four’ firm before moving to HM. My training at that ‘big four’ firm was solely in corporation tax and I knew HM would offer me opportunities to expand my technical knowledge and client experience in corporate tax but also in other areas of tax such as income tax and inheritance tax. It is a great advantage to work directly with experienced people such as Richard Holley, Brendan McGuckin and, in earlier years, Alan Brown. Is it fair to characterise your job as mostly completing tax returns? There is no doubt that we are very busy with self-assessment tax returns especially in January! However, I really enjoy working with small and medium sized enterprises, most of which would be family businesses, covering the tax implications across a range of matters. Those matters could be tax efficiently retaining senior key employees, dealing with the tax issues surrounding an acquisition or disposal of a business or perhaps succession issues for a family business. Succession issues in particular have been a real focus for those attending HM’s NI Family Business Forum of late.

legislation or to simply bounce ideas off. If I come across something unusual to me, chances are someone in the team has had experience of dealing with the same issue. I have to ask you about the most talked about topic in tax at the moment: Making Tax Digital (MTD). It starts rolling out in April 2019, are businesses ready for the change? You are right to ask if businesses are ready. Only VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold, currently £85,000, will be mandated to adopt the new system from April 2019. Income tax and corporation tax will not fall within MTD until 2020 at the earliest with income tax highly likely to precede corporation tax. I won’t get into the detail as the information is available on our website, however, I would highlight that MTD for VAT may have a greater impact on those businesses that currently use spreadsheets, either alone or in combination with other systems, to file their VAT returns using HMRC’s online services. We are encouraging anyone with concerns to get in touch.

For more information on the firm visit www.harbinson-mulholland.com www.nifamilybusinessforum.com

What has kept you at HM for over 15 years? Having an in-house specialist tax team is a real plus for HM and I enjoy working with the other members of the team in advising our clients. Our team is weighted to more senior staff and it’s a great advantage to have such experienced team members to discuss tax issues with, review changes in

Eye on News

Royal Irish Regiment Holds Presentation of Colours at Belfast’s Iconic Titanic Quarter

ast month The Royal Irish Regiment’s 1st and 2nd Battalions were presented with new Colours by the Regiment’s Colonel in Chief, HRH The Duke of York KG. The momentous occasion was a first public event of its kind for Northern Ireland, taking place at the Titanic Slipways within Belfast’s thriving tourist destination, Titanic Quarter.

The renewal of a Regiment’s Colours only happens once every 25 years and this was a first in public for Northern Ireland, with over 6,500 guests of the regiment taking their seats in a carefully constructed stadium, overlooking both the shipyard and Titanic Belfast. The Presentation of Colours was the first official military engagement for the urban quarter and was organised by Leo Callow and his team at Callow Event Management. Callow Events Ltd, a bespoke events management company based in Belfast prides itself on delivering top class event solutions for a wide variety of clients from across the UK and Ireland. When commenting on his primary role in organising The Presentation of Colours 2018, Leo Callow Managing Director at Callow Event Management said, “I was thrilled to be contacted by Colin Gray, Regimental Secretary, to be asked to lead the event management for The Presentation of Colours. The renewal of a Regiment’s Colours is a once in a lifetime event for many serving personnel, so it was essential that every last detail was precisely organised and correctly executed.” Leo continued “The Presentation of Colours Ceremony

was our biggest event to date. It took a great team effort in the months leading up to the event to ensure all the correct protocols were in place, from the build of the stadium to the VVIP guest list. It was with immense pride that our team at Callow Events were given the honour of organising this important event and I am certain that it will always be extremely memorable for our team.” The Presentation of Colours to The Royal Irish Regiment was a huge triumph, with visitors descending on Belfast’s famous Titanic Slipways from across the world to witness the significant event. When discussing the Presentation of new Colours to The Royal Irish Regiment, Colin Gray, Regimental Secretary said, “Northern Ireland is the home of many personnel who serve or who have served in the Regiment, so we were delighted to be able to hold the ceremony right in the heart of Belfast City.” Colin added, “The event was an astounding achievement for all involved and we would like to thank everyone who worked so hard over the last few months to make the event such a success and of course to everyone who attended.”

NORTHERN IRELANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LEADING BUSINESS AWARDS

Eye on Awards

BEFTA’s 2018 – A Record-Breaking Year as Shortlist Announced 2018 is set to be a record-breaking year for the annual BEFTAs the new name for the UTV Business Eye Awards which have been revamped as a result of the partnership between Business Eye and lead sponsor, First Trust Bank.

he total number of entries for the 2018 Awards, across 18 categories, is by far the biggest volume received during the 14-year history of Northern Ireland’s leading business awards. Across every category, the judging panel were faced with a difficult choice to make between high quality submissions according to Richard Buckley, Editor of Business Eye, who said; “The step up in both quantity and quality this year is dramatic. In some categories, our judging panel faced an almost impossible task to differentiate between exceptional entries from some of our very best home-grown businesses. The quality, and the quantity, of entries is reflected in the comprehensive shortlist for this year’s BEFTA Awards.” The 2018 judging panel sat down at The Resolution Centre, a meeting facility based at The

Richard Buckley, Editor of Business Eye is pictured with Ann McSorley, Head of Corporate at First Trust Bank at the judging of this year’s 2018 BEFTAs.

Boat on Belfast’s Donegall Quay, to make the tough calls for this year’s awards. The event will take place on Thursday, 22nd November, at ICC Belfast, the new name for the Belfast Waterfront Conference Centre. Fellow judge, Ann McSorley, Head of Corporate at First Trust Bank added; “After supporting the small business awards for the past four years, acknowledging the best and brightest business owners and entrepreneurs from our small business community, it was only natural to join Business Eye in celebrating growth across our business community as a whole. “The high calibre of entries from every sector and corner of Northern Ireland made for a lively and difficult discussions for the judges, but we were all left with a great sense of optimism after discovering undeniable levels of passion, innovation and growth locally. We offer our congratulations to all those

who made it onto the shortlist and look forward to celebrating the leaders in our business community at the new-look BEFTA awards later this month.” A limited number of tables are still available for what promises to be a sparkling awards event attended by upwards of 600 of the great and good from Northern Ireland’s business community. In addition to the awards, hosted by Marc Mallett, guests will be entertained on the night by Scotland’s Drums n’ Roses and Re-Take That, the UK and Ireland’s top Take That tribute band.

To book your table, visit www.businesseyeawards.co.uk/ book-a-table

Eye on Awards

2018 BEFTA SHORTLIST Agri Food Innovation Award

Executive Support Professional of the Year

Manufacturer of the Year

Around Noon

Kim McClelland, Momentum Group

KES Group

Bloc Blinds

Davison Canners

Janine Smalls, HCIL

Icemos Technology

Belfast City Centre Management

Fran Devenney, Pinsent Masons

Denroy Plastics

Obbi Solutions Ltd

Kathy Hanna, Oasis Travel

TS Foods

ATG Services

Keenan Seafood

Business Personality of the Year

James Hagan Mairead Mackle Judith Totten Peter Johnston

Tourism/Hospitality Project of the Year Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast Andras House Group We Are Vertigo

Woodland

Exporter of the Year Salt DNA Brookvent Telestack

Community (CSR) Award Power NI Killowen Contracts ArtsEkta George Best Belfast City Airport LIDL Northern Ireland ATG Group Homecare Independent Living

Family Business of the Year Mash Direct Killowen Contracts Mercury Security MJ Kane & Co

PWC Operate Icemos Technology Pure Fit Out

Wilsons Auctions

Medium/Mid-Sized Business of the Year

ATG Group

Killowen Contracts

TS Foods

Selective Travel Management BMI Trailers

Musgrave NI

Waste Reduction Project of the Year

Research & Development project of the Year

BMI Trailers

Tina McKenzie Glyn Roberts

Nitronica

Fast Growth Business of the Year

PKF-FPM Accountants

Selective Travel Management

AMI

FinTrU

Willis Insurance & Risk Management

Titanic FX

Davison Canners

Pritchitts

Frank & Honest Coffee (Musgrave)

Carriages Bistro

CTS Projects

ATG Group

Energystore

Fairstone Financial Management NI

PAC (Process Automation & Calibration)

ASM

Employer of the Year

Professional Services Firm of the Year

Innovative Business of The Year Salt DNA Workpal Inviz CoreChex Performance Alloys Neurovalens Wilsons Auctions Upstream

Young Business Personality of the Year Adam Gilmore, AG Electrical Maire Claire Reid, TST Transport Conor Cole, Cole Groundwork Contracts Connor McCandless, Energystore Andrew Davis, 77 Retail Shauna Collins, Catalyst Inc Chris Rankin, Precept IT Paul Redpath, Catalyst 2 Gavin Halpin, Paper Owl Films

PKF- FPM

Company of the Year

One2One

Technology Company of the Year

A&L Goodbody

Musgrave NI

The Momentum Group

Henderson Technology

The Momentum Group

Lidl NI

Action Cancer

Audit Comply

Pinsent Masons

Novosco

FinTru

Lava Group

Lowry Grace Consulting

Wilsons Auctions

Lidl NI

First Derivatives

MCL Waste Management

PKF-FPM Accountants

Pinsent Masons

Continu

Amplifi Solutions

FinTrU

Automated Intelligence

Salt DNA

Axiom Global

Decision Time

HCIL (Homecare Independent Living)

Musgrave ShredBank

Eye on CSR

Digging Deep

or the past two decades, Phoenix Natural Gas has built up a base of some 210,000 customers in its licence area of Greater Belfast, delivering a reliable and efficient heating source and establishing itself at the heart of many homes and families. As a household brand synonymous with the Greater Belfast community, Phoenix Natural Gas has been embraced as the fuel of choice in this area and enjoys continuous growth year on year as more properties connect to the network. Twenty years on, the company is not only focused on growing its customer base within its existing licence area, but also expanding its network to additional new areas, the most significant of which is the current East Down network extension project.

In 2015 the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator approved a network development project to connect thirteen new towns in East Down to the natural gas network. A private investment of £60m by Phoenix Natural Gas would see an additional 28,000 properties connected in Annahilt, Ballygowan, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Crossgar, Downpatrick, Dromore, Drumaness, Dundrum, Hillsborough, Newcastle, Saintfield and Spa.” As Phoenix Natural Gas Executive Director, Jonathan Martindale, explains; “This was a significant investment in the County Down area. Since the introduction of natural gas to Northern Ireland in 1996, the Greater Belfast area has benefitted from an improved utility infrastructure and a modern, more efficient and environmentally friendly heating source. Now, through this network extension project, homes and businesses in the East Down area will be able to enjoy the same benefits.” “This summer we reached a significant milestone in the project as construction of over 90km of large diameter pipework was fully completed, bringing natural gas to all thirteen new areas. Not only that, but the project was completed nine months ahead of schedule, allowing us to concentrate now on the full roll out of natural gas to these areas.” “This is a fantastic achievement for us given the engineering challenges faced along the way which included carrying out an underwater pipeline crossing at the River Lagan and navigating town-specific challenges. In addition, we faced a number of local challenges in terms of traffic management and considering the needs of the local communities in which we were working.” “Stakeholder engagement was pivotal in helping ensure a smooth works programme. By engaging local Councils and political representatives, as well as key business and community stakeholders, we were able to gain a deep understanding of community requirements specific to the area in which we were working. This helped us navigate aspects of the construction programme which were technically

challenging or would have a more significant impact on local businesses or traffic flow for example than regular works. We are delighted that the most disruptive stage of the project has now completed and we continue to have a presence in the areas to make natural gas available to individual properties.” “When introducing our brand in a new area to a new audience, Phoenix recognises the importance of embedding ourselves into the local community and ‘digging deep’ to support local initiatives, adding value to the community we serve as part of our established corporate social responsibility programme.” “Over the past 20 years, Phoenix Natural Gas has evolved its approach to CSR from simply being ‘the right thing to do’ to being intrinsically entwined with the business strategy, seeking to build a long-term, sustainable business that creates real economic, social and environmental value. “Phoenix embraces its corporate social responsibility and embeds it at every level in the organisation. This is driven and delivered through the LIFE Programme - which stands for Leadership in the marketplace, Investing in our people, Fostering our community and Environmental responsibility. Driven by staff, the Phoenix LIFE programme exists to enable the company to positively impact the marketplace, workplace, environment and community, in line with main business objectives. It’s this kind of transformational thinking that identifies Phoenix as an organisation that embodies responsible business and it’s something that we are very proud of.” “Two years into the County Down extension project, it’s great to look back on all that has been achieved so far and the breadth of community initiatives that we have been able to support under the umbrella of the LIFE programme. Whether this involves adding extra value to an established community event, or creating a bespoke new initiative tailored to community needs, everything that we do is designed to give something back to the local area and form a partnership with our communities.”

Eye on CSR

“Some of the highlights have included supporting a number of key sporting events, reflecting Phoenix’s corporate objective of helping improve the health and wellbeing of its communities. These events have included supporting Knockevin Special School’s third annual 10k run in Downpatrick, hosting a community football day in Crossgar with Kilmore Rec FC, supporting Spa Primary School’s annual sponsored walk, supporting the Down Special Olympics team and hosting two East Down schools at the Kingspan Stadium for an exclusive behindthe-scenes tour of Ulster Rugby.” “As well as supporting established community events, Phoenix seeks to plug the gap in community needs and earlier this year we partnered with

East Down Athletics Club to revive the ‘Rollercoaster Races’. This was a running event held at Downpatrick Race Course specifically for local children, but due to a number of external factors, it had fallen by the wayside and was greatly missed from the local event calendar. This year Phoenix came on board to bring back the Rollercoaster Races and on the day over 250 runners and their families for a great day of fun – despite the rain!” “Recognising our responsibility to local communities where construction is taking place, Phoenix continues to roll out its ‘Play Safe, Stay Safe’ campaign for local schools. This initiative has now visited over 1,000 primary school children in County Down educating pupils about

the potential dangers associated with construction sites and the importance of environmentally responsible behaviour.” “Phoenix has also partnered with Action Mental Health to deliver a specialist mental health and well-being programme designed specifically for secondary school aged pupils in East Down called ‘Provoking Thought’. The programme covers a range of information and workshops are tailored towards the needs of this age group specifically.” “In particular, the Energy for Children Charitable Trust has been the backbone of Phoenix’s commitment to CSR. The Trust aims to reach deeper into the heart of local communities and provide financial support to those in need and has helped over

9,000 children to date. As we embed ourselves in the East Down area, the Charity is particularly keen to support disadvantaged children in these areas and we continue to promote the charity through the very strong relationships we have forged with community, business and political representatives.” “For Phoenix, the East Down network extension project has been a tremendous success, both from a construction perspective and in engaging with the community. Whilst we may be a new face in the community, we’re here to stay and, as a company that cares for its communities, we will continue to make inroads into these new areas to really make a difference in our new hometown.”

Eye on Technology

5NINES...

Bringing State Of The Art Data Storage To Northern Ireland As anonymous buildings go, 5NINESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Data Centre on the outskirts of Coleraine is about as anonymous as they come. Look a little closer, though, and the high fence and obvious security measures give away the fact that this is no out of town distribution centre.

Eye on Technology

nstead, it’s Northern Ireland’s very first – and so far its only – commercial carrier neural colocation data centre, opened in the summer as the result of a £20 million investment by a global company that owns and operates data centres in the likes of the Netherlands, Finland, France and the USA. The 45,000 sq.ft facility close to the banks of the Bann Estuary is the first tenant in the ambitious Atlantic Link Enterprise Park, so called because it is just metres from the landing point of the Project Kelvin transatlantic fibre cables linking Europe to the US. The 5NINES Coleraine Data Centre is every inch a private sector venture. “We provide ultra secure data storage service to a wide variety of organisations, in particular those operating in data heavy areas like finance, medical technology or the creative industries,” explains Paul Besley, General Manager of 5NINES NI and an industry veteran who joined the company to supervise the construction and opening of the Northern Ireland facility. Based at 5NINES’ UK headquarters in Central London, he travels to Coleraine regularly to oversee the early stages of the centre’s development. It might not look like much from the road outside, but the brand new data centre facility is impressive in terms of scale, ambition and a fastidious attention to detail when it comes to the safety and security of the data that is stored there. “This centre has been built to Tier III+ levels of resilience. That puts it amongst the very best in the industry anywhere. We have built in redundancy in all core power and cooling components which ensures that failure or maintenance of these components will not affect service to the customer..” Roughly translated, that means that if there is an outage of mains electricity, the centre has rooms full of heavy batteries to carry the load for the short period until large-scale generators kick in, which can run indefinitely until the mains supply is restored. That’s not to mention high-powered

air conditioning to maintain the right climate in the centre at all times.... although Paul Besley adds that Northern Ireland’s typical climate lends itself rather nicely to very efficient data centre cooling, which translates to low operating costs for customers. And there’s a purposebuilt multi-zone fire protection system should it ever be required. The Coleraine centre features six distinct data halls which will be opened on a phased basis as demand increases and new customers are signed up. Each hall provides data storage from one-quarter rack (effectively the shelves on which servers sit) to private caged areas and suites. But the facilities won’t be seen by many. There’s no signage on the roadside to indicate the presence of Northern Ireland’s most advanced data centre. And uninvited visitors will get no further than the front gate. Once inside, a multi-zone security system means that only those with the highest levels of clearance are able to access the business part of the Coleraine centre.....the data storage halls. “The importance of our proximity to the Project Kelvin landing point can’t

“The importance of our proximity to the Project Kelvin landing point can’t be underestimated. The local council and others had the vision to see that the North Coast of Northern Ireland was the perfect landing point for a cable network that runs all the way across the ocean flood from Halifax, Nova Scotia.” be underestimated. The local council and others had the vision to see that the North Coast of Northern Ireland was the perfect landing point for a cable network that runs all the way across the ocean flood from Halifax, Nova Scotia,” Paul Besley adds. At either end of the cable, it should be added, high speed fibre links connect Nova Scotia and Coleraine with major centres such as Chicago, Boston, New York, London, Dublin,

Amsterdam and Frankfurt. “Business is all about connectivity. Let’s face it, no one asks for slow connectivity, do they? That’s where Project Kelvin plays a vital role and the multiple telecom providers in the data centre gives customers a choice that is difficult to find anywhere else in the province” Besley joined 5NINES after a career that has included sales director roles at high growth FTSE companies Colt and Thus, and as a director of corporate stockbroking for ABN AMRO Hoare Govett. He’s also built a successful commercial and development finance property finance brokerage. He prefers to simplify the role of today’s high technology data centres. “You could liken what we do to what a hotel does,” he smiles. “We provide the room. What our customers do in those rooms and how long they stay is up to them.” But 5NINES’ big selling point is, of course, security and peace of mind. “Every company’s data is hugely important to that company. So is it best to store that data in a cut-price server in the corner of the office? Or is it best to trust a professional centre like this one with that data?”

Eye on Export

HSBC... Paving The Way For NI Export Success HSBC’s significant international connections have been making a real difference for leading Northern Ireland-based companies, as two of those companies have been telling Business Eye.

HSBC, of course, has its roots in the Far East and the bank still has a commanding presence in the region. For Matt Myers, Trading Director at Bedeck, and Ronan Mallaghan, Managing Director of Dungannon-based Mallaghan GSE, the bank’s connections have proved particularly relevant. Matt attended HSBC’s Innovation Exchange in Hong Kong to engage and interact with some of the latest technologies and innovations emarging from Hong Kong and its fast-growing Chinese neighbouring city, Shenzhen. And, of course, to foster important contact in the potentially lucrative Far Eastern marketplace. Ronan Mallaghan, for his part, travelled with HSBC on a UK-wide

trade mission to Shanghai, looking in more depth at the Chinese marketplace, its size and scale and how it works, as well as hearing from businesses already doing business with China. Bedeck, based in Magheralin, Co. Down, is a family-owned designer and developer of high-end linen household products selling to export markets around the world while Mallaghan Engineering has become a world leader in the manufacture of ground support equipment for airports worldwide. Matt Myers explains that Bedeck’s heritage in the Northern Ireland linen industry has evolved over the years under the ownership of the Irwin family, and how Bedeck has developed

a strong retail marketplace for its bedlinen and other products. “Closer to home, we work directly and through concession outlets with John Lewis, House of Fraser and Selfridge Group, amongst others, and we also sell our products through some of the leading retail names in the United States using our Bedeck of Belfast brand name. But we also market directly to the public through our very successful Bedeckhome.com website. “We’ve been working with HSBC for several years. It’s important to us to be with a bank with international reach because we’re a company with international reach, and we have firm plans to grow those overseas markets.”

Eye on Export Myers approached the HSBC trip to Hong Kong as a potential exporter to the Far East and its vast marketplace, but also as an importer from China. Bedeck sources some of its materials and manufacturing in the Far East. “Our import relationships are fairly well established, so I think the priority for us was to investigate the potential markets out there. And, not to put too fine a point on it, they are huge. “What is crucial when doing business out there is to understand the cultural differences and the differing ways of doing things. And I think that is where HSBC’s people can come in. The bank’s staff in Hong Kong and China know their regions and know their marketplaces, and that’s immensely useful for those of us trying to get a handle on doing business out there. “So, from Bedeck’s perspective, the visit was really useful in terms

of education. But it also gave me the chance to make some real contacts and business connections.” Matt Myers was particularly struck with the growth of Shenzhen, the Chinese city just north of Hong Kong, a city which has grown from a population of 30,000 in the 1970’s to 12.5 million and rising. “Shenzhen is phenomenal, but it’s important to remember that it is just one Chinese city. The size and scale is amazing and for us as suppliers of high quality linen products, the potential is huge.” Bedeck was the only Northern Ireland company among 35-40 UK organisations who made the trip to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. “That’s another important thing to say. There was a lot of common

ground between the companies on the trip, and it was good to talk to like-minded people associated with like-minded organisations. Especially when you’re looking at a market the size of the Chinese one...” Ronan Mallaghan echoes the views of Matt Myers. He says that his visit to Shanghai as part of an international group of HSBC customers gave him an invaluable perspective on the growth and potential of the Chinese marketplace. His company, Mallaghan GSE, is already making early inroads into the Chinese airport and airline marketplace with its ground support equipment. Mallaghan manufactures the likes of mobile aircraft steps, catering and service vehicles and is currently working

on the research and development of a new passenger transfer bus. “It was good to be in Shanghai with a group of like-minded companies from various parts of the world, and it was great to learn so much about the local market from both ex-pats and native Chinese from HSBC and other organisations. “HSBC has a real wealth of knowledge about China and the Far East and that level of local knowledge, right down to the nuts and bolts of doing business out there, is invaluable when you first start to look at entering the Chinese market. “It might be huge and it might have a lot of potential. But it’s also complex and it can be difficult. So some expert knowledge

and a helping hand can go a very long way,” he says. In common with Matt Myers, he found himself deeply impressed by the statistics around China’s rapid econonic growth, and by what he saw in and around Shanghai. “We’ve all heard the theories that the Chinese simply copy what the rest of the world does, but that they do it a lot cheaper. But that’s nonsense. They’ve come on in leaps and bounds, and while some of their manufacturing output might not hit western standards, they’re not too far off it. “But for us as a company, we wanted to focus on sales opportunities. We don’t want to buy from China, we want to sell out airport products into their airports. And they have a lot of them.” Mallaghan GSE has a significant share of the UK and Ireland ground support equipment marketplace. On the export front, it sells to customers in Europe, in North America, in the Middle East and, increasingly, in Asia. China East Airlines, one of the country’s main carriers with a base in Shanghai, has become one of Mallaghan’s early customers. And, to illustrate the scale of the Chinese marketplace, the airline has well over 500 aircraft on its fleet. Easyjet, by contrast, has close to 200 less than that.

Eye on News

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH FOR BELFAST-BASED BOUTIQUE F

Clodagh Shortt at Honey Boutique

Local independent fashion boutique Honey, based on Belfast’s Lisburn Road is celebrating 15 years in business this month.

ollowing the decision to introduce new European clothing lines a year ago to add to their high-end shoe and bag ranges, the business has experienced a 40% increase in turnover. Renowned for providing fashionsavvy shoppers with designer footwear and accessories, the boutique’s founder Clodagh Shortt made the decision a year ago to launch a new clothing offering at Honey, which has seen the introduction of international clothing brands including Charli, Jumper 1234, POM and Oakwood. This decision has paid off dividends and contributed to a 40% increase in turnover for the Belfast boutique over the last 12 months and its most successful year in business so far. Honey founder, Clodagh Shortt explains, “This year marks a

significant milestone for Honey and represents substantial growth and success for the business. Our key offerings at Honey included designer shoes, accessories and lingerie, but a year ago I made the decision to stop the lingerie offering and focus on introducing new clothing ranges. Fashion has always been a passion of mine and this was the natural next step for Honey and thankfully it has really taken off.” Clodagh adds, “At Honey, we strive to provide our customers with the latest trends and styles, including designs from the popular See By Chloe, Chie Mihara and Crime London, all of which add to the overall unique shopping experience. We want to thank all of our customers for their support over the last 15 years and look forward to more success in the years ahead.”

GVA ACQUIRED BY AVISON YOUNG Leading UK property advisory firm GVA is to be acquired by Canadianbased commercial real estate company Avison Young. GVA has approximately 1,500 employees in 15 offices throughout UK, Ireland and Poland and is a majority shareholder of GVA Worldwide Ltd, an international organisation of licensed affiliate commercial real estate companies with offices across 25 countries, which includes GVA NI Ltd, based in Belfast. Senior Director of GVA NI and GVA Worldwide Ltd Partner, Jago Bret said, “This deal represents a significant outcome for GVA NI as a business, our clients and our staff on a local level and of course on a global scale for GVA Worldwide Ltd. We look forward to being part of a stronger global real estate

advisory platform which will enable us to better service our clients and ultimately expand our client base.” The acquisition of GVA represents the next stage in Avison Young’s aggressive growth strategy and establishes the company as the only privately held, principal-led, global and fullservice real estate services firm. Avison Young will combine GVA with its existing UK operations and subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019. The combined operations of Avison Young will have 19 offices and 1,600 employees

GVA’s Jago Bret

in the UK alone, working with clients on the transaction and consultancy sides of the business. “We very much look forward to working with the Avison Young team, as we continue to

promote a high-quality real estate advisory service to our clients across the Island of Ireland with our colleagues in GVA Donal O Buachalla” added Jago.

Eye on News

Boosting Productivity Key To Growth For NI Small Firms More than 90 per cent of small businesses in Northern Ireland see boosting productivity levels as important for their business but almost a third of companies are currently doing nothing about it, according to new research from Ulster Bank.

aving a more skilled workforce was seen by local firms as the biggest potential boost to productivity (35%), with better equipment or machinery (25%), an improved workplace culture (14%) and fewer distractions (14%) also cited by firms. Carried out by Perceptive Insight on behalf of Ulster Bank, the latest survey analysed the growth performance of local businesses with between five and 50 employees across a range of sectors – including food & drink, technology, construction and retail. It involved over 200 telephone interviews which took place in September 2018 with the owners or directors of companies. Cara Taylor, Business Growth Enabler at Ulster Bank said: “Boosting productivity is perhaps the biggest challenge and opportunity for the Northern Ireland economy, so it is encouraging that over 90 per cent of small businesses recognise the importance of becoming more productive. However, the fact that one-in-three companies say they are not doing anything about it shows that there is still much to be done.” Of the 67 per cent of small business that are currently doing something to boost their productivity, investing in better equipment (30%) was the most prevalent, followed by investing in upskilling workers (28%). Notably, the Ulster Bank Boost Index also reveals that 39 per cent of small firms experienced an increase in sales compared with the previous year while only a quarter of businesses increased their number of employees during the same period. Just 5 per cent of businesses reported a drop off in sales and only 4 per cent said that they had reduced staffing level. What’s more, 94 per cent of businesses described their current position as either stable, experiencing slight growth

or experiencing moderate growth. Productivity aside, competition in the market place; a skills shortage within individual companies and a lack of awareness about how to access support, were listed by the Boost Index as the top challenges to growth or expansion. 62 per cent of firms surveyed expected to be impacted in some way by the lack of political stability in Northern Ireland while 61 per cent felt that Brexit would impact either a little (29%) or a lot (32%), on the successful development of their business. It’s clear from the survey results that businesses of this size and scale are still exporting in low numbers. 67 per cent of respondents do not sell outside of Northern Ireland in any capacity and just 8 per cent are exporting beyond the UK and Ireland. When it comes to identifying particular strengths, a clear majority of businesses owners claimed their company’s willingness to adapt, innovate or change to be very good or excellent and almost a fifth of respondents felt that the appetite of senior management to develop the business further was excellent. Lisa McCaul, Business Growth Enabler at Ulster Bank added: “Ulster Bank Boost has been created to help local businesses in a way that goes further than traditional business banking. We know that every day operational challenges can take priority when running a business and often, plans focusing on growth or expansion get pushed further and further down the to-do list. “Our dedicated Business Growth Enablers want to help with this and having this piece of research, gives us invaluable insight into current climate small businesses are operating in and, crucially, about the type of support firms need to overcome these obstacles. “Of particular interest are the insights around skills and productivity. Our series of Boost events, which take place all

Cara Taylor and Lisa McCaul, Business Growth Enablers, Ulster Bank

over Northern Ireland, are designed to show business owners how to streamline time-consuming tasks such as administrative or accounting duties

or introduce them to people who can help fill a skill shortage. This means they have more time to focus on what’s really important – taking their business forward.”

Eye on Infrastructure

NI Water... A Forward Thinking Giant In The Northern Ireland Electricity Market

orthern Ireland business relies on the supply of high quality drinking water and the treatment and safe return of wastewater to the environment. NI Water provides these essential services for all customers throughout Northern Ireland, underpinning not only economic growth but also to the health and wellbeing of the whole community. Every day, NI Water produces on average 570 million litres of safe drinking water for supply to approximately 840,000 households and businesses and safely recycles 340 million litres of wastewater back into the environment. These vital services require not just a significant amount of infrastructure but also energy;

Sara Venning, NI Water Chief Executive

water and wastewater don’t flow uphill and they don’t treat themselves. As a result, NI Water is the largest electricity consumer in Northern Ireland, operating more than 3,000 sites, the vast

majority of which are connected to the electricity grid. The company consumes in excess of 290 GWh of electricity annually, representing over 3% of Northern Ireland’s total annual electricity consumption.

In addition, NI Water also owns and operates 100 MW of standby and renewable generation. With the electrification of transport and heat both set to place unprecedented

Eye on Infrastructure demands on Northern Ireland’s electricity infrastructure and with climate change threatening the environment that future generations will inherit, NI Water has been thinking ahead and is already taking significant steps to address future challenges. It wasn’t that long ago that opponents of renewable energy were suggesting that as little as 10% renewable generation penetration would make the electricity system unmanageable. Northern Ireland and NI Water have exceeded this notional limit by a considerable margin. Using a portfolio approach that includes self-generation, Power Purchase Agreements and procurement, 36% of the electricity consumed by NI Water is supplied from renewable sources and the company is well on track to achieving its’ demanding 40% renewable electricity mix target by 2020, not that NI Water plans to stop there. NI Water Chief Executive, Sara Venning explains, “NI Water considers sustainability and climate change mitigation as priorities that inform decisions on the future direction of the business and this is clearly evidenced by the company’s commitment to embedding sustainability and resilience into its strategic energy provision going forward. “The 5MW solar farm that serves the large Dunore Water Treatment Plant via a ‘private wire’ is a particularly relevant and recent example. Completed earlier this year, the solar farm at Dunore is NI Water’s single largest investment in renewable energy to date. The project was the culmination of a number of years of engagement with renewable energy developers and Northern Ireland Electricity Networks and not only does it reduce NI Water’s Carbon Footprint by 1,600 Tonnes CO2e per annum, the equivalent of taking over 340 cars off the road for a year, but it also cuts c. £500k off our annual electricity costs.” Northern Ireland is on the cusp of huge changes in the energy landscape. In the absence of renewable incentives, as renewable generation and battery storage costs continue to fall,

Dunore solar farm

“36% of the electricity consumed by NI Water is supplied from renewable sources and the company is well on track to achieving its’ demanding 40% renewable electricity mix

target by 2020.”

generation and consumption at source will become increasingly attractive for industrial consumers such as NI Water. Electricity demand is predicted to grow significantly in the coming years driven by increases in the electrification of transport and heat. However, if managed correctly, electric vehicle growth can go hand-in-hand with electricity decarbonisation, in fact, smart charging and vehicle-to-grid can actively support the decarbonisation of electricity. Regardless, for climate change mitigation purposes, local renewable electricity generation will have to increase above current penetration rates and in Northern Ireland those

renewable sources are likely to be intermittent wind and solar. In order to address the challenge of increasing and variable renewable penetration, a new strategy for planning electricity grid reinforcement is likely to be required. Previously the grid was strengthened and then generators connected, but looking forward, more innovative alternatives to this kind of network investment will need to be considered that increase speed of deployment and deliver cost savings to consumers. A ‘connect and manage’ approach is one such method to manage the transformation in local generation without threatening the integrity of the grid and increasing costs. The ultimate expression of this is the Smart Grid. The ‘Smart Grid’ is a bottom up approach that incrementally increases the intelligence of the grid to enable energy trading between generators and consumers regardless of size. A major benefit of this is that generation and grid service revenues are recycled and retained locally, basically by building a smarter network. Key to establishing a smarter network is demand side energy data and communications which is

relevant to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0. NI Water is investigating a trial of IoT technology, including Industry 4.0 gateways, to collect energy data remotely through wireless sensors and to explore Capacity & DS3 payment income opportunities through asset control. Asset control includes asset flex, where demand is flexed in response to market price signals. Such flexibility requires assets with smart control, secure remote connectivity and intelligent algorithms that maximise revenue and cost avoidance opportunities. Venning explains, “Given NI Water’s distributed range of assets, sizeable network connections and ongoing activity in the energy space, the company has an important role in managing demand and supply at a local distribution level as the Northern Ireland grid transitions to the Smart Grid of the future. NI Water has embraced this role and the necessity to become climate resilient. By delivering ambitious targets to reduce use, harnessing renewable energy, increasing income and lowering costs, NI water is demonstrating its World Class capability as a trusted provider of water services.”

Eye on Tax & Accounting

Eye on Tax & Accounting Lisa Canavan is a Senior Manager at ASM Chartered Accountants. In this article, Lisa gives an insight into her specialisms in advising her broad range of clients on the wide range of tax and financial issues they face.

What are your specialisms? I have gained extensive experience in a variety of areas including audit, taxation and management information systems. My tax experience covers corporate, personal and shareholder tax. Over the years my tax work has moved from mostly compliance work to now being mostly tax planning. I find this very satisfying being able to advise a wide range of individual and corporate clients on tax efficiency and how best to mitigate their tax liabilities, all within the letter of the law of course. I am also involved in conducting and managing audits including large and small group audits, and preparing financial statements for smaller limited companies. This aspect of my work enables me to have an in depth knowledge of my clients which in turn ensures I can give them the best possible advice.

What is important in your role?

Tell us about your role? Due to the nature of my role no two days in ASM are the same. The work is both enjoyable and challenging, and every day I come across new things. As a senior manager I have a lot of close contact with our clients and I am responsible for delivering work to them, whether compliance or advisory work. When working with Owner Managed Businesses (OMBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) I have to field a lot of questions from clients, from accounting and tax compliance

questions, to specific tax planning and corporate finance queries. Whilst this may seem daunting to some, the knowledge I have gained over the past 12 years has equipped me well to deal with such matters, but if there is something I need support or help with then the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directors will gladly spend the time to make sure we are giving the best advice to our clients. The challenges, demands and pressures of my role have provided me with a very rewarding and fulfilling career.

Being proactive and adding value to clients is important to me and something I try to focus on in every piece of work I do. I also try to instil this ethos in all our staff. This helps define goals and establish the structures, processes and relationships that enable our clients to achieve success. Developing staff and helping to train them to be rounded accountants is also a very important aspect of my role. Having been a trainee accountant (not too long ago!) I remember what it was like to come through the firm and learn from others around me. I was very fortunate that I had some great mentors when I was training and I would like to think that I can provide similar advice and guidance to our current and future trainees. I work along aside an excellent team and because of this the work life in ASM is a pleasure. We are all very passionate about what we do and team working brings out the best in each of us. As a dedicated team, we are constantly bouncing ideas off each other which makes every day a learning day in ASM.

What area of your work do you enjoy most? If I had to choose one area of my work which I get the most satisfaction from, it would have to be tax planning. Each assignment is uniquely different and can range from remuneration planning to Inheritance tax and Will planning, to corporate restructuring and dealing with HM Revenue & Customs in obtaining clearance applications. Looking back over the last 12 years it fills me with a sense of pride of what I have achieved and how I have grown. I have played a role in helping develop ASM into the successful firm it is today, and have been involved in the training of some wonderful staff who will be the leaders of the business in years to come. When you get great feedback from clients, you know you have given them a value service that they appreciate and has made a difference to them.

What does the future hold for you at ASM? I am still very ambitious and look forward to continuing developing myself and achieving more from my career with ASM. I would hope that in another 12 years I will be able to look back and think that I have continued to provide the same high levels of service and continued to provide a real added value to our clients.

In summary Tax and VAT can be a daunting and confusing subject. At ASM we have six offices across Ireland - Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry and it is our aim to make our clients accounting and tax affairs easier. Our 120 strong team specialises in a range of accountancy disciplines including VAT, Audit and Accounting, Business Consultancy, Corporate Finance, Forensic Accounting, Hotel and Tourism Consultancy, Internal Audit and Taxation Services. The content of this article is for information purposes only and advice particular to your circumstances should be sought from a professional advisor.

To contact Lisa Canavan, Senior Manager at ASM Chartered Accountants call (0) 2879 301777 or email lisa.canavan@asmmagherafelt.com www.asmaccountants.com

Eye on News

HEALTHY INVESTMENT CREATES 25 NEW JOBS AT BELFAST RESTAURANT A brand-new healthy eating focused restaurant has opened in Belfast City Centre.

tacks Healthy Kitchen has welcomed its customers to the 1,600 sq. ft unit at the trendy Soloist building, following an investment of £300,000, creating 25 new jobs. The new restaurant joins neighbour Caffe Nero at the modern office block, boosting the culinary offering at this part of the city. Fronted by James Deery, owner of Stacks Bistro on the Mallusk Road in Newtownabbey, Stacks Healthy Kitchen is set to provide a new approach to healthier eating. The restaurant will cater for all ages, offering a wide range of healthy meal options, to include lower calorie meals that will satisfy all tastes and lifestyle choices. The menu is perfectly designed for those aiming to achieve a healthier lifestyle, designing meals on the go, without compromising on flavour or price. There are also dishes on the menu that will include more indulgent meals to satisfy any food cravings or have a treat on ‘cheat day’. Features of the menu include the pick and mix breakfast box, lunch time specials, show time menu and the introduction of ‘BYOB’. There is a carefully designed protein packed shake menu, made with the finest and fresh ingredients, perfect for snacks or post work-out meals. The restaurant will serve coffee courtesy of Antrim company Wake Up and Taste, with a full selection of milk alternatives. In a bid to become more environmentally conscious, all take away boxes are 100% biodegradable. Stacks Healthy Kitchen owner, James Deery, said, “We are delighted to finally open Stacks

James Derry, Founder of Stacks Healthy Kitchen

Healthy Kitchen. This restaurant has been two years in the making and it is wonderful to see everything come together. The Soloist building was a prime location for us, with the newly rebranded ICC Belfast (Waterfront Hall) next door as well as Hilton Hotel, St George’s Market and a wide range of large companies located in our vicinity, we knew this would be a unique and exciting location. We are confident Stacks will be well received by the people of Belfast and we already have plans in place to bring the restaurant to other locations in Northern Ireland.” James added, “For us it is simple; we make healthier food that stacks up. We serve quality meals that are value for money, especially with our unlimited sandwich stacker deal. Our menu has been thoughtfully curated to address

everyone’s needs, assisting them to achieve their goals, however big or small. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, as well as more indulgent meals for the days when people feel like treating themselves. We are going to continually develop our menu, ensuring that all our customers are catered for.”

Stacks Healthy Kitchen will also be launching their own unique app which provides customers with the opportunity to opt for ‘fast-pass’ options, avoiding any queues in the process.

Eye on Insurance

Lockton extends world-class service to Northern Ireland’s SMEs

L to R - Brian Mullen & Kieran Hurley, Commercial Insurance Consultants, Lockton.

Building on their position as Northern Ireland’s largest commercial insurance brokerage, Lockton has shown significant investment in growing the brand outside of Belfast through the development of a team of Commercial Insurance Consultants located across the regions to execute the brand’s newest innovative insurance solution, Lockton Commercial.

eveloped to enable businesses of all sizes across Northern Ireland to take advantage of Lockton’s extensive industry expertise and buying power as well as their renowned one-toone customer service offering, Lockton Commercial will be geared toward the growing number of commercial businesses across Northern Ireland and led by a team of locally-based commercial team members who will report back Lockton’s team of over 80 members of staff in Belfast while providing on-the-ground support in the communities where their clients are based. “With over 130,000 small and medium enterprises located across Northern

Ireland, it’s safe to say that these businesses are the backbone of our economy” said Brian Mullen, Commercial Insurance Consultant, Lockton. “With a number of these businesses being family-owned and operated and located outside of Belfast, Lockton has pinpointed the unique needs of these organisations to develop an insurance product to fit their requirements and budgets.” While these small-medium enterprises dominate the business landscape in Northern Ireland, research from Lockton has revealed that a number of organisations are operating with insufficient insurance

coverage and outdated policies and are not keeping up with emerging threats to their organisations. “As threats to small businesses continue to evolve, many businesses are opting to bury their heads in the sand, ignoring new dangers like cybercrime or GDPR,” said Kieran Hurley, Commercial Insurance Consultant. “We have also found that organisations are operating with insufficient public liability limits or professional indemnity and directors and officers (D&O) coverage. Many organisations opt out of this coverage, seeing increasing insurance requirements as a way of insurers upselling to raise fees. In many cases, however, it will only take one incident to cripple an underinsured business.” Bridging their expertise gained from working for over 50 years with some of Northern Ireland’s largest corporations, Lockton are adapting their approach to client relations to smaller organisations to provide second-to-none service and aftercare for local businesses. “While many organisations may find a

budget insurance product online, when issues arise they often find that they have no point of contact to help navigate the intricacies of claims handling or offer meaningful advice,” said Brian Mullen “Through our traditional approach to insurance we act as an extension of these businesses’ small teams to ensure their needs are met and we have full understanding of their requirements.” “Due to the level on which many of our clients operate, Lockton has amassed a considerable buying power which is unparalleled by other Northern Ireland-based brokerages,” added Kieran Hurley. “Harnessing this power in our new Lockton Commercial offering, we are able to combine competitive rates with our traditional one-to-one support, in-house risk management service and sector-specific expertise to ensure customers of all sizes are receiving the same level of 24/7 bespoke groundlevel service, which has helped us to be Northern Ireland’s leading commercial insurance brokerage as we continue to work for our clients’ best interests.”

The next best thing to an in-house insurance team When was the last time you really looked at your business insurance cover? Lockton are a world-leading, privately owned local commercial insurance broker. Our knowledgeable, locally-based experts spend time getting to know you so they can make informed recommendations to help minimise risks aligned to your business. We know every business is different, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Lockton is the next best thing to an in-house insurance team.

Brian Mullen, Commercial Insurance Consultant, Lockton Call now on 028 9024 8989 or text â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Brianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to 87007 for a free, no obligation consultation.

Eye on Television

Waddell Media...

At The Leading Edge Of NIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TV Boom Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a relatively recent development that has seen Northern Ireland being hailed as a fast-growing location for television, film and the creative arts. And the importance of Games of Thrones, Line Of Duty and the other small screen successes based here has been well documented.

Eye on Television

annine Waddell and her husband and business partner David Cumming permit themselves a wry smile when Game of Thrones and creative industries boom is mentioned. Because Waddell Media has been making television programmes all over the world from their Holywood base for close to 30 years. Back then, Jannine’s late father Brian left his senior role at UTV in Belfast to chase his dream of making his own programmes and set up as a one-man band in Holywood. He quickly discounted the idea of making programmes about the Troubles, settling instead on some of his own passions... cookery, travel and music included. The company first major hit was the Gourmet Ireland cookery series featuring Paul & Jeanne Rankin and since then its output has been prodigious... the Over The Wall childrens series for BBC NI, DIY show Room For Improvement for the same channel, and Chasing Time, its first major US commission for National Geographic. Jannine Waddell returned from London, where her industry roles included one as Head of Travel Programmes for the BBC, along with Scottish-born husband David Cumming, also a highly experienced producer and TV executive, in 2003 to join forces with her father. “We had worked together on a number of programmes during our careers in London. Challenge Anneka is one that some people might remember...” says Janine. “Initially, David commuted on a weekly basis to and from Northern Ireand but we eventually decided to make the move and make it on a permanent basis.” Both Jannine and David are all too aware that they’re working in an industry that doesn’t stand still. “We have to re-invent ourselves all the time,” she adds. “What we do isn’t too complicated, but it is an ideas business. To put it simply, we come up with the ideas, we work those ideas up into firm proposals and we try to sell them to the television companies. Some of them make it onto the screen, but a lot of them don’t. That’s it in a nutshell, but there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears along the way.” In essence, Waddell Media is an independent production house producing programmes for three

“It’s important that we’ve been able to make the most of the Game Of Thrones phenomenon, but what’s even more important is that we have a steady stream of indigenous production companies coming through.”

distinct markets – Northern Ireland & the Republic of Ireland, the UK and international. In more recent years, Waddell’s prodigious output has included At Your Service, a hotel and guesthouse makeover series for RTE, now in its 11th series, Find Me A Home, a warts & all property market series also for RTE and the superb Chronicles Of Mourne for BBC Northern Ireland, a beautifully filmed series charting four seasons in the life of the Mourne Mountains. The company also produces Getaways, the weekly travel show produced for both RTE and BBC Northern Ireland. It’s even developed something of a niche in the world of hospitality. In addition to At Your Service, Waddell Media has produced programmes following life in three well-known Irish hotels – Belfast’s Merchant Hotel, the Shelbourne in Dublin and Killarney’s Gleneagle. All three are known as ‘deep access’ programmes... requiring a close working relationship

between the organisations themselves and the TV producers. And it has returned to its food roots more than once with a number of series of Paul & Nick’s Big Food Trip, featuring Paul Rankin and Nick Nairn. The latest series took the pair of celebrity chefs to New Zealand. Well away from the island of Ireland, the team at Waddell Media in Holywood is currently putting the finishing touches to a documentary programme for Channel 5 charting the celebrity meltdown of Britney Spears. And it has produced series such as The World’s Most Expensive Cars for Channel 4 and Million Dollar Car Hunters for American TV. “It’s fair to say that for every 50 ideas, five programmes might make it on to the screen,” adds David Cumming. “That’s something that we’re used to, but it can still be pretty disappointing when you believe in something, take it all the way to the final stages and then find out

that it’s not going to make it....” Both David Cumming and Jannine Waddell continue to travel to London and beyond on a regular basis to meet with key buyers in the television industry. They also bring them to Northern Ireland, something that the late Brian Waddell often didn’t have the luxury of doing back in the earlier days of the company. “This place has changed so much,” says Jannine Waddell. “Much has been said about the development of the creative industries here, and there’s no doubt that a heck of a lot has been achieved by Richard Williams, the team at NI Screen, and quite a few others. “It’s important that we’ve been able to make the most of the Game Of Thrones phenomenon, but what’s even more important is that we have a steady stream of indigenous production companies coming through.” Jannine Waddell is Chair of the Royal Television Society’s NI Awards Committee and Chair of Women In Film & TV in Northern Ireland. Both Waddell and Cumming are quick to point out that the technology behind the industry is changing... and that it’s changing fast. “The very latest smartphones are capable of capturing some very high quality video these days, and that is something of a game changer,” he says. “But, if it’s another challenge on the horizon, we’re used to that kind of thing. There are always plenty of challenges in this industry.”

Eye on Venues

ICC Belfast...

New Era Begins For Award Winning Venue With the international conference market targeted to deliver ÂŁ100 million for Belfast by 2021, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no surprise that the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier venue has to keep moving fast to stay on the ball.

Eye on Venues

ust last month, Belfast Waterfront, the multi-million pound conference and events centre on the banks of the River Lagan, officially became ICC (International Convention Centre) Belfast....in direct response to customer research that showed that the Waterfront brand might work here at home, but counted for little amongst international buyers. And those international buyers, known in the business as Professional Conference Organisers or PCOs, are a key constituency, as ICC Belfast’s Managing Director Catherine Toolan explains. “We have to compete on a day to day basis with international conference centres in other parts of these islands and all over the world, and we believe that this repositioning of our brand is a crucial step on the journey to realising the full potential of this fantastic venue.” The £29.5 million 7,000 sq.ft purpose built conference venue was unveiled two years ago, made possible by funding from Belfast City Council, Tourism NI and the European Regional Development Fund. Since then, it has attracted a steady stream of major international conferences and events to the city. This autumn, it was given a major boost with a double win of award wins at the C&IT (Conference & Incentive Travel) Awards held at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London. At the industry’s top awards, ICC Belfast picked up Best Venue while Belfast as a city was named as Best Event Destination. “We managed to beat off competition from Kuala Lumpur, Rotterdam and the London Excel so it shows that we are able to compete and succeed against the very best venues in much larger cities around the world, and that’s really encouraging for us as a team,” adds Catherine. Among the highlights of the period since the venue opened its doors has been the annual Royal College of Nursing Conference which brought upwards of 5,000 delegates to Belfast, a number of specialist medical conference events and the BBC Radio 2 Folk Music Awards. Catherine recently flew to Seville to fly the Belfast flag at the Professional

Conference Management Association conference. “PCOs don’t just manage the day to day planning and the running of big conference events. They also recommend venues and cities to their clients, and that’s what makes them an important market for us.” Catherine and a sales and marketing team headed up by Oonagh O’Reilly work on the kind of timelines that most of us would be unfamiliar with. They’re already talking to conference professionals about events being planned for 2028 and 2029. And the sales effort, as reflected on ICC Belfast’s excellent new website, isn’t just about the venue and what it can offer event organisers. “It’s about air access, it’s about hotels here in Belfast, it’s about entertainment and what the city can offer delegates,” adds Catherine. To date, the city has been scoring highly with those delegates. “They love the city, its people, its bars, restaurants and other attractions. The feedback we get is really, really positive. “Our sales team do have to look at a very long pipeline, but that’s the nature of the business. The key thing for us is to be able to convert potential business in that pipeline into actual events here in Belfast.” The ICC Belfast team works closely alongside key partners. In particular, it has a close working relationship with both Tourism NI and Visit Belfast. But it also counts the city’s burgeoning number of hotels amongst its key allies. Catherine, not surprisingly, warmly welcomes the fact that the city has seen a number of important new hotels opening over the past 12 months or so, including the Grand Central, the Maldron and the Hampton by Hilton in the city centre. The ICC Belfast Managing Director is quick to emphasise that the venue isn’t all about large-scale internationally mobile events. “Domestic, locally-run events are just as important to us. We host quite a number of business awards and other events right through the year,” she adds. “And we’re very aware that everyone who attends an event at this venue is a potential ambassador for ICC Belfast and the city as a whole.”

That said, international events are a major focus for a very simple reason. It’s estimated that each and every inbound delegate, on average, contributes £488 per day to the local economy....to hotels, pubs, restaurants, even taxis. “Our catchline has always been that when we win, everyone wins. And there really is a lot of truth in that.” Catherine tells the story of two recent Canadian conference visitors whose Uber driver took them to his favourite Belfast pub for drinks and a meal and spent a day showing them the sights of Belfast and beyond.....for a lot less than they expected to pay. “It’s not just a popular myth that the people here at friendly. They really are and they appreciate visitors coming to Belfast. More often than not, they’ll go the extra mile like the Uber driver in the story. There aren’t many cities like this one.” The venue recently played host to the European Healthy Cities Conference and it’s looking forward to hosting a wide variety of forthcoming events, including the Network of European Museum Organisations, the Irish League of Credit Unions and the return visit of the British Orthopaedic Association. It’s important to note that the venue itself, with its flexible spaces

and state of the art technology plays an important role in ensuring that top events come here. “We have to be professional and we have to be able to cope with just about any technical requirement that our conference customers might have,” says Catherine. She welcomes the recent Budget announcement of the £350 million Belfast City Deal on the basis that any major investment in infrastructure in the city has to benefit the international sales effort. “Access is vital for us so it would have been nice to see a move on air passenger duty or a preferential rate of VAT for hospitality, but the City Deal is certainly welcome.” While the conferencing brand has become ICC Belfast, the venue’s live entertainment brand retains the original identity, Waterfront Hall. “There’s a difference between international delegates attending conferences in the ICC and local people coming to concerts and other live performances in the auditorium. So we felt it was very important for the Waterfront Hall to retain its local identity.” In fact, Catherine and her team are responsible for ICC Belfast, the Waterfront Hall and the Ulster Hall in Bedford Street... three very distinctly different venues serving the city in very different ways.

Eye on News

Nitec: Celebrating 20 Years as a Leading IT Partner for Northern Ireland SMBs Sharing a milestone anniversary with the global search giant Google, Nitec Solutions has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2018.

he occasion was celebrated in style, with the team enjoying a well-earnt weekend break at the luxurious Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen. The Antrim-based IT company has been the leading IT partner for many small to medium businesses in Northern Ireland since 1998, covering a broad range of services including cloud computing, software development and unified communications. With a team today of almost 50 staff, Nitec has gone from strength to strength since starting off as a one-man operation 23 years ago in 1995 when owner, and now Managing Director, Nigel Mulholland, set up the business in the back of a (very well-equipped) white van. After building a client base across all over Northern Ireland over three years, Nigel decided to

merge with another company, expanding from a one-man band to a quartet to become Nitec Solutions Ltd. October 2018 marks the celebration of 20 years in the business since that merge. Commenting on the milestone Nigel remarked “what thrills me most about where Nitec is today is not the size of our customer base, the size of our turnover or even the way we are frequently recognised in the industry for our technical innovation and unique style of customer care. It’s that the ethos and spirit of those early endeavours lives on in our enthusiastic and competent staff team – a team who never hesitate to do the right thing for our customers in pursuit of the kind of cyber security and business productivity measures that makes a real difference to so many small and medium enterprises

L-R Michael Hutchinson, Operations Director; Nigel Mulholland, Managing Director; and Gavin Woods, Business Development Director

headquartered in Northern Ireland.” Nitec Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Partner with Gold competencies across Office 365 and Azure including Windows and Devices, Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions, Cloud Productivity and Cloud Platform.

For more information, call us on 028 9442 7000 or email solutions@nitec.com

Eyeon Commercial Property

Eye on Commercial Property

Brick by Brick: Building Major Deals in Northern Ireland Last month we witnessed the sale of the iconic Metro Building in Belfast city centre as the office complex was purchased in excess of its £21 million asking price.

he deal is one of the biggest Northern Ireland has seen this year and is a prime example of the great opportunity Belfast’s office sector presents to investors at present

which is reflected in strong office take up performance during 2018. The Metro Building is a landmark Grade A office building, which stands nine stories high in the city centre and includes two

levels of underground parking. The property was originally developed in 2003 and is home to a number of high-profile tenants. Given the nature and scale of the investment, completing commercial property deals can appear complex and successfully completing such a transaction requires a collaborative approach taking in expertise across the board - from the support of local property agents to

individuals providing financial and tax advice. To help demonstrate what it takes to complete a deal of this nature, we speak to a number of the key players involved in the sale and acquisition of the Metro Building namely First Trust Bank who provided acquisition finance, business advisers BDO Northern Ireland, Lisney who acted as selling agent, and Tughans who provided legal advice.

Clare Stokes Corporate Acquisitions Manager, First Trust Bank

Clare Stokes has been with First Trust Bank since 2015 and now leads the bank’s property acquisition team, with the Bank providing funding to a number of local operators in both the residential and commercial property sectors.

lare has ten years of experience in corporate banking and corporate finance advisory roles and is also a qualified chartered accountant. “While the sale of the Metro Building is one of our largest office property transactions in recent years, it comes after a strong year for the Bank in the commercial property sector as a whole. First Trust Bank initially became involved in the Metro Building transaction through an introduction

by Nicky Finnieston at Lisney who was acting as the selling agent. While the Bank was introduced to the competitive tender process at a late stage, we were delighted to be selected by the purchaser as their chosen funder for this acquisition. We believe that our experience and expertise in relation to property lending helped tip the scales in our favour, as well as our strategic and collaborative approach to transactions of this nature.

The Metro Building is defined by its prime location in Belfast’s central business district and because of this, it was subject to an incredibly competitive bidding process and the final price achieved was in excess of the original asking price. First Trust Bank was delighted to provide the finance to allow the purchaser to avail of this exciting office investment opportunity. We believe that what also set our approach apart was the timeframe in which we were able to deliver our support. The transaction was

“Experience and expertise in relation to property lending helped tip the scales in our favour, as well as our strategic and collaborative approach to transactions of this nature.” delivered in an incredibly short timescale of less than six weeks which required an exceptional collaborative approach from all parties involved. We worked closely with Lisney, BDO NI and Tughans, acting

“The transaction was delivered in an incredibly short timescale of less than six weeks which required an exceptional collaborative approach from all parties involved.”

on their advice and information to inform our due diligence, ensuring the most efficient experience for the purchaser. Everyone involved went the extra mile to make this unique, high calibre transaction happen. First Trust Bank is keen to continue to play a key role in Northern Ireland’s reenergised commercial property market by way of both financial support and expert advice. This transaction is reflective of our core agenda which is to support well located and high quality assets as part of a long-term funding partnership with the promoters. Our desire is not simply to offer transactional funding, but instead we strive to become an established long-term funding partner to each of our customers and in turn support the growth of Northern Ireland commercial property market.”

Eye on Commercial Property

David McAleese Partner, Tughans David McAleese is a partner at Tughans law firm, specialising in property finance and restructuring. David has been involved in property and corporate finance transactions and solvent and insolvent restructurings across Northern Ireland and England, acting for major lenders as well as significant property developers and investment funds.

e have a long-standing relationship with the buyer of the Metro Building having worked with them closely across a number of other assets in their portfolio. Due to the size and scale of the Metro Building transaction, they came to Tughans to avail of our extensive expertise, with a three-week turnaround period, the buyer wanted swift, commercially focused advice and we were delighted to support the transaction for First Trust Bank. While the Metro Building project was demanding, it was also incredibly rewarding. We worked hand in hand with the other parties involved, capitalising on the advantages gained through teamwork and joined-up thinking – with both the bank and

“Building relationships with peers and other experts is therefore key to delivering deals like this successfully.” the borrower together. By adopting such a collaborative approach, we help clients maximise the value of their assets – be it their property, people or reputation - to ensure that those assets are protected, and competitive advantage enhanced. The local office market has been increasingly attractive to local and international investors in recent years. The recovery of market demand since the crash

demonstrates the opportunities that now exist for both investors and developers. In this regard, our dedicated Real Estate team, which is the largest in Northern Ireland, continues to play a key role, along with our property finance team, in schemes such as the Soloist, River House and Bedford House to name but a few. The Real Estate team, headed up by David Jones, have been involved in almost all the student accommodation projects in Belfast over recent years, developing an unparalleled expertise in complex forward funding transactions, that is now leading into the rapidly growing build to rent sector. The team’s multi-jurisdictional capabilities have also led to a

significant amount of high value work in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, for both local NI and international clients over recent years. This experience has also proved invaluable for our clients in using structures that have never been used in NI before. Whilst responding to change and developing new structures is essential, some fundamental principles remain constant. At Tughans our two main principles are - ‘people do business with people’ and - our service must exceed expectations. Building relationships with peers and other experts is therefore key to delivering deals like this successfully, with our focus firmly fixed on the commercial objectives of our clients.

Eye on Commercial Property John Young Advisory Director, Niall Brady, Senior Manager in Wealth Management and Paul McCourt Tax Principal, BDO Northern Ireland The acquisition of the Metro Building involved several members of BDO Northern Ireland’s specialised real estate team. John Young has been an Advisory Director at BDO Northern Ireland for over ten years and has over 25 years’ commercial experience across practice and industry. Niall Brady is a Senior Manager in the Wealth Management practice, specialising in property investment and has been with BDO Northern Ireland for over 15 years and Paul McCourt has been with the firm for 13 years and is a Principal in the Tax Department.

“T

he team at BDO Northern Ireland works with many large privately-owned property, global investors, SMEs and entrepreneurs. We guide clients when buying, selling, developing and asset managing property portfolios. As audit, tax, and consulting advisers, we aim to provide swift resolution to issues and challenges - from acquisitions and funding, to family business and succession matters as well as real estate tax and other incentives. Together, we aim to leverage that experience and provide customers with unique insight into the market conditions in Northern Ireland and further afield. Our role within the acquisition of the Metro Building was to provide advice on funding, review the key property financials (including research on tenancy covenants) and advise on structuring the purchase in a tax efficient manner. We have

“The acquisition of the Metro Building has been one of the most significant office investments this year and the expertise and speed of delivery by all the professional firms involved has also made it one of the smoothest.”

been working with the Purchaser over the last five years on various transactions to provide advice and support across funding, opportunity appraisals and real estate tax and were naturally delighted to support them on this substantial transaction. We brought together a wide team

of experts internally across our specialisms, including Tax, Wealth Management and Advisory, to work together and ensure a robust service to the client. Our team was involved from the Purchaser’s initial interest in the Metro Building, providing ongoing support and advice at each step of the process through to completion and this will continue in the ongoing management of the Purchaser’s wider portfolio of commercial assets. Natural collaborators within our own business teams, we appreciate the requirement to work together with other professional services companies to deliver for our clients. In this case, we worked closely with both agents, Lisney and Osborne King, First Trust Bank as the agreed lender, and with Tughans the legal advisors. Our strong connections with all these professionals and detailed knowledge and experience with the

Purchaser enabled a much more streamlined process, ensuring the swift completion of the acquisition as required by the seller’s timetable. The acquisition of the Metro Building has been one of the most significant office investments this year and the expertise and speed of delivery by all the professional firms involved has also made it one of the smoothest.”

“Our strong connections with all these professionals and detailed knowledge and experience with the Purchaser enabled a much more streamlined process.”

Eye on Commercial Property

Nicky Finnieston Director, Lisney Nicky has been with Lisney since 2006 and after developing his strong credentials in Northern Ireland’s retail property market, was promoted to Director in 2013, taking overall responsibility for the firm’s investment department. Nicky has been involved in some of Northern Ireland’s largest investment deals including the recent sale of Obel 63 to Belfast Harbour.

“L

isney is the largest independent firm of commercial property consultants in Ireland and our Belfast office is staffed by a team of 30, specialising in office, retail, leisure and industrial property acquisition, disposal and investment. Over the last few years, we have focused on growing our credentials in the local investment market and I’m pleased to say this strategy is paying off having transacted over £55m of commercial property investment transactions in 2018 - roughly half of the total volumes for NI so far this year. I’m proud to say that Lisney has been instrumental in attracting investors to NI having transacted a number of maiden deals in the province for international investors

“There is a positive narrative around prime office space in Belfast, with strong occupier demand and significant rental growth in recent years.”

including Tristan Capital Partners, Chenavari, Ellandi and Corum. We had been involved in discussions with the Metro Building purchaser on previous sales and as an active investor in the local market, we included them on the targeted marketing campaign for Metro, alongside national and international property companies

and investment funds. We have a strong connection with the site having acted for the vendor when it was bought originally, agreeing the first lettings, and managing the building itself. When the previous owner made the decision to market the building for sale, we joined forces with Osborne King as joint agents. We worked closely with Osborne King throughout the process, providing detailed advice to the vendor on values and sale strategy, co-ordinating our approach to the marketing, viewings, negotiations and closing date. Communication was imperative to this, and once the sale was agreed, we were in contact with First Trust Bank, BDO NI and Tughans, assisting them in their pre-purchase due diligence. There is a positive narrative around

prime office space in Belfast, with strong occupier demand and significant rental growth in recent years. The commercial property market in Belfast has seen prime rents move from £15 per sq. ft to £21.50 over recent years, and with a number of office schemes in the pipeline where rental expectations will be upwards of £23 per sq. ft. As the largest commercial property investment deal so far in 2018, the sale of the Metro Building reflects the strong appetite for investment in local office space not only from indigenous investors, but from national and international property companies and investment funds. It also acts a useful benchmark for the industry in terms of pricing for similar assets given the lack of supply of prime office investment product in the last number of years.”

Eye on Commercial Property

One Eighty Restaurant among those ‘Served up’ £850K

Paolina Hawthorne, Founder, Diversity NI Ltd; Sarah Travers, awards host; Barry Phillips, Chair of Legal-Island, organisers of the awards; Tina McKenzie, CEO of Grafton Recruitment Ireland; and Ciara Fulton, Senior Partner, Jones Cassidy Brett.

A £1million community fund which provides small, unsecured loans to social enterprises and charities has committed £850K to 36 groups in Northern Ireland in just 18 months.

eneficiaries of the fund have been drawn from right across Northern Ireland with loans ranging from £1,000 to £25,000. Organisations supported include Step by Step which runs the One Eighty restaurant in Portadown to provide hospitality training for young people with learning difficulties. Since opening in 2011 the awardwinning restaurant has provided training to dozens of young people, while offering a comprehensive value-for-money menu to the public. The Building Better Futures fund provided its support at a time when the business could not realistically have secured mainstream support. The backers of the Building Better Futures fund, a unique collaboration between three local charities (Belfast Charitable Society, Building Change Trust and the Ulster Community

Investment Trust UCIT), believe the success of the fund points to a clear gap in the Northern Ireland loan market. Nigel Hampton, Director, Step by Step, said: “Without the support of the Building Better Futures fund, One Eighty was facing closure after the loss of a major funder. 75% of our trainees move on to sustainable employment and the remainder take up other training provision or alternative day opportunities. This is a vital service for young people and it would have been disastrous for them if the restaurant had closed. “The restaurant is very popular, serving 300 paying customers every week. The loan has been instrumental in helping restructure accumulated historic debt into manageable repayments and aiding cash flow. It has also allowed us to focus

on improving income generation and returning the charity to a surplus position.” Paula Reynolds, CEO, Belfast Charitable Society, which has been tackling disadvantage since 1752, said: “Interest in the Building Better Futures fund has exceeded all our expectations and points to a gap in the loan market for smaller, unsecured facilities. “The groups assisted by the fund deliver vital social benefits for local communities, but also provide significant relief to public services which would otherwise need to intervene more regularly to help those who require support.” One of the One Eighty trainees, Ben, added: “During my three years at the restaurant I’ve learned barista skills, how to prepare and serve food, as well as health and safety essentials. Through the course I’ve also secured a work placement and studied English and Maths. “I now have hospitality skills and employment opportunities which just wouldn’t have been available if it wasn’t for the support of One Eighty’s brilliant staff.”

The fund has also provided £25,000 to create a role-play based centre in Derry-Londonderry, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. Operated by ‘Kidz Playtime’, the centre’s profits will help subsidise counselling services for local children and young people. Building Better Futures provides funds for a wide range of purposes including buildings and repairs, equipment purchase, energy efficiency and addressing shortfalls in larger grant assisted projects. The fund is managed by the Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT) which operates a number of funds that have supported over 400 charities and community organisations with loan commitments totalling £80million since 2001. The third partner in the Fund, Building Change Trust, was established by the Big Lottery Fund with a National Lottery grant of £10million with a vision to support a strong, independent and innovative Third Sector. Further information regarding the Fund is available by contacting UCIT on 028 9031 5003 or visiting www.ucitltd.com

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Eye on Commercial Property

One year on: The Northern Ireland Investment Fund By William Church, Senior Director at CBRE Capital Advisors

Since launching a development fund in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the year, focused on financing real estate, low carbon and infrastructure projects, we have been hugely impressed by one thing; diversity.

he applications for funding we have received over the last year have covered a huge variety of sectors, from hotels and offices to tourism projects and town centre regeneration, ranging in size from £4m to over £50m. All of these have been reviewed with interest and enthusiasm by the Fund Managers. The diversity of the type of developers operating in different parts of the country has also been evident, providing a rich pipeline of potential projects that will contribute to the long-term transformation of the region. What hasn’t been a surprise is the lack of debt liquidity in the market to go alongside the relatively liquid supply of equity, one of the principal factors to have stalled these projects for so long. Northern Ireland is typified in many sectors and geographies by the owner operator model, which has become more difficult to finance following the introduction of new banking regulations

and the subsequent tightening of lending parameters in the aftermath of the GFC. There is no doubting however that this model contributes hugely to the economic strength of the country which provides a compelling case to support such business. At the other end of the spectrum, there are very large developments that are also struggling to attract funding in the current market and the non-delivery of these has severely hampered the region’s economy. The first loan that the Fund made earlier this year, a £22.5m senior debt facility for the Merchant Square development serves to highlight this. Speculative development of this type has been rare in Belfast. Despite this, the scheme is attracting high levels of occupier interest. We are coming to the end of the first year for the Fund and have already invested 30% of the initial allocation having recently closed our second loan. We are looking forward to the first half of next year when we expect to announce

a suite of additional loans to fund the development of hotels, high-tech research facilities, energy efficiency and industrial infrastructure with employment space in a variety of locations across the country. Our experience of running similar funds across the UK is that the first year seldom yields results as borrowers take time to fully understand the offering and adapt their projects to suit. However, there has been no such time lag in Northern Ireland. Developers of all types of schemes have been quick to understand the flexibility of the Fund and commit their own equity to them. Despite such a strong start for the Fund, we still have capital available for a wide variety of projects including low carbon and energy generation, operational real estate schemes and traditional employment use projects and we are welcoming further applications. www. northernirelandinvestmentfund.com

Eye on Communications

What makes your employees stay? Camilla and Sarah host a company workshop at GRAHAM Group.

The most recent quarterly economic survey from the Northern Ireland Chamber highlighted the fact that “the biggest concern for businesses continues to be the difficulties they face when trying to access skills.”

n this environment, it’s more important than ever to focus on the team you already have. Making every team member feel valued, and giving everyone opportunities to develop and progress are the key drivers of an engaged workforce, according to survey after survey. But balancing the development needs of the employee with shareholder growth ambitions is not an easy puzzle to solve. That’s where Bespoke Communications comes in. Sarah Travers and Camilla Long founded the company in August 2015, recognising the importance of communication skills in today’s corporate environment. Now into their fourth year in business, Bespoke Communications has worked with over 1,500 people in organisations in the public, private and third sectors. Their core business is training and leadership development. They help client-facing staff to represent themselves and their company with assurance and professionalism, they

help technical teams to get better results out of client projects and they help leaders within organisations to think differently about how they communicate with their teams. “It comes down to empowering each team member to step up and take on responsibilities they may not otherwise feel equipped for”, says Sarah Travers, company co-founder. “As people grow into senior roles, there is no skill more important than the ability to influence stakeholders inside and outside the organisation. Influence is the source of real growth and scaling”. Bespoke Communications, as the name suggests, develop training interventions tailored to the individual client’s need. They work with sales, marketing and communications departments and HR teams to identify their skills gaps, and then they develop workshops to suit the client. Some recent bespoke workshops from the Bespoke Communications duo include ‘Getting to Yes’, a communication

and influencing programme for client relationships, ‘Powerful Presentations’ to help sales team to present effectively at industry events, and ‘Taking control of the customer conversation’, helping project managers to keep their cool in the hot seat with demanding customers. They can achieve results with as little as a single workshop, or they are positioned to offer a deep dive into your thorniest staff development problems with a personal development programme delivered over several months. Private sector clients range from large corporates like PwC and GRAHAM Group to SME businesses located in every town in Northern Ireland. Paul McElvaney, Chief Executive Officer of Derry-based Learning Pool said “Bespoke Communications have been a great partner for Learning Pool over several years. By working with them we’re able to target the right training that addresses real business issues and help our team develop their skills. Delegate feedback is always hugely positive and we see tangible business improvements every time”. Now backed by private equity company Carlyle Cardinal Ireland, Learning Pool has almost doubled their workforce in the last two years. Growth at this rate cannot happen without investing in the team, so Learning Pool has commissioned Bespoke Communications to develop the

sales, pitching and presentation skills of existing and new team members. As well as work with Northern Ireland’s leading organisations, Sarah and Camilla have developed relationships with companies in the wider UK, including a contract with leading public sector advisor, Local Partnerships. As a trusted partner to almost all of the local authorities in England and Wales, Local Partnerships was keen to build their profile and encourage their staff to take on speaking engagements they might otherwise avoid. Caroline Hampden-White, Head of Marketing & Communications said of her contract with Bespoke Communications, “Sarah and Camilla have done a fantastic job with our team. In the first instance, they worked with us to deliver a high-level business presentation skills training programme. After this, they worked with us on a tailored business development programme for dozens of our senior people. It has been a pleasure to work with them and we’ve been very impressed with the results of their work.” Lead generation from speaking engagements increased for Local Partnerships following this investment. It’s impossible to speak about staff retention and investment in skills without mentioning one of the hottest topics in HR today – the millennial employee. According to a recent report from FinTrU, one of Bespoke Communications fastgrowing clients, millennials are “always striving for growth and progression at whatever they are doing, making them strong self-actualizers”. So how can you unlock this employee potential in the first place, and make sure that those skilled team members are motivated to deliver their best in the workplace? Microlearning in the form of bitesize workshops on a range of topics can help to build confidence and open mindsets to new challenges, a learning format for which Bespoke Communications is seeing increased demand. So whilst employee retention is an activity that constantly morphs and changes between companies and over time, Bespoke Communications clients all have something in common. Investing in staff development helps them to not only boost productivity, it also makes sure that their teams feel invested in and empowered to take the bold steps they need to continue to grow.

Eye on Awards

MARKETING PROFESSION CELEBRATED AT CIM IRELAND MARKETING AWARDS

Winners of the Best New Product, Business or Service Launch, sponsored by Mintel, was Translink for the Belfast Glider launch. L-R: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; James Wilson, Mintel; Elaine McCann, Norman Maynes and Carol Lundy, Translink & Cate Conway, Q Radio.

Translink, CDE Global and The Public Health Agency were among the winners at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)’s prestigious Ireland Marketing Awards. The winners were judged by an esteemed panel of experts, including Nicky Jackson, deputy head of local campaigns for the Cabinet Office, and Ann McGregor FCIM, CEO of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

he awards were held at Titanic Belfast and hosted by CIM, the world’s leading professional marketing body, with partners The Marketing Trust. The ceremony highlighted the new face of marketing, with digital innovation and multichannel customer experience at the forefront of this year’s winning campaigns. Digital Twenty Four scooped the prestigious ‘Agency of the Year’ title for its unrivalled performance in delivering marketing excellence for clients. Star campaigns include the Public Health Agency’s #NotSorryMums and Ardmore’s Translink Christmas.

Employers for Childcare, InspecVision Ltd and Velocity Worldwide were also winners on the night. Marketing manager Lauren Campbell was recognised as ‘Marketer of the Year’ for her professionalism and the outstanding business achievements she delivered for Victoria Square. On the night, Chris Daly, chief executive of CIM, addressed the finalists by saying: “We are here tonight to recognise and celebrate the insight, creativity and impact Irish marketers are having on the world. With the hunt for Ireland’s best marketer almost complete, tonight we will celebrate and crown the

The CIM Ireland Marketing Team of the Year, sponsored by PML, was awarded to CDE Global. Pictured with the team from CDE Global are: (far left) Stephen Clements, Q Radio; (centre) Darren Jackson from PML and (far right) Cate Conway, Q Radio.

Winners of the Cause Related Marketing Award - The Public Health Agency.

very best our sector has to offer.” “I am delighted that the Marketing Trust, which has provided invaluable support to the industry, has joined forces with us in Ireland for the first time, to highlight the advantage marketing can provide in today’s increasingly competitive – and often uncertain – business environment.” Discussing the night, Eileen Curry, Chair of CIM Ireland, said: “It was a hugely successful night. It’s clear that the role of the marketer is becoming more demanding, competitive and varied as it expands to encompass data analysis, commercial awareness, business development and customer

experience. Our winners have demonstrated the enormous value that marketing brings to a business or an organisation, particularly during these times of immense change. I would like to offer my congratulations to all who made it to the finals; they reflect the very best in marketing talent and I’d also like to thank our founding partner, The Marketing Trust, who help make these awards possible.” The CIM Ireland Marketing Awards are a celebration of the very best marketing innovations, interventions and campaigns crafted by organisations, businesses and agencies from across Ireland.

Eye on Awards

The award for Creative Industries Marketing, sponsored by Titanic Hotel and Titanic Belfast, went to the Ulster Orchestra. Pictured are: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Eimear Lewis, Titanic Belfast; Miriam Crozier and Michelle Baird, Ulster Orchestra; Yvonne McIlree, Titanic Hotel and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

The award for Professional Services Marketing, Sponsored by Baker McKenzie, went to The Irish News. Pictured are: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Joe Nugent and John Brolly, Irish News; Eleanor Gilliland, Baker McKenzie; Shannon Doyle, Orla Rafferty, Orla Rafferty and Lauren Hughes, Irish News and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

The Hotels, Leisure, Events, Travel and Tourism Sector award, sponsored by Corporate AV Hire, went to Velocity Worldwide. Pictured are: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Amy Martin, Velocity Worldwide; Andy Murray, Corporate AV Hire and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

The Public Sector Marketing Award went to Ardmore: Translink Christmas. Pictured are: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Norman Maynes and Paul Bowen, Translink; Chris Daly, CEO of CIM; Carol Lundy, Translink and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

FULL LIST OF 2018 WINNERS: Digital Twenty Four

InspecVision Ltd

Agency of the Year

Most Marketing Impact on a Small Budget

CDE Global Marketing Team of the Year Lauren Campbell, Victoria Square Marketer of the Year Translink Technology Marketing Sector Award winner was Yelo Limited. Pictured are: Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Dylan Burke, Yelo Ltd; Chris Daly, CEO of CIM and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

Best New Product, Business or Service Launch

Not for Profit Campaign/Marketing The Irish News Professional Services Marketing Ardmore Public Sector Marketing

Public Health Agency

DIGG Childrenswear

Cause Related Marketing

Retail Campaigning

Ulster Orchestra

Yelo Limited

Creative Industries Marketing

Technology Marketing

Federation of Master Builders

Thomas Doran

Marketing in Construction, Engineering and other

CIM Ireland Studying Member of the Year

Manufacturing Sectors Velocity Worldwide CIM Ireland Marketer of the Year, sponsored by Future of Marketing, was awarded to Lauren Campbell of Victoria Square, who is pictured with Stephen Clements, Q Radio; Peter Craven, of Future of Marketing and Cate Conway, Q Radio.

Employers for Childcare

Digital Twenty Four Chairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award for Best Campaign

Marketing in Hotels, Leisure, Events, Travel and Tourism Sectors

Eye on Enterprise

ABC Council rolls out 2018 Enterprise Week!

Pictured at the launch of this year’s Enterprise Week (L-R) is David Acheson, Strategic Development and Finance Director, Ulster Carpets, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, and Colleen Casey, Business Advisor, Bank of Ireland.

With an entrepreneurial culture already wellembedded in the borough of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC), prospects look good for strong and sustainable economic growth for the region, as ABC Council gets ready to host its third annual Enterprise Week this November.

ith a population of 210,300 and covering an area of 554 square miles, the borough of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon is the second largest council

area in Northern Ireland (NI). Accounting for 10 per cent of NI’s total Gross Value Added (GVA), which represents an economy of over £3 billion, it is fair to say the region is an increasingly

important contributor to the NI economy. Its 123,000 strong workforce serves over 8,000 businesses, some of whom are NI’s largest and most successful companies including Moy Park, Almac, Thompson Aero Seating, Interface, Irwins, Whites, HysterYale and Tayto to name a few. With such a renowned reputation for enterprise, ABC Council is committed to fostering the region’s competitive advantage in order to drive its continual economic growth. Now with its third annual Enterprise Week about to get underway – which runs from

12 to 16 November in tandem with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) – ABC Council is proving its commitment to inspire, connect and engage with the business community. Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Julie Flaherty, commented, “Enterprise Week represents our strategic push to provide a framework to help businesses flourish. We’re using the week to inspire businesses and entrepreneurs to take the next step along their business journey.

Eye on Enterprise “Our borough is already home to some of Northern Ireland’s best known manufacturing, agri-food and pharmaceutical companies, and we want to ensure we maintain this reputation and encourage others to create new companies and employment opportunities.” Sponsored by Bank of Ireland, the week-long programme will see a range of inspirational and informative events take place across the borough, and it will also act as a platform to showcase local success stories and give businesses easy access to funders, advisors and support programmes. Local enterprise agencies, including CIDO Ltd, Banbridge District Enterprise Ltd, Mayfair Business Centre, Armagh Business Centre and Brownlow Ltd will also be hosting drop-in clinics and offering advice and guidance on programmes, which help turn business ideas into reality. Supporting enterprise and growth across urban and rural areas, these centres offer assistance to a wide and diverse range of sectors including food, manufacturing, engineering, retail, digital technology, pharmaceutical and service sectors.

A borough for business Taking advantage of its strategic location on the Belfast-Dublin corridor and excellent transport links, the borough is proving itself as the ideal location for investors to relocate and serve both the Northern and Southern markets. It is already home to a large number of multi-national businesses and ABC Council wants to continue this trend by attracting greater investment as well as encouraging further indigenous business start-ups. By partnering up with Young Enterprise NI and Southern Regional College during its Enterprise Week, ABC Council is highlighting its ambition to foster its future business leaders to drive greater and more sustainable economic growth across the region. “We are officially Northern Ireland’s best place to live and work, which will come as no surprise with our affordable housing, low commuting times,

high employment, low crime rates, good schools and local services”, comments Roger Wilson, Chief Executive of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. “Regarded as a hub for the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and agri-food sectors, our borough has a diverse, vibrant and thriving business community and we are committed to supporting and growing this unique selling point to realise our full economic potential. “Enterprise Week provides the perfect platform for local businesses large and small to benefit from tailored support, while also getting the chance to network, collaborate and innovate. We very much look forward to entrepreneurs, startups and businesses joining us at Enterprise Week and helping them along their way in achieving new heights of business success.”

Global opportunities With a strong international focus, the region of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon has gained a name for being open for business on a local and global scale, which is why ABC Council’s Enterprise Week in conjunction with Global Enterprise Week (GEW) is so important to growing the local economy. GEW allows a global network of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and researchers around the world to participate in experiential learning opportunities simultaneously, bringing together nearly 10 million people in 170 different countries. This alignment to GEW, highlights ABC Council’s ambitions to encourage and support local businesses to access global markets. Enterprise Week will also showcase the many successful global brands based in the borough, such as Ulster Carpets (Portadown), which export 75% of their product outside the United Kingdom market, supplying carpets to countries on every continent. Nick Coburn, Ulster Carpets Group Managing Director and Deputy Chairman said: “Over the years, we have taken the

positive attributes associated with being a family owned and professionally managed company and combined them with a forward thinking, global approach to business. The result is a technologically advanced, service driven

company with flair, flexibility and a passion for quality.” “We are looking forward to hosting an event for social economy organisations as part of Enterprise Week 2018 as we celebrate our 80th year in business.”

For more details on the 14 events for Enterprise Week 2018 visit: armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/business/enterpriseweek/ The Global Entrepreneurship Week debate can be followed on Facebook and Twitter #GEW2018 and #ABCEW18

Enterprise Week 2018 events

Date

Event

Time

Mon 12 Nov

Accountancy clinic

10am-4pm

Marketing your product using immersive technology

10am-2pm

Entrepreneurial masterclass

10am-1pm

Diversify your rural business

7.30pm-10pm

Ready steady innovate

8am-10am

Running a business in uncertain times

11am-1.30pm

Breakfast with Feargal McCormack

8am-10am

Social economy event

12noon-2pm

Start a business in a day

10am-3.30pm

Tue 13 Nov

Wed 14 Nov

Thur 15 Nov

Fri 16 Nov

How to be part of it To book your ticket visit: abcenterpriseweektickets2018.eventbrite.co.uk 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

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osmetech are specialists in the latest Thread-Lifts at their London, Belfast and Holywood Clinics.

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READER OFFER Business Eye readers can receive a complimentary consultation and 10% off your first treatment at Cosmetech with the presentation of this advert. Valid until 31st December 2018 DR LISA NELIGAN Dr Lisa Neligan is available at Kingsbridge Private Hospital, Belfast or Cosmetech, Maypole Clinic, Holywood. She’s known for keeping brow movement intact, so no risk of looking frozen. She believes in ‘restoring the face’ not recreating it. Prices from £230.

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Passion for what we do. Eye Moving On

www.graftonrecruitment.com

Business Eye Banner Ad.indd 1

03/10/2018 17:09:45 1 Janine Gelston has been appointed as business development manager at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast. Janine has over 13 years’ experience working within luxury hotels in various roles, including front office manager, guest services manager, sales account manager, and assistant director of sales within the hospitality and tourism industry.

1 Janine Gelston

2 Kieran Hurley

3 Brian Mullen

2 Kieran Hurley and Brian Mullen have been 3 appointed as Commercial Insurance Consultants at Lockton Belfast. Kieran is vastly experienced and brings nearly 20 years of experience in the commercial and corporate insurance industry – having also worked with Open and Direct and Auto Line – to Lockton’s growing commercial offering. Brian has over 10 years’ experience in the commercial and corporate Insurance industry, having worked with ABL and Towergate Dawson Whyte and has accumulated a substantial amount of industry experience. 4 Mark Huddleston has been appointed Management and Leadership Ambassador at the Institute of Directors Northern Ireland (IoD NI). Mark has extensive experience in senior leadership roles across industry and is a former Northern Ireland Commissioner for Employment and Skills. 5 Sarah Fleming has been appointed Senior Manager at Muldoon & Co, Chartered Accountants. Sarah brings a wealth of accounting, audit and business advisory knowledge and experience across a wide range of business types. In her new role, Sarah is responsible for managing and enhancing relationships with our portfolio of SME clients.

4 Mark Huddleston

5 Sarah Fleming

6 Tom Rodgers

6 Tom Rodgers has been appointed Health, Safety and Environmental Manager at Warrenpoint Port, responsible for delivering a safe environment for customers and colleagues alike. Tom, who has a NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) Diploma, has extensive experience within the Health and Safety industry and was previously the Health and Safety Manager for Norbrook Laboratories Ltd. 7 Caroline McSorley joins Glandore as Sales Manager, based in their Belfast offices on Arthur Street. Caroline has a wealth of consultative sales experience working with innovative companies across five continents finding solutions for their business.

7 Caroline McSorley

Passion for what we do. Eye Moving On

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Business Eye Banner Ad.indd 1

03/10/2018 17:09:45 8

8 Nicola Woods

9 Dave Vincent

10 Christine Hagan

14 Graeme Davies

12 Mary Scullion

Tourism NI has added to its Senior Management Team with the appointment of Dave Vincent as Chief Digital Officer. With over 20 years’ experience in the IT, telecommunications, utilities, financial services and public sectors, Dave will drive digital transformation across the organisation. He holds an MBA in e-Business from the University of Liverpool along with a BSc in Computing from the University of Ulster and has recently been appointed as a board trustee for the Northern Ireland Hospice.

Christine Hagan has been appointed Director at ASM Chartered Accountants Belfast. Christine specialises in Internal Audit (risk, internal control and governance) as well as providing external audit to a range of clients.

Stephen Burns has been appointed Director at ASM Chartered Accountants Belfast. Stephen’s expertise lies in Forensic Accounting, particularly in commercial litigation.

11 Stephen Burns

Also at Glandore, Nicola Woods becomes Community and Events Executive. Nicola joins Glandore from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

13 Michele Reid

Fujitsu, one of Northern Ireland’s largest technology employers that supplies ICT solutions to the public and private sector, has announced the appointment of Mary Scullion to Sector Lead, Local and Devolved Government & Transport, UK&I. Mary has over 12 years’ experience with the company having been responsible for service delivery to various public sector bodies as well as offering business and technology support to customers across the business.

Michele Reid has been appointed Group Manager for Mount Charles’ healthy eating franchise, Freshly Chopped N.I. She will oversee the opening of Mount Charles’ Freshly Chopped restaurants across Northern Ireland and Donegal, along with staff training and development. Michele has been an employee with Mount Charles for over 17 years and has worked her way up the ranks from trained chef, to her new management role.

Graeme Davies has been appointed as a Senior Tax Manager with Baker Tilly Mooney Moore. Following a career in tax advisory and business development in England with midtier accountancy and advisory firms, Graeme has joined the team in Baker Tilly Mooney Moore to develop the practice’s corporate and personal tax advisory capabilities and provide clients with proactive business advice.

Eye on News

Belfast Retailer Bags Top Prize At Industry Awards A local retailer is celebrating after winning the top prize at a recent all-island industry awards ceremony.

reightons EUROSPAR, Balmoral, was named Overall Forecourt Retailer of the Year at Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Awards held in the Clayton Hotel, Dublin on September 19. For the first time in the history of the awards, the top prize went to a retailer from Northern Ireland as Creightons beat off competition from all other shortlisted retailers to claim the title of Overall Forecourt Retailer of the Year. Hosted by broadcasting powerhouse, Miriam O’Callaghan, the awards celebrated the finest convenience stores and forecourts throughout the island of Ireland and were attended by hundreds of retailers from across the country. Creightons EUROSPAR, Balmoral was also named Forecourt Convenience Store of the Year in the 2751 sq. feet plus category and won the ‘Best Food to Go’ category. The store was a finalist in the ‘Fresh Food Store of the Year’ class whilst sister stores, Creightons of Finaghy was shortlisted in the category for ‘Best Customer Service’ and the Blacks Road store was a finalist in the ‘Food to Go’ category, allowing for a very successful evening for

the Creighton Group as a whole. Judges noted the magnificent focus Creightons EUROSPAR, Balmoral places on fresh food and provenance, commending their excellent inhouse butchery counter which sources all meat from the Creightons family farm. The Food to Go offering was also singled out as being exceptional, with judges impressed by the store’s own production kitchen where fresh, local food is prepared throughout the day. Since the development and completion of this flagship site in 2016 fresh food has accounted for more than 50% of the store’s total sales and continual improvements to the deli over the past year have helped boost sales by more than 25%. General Manager for Creightons, Andrew Porter commented; “It is a tremendous honour for Creightons of Balmoral to have been named Overall Store of the Year and I’m immensely proud of all our staff, suppliers and customers who have contributed to our success.” “To be the first store from Northern Ireland to win the top prize makes it all the more rewarding for our team and I’m

Andrew Porter, General Manager of Creightons, celebrates after Creightons of Balmoral was named Overall Store of the Year at the recent, Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Awards.

pleased to see the exceptional standards of convenience stores in Northern Ireland getting the recognition they deserve.” “We pride ourselves on providing the most enjoyable shopping experience for our customers and are always listening to their feedback to try and improve our offering. It’s clear that this approach is a

successful one and now the work begins to retain this title in 2019.” Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer Awards have been running for over 15 years and celebrates excellence in the island’s retail industry through a panel of independent judges with experience in convenience, retail, sales, marketing and food preparation.

James McGinn Appointed To Hastings Hotels’ Board Of Directors The Directors of Hastings Hotels have announced that James McGinn has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the leading hotel group.

ames Mc Ginn is one of the most respected professionals in the local tourism industry and joined Northern Ireland’s leading hotel group in August 1996 as

Quality Development Manager in the Europa Hotel under General Manager John Toner. Subsequently, he has held the positions of General Manager in the Stormont Hotel, Culloden Estate & Spa and the Europa Hotel where he has been at the helm since 2003. Many still fondly recall James’ appearances in BBC TV fly-on-thewall series about the Europa Hotel entitled “Lobby Lives”, which ran for 26 episodes from 2006 to 2008. Hastings Hotels Chairman, Edward

Carson said: “We are delighted that James McGinn has been appointed as a Director of Hastings Hotels. He has been a committed colleague for over two decades and this is the right time to acknowledge his continuing contribution to the Group. James will also remain General Manager of the Europa Hotel. James McGinn said: “I am delighted to join the Board. I look forward to playing a significant role in the continued growth and success of Hastings Hotels.”

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Eye on Banking

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;62% of NI SMEs believe Brexit will have a negative impact on their business in the futureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: "*# #SFYJU 4FOUJNFOU *OEFY Ă¨ PG /* 4.&T TBZ JOWFTUNFOU QMBOT SFWJFXFE QPTUQPOFE PS DBODFMMFE BOE IBWF QPTUQPOFE CBOL CPSSPXJOH Ă¨ 'FBST PG B Ă IBSE CPSEFSĂĄ JODSFBTF UP BNPOH /* 4.&T Ă? VQ GSPN JO 2 Ă¨ PG /* 4.&T IBWF OP QMBOOJOH TUBSUFE GPS #SFYJU BOE POMZ IBWF B GPSNBM QMBO

Brian Gillan, Head of Business and Corporate Banking, First Trust Bank

he AIB Brexit Sentiment Index for Q3 2018 reveals 62% of Northern Ireland (NI) SMEs believe Brexit will have a negative impact on their business, up from 50% in Q1 2018. This compares with 63% of SMEs in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). At the same time NI SMEs are more likely to feel the negative impacts of Brexit now at

37% compared to 25% in RoI. Conducted by Ipsos MRBI, the Index is a quarterly survey of more than 700 SMEs in NI and ROI that assesses the attitudes of SME business leaders on Brexit and its impact on their businesses. In terms of the overall sentiment where the baseline is zero, with a potential range from +100 to -100, the latest Index registered a score of -35 in NI, slightly up from -37 last quarter. This compares with -41 in RoI, down from -37 in Q2, suggesting RoI businesses have become slightly more negative in outlook when it comes to the impact Brexit may have on their business. The Index shows SMEs operating in

retail (-39), manufacturing (-30) and tourism (-33) are the most pessimistic in terms of sentiment. Speaking about the latest findings, Brian Gillan, Head of Business and Corporate Banking, First Trust Bank said; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Another quarter closer to Brexit and not much meaningful progress on the negotiations has produced little change in the AIB Brexit Sentiment Index for NI â&#x20AC;&#x201C; only showing a marginal lift from -37 last time to -35 this quarter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main source of negativity for NI SMEs is still the lack of visibility as to what Brexit means for them, standing at 85%. There is little doubt that the lack of certainty as to what is

going to happen is impacting decisions here â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with 45% having postponed or cancelled plans and a further 13% having reviewed them. In additional 11% have said they have postponed bank borrowing as a result of Brexit. The long-term impact of these delayed decisions is the most worrying aspect of this situation as they could negatively impact the competitiveness of local businesses, especially those operating in export markets.â&#x20AC;? AIBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quarterly Brexit Index helps inform First Trust Bank about the needs and solutions required by customers as plans for Brexit progress. Speaking about the need for local businesses to plan for Brexit, Brian concluded; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Against this backdrop of continued uncertainty planning for Brexit remains stubbornly low with 63% of SMEs here having no planning started at all. We do take some heart that those who have either a formal plan or started their investigations is now at 37% - the second highest level for the last year. With March 2019 looming large, we would continue to urge all companies to start this process sooner rather than later and to seek help from their key advisers to get them started on the road to understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by Brexit.â&#x20AC;?

Eye on News

)BMJGBY 'PVOEBUJPO 1VUT .PSF 5IBO c NJMMJPO *OUP *NQSPWJOH 5IPVTBOET 0G -JWFT The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland gave £1.087million in grants to 326 charities in its latest funding period, directly helping improve the lives of 391,000 people.

he figures were revealed as the Foundation held its annual event at Stormont to celebrate the work of hundreds of charities that respond to the needs of disadvantaged and disabled people. The many varied projects covered by more than 600 separate grants include food banks, autism support, services for children and young people, help for the elderly and for people with learning disabilities. Brenda McMullan, Executive Director of the Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland said the aim was to get much needed cash to charities working directly to help the most impoverished of communities. She added: “The Voluntary and Community sector continues to experience great challenges in the face of budget cuts and ongoing economic

austerity so we are proud to fund these organisations that are providing a lifeline to communities that are in dire need.” The Foundation also announced that a pilot project to provide expert mentoring support to charities will become a permanent part of its activities, with 20 organisations being helped this year. The Charity Mentoring Programme links skilled bank staff with senior charity personnel to provide advice in areas such as leadership, governance, HR and financial management. Jim McCooe, a Foundation Trustee and Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador for Northern Ireland, said the feedback from the pilot was so overwhelmingly positive, it was decided to extend the programme. He added: “Mentors spoke of their pride in supporting charities trying to make lives better for people while mentees said that it helped them

Celebrating the work of these charities was Arthur Scott, Department of Communities with Brenda McMullan, Imelda McMillan and Jim McCooe of the Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland.

gain the skills required to meet the challenges of working in this most difficult of sectors. Using the skills of our employees is one of the ways we can help their essential work.” More than 60 charity representatives

receiving grant aid were present at the event in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings. Arthur Scott, from the Department for Communities, who attended the event, spoke about the importance of the Foundation’s grant programmes for community groups in Northern Ireland and how they complement government funded programmes and projects. “The vast range of work being celebrated here tonight which makes a huge difference to the quality for life for those in society who are vulnerable and most in need occurs as a direct result of the steadfast support which the Halifax foundation has provided over many years,” he said. He also outlined how government is working with and supporting the voluntary and community sector to navigate change in a very challenging environment. Applications to the Community Grant Programme can be made online at www. halifaxfoundationni.org or at the online portal https://halifaxni.eformz.info

Holiday Inn® #FMGBTU $JUZ $FOUSF 3BOLFE /VNCFS 0OF JO UIF 6, BOE *SFMBOE Holiday Inn® Belfast City Centre has been ranked the number one Holiday Inn Hotel in the UK and Ireland and granted the highest possible ranking in the InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) Elite Status.

he hotel, located on Hope Street, just off Great Victoria Street, is owned and operated by Belfast’s biggest hotel group, Andras Hotels, and is one of only five hotels out of 133 in the IHG group to have achieved the Elite status, being ranked number one within the five. The Elite status was achieved through outstanding Guest Satisfaction survey results and Andras attributes the success to the continued investment

into its team, each of whom are trained through the group’s Andras Academy. Vikrant Tyagi, General Manager of Holiday Inn, Belfast said: “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded this most prestigious accolade and would like to thank our excellent team for making this possible. “For the past number of years, we have concentrated a lot of our time and money into attracting, training and retaining the best people for the right jobs. We support and developing our talent through our Andras Academy., which encompasses training and development for all levels, from apprenticeships and student placements to graduate and senior manager programmes. “We work hard to upskill and promote our core people through external training and work closely with colleges and universities to attract students and graduates developing roles

from the most junior to senior. Rajesh Rana, Director of Andras Hotels said: “Having invested heavily in our physical assets we are absolutely committed to this investment in our people, to ensure we serve each and every customer to the absolute best of our ability, being ambassadors not only for the brand but for Belfast and indeed Northern Ireland. To see this come to fruition is fantastic for the entire Group.” Rajesh concluded: “We seek to empower our staff to be the best they can be and offer excellent career opportunities across our five hotels in the city.” Andras Hotels was founded in Belfast in 1981 and since then has helped to shape and drive the tourism and hospitality landscape of Belfast. It currently operates six internationallybranded hotels with 1,000 beds in Belfast; Holiday Inn®, Belfast City Centre, Holiday Inn® Express, two Ibis

Nicolle Loughran, Guest Relations Manager is pictured with Vikrant Tyagi, General Manager at Holiday Inn Belfast City Centre.

Hotels, the Crowne Plaza, Hampton by Hilton Hotel in the city’s Hope Street and Cordia Serviced Apartments.

Eye on News

further.space launches £9M Alternative Tourism Business Tourism entrepreneurs Peter Farquharson and David Maxwell have launched further.space, a new and innovative alternative tourism company set up to co-ordinate the provision and installation of designled pods as tourist accommodation in unique and unexpected locations.

he start-up firm aims to establish up to 100 micro tourism joint venture partnerships throughout the U.K. and Ireland. The company has set a target to deploy 500 pods in hand-picked locations over the next five years in partnership with landowners seeking to maximise the potential of their land through tourism. CEO of further.space, and former founder of Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland, Peter Farquharson said: “My background is in creating sustainable global accommodation solutions. Whilst it is well documented that the tourist industry is one of the biggest growth industries in Ireland and the fifth biggest industry in the world, often some of our most attractive natural landscapes suffer from accommodation shortages limiting local potential to access the tourist pound. Our vision is to empower landowners in spectacular offthe-beaten-track locations to create profitable, sustainable and low maintenance micro tourism businesses on their land, that has both societal and economic benefits for the entire area.” The tourism market on the Island of Ireland attracts 12 million tourists annually culminating in 72 million overnight stays. As the market grows so does demand for alternative accommodation options with up to 37% of tourists recorded as preferring non-traditional accommodation solutions including pod based ‘glamping’ experiences in spectacular locations. further.space is the sister company of Intupod, who manufacture multi-

Tourism entrepreneur, Peter Farquharson launches further.space – a new and innovative alternative tourism company, aiming to establish up to 100 micro tourism joint venture partnerships throughout the U.K. and Ireland delivering £9m in revenue over the next five years.

purpose aluminium structured pods in Belfast. further.space is the customer facing business that will establish a select network of joint venture business partners with landowners and existing tourism ventures in hand-picked locations. The company offers business partners a complete tourism support package – from financing and planning support to marketing and booking systems. COO of further.space, and energy efficient housing entrepreneur, David Maxwell stated: “Our research shows that landowners are attracted by the opportunity to diversify into tourism, however the process of establishing a tourism business on their land

is often limited by financial or logistical impediments. The unique further.space joint venture business model means we can provide financial support, planning expertise and booking systems to deliver bed nights. This allows our partners to concentrate on the experience, by hosting the guests and managing housekeeping and maintenance of the pods on their land. The model is designed to deliver security and a long-term opportunity to capitalise on a burgeoning tourist industry.” Each pod is forecast to deliver an annual revenue of £18,000 per year, with 500 pods over 5 years estimated to generate a total revenue of £9M.

A partnership with four pods on site will generate an annual revenue of £72,000 per year and £360,000 over five years. “Unique spaces in unexpected places is the key to success,” surmises Peter: “All locations will be handpicked to create experiences that go beyond the ordinary. Our pods are designed to bring guests closer to nature and further away from the hassle and pressure of everyday life. Together with our partners we aim to deliver experiences that provide a unique perspective on life in spectacular locations.”

Eye on Internet

From Contacts And Touchpoints To Outcomes And Journeys By Gareth Dunlop, Fathom.

Marketers have long understood the importance of customer touchpoints in the sales decision-making cycle. FMCG and brand marketers in particular are aware that brand recognition and availability aligns closely with trust and confidence, which in turns aligns with purchase intent. Marketers are therefore well used to the significance of making sure their brands and products are in front of their customers as they move through the sales funnel of awareness, consideration, decisionmaking, conversion and advocacy. This focus on touchpoints is as relevant today as it has always been however it needs to embrace two important pieces of nuance and context: 1. Particularly as they get closer to the buying decision, potential customers are much more interested in outcomes (that is, their touchpoints have purpose and a desired goal) than in purely being informed of the existence or availability of a brand or product 2. Touchpoints need to join up into easy-to-understand journeys, because potential customers regularly need to self-serve their way through much of the sales funnel and thus need guidance about what to do next as they become increasingly interested in a purchase These two important principles challenge the traditional view of a touchpoint as representing merely exposure to a brand or product message, and remind us that in a world where users have overwhelming levels of selection

and choice that there needs to be something in it for them. I hope that some examples help to illustrate how marketers and service designers can get this right. We recently carried out some work with an energy provider to help explore how their call-centre, service engineers, website and other digital communications (for example, text messages and email) could help customers who had bought their product get it installed. One of the key findings was that it was possible for a customer to experience a number of broadly positive touchpoints (for example, the call-centre operative was polite, friendly and informative, the service engineer was punctual, efficient and no-fuss) but yet have an overall poor experience, because the touch-points weren’t well enough joined together. Subsequently the customer felt that they were the ones doing all of the work in order to get access to the energy source. The solution become clear – make it much clearer to the customer how long the overall project (journey) might take, the key phases along the way, and what would happen and in what order. In short, the well-performing touchpoints were better joined together into a more coherent customer journey. This highlights the importance of stepping back and identifying the various journeys customers take from their perspective and how they expect to navigate between them. Another example comes from a piece of work we delivered for a third-level education institution some

years ago. They were interested to know what role the various elements of university life played in a potential student’s decision-making process to attend that university. They were unsure if students were motivated by night-life, life experience, getting a good course fit, quality of lecturers, employability, and so on? Through a programme of research the key theme which emerged is that the potential student’s first requirement was to feel comfortable that the course they signed up to was a good fit for their interests. Once they were confident that was the case, they became interested in quality of lecturers and employability. At that stage their attentions turned to extra-curricular life, sports clubs, night-life and the experiential side of university life. This insight was vital in ensuring that the potential student enjoyed positive touchpoints, i.e. that they left each website experience with the information they needed to achieve their outcome. There was no point talking about employability until the user had explored and compared courses in detail, there was no point talking about nightlife until the user understood fully who was going to lecture them and why they were an authority. In short, by considering what the potential student needed across the consideration phases, and as their content needs matured and became more detailed, the university was able to deliver both touchpoints and outcomes to students as they considered enrolling. The principle at play represents the

power of anticipating the customer’s needs, expectations and desires during each part of the journey, by investing in the research required to know them well enough. Touchpoints originated in the era of presentational communications when the organisation did the talking through billboards, TV, radio, press and direct mail – the customer was a passive absorber. That passive customer is now active and presentational communications have been replaced by interactive communications. Put your customer in control by giving them exactly what they are looking for throughout the sales cycle and join up the individual experiences to give their experience forward momentum. They will thank you the best way they can – by buying what you’re selling.

Gareth Dunlop owns and runs Fathom, a user-experience consultancy which helps ambitious organisations get the most from their digital products by viewing the world from the perspective of their customers. Specialist areas include UX strategy, usability testing, customer journey planning and accessibility. Clients include BBC, Bord Bia, firmus energy, Kingspan, AIB and Tesco Mobile. Visit Fathom online at fathom.pro.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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Eye on Events

Pictured (l-r) Philip Crawford (Lyric Theatre head of creative learning) Gemma-Louise Bond (senior sponsorship and events executive at Power NI) and David Calvert (artistic director of Kids in Control)

Hat Trick Of Awards Power NI Backs Lyric For Business School Graduate Kids Programme

he Lyric Theatre and Power NI have launched a new creative learning partnership to further develop the Lyric Theatre’s Kids in Control programme.

Backing from the energy company will enable the Lyric team to expand Kids in Control (KIC) rolling out an additional 14 workshops in South and West Belfast.

lster University Business School graduate Keith Houston’s innovative approach to recruitment has resulted in a hat trick of awards both locally and internationally. Keith, who has just completed an MSc in HR Management at the

Business School, is currently Graduate Recruitment Consultant and On-Campus Liaison with Northern Ireland’s largest IT company, Allstate Northern Ireland. Award winner Keith Houston (left) with Jeanette Harrison, Ulster University Business School and Jim Norris, Allstate.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

Eye on Events

Catalyst Bids Farewell To Norman Apsley

ey figures from the world of business, innovation and academia gathered for a special retirement dinner for one of the legends of the business community here and beyond, former Catalyst Inc CEO Professor Norman Apsley, OBE.

Norman is pictured with Des Speed (Catalyst Inc Board), Chris Murray (Barclays), Clare Colhoun (Catalyst Inc Board), Philip Maguire (Catalyst Inc), Ian Sheppard (Bank of Ireland), Dick Milliken (Catalyst Inc Chair), Noel Lavery (Permanent Secretary)

New food-to-go range launched at Spar

Mount Charles Celebrates 30th Years

ount Charles, Ireland’s leading foodservice and outsourcing giant, celebrated 30 years in business with over 200 colleagues, suppliers, friends and family at a movie themed celebration in George’s Market, Belfast on Wednesday 24th October, 2018. Guests were taken on a trip down memory lane as the company relived some of its finest memories.

Pictured (L-R) at EUROSPAR Lagan Valley are Philip Morgan, Sales Director at Around Noon and Gareth McAnlis, Food Development Manager, Fresh Foods at Henderson Wholesale.

round Noon and Henderson Wholesale have launched an innovative new food-togo range as part of a multi-millionpound per annum partnership. Newry-based Around Noon led the project to completely revamp the convenience retailer’s offering of pre-packed sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Set to be available in over 100 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across Northern Ireland, the new Daily Deli range includes more than 60 product lines, a new

Chairman Trevor Annon, thanked the entire Mount Charles ‘family’, for their unwavering support and while the past thirty years were applauded, the evening was very much about looking to the future, as he announced their intention to hit £100m turnover by 2025.

brand identity and a suite of new packaging and signage. Around Noon has supplied Henderson Wholesale with products including pre-packaged sandwiches for more than five years. In this time the companies have collaborated on successful initiatives including the charitable Christmas and summer sandwiches, where 10p from each sale is donated to SPAR and EUROSPAR’s dedicated charities; Marie Curie and Cancer Fund for Children. Over £2,500 was donated in the past year.

Eye on News

-PPLJOH 4PVUI What The Northern Property Market Can Learn From The Southâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Recent Successes Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest independent firm of commercial property consultants has met with dignitaries from the Northern Ireland business community to discuss how the province could benefit from lessons learned from the more mature market in the south of Ireland.

isney, which has offices in Belfast, Dublin and Cork, presented to stakeholders including developers, banks and law firms to highlight how Northern Ireland could capitalise on the recent successes enjoyed by the southern market. Declan Flynn, Managing Director at Lisney in Belfast was joined by Aoife Brennan, Head of Research at Lisney; Paul Hipwell, Director, Office Agency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dublin; David McNellis, Director, Office Agency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Belfast; and Tony Morrissey, Director, Licensed and Leisure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dublin, to discuss. Declan said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Both the north and the south have an average of 40% overseas investors in the market. But the key difference between the markets is that investment in the north is in ÂŁ millions and investment in the south is in ÂŁ billions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, the population in the south is only 2.5 times larger than that of the north, and we are not a million miles apart. We therefore wanted to showcase the expertise of the Ireland-wide Lisney team and demonstrate how there are certainly lessons to be learned from our counterparts south of the border.â&#x20AC;? Traditionally investment activity in Northern Ireland has been dominated by retail whereas in the south this has been dominated by offices where rents are 2.5 times higher. He continued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Google only entered the Irish market in 2003,

yet currently occupies almost 2.6% of all modern office stock across Dublin. Facebook made its Irish debut in 2009 with two leases in Hanover Reach yet the social media giant now accounts for 1.7% of the city centre office stock. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are perfect examples of how rapidly international technological and digital companies are expanding and the large amount of space they require. The vast majority of these occupiers are growing so quickly they tend to only have 6-12 monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; visibility on occupational needs and therefore cannot wait for a building to be built. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Interestingly, the average lot size taken by a technological or digital occupier is over one-third larger than the overall market average. The north has seen an increase in these occupiers, accounting for 70% of market take up in Q1 2018. This is compared to just over 40% in the south with the majority of occupiers originating from overseas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once these technological or digital giants land, they bring a huge wave of additional support services which further bolster the market. This is exactly what we have seen in Dublin. As an all-Ireland agency, Lisney has the ability to look at the island as a whole and see the ways in which

the south has prepared its assets in order to cater to the needs of these international organisations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Northern Ireland certainly has the skills so we really must place great emphasis on how we can take inspiration from the more developed market in the south to take the local market to the next stage whilst developing at very different paces.â&#x20AC;? Aoife Brennan, Head of Research at Lisney, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is certainly a shift in the type of office accommodation required. Specifically, there is a new breed of serviced office providers emerging, which are very different to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;serviced officesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as we know them traditionally. Instead they provide areas for co-working to promote collaboration across the business, as well as hotdesking and break out areas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The volume of serviced office space in Dublin, currently 1.35m sq. ft., has almost doubled in the last two years with investors generally avoiding discounting office assets with serviced office providers as tenants. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whilst there is approximately 2.3m sq. ft. of office accommodation in the pipeline locally, it is likely that pre-lets will be required to kickstart occupation. In Dublin, there have been just 12 pre-lets

since 2006 and although there may be a few more next year, it is still a small part of the market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are seeing Private Rental Sector (PRS) opportunities forming a growing part of the commercial investment sector and expect that to continue as an ongoing trend in the market. In the south, residential has historically made up 13% of the investment market, but we have seen this soar to 33% the last two quarters. This is principally made up of PRS /buy to let blocks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since 2016, purpose-built student accommodation has also really come to the fore. Current supply in the south, although at 35,000 bed spaces, falls well short of the 57,000 that are estimated to be required. There are currently 18,000 bed spaces at various stages of planning and construction and we would expect that over the next 12 months, over 4,500 bed spaces will be delivered in Dublin and between 500 and 750 in Cork. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the retail side, online shopping continues to disrupt the market. We should expect to see shopping centre landlords move to more flexible lease trends in order to allow for asset management as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brands of the momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; continue to shift at pace.â&#x20AC;?

Eyeon Motoring

dfcbelfast.co.uk

Eye on Motoring

&MFDUSJD 7FIJDMFT the Facts

Electric vehicles are still a relatively new phenomenon and a lot of people are unsure about making the change from diesel or petrol, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to help you make an informed decision!

eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve compiled a list of FAQs about electric vehicles below, but if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still unconvinced or have any other queries, then please get in touch with us on 028 9073 4222, or email sales@dfcbelfast.co.uk

How does an electric vehicle work? Electric vehicles also known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;battery electric vehiclesâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;pure electric vehiclesâ&#x20AC;? have an electric motor powered by a battery that plug into the mains. Electric vehicles do not have a combustion engine.

How does charging work? Electric vehicles can be charged using a normal socket. To speed up recharging thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charging points you can purchase or public charging points.

How much does it cost to charge? If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re charging at home charging a car costs approximately a fifth of the price of fuel. For instance, you can charge a Nissan Leaf for ÂŁ3. To increase the speed of charging you can purchase a home car charging point from as little as ÂŁ149.

https://evchargingsolutions.co.uk/ ev-charging-costs

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget you can use public charging points. These are free to use, so essentially you can get free fuel!

Where are my nearest charging points? Electric charging points are popping up all over the UK and Ireland. This is helping make electric vehicles a more practical method of transport. Check out Zap Map to see exactly where all the EV charge points are www.zap-map.com/live

How long does an electric vehicle battery last for? Cells in electric vehicles donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deteriorate at the same rate as mobile phones or laptops. Batteries in most electric vehicles have a guarantee of 100,000 miles.

What about servicing and maintenance for electric vehicles? Is it more expensive to service and maintain an electric vehicle? An electric vehicle has fewer moving parts compared to internal combustion engines. Electric vehicles only have 3 main components: the electric motor, the on-board charger and the inverter. Therefore less servicing and maintenance is needed and saving you money.

Does it take long to charge? Charging times vary depending on source. t )PNF XBMM DIBSHFS DIBSHFT at 15-30 miles per hour t 1VCMJD DIBSHF QPJOU DIBSHFT at 30-80 miles per hour t 1VCMJD GBTU DIBSHJOH QPJOU DIBSHFT BU approximately 150 miles per hour. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to charge your vehicle overnight from a home wall charger and you can use public charge points while working to keep your electric vehicle topped up.

What electric vehicles have the best range? Over the years the range of electric vehicles has improved and will continue to improve. You can guarantee at least 100 miles in electric vehicles currently on the market. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a selection of electric vehicles with the best ranges: t 7PMLTXBHFO F(PMG o NJMFT t )ZVOEBJ *POJR o NJMFT t /JTTBO -FBG o NJMFT Source: Go Ultra Low

What is it like to drive an electric vehicle? Electric vehicles only have one gear ensuring smooth acceleration and deacceleration. Plus, unlike internal combustion engines, electric vehicles provide instant torque providing great acceleration. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just read about it! Organise a test drive with DFC Belfast! www.dfcbelfast.co.uk/contact

How much can I save with an electric vehicle? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already mentioned that charging an electric vehicle costs approximately a fifth of fuel, however thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also favourable benefit in kind (BiK) rates for businesses due to the zero emissions. A low rate taxpayer could save ÂŁ2,940 in BiK over 4 years and a higher rate taxpayer could save ÂŁ4,880 in BiK tax over 4 years. www.goultralow.com/company-carsand-fleet-vehicles/company-car-drivers/

With lower running costs, tax benefits and choice of electric vehicles increasing going electric is becoming more and more attractive.

Visit our website to see our offers on electric vehicles or If you are interested in test driving or leasing an electric vehicle call us on 028 9073 4222, email sales@dfcbelfast. co.uk or visit http://onlinequote. dfcbelfast.co.uk/ for a FREE, no obligation vehicle leasing quote!

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Eye on Motoring

ELECTRIC DEALS

For Business and Personal Contract Hire Nissan Leaf Acent 5dr Auto 'SPN

ÂŁ209 1MVT 7"5 1FS .POUI

VW e-Golf 5dr Auto ALL MAKES AND MODELS AVAILABLE

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5)&4& .0/5)-: 3&/5"-4 "3& #"4&% 0/ 6 payments as deposit followed by 47 monthly payments, and an annual mileage of 8,000 including road tax for the duration of the contract. Other payment options are available.

DFC is a credit broker

To find out more about our offers go to www.dfcbelfast.co.uk email sales@dfcbelfast.co.uk or call us on 028 9073 4222 All figures include Road Fund Licence* (RFL) for the term but excludes maintenance. A quotation for our maintenance package is available on request. This is a contract hire option and you will not own the vehicle. Failure to make payments may affect credit rating. This introduction does not amount to independent financial advice. Excess mileage charges will apply at contract end if you exceed your contracted mileage. Contract may be subject to further charges depending on the condition/mileage of vehicle when returned.

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Eye on Motoring

Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

NEW BMW 3-SERIES WILL BE A CAR YOU CAN REALLY TALK TO!

The seventh generation of the BMW 3-series goes on sale next spring. We know what to expect - a nip or a tuck here and there, tiny increases in the length and track and some weight loss. But they won’t do anything radical to their much loved compact driver’s car that has sold 15million since launch in 1975.

o, at the recent Paris Show, they revealed their latest technology - and it is a headline grabber! Inspired perhaps by Siri and Alexa, the new 3-series will respond to spoken commands. The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is described as an ideal co-driver and the start of a new era in which drivers will operate their car simply by speaking! This is a system that learns routines and habits, and is able to apply them in the appropriate context. The system helps the driver, learns their preferences and their favoured settings – e.g. for the seat heating or the places they drive to frequently using the navigation system (“Take me home”). One unique feature over other digital assistants is that drivers can give the assistant a name (for example, “Charlie” or “Joy”) to create even greater individuality

and personality. It is always there to assist them and even provide casual conversation (“Hey BMW, what’s the meaning of life?”). Familiarisation with the vehicle’s functions will be learnt and the ability to operate them as required. Saying “Hey BMW, I’m cold” will prompt the assistant to adjust the temperature inside the car accordingly. The arrival of the assistant ensures there is always a genuine BMW professional on board. This gives the ability to explain all sorts of different functions (“How does the High Beam Assistant work?”), provide current status information (“Is the oil level okay?”) and help answer questions (“What messages do I have?”). Given the complexity of some systems on modern cars this assistant could be rather useful to confused owners. But I suspect the 3-series will continue to sell mainly because it is a superb driver’s car!

/FX 1PMP (UJ (FUT 4PNF 4FSJPVT (FU 6Q "OE (P If you have never given the Polo GTI a second glance before, then maybe you should think again. Not only is it as big as the Golf was not many years ago, but it now boasts the same turbine-like 2.0 petrol engine as its big brother.

kay the turbo engine has been ‘detuned’ to 200PS - to reduce sibling rivalry (?) but it is good for 62mph in 6.7 seconds from rest! Top speed potential of 150mph is another index of how the Polo GTI has come of age. I wouldn’t call it a hot hatch as such- it is much too refined - but therefore a car that would be pleasing to drive on the business round. While the Golf GTI has taken off into the price

stratosphere, the Polo GTI looks down to earth at a figure of £21,500 for a well equipped example. I do believe I have stumbled upon something of a performance/ price bargain here. Nor will it cost a fortune to run with 47.9 mpg combined and emissions of 134g/

km putting it in 27% BIK. VW is also expanding its GTI sub brand with an UP GTI. This is stretching things a bit as an everyday car though it is an entertainment and scratches a 0-62mph time of 8.8 seconds out of a 1.0-litre three cylinder engine. I don’t think I could

live with this as a work car so I will stick to the Polo. I also took a drive in the latest Golf GTI and it is as brilliant as ever to drive. It combines sparkling performance with mature handling. If you could drive just one car, then this would be it. Sadly, the Golf GTI has now become a £30K morsel which will rule it out for many. The performance pack version brings the set piece acceleration down to 6.2 seconds. And there are pokey performance diesels which are nearly as fast but make more business sense.

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Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

SKODA’S CINDERELLA CAR GETS A SERIOUS MAKE-OVER! S

The Fabia must be one of the most under-rated small hatchbacks on the market today. Given its VW mechanicals and its sheer roominess it should be on any buyer’s shortlist.

koda will be hoping that this latest facelift will restore the fortunes of its individualistic supermini which has won its fair share of awards over the years. Reliable, practical and fun to drive the Fabia has been around for 19 years and has sold more than four million. The re-jig brings new front and rear styling with LED headlamps. Suddenly the Fabia takes on a more modern look to go with its cheeky personality. As before, the Fabia comes as a hatchback or as an estate car. This time around there are no diesel engines which will disappoint some business buyers. But the one-litre petrol units fill the gap surprisingly well with power outputs from 75PS to 110PS. The starter MPI unit returns 55mpg on the combined cycle and emits just 111g/km of carbon dioxide. Then come the turbo-charged TSI versions putting out 95 to 110PS which are both quicker and more

economical giving up to 61mpg with a five speed manual gearbox.There is a six-speed manual gearbox with the more powerful engine. You can also specify a 7-speed DSG automatic box - unusual in a small car. The new Fabia also has a technology boost with features normally found only on more expensive cars. These include blind spot detection which includes a rear traffic alert to warn of an impending collision. Inside, the infotainment centres on a 6.5-inch touch screen with Bluetooth and three grades. The top Amundsen model has two Bluetooth interfaces and allows online entertainment with voice control! There are the five familiar Skoda grades at prices starting from £12,840. All round this is a better Fabia, you could say it is a more grown-up car and the sheer spaciousness of the hatchback and estate make them serious options for down-sizing.

NEW ENGINES GIVE THE VOLVO ‘MAX‘ A NEW RELEVANCE! Some are predicting better residual values for the latest XC90 than for its obvious rivals from BMW and Mercedes.

hat says a lot about how well the now Chineseowned Swedish car company is doing in recent years. Top-line SUVs are as much about luxury as anything else and the new flagship has this in spades. It has it own style and stands out where many of the other SUVs just blend into the rest. If you want seven seats then the XC90 is hard to ignore or you can have one of the biggest boots in the business. Above all, it is car that will cosset and protect its occupants - Volvo always has safety in its DNA. Under the skin it is all change - Volvo now only makes 2.0-

litre, four-cylinder engines but they can be petrol, diesel or hybrid. Slightly mischievously they are holding on to their heritage tags such as D5 and T6 of which many have fond memories. But it is all about being clean and green these days. The most obvious business choice is the four-cylinder D5 232bhp diesel which returns just under 50mpg and has emissions of 149g/km. The top petrol T6 uses turbo and supercharging to extract 316bhp from its twolitre core - an exhilarating drive but you pay for it with 36mpg and emissions of 179g/km. The T8 hybrid is a tantalising

prospect. It returns 136mpg combined with emissions of just 59g/km. This could reduce company car tax considerably but you pay more upfront with pricing from £62K. Otherwise you can get into a conventional XC90 from about £50K.

After a short drive in the XC90, I was impressed by its get up and go and by its premium qualities. Inside is a blend of leather and a big central touchscreen in the shape of an iPad. Roomier than its premium rivals, it will be a force to be reckoned with.

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