Business Eye Aug Sept 2014

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Issue 143 Aug/Sept 2014 £2.50 Voted best Business Magazine in Ireland 2005 and Magazine of the Year for Northern Ireland

Family Values...

Shortlisted Magazines Ireland Awards 2011 Business To Business Magazine of the Year

Martin Agnew & Henderson Group Features:

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Agency Challenge Stephen Roycroft at RLA

Catering Challenge Leo Small at Titanic Belfast

Retail Challenge Tesco’s Nicola Irvine

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Contents

titanicbelfast.com AUG/SEPT 2014 ISSUE 143

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Retail Investment Victoria Square – Belfast’s Ace In The Pack

Time is running out for Northern Ireland healthcare practices and individuals to enter the first ever Business Eye Healthcare Awards in association with 3FiveTwo Group, which take place on 1st October at the Europa Hotel in Belfast. The Awards span ten categories and set out to recognise the best of the best across the healthcare sector here.

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Henderson Group & The Family Touch There are plenty of businesses around that like to talk about having a family ethos. There are few – and even fewer of their scale – that can back it up as much as the Henderson Group. Despite its size (4,000 employees) and the fact that it is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest companies by just about any measure, Henderson Group retains that family flavour. Business Eye talks to Henderson Group Joint Managing Director, Martin Agnew.

Alan Clarke retired at the end of August after 13 years as Chief Executive at the NI Tourist Board. He leaves behind a formidable legacy. His tenure saw a revolution in tourism here, and some momentous events.....from the Irish Open Golf to the MTV Awards and from Derry’s City of Culture Year to the Giro D’Italia.

What Can The Politicians Do For Us? We pose a key question to a cross section of business leaders and opinion formers:- How important is it to business and the economy here that the Stormont administration solves its remaining issues and gets on with the job of effective and coherent government?

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Top Performers Step Up The Pace

Businesses here need to throw their weight behind a final push to persuade Westminster to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland. But, even then, the battle may not yet be won, warns Ian Coulter, former CBI NI Chairman and Managing Partner at Tughans.

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UTV Business Eye Awards in association with Flybe

Northern Ireland’s very best corporate performers are revealed once again in the 2014 Business Eye Profit 200, sponsored by Danske Bank. This year’s figures show the beginnings of a clear post-recession recovery, and welcome trends include the emergence of a new breed of top private sector operators.

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Ian Coulter... Support Needed For Final Tax Push

Business Eye Profit 200

It’s just a couple of months until the 2014 UTV Business Eye Awards in association with Flybe, the biggest night of celebration for the local business community. With preparations well underway for the October 23 showpiece, businesses and individuals are urged to get their entries in.

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Food & Drink

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Media & Advertising Stephen’s New Agency Challenge

Taking on the mantle of an iconic Belfast brand name was a bold move by restaurateur Andy Watt, and one that has proved to be an important ingredient in the success of his flourishing business venture…

Retail Management Numbers play an important role in the life of Nicola Irvine, Store Manager at Tesco Extra Knocknagoney - one of the gems in the supermarket chain’s Northern Ireland network.

Stephen Roycroft has been around the Northern Ireland media and advertising industry for quite a number of years. But this experienced and well respected ad man is relishing a brand new challenge, at the helm of an agency for the first time at RLA Ireland.

Eye on Events

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Eye on Law

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Eye on Giving

Eye on Banking

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Eye on Technology

80

Young Business Personality

Eye on Digital

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Eye on Fleet Awards

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Moving On

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Eye on Branding

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Eye on Travel

92

Eye on Motoring

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Buckley Publications 20 Kings Road Belfast, BT5 6JJ Tel: (028) 9047 4490 Fax: (028) 9047 4495 www.businesseye.co.uk

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Alan Clarke Steps Down at NITB

Cover Story

ABC average circulation Jan-June 2010, 7,610 copies Yearly Subscription £35 UK and NI or £37.50 outside the UK

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Business Eye Healthcare Awards 2014

The continued success of Victoria Square – the centre is due to welcome another batch of new tenants in the coming months – has led to something of a problem for Belfast city centre, as other parts of the city’s traditional heart fail to keep up with the centre everyone wants to be in. That’s the warning from Lambert Smith Hampton’s Criona Collins.

Regulars

Specials

Editor Richard Buckley Commercial Director Brenda Buckley Sales Manager Claire Dickson

Features & Promotions Manager Ciara Donnelly

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

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There is a clear feeling around that the long-running campaign to deliver lower corporation tax to Northern Ireland might be about to get a positive result.

Comment “Wouldn’t it be an absolute tragedy if a sustained and impressive campaign managed to persuade the coalition government in London to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland, only for it to be shot down by our own politicians up at Stormont?”

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Irish Magazine Editor of the Year 2005

he whole idea of devolving corporation tax powers to Stormont was knocked into the semi rough (to use a golfing analogy) some time ago by Prime Minister David Cameron, but it looks likely now to get the nod in the wake of the Scottish Referendum vote.

That would be a major cause for celebration around these parts. But any wholesale popping of champagne corks might just be a little premature.

David Cameron and his Ministers can make their decisions, but Stormont still has to make its own decisions. If the corporation tax baton is passed across the Irish Sea, Stormont has to decide what to do with its new found taxation powers.

The simple fact is this. Political parties with a certain left of centre leaning see the potential corporation tax move in a very different light than business people do. In the parlance of old labour politics, they smell a plot by the rich business lobby to cream even more money off the system, and away from the workers.

And, dangerously, they’ve even been heard comparing a possible corporation tax move to impending welfare cuts.

The bottom line is that corporation tax may well be devolved from Westminster to Stormont. But, once it gets here, it seems that it might not have any easy passage through the legislative hoops up on the hill.

Wouldn’t it be an absolute tragedy if a sustained and impressive campaign managed to persuade the coalition government in London to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland, only for it to be shot down by our own politicians up at Stormont?

An unlikely scenario? Maybe or maybe not, but it’s one we must be aware of.

In an interview with Business Eye this month, one of the key movers in the campaign to have corporation tax powers devolved urges everyone

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in business here to get behind a final push to get it over the line and into the local statute books.

Ian Coulter, the former Chairman of CBI Northern Ireland, says that the business community here can’t be complacent by assuming that any announcement of devolutions means that lower corporation tax is a done deal.

In another part of this edition of Business Eye, we mark the retirement of Alan Clarke, the outgoing Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

We’ve said in this space before now that Clarke deserves a huge amount of credit for his foresight and determination during his 13 years in the top tourism job here.

He has presided over a period which has seen Northern Ireland coming out of the shadows of its violent past and becoming a world class host to events like the MTV Awards, the Giro D’Italia, the Irish Open Golf and Derry’s City of Culture celebrations to name but a few. It’s a period which also saw the opening of the remarkable Titanic Belfast.

Alan Clarke was also responsible for transforming how the Northern Ireland Tourist Board looked at its remit.

He introduced the concept of the key signature projects, facing a fair degree of opposition along the way. And it proved to be a winning approach to tourism development.

But perhaps the best way to consider the achievements of tourism in the Alan Clarke era is to take a walk around Belfast (including Titanic) on almost any given day. The sheer number of tourists around town never ceases to amaze those of us who can remember a city and a region where tourism was all but non-existent.

All the more baffling, then, that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has yet to appoint a successor for a hugely important role. In fact, at the time of writing, it hadn’t even got around to naming an interim appointee.

Given what has been achieved in tourism here over recent years, that seems like a very odd state of affairs.

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Eye on Awards

Wednesday 1st October at the Europa Hotel, Belfast The Business Eye Healthcare Awards for Northern Ireland is being organised, managed and promoted by Business Eye in association with 3Fivetwo Group, and with sponsorship from leading pharmaceutical companies and other key suppliers to the medical/healthcare sector.

The brand new awards will be launched this Spring and staged for the first time at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on Wednesday, 1st October.

They set out to recognise and reward best practice in the wider healthcare sector, with categories spanning medicine, nursing, community care, dentistry, research and a number of other areas.

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Eye on Awards Award Categories: The Business Eye Healthcare Awards in association with 3Fivetwo Group cover all three key areas of healthcare – primary (communitybased), secondary (GP network) & tertiary (consultants, hospitals).

Entries across a total of 10 categories will be actively encouraged via a dedicated Awards website and with promotion via the general media, 3Fivetwo Group sites and Health Style magazine.

A judging panel will meet in advance of the awards ceremony date and will include leading representatives from 3Fivetwo Group and industry figures.

The Awards will comprise of a proposed ten categories:Optometry Practice of the Year

Pharmacy Practice of the Year

Training In Healthcare Award

Dental Practice of the Year

Care Home Of The Year

Innovation Award

Clinical Excellence Award

GP Practice Of The Year

Community Nurse of the Year

Hospital Consultant of the Year

For more information on sponsorship opportunities and entry process contact Donna Hosking on: donna@businesseye.co.uk or alternatively call 028 9047 4490 or 07892 406262 7

Eye on News

Healthcare’s Best Take To The Stage Business Eye and 3FiveTwo Group, operators of Kingsbridge Private Hospital, have teamed up to recognise the best of the best right across the healthcare sector in Northern Ireland.

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Pictured at Belfast’s Kingsbridge Private Hospital launching an exciting new healthcare venture for Northern Ireland are Kingsbridge Chief Executive Mark Regan and Brenda Buckley, Commercial Director of Business Eye magazine.

ur top practices and individuals will be in the spotlight at Belfast’s Europa Hotel on Wednesday, 1st October, 2014.

The first ever Business Eye Healthcare Awards, in association with private medical specialists 3FiveTwo Group, will spotlight the top performers across ten different healthcare sectors.

Amongst the awards will be those for Northern Ireland’s leading GP, Dental, Optometry and Pharmacy Practice. But there are also key trophies due to be awarded to the Hospital Consultant of the Year and the Community Nurse of the Year. The Care Home Sector is also featured, as is Healthcare Innovation and Clinical Excellence.

“We’ve already had a lot of interest from right across the healthcare sector here in Northern Ireland,” says Business Eye’s Brenda Buckley. “But our

message to all practices and individuals out there is to get your entries in well before our closing date to be in with a chance of being a winner on what will be a memorable night.”

The closing date for entries is Friday, 12th September, 2014, and full entry details are online at www.businesseyeawards.co.uk.

Expansion Plan For Insurance Firm McGrady Insurance, the Downpatrick-based specialist in business, leisure and personal insurance, has welcomed three new staff to its team in a move that kicks off a major expansion of its operations over the next five years.

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he company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, said it had already increased staff numbers to 18 since January, and that further staff would be recruited throughout 2014 and beyond as part of £250,000 investment plan to double the size of the business and restructure its divisions to meet growing customer demand..

Since it was established in 1964, McGrady Insurance has become one of Northern Ireland’s largest, independent specialist insurance providers.

Managing Director, Fintan McGrady, said:

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“We have experienced phenomenal growth in recent years and we’re delighted to be in a strong position to invest further in our business.

“In this highly-competitive arena, many operators have scaled back their physical operations or put more of their products online. We’re different. We’re investing in people because that’s what customers have told us they want, and, because of that, they can be assured that their needs are delivered in a friendly, personable way.”

Fintan said his own experience had shown that most insurance customers were keen to stay loyal to

McGrady Insurance Managing Director, Fintan McGrady.

a locally-based, direct service because this provided them with the peace of mind that they were properly covered and at a competitive cost.

“Contrary to popular belief, broker pricing is often actually better than direct insurance pricing because staff are professionally trained to choose the right policy for customers

– this avoids unnecessary claims and maintains the right premium.

“Too many people are paying premiums for insurance products that don’t provide the cover they want. We invest time with customers, educating them on the latest policies and providing advice based on their specific needs.”

Eye on News

SHS GROUP MD ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Michael Howard, the Managing Director of one of Northern Ireland’s largest privately owned companies has confirmed plans to retire from the SHS Group at the end of the year.

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e joined the Belfastbased business almost 20 years ago and, after assuming the role of Managing Director in 1999, helped the Group to evolve from a traditional familyrun sales and marketing company into a multinational business with 10 operating companies, 700 staff and an annual turnover of £400m.

Michael played a pivotal role in the company’s acquisition of Merrydown PLC, British Pepper & Spice, Gordons Fine Foods, Brand Phoenix, Bottlegreen and The Crucial Sauce Company.

The Group confirmed he would remain in position until December and stay on the Group board as a Non Executive Director

following his retirement.

SHS Group was founded in 1975 by Joe Sloan and the late Geoff Salters. Joe Sloan, Chairman of the SHS Group, paid tribute to Michael’s contribution: “During his tenure as Managing Director, Michael has driven forward significant growth and firmly positioned the company among the elite in the FMCG sector. He has been the architect for the current business model, leading our successful brand acquisition strategy and improving all areas of the Group’s business effectiveness and competitiveness.

“Michael instilled an innovationfocussed culture across all

divisions and broadened reach into lucrative markets. He also developed the Belfast centre of excellence, which continues to go from strength-to-strength and underpins the Group’s efficiencies.

“Michael leaves the organisation in exceptional financial standing and with four well-equipped divisions that are ready for future growth and development. On behalf of the Sloan and Salters families, we thank Michael for all his hard work, commitment and support over the past 20 years. I wish him every happiness in his retirement.”

Michael Howard first joined SHS Group in 1995 as Group Financial Director and has helped the organisation grow from an annual turnover of £50m to more than £400m and profits of nearly £20m in 2013.

In 2012, Michael was awarded the Institute of Director’s Lunn’s

Award of Excellence for his contribution to the success of SHS Group’s business and employees alongside the wider Northern Ireland community.

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ames Sterling, H&J Martin Facilities Management, Stephen Welch, Chairman, BIFM Ireland Region, event host Jim Fitzpatrick and Ray Taylor, Operations Director, Aramark. unveil innovative conference app ahead of the BIFM Ireland Region Conference. Taking place at Titanic Belfast on Friday 14th

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November, BIFM are taking the radical approach to better engage with delegates and also showcase just one of the ways in which the multibillion facilities management sector has kept ahead of the curve in order to deliver for businesses.

For further information or to download the app visit www.bifmireland.org.uk

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Eye on News

Debating The Game Changers In Northern Ireland’s Financial Sector As we await the decision on corporation tax and the government’s pursuit of efficiency in the public sector begins to show its impact, leading economist Professor Neil Gibson is to give a keynote address to ensure that Northern Ireland’s financial services sector is prepared for the major changes ahead.

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rofessor Gibson, Director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy (NICEP) at the Ulster Business School, will address the ‘Future of the NI Economy’ events on Wednesday 10th September, giving an in-depth analysis of the impact of public sector reform, what effect the proposed devolution of corporation tax will have on the local economy and how individuals working in financial services should prepare for the changes.

Organised by leading wealth management firm St. James’s Place, the events will take place on Wednesday 10th September, with a choice of Belfast’s Merchant Hotel at 8.30am

or the Roe Park Resort, Limavady at 1.30pm. Financial advisers and their guests are invited to the event to ensure that they are better able to serve their clients in the face of these game changing policy decisions.

Speaking ahead of the event Damian McLarnon, Senior Acquisition Manager, St. James’s Place said, “The Northern Ireland economy could change radically if corporation tax is devolved and the implications of the government’s plans to reduce public sector spending will have an impact on all of us working in the financial services sector. The aim of this event is to better prepare local

For further information about the events please contact Deirdre Hamill at St. James’s Place on 028 9072 6500 or email deirdre.hamill@sjp.co.uk

financial advisers, accountants and interested individuals for the changes ahead so that they can enhance their performance for clients.”

Other speakers at the event include Dan Looney, Investment Consultant in the Asset Management team at St. James’s Place, who will present an outlook on ‘Global Markets & Economy’ and Philip Kent, Investment Manager at Foresight Group, which has invested over £90 million in Northern Ireland in the past five years. Philip will discuss the potential for real returns from investing in the province and will share

some of his experiences including funding projects such as the rebuilding of Drumglass High School and the Evermore Waste & Energy site.

With the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy carrying out high-level research to ensure that Northern Ireland achieves its economic ambitions through education of future leaders and research into areas of crucial importance to the local economy including Corporation Tax and Small Business Rate Relief, this is a must-attend event for anyone involved in financial services.

TUGHANS LEADS ADVISOR DEAL REVIEW TABLE The latest Experian® deal review and advisor league tables have revealed that Belfast law firm Tughans secured the top ranking position in Northern Ireland for the number of deals completed in the first half of 2014. The report indicates that Tughans was the most active legal advisor in terms of volume for H1 2014 participating in seven out of the 26 local deals.

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he report was carried out by the UK and Ireland division of global information services company Experian ® and the Northern Ireland league tables formed part of a detailed review of deal transactions in eleven UK regions and the Republic of Ireland.

Overall Experian ® figures for the UK and Republic of Ireland show that deal volumes were down almost 11.4% for H1 2014 but the aggregate value of transactions was up by 65%.

The report states that 26 transactions were announced in Northern Ireland during H1 2014 with a deal value of £154m. The main industry

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involved was manufacturing with nine deals followed by professional services (seven deals) and construction (five).

John George Willis, Head of Corporate at Tughans said: ‘’Tughans have experienced a marked increase in M&A and direct foreign investment activity over the initial six months of 2014, especially in transactions involving local engineering and manufacturing companies and there’s little doubt we will see more in the next six months.

“All the Experian ® listed deals indicate significant investment for the Northern Ireland economy.

US companies such as Astec and Brunswick aren’t buying into Northern Ireland to let their newly acquired operations here tick over. They want to grow these operations and employ more people here as they move into European markets.

“It is clear that investors see value for money here as the deal league table was dominated by investment from

outside Northern Ireland. Their view is that they’re getting a lot of potential growth for every dollar they invest here. They don’t see buying here as a risk and the fact that Astec’s share price rose on the back of its Tyrone acquisition supports that view.”

Tughans is one of Northern Ireland’s largest corporate law firms and employs over 125 staff.

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Eye on News

BELFAST-BORN FILM-MAKER TURNS HIS LENS ON BELFAST Award-winning, Belfast-born film-maker Marcus Robinson was in Northern Ireland recently, to create a short film highlighting Belfast and some of its attractions, including the Titanic Quarter.

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ourism Ireland invited Marcus to come and make the film about the city of his birth – highlighting in particular his strong connections with the port of Belfast, as his father was a naval architect for Harland and Wolff during the 1940s and worked in the historic Drawing Offices, where RMS Titanic was designed.

Marcus won a BAFTA earlier this year, for his film Rebuilding the World Trade Center, which will have its US television premier on the History Channel, on 11

September. To celebrate Marcus’ success, a special event will take place in Tower 4 of the newlybuilt World Trade Center in New York, on 3 September. His Belfast film will be unveiled at the event – hosted by Tourism Ireland, the Northern Ireland Bureau and Invest NI – and will be seen by an influential American audience of some 400 corporate, media and tourism industry contacts.

Marcus will also be officially presented with his BAFTA award, as he was unable to attend the awards ceremony in February.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said: “We are delighted Marcus has returned to the city of his birth, retracing his family history and creating a short film about Belfast and the Titanic Quarter. We are looking

forward to unveiling the film in early September in New York and are confident that his personal take on Belfast will inspire many American travellers to come and discover the city, and the rest of Northern Ireland, for themselves.”

a critical role in helping provide vital support services for some of the most important functions in the evolving history of Northern Ireland.

From the Queen and members of the Royal Family to Presidents, Prime Ministers and Taoiseach’s, the attention to the most exacting detail in meeting the service requirements of every individual has been the hallmark of excellence instilled across the Group by Trevor and his management team.

That same focus of meeting the specific demands of the client at events from the Good Friday Agreement Talks to the G8 Summit continues to underline the organisational ability of The Mount Charles Group.

The Group’s Managing Director Cathal Geoghegan, in paying tribute to the vision of Trevor Annon, told

the Waterfront audience that the company continued to have an appetite for success based around the delivery of realistic ambitions.

“While the majority of our growth over the next five years will come organically, we also intend to be acquisitive.

“As a result we will see the spread of operations continuing to grow with an increasing share of revenue coming from the ROI and GB. “We see the revenue of the business growing in excess of £40 million, a figure that will double our current turnover.

“And employment across the Group is expected to grow in excess of 2,500 as we continue with a carefully calibrated approach to all sectors of the Group during the same period,” Mr. Geoghegan added.

MOUNT CHARLES GROUP CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY BY LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

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reland’s largest multi-service organisation, The Mount Charles Group has celebrated its 25th anniversary with an intimate gourmet dinner in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.

Founded as a one-man operation in 1988 by Trevor Annon, The Mount Charles Group now employs more than 1,500 employees at sites across the island of Ireland and Great Britain.

It is now an organisation with a multi-million pound turnover and is recognised as being Ireland’s largest indigenous catering and support services company.

Initially focusing on the catering sector, over the past quarter of a century the company has developed and expanded into a provider of cleaning, vending, retail and business support services on a multi-faceted basis.

The most recent service to be offered to new and existing clients

by The Mount Charles Group is security services. This is as a result of a joint venture with the RMS Group.

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Chairman Trevor Annon stated that while the Group had its sights firmly fixed on continued expansion and development over the coming years, the core ethos of the company would be one of retaining its strong local identity.

Mr. Annon pledged that the connection with the community was something The Mount Charles Group would continue to regard as a priceless asset in its approach to business.

“It is a matter of great pride that we, wherever possible, source our goods and products from local suppliers. Our commitment to regional industry and commerce remains intact.

“The continued strength of the Mount Charles Group is not based on any one individual. It has been, and will continue to be a total team effort where everyone is encouraged to reach their full potential for the benefit of our clients and customers,” Mr. Annon said.

Over the past 25 years The Mount Charles Group has been able to play

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Eye on News

FLYBE SECURES PARTNERSHIP WITH WORLD’S LARGEST STUDENT TRAVEL BOOKING AGENCY

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lybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, is delighted to announce a landmark deal with STA Travel confirming its status as the ‘Preferred Partner for Student and Youth Travel’ which will see a range of affordable seat fares offered for sale across Flybe’s extensive 180+ route network to STA Travel’s customer base.

STA Travel is the world’s largest student and youth travel company, operating in over 63 countries including Northern Ireland, and has more than 230 retail stores globally in addition to its web booking engine that offers 24/7 global travel help. It has a high profile through a number of promotional tools including the wide use of social media channels, a database of more than 2.4 million and knowledgeable in-store travel experts who provide peer-to-peer advice to customers.

This, with a product range that

matches the price and performance expectations of its customers and weekly ‘hot deals’ displayed across all 50 of STA Travel’s UK stores, means that Flybe will be afforded the benefit of high prominence within this relatively untapped and hugely active travel sector.

Commenting on the new partnership, Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Simmons said: “The global student and youth travel market offers enormous potential and we are delighted to have secured a presence into this fast growing sector of the travelling public through our new preferred partnership relationship with STA Travel. Customers will have access to an extensive selection of dynamic fares across Flybe’s network that includes routes offered by our two franchise partners, Loganair and Stobart Air.

Belfast student Clare Minne helps Flybe announce the airline’s partnership deal with STA Travel, the world’s largest student and youth travel company, at its store in Botanic Avenue. Also in the picture is Flybe Regional Sales Manager Ken Harrower and STA Travel Expert Joseph Toner.

“Our regional sales team is looking forward to supporting this partnership by working closely with STA Travel’s own extensive retail network.

“In this exciting fast-moving sector, and with a passenger commitment

of being ‘the fastest way from A to Flybe’, we greatly look forward to working with our new partners at STA Travel and to becoming the preferred regional airline of choice for millions of additional young travellers.”

We think our food is great.

But don’t listen to us, listen to our customers.

We're handing the voice of Lidl over to our customers. Yes, that's you. After today, our advertising will feature authentic and unvarnished views of our customers, as expressed by them on Twitter, Facebook and other online forums.

CATHEDRAL EYE

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ndrew Spence of leading specialist eye care clinic Cathedral Eye presents the ‘Cathedral Eye Clinic North of Ireland Championship’ trophy to winner

Chris Selfridge of Moyola Park Golf Club. The Belfast and Dublin based eye clinic had recently undertaken a successful second year in partnering the GUI (Ulster Branch) as title sponsor.

Please feel free to join in. Your comments and points of view are warmly welcomed. You can find us on Twitter @Lidl_ni and facebook.com/lidlni Over to you! facebook.com/lidlni

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Lidl Surprises.

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Eye on Events

GIN’S THE THING AT GALGORM

D WARRENPOINT TO HOST PORTS SHOWPIECE

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arrenpoint Harbour Authority will host The British Ports Association (BPA) 2014 Annual Conference from 1st - 2nd October 2014. . This will only be the second time the flagship industry event has been hosted in Northern Ireland and it is expected to attract approximately 200 delegates including BPA Members and Non Members,

industry partners and key stakeholders.

Pictured at the launch announcement at Narrow Water Castle Keep, Warrenpoint were Peter Fitzsimmons, Chairman, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority; Danny Kennedy, Minister for Regional Development; Andrew Moffat, Chairman of the British Ports Association, and Peter Conway, Chief Executive, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority.

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Do you prefer maceration to vapour infusion? Gin is enjoying something of a renaissance and with this in mind Galgorm Resort and Spa have more than 30 choices of heritage and artisan brands ready to serve in the luxurious surroundings of the Conservatory at the River Room, the latest addition to the four-star resort.

Ten jobs have been created at the ÂŁ1 million project, created by Hampton Conservatories with internal design by RPP Architects.

The deluxe new addition boasts stunning views of the River Maine and surrounding parkland, and is fitted with bespoke Ulster Carpets and Abbey Upholsterers interiors.

Eye on Events

CHAMPAGNE BACKER FOR OYSTER FESTIVAL

AWARD FOR SHU

L

isburn Road restaurant SHU has claimed the ‘Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland’ title for the third year in a row at the 2014 National Restaurant Awards - the industry’s most important annual event.

The popular Belfast eatery ranked 76th in the UK, moving up ten places from 2013, at the prestigious industry event which celebrates the 100 best places to eat out in the UK, as voted for by 150 strong National Restaurant Awards Academy, made up of the country’s top industry experts

Judges were impressed by the innovative menu created by Head Chef Brian McCann and by the consistency of service and hospitality provided by Restaurant Manager Julian Henry’s front of house team.

Owned by restaurateur Alan Reid, SHU is the first restaurant in Northern Ireland to claim the prestigious accolade for three years running and the team are understandably delighted to once again be the only Northern Ireland restaurant recognised in the top 100 listing.

A

major new partner has been signed up for the Hillsborough International Oyster Festival 2014 to ensure this year’s celebrations at the historic Co Down village are a sparkling success! Pol Roger, the luxury champagne house which has been supplying the British aristocracy with bubbly since 1849, is the headline sponsor of this year’s Festival, which runs from 2-7 September.

“We are delighted to announce the Pol Roger Hillsborough International

Oyster Festival,” said Chairman Janet Higginson. “Oysters and champagne make great partners and we are confident Pol Roger will be a sparkling addition to an already unique Festival.”

Information on this year’s programme, which includes a Castle Fun Day, Masters Golf Tournament, Banquet & Ball, Live Concert Night and Super Car Sunday and, of course, the World Oyster Eating Championship, can be found at www.hillsboroughoysterfestival.com.

Amy McCordick

...WHILE NEIL TAKES TOP HOTELIER CROWN

N

eil Devlin, General Manager of Hastings Everglades Hotel was named Hotelier of the Year (Large Category) at the recent Institute of Hospitality

Janus Awards for professionalism.

He’s pictured receiving his award from Catherine Williamson, Past Chairperson, and Chairman Stephen Meldrum.

"This kitchen roll is such good value." facebook.com/lidlni

#LoveLidlni

£1.89 Floralys Kitchen Towels 4 Pack

Lidl Surprises.

15

Eye on Banking

Rising Productivity Is Essential To The Overall Health And Wealth Of Our Economy Despite feeling that we are working harder than ever, the headline data tells us that productivity in the UK is down, and the bad news does not stop there. The elusive earnings growth that everyone awaits will not materialise until ‘output per hour worked’ starts to increase. But perhaps, reader, before you start to gaze into the distance and begin assessing your own productivity levels or those of your workforce, let’s first have a look at the evidence.

By Angela McGowan, Danske Bank Chief Economist

P

roductivity in the UK is currently causing a bit of a headache for economists and policymakers. Output per hour had always risen at a stable rate (approximately 2.25%) every year up until 2008; but after that point it deviated away from its normal path and has yet to return.

Indeed according to the Office of National Statistics, productivity is still 4.3 percentage points below its pre-downturn peak. Of further concern is the fact that UK productivity is significantly lower relative to all other G7 countries. On an ‘output per hour’ measure, productivity in the UK is 21 per cent lower than the average of all other G7 countries.

Reasons for our low productivity in recent years have been much debated. There are some quite clear industry-specific reasons for output declining per worker or per hour worked. For example, in the financial sector heavy regulation and compliance require a lot more staff to be employed in less productive roles.

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Think also, for example, of a real estate agent who in 2013 was working the same hours as they did in 2007, but in 2013 they were bringing in only a fraction of the house sales that were brought in during the boom years.

Extensive research by the Bank of England suggests that there are probably a number of factors at play which explain this drop in the UK’s productivity - some of which are cyclical in nature while others are more persistent. For example, it could be that the economic cycle left numerous businesses with spare capacity because they reacted to weak demand by holding on to employees, despite the fact that sales were down. Firms sometimes do this when they anticipate better times ahead and do not want to lose a skilled workforce. But there is also the possibility that during the downturn UK firms significantly reduced their investment in physical and intangible capital (such as R&D and innovation)

and, unfortunately, if this is the case, then this particular impact on productivity would be less transitory.

Raising productivity is in everyone’s interest. At the firm level there are a number of things that can be done to raise company output per hour worked. Proven tactics include: investing in ICT, investing in equipment, investing in skills and energy efficiency as well as benchmarking your firm’s performance against international best practice.

Individuals make a difference too. An individual’s productivity is not just about effort and application but it is also about ensuring individuals have the right equipment, training, information and incentives.

As technology is ramped up it is increasingly important for individuals to examine how they work and how they manage their time in this new world of being instantly available to everyone on email, Twitter and LinkedIn. Ron Friedman - a business blogger at Harvard Business Review - recently wrote an enlightening article entitled “The

Cost of Continuously Checking Email”. He quite rightly points out that every time you run low on something in your kitchen (e.g. olive oil or bananas), would your instinctive response be to drop everything and go to the store?

No, because clustering activities like shopping makes sense and clustering activities in work also makes sense. Friedman refers to a study done by the University of London which found that we lose as many as 10 IQ points when we allow our work to be interrupted. Basically, we pay a mental tax when we multi-task.

Friedman recommends that we should group related tasks so that there are fewer transitions. Schedule meetings back to back, keep a list of administrative tasks and do them all in a weekly session.

Instead of responding instantly to emails, limit checking your account to a few predetermined times of the day such as 8.30am, 12noon and 4.30pm.

A bit of self-discipline is required here, so at this point I will just wish you luck and let’s hope that those collective efforts add to the national output!

Eye on Emerging Markets

Latin America:

The lure of the middle class

Despite a recent slowdown of GDP growth in some of its major markets, strong opportunities still exist for UK companies in Latin America especially with the rapid expansion of the continent’s consumer class, says Mark Berrisford-Smith, Head of Economics for HSBC’s Commercial Banking division.

I

t’s true that the countries of south and central America haven’t always been the easiest places to do business. During the 20th century they endured their fair share of turmoil, in the form of bloody revolutions, brutal dictatorships and bouts of hyperinflation.

Yet since the middle of the 1990s Latin America’s economic performance has undergone a step change improvement.

Sure, it hasn’t matched the blistering rates of growth seen in China, India and some other emerging economies. But that was never going to happen, given that the countries of Latin America were already further down the road of economic development. Nonetheless, in the five years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008 the region’s annual GDP growth averaged more than 5%, with a strong post-crisis rebound in 2010.

As ever, GDP statistics tell only part of the story, and just as important are the improvements in political stability, economic governance and the quality of the institutional framework. The bottom line, however, is that living standards have improved dramatically, with GDP per head, measured at purchasing power parities, more than doubling in the past two decades.

Steady growth of UK trade flows The importance of Latin America in Britain’s trade has grown steadily over recent years, although the flow of goods and services moving in both directions still accounted for only 2.6% of the UK’s total trade in 2012. In the decade from 2002 the value of exports more than doubled, from £6.3bn to £15.7bn, which was sufficient to lift the region’s share of exports from 2.3% to 3.2%. Not surprisingly, Brazil is Britain’s largest market in Latin America by a considerable margin, accounting for more than a quarter of the total. But no market in this region makes it into even the UK’s top 20 export destinations.

Looking just at exports of goods, where figures for 2013 are now available, Brazil ranks only as the 26th largest market, coming in behind the other three BRIC economies, and also lagging behind the UAE, Turkey and South Korea. The only other Latin American countries to make it into the top 50 were Mexico in 39th place and Chile in 40th.

In common with other emerging economies the countries of Latin America are now going through a softer patch.

The boost provided to economic growth from the super-cycle in commodity prices has run its course, as China’s economy

evolves and its pace of growth slackens.

Add to this the fact that interest rates in major western economies remain at or close to zero, and it’s clear that they will soon be moving up again. With the advanced economies now offering a real prospect of improving returns, investors have been redirecting some of their funds from emerging economies.

But it’s also true that the long period of robust economic growth has caused some economies to overheat and laid bare some neglected areas of structural reforms, whether it be inadequate infrastructure, overweening bureaucracies, or low educational attainment.

The upshot is that growth rates have eased in the past few years. Brazil, for example, is slated to achieve GDP growth in 2014 of just 1.7%, slower than in both Britain and America. For the region as a whole, with growth having come in at 2.4% last year, the out-turns for this and next are likely to remain between 2.0 and 2.5%.

It is, of course, a mistake to treat Latin America as a homogeneous grouping, and there continues to be a diverse range of performance. At one end of the spectrum, both Argentina and Venezuela are suffering the consequences of government fiscal largesse and a certain amount of back-sliding in relation to economic governance and policymaking, Argentina’s spat with the IMF over the measurement of its inflation being a case in point. Both countries are now expected to undergo a period of contraction, with GDP declining in 2014.

In common with Argentina, the Brazilian economy has been allowed to run ahead of itself in the past few years, with domestic consumption running ahead of the economy’s investment in productive assets. The result in both countries has been a resurgence of inflationary pressures requiring a series of interest rate hikes from the central banks. At the other end of the spectrum, growth rates of 3% plus are still anticipated for 2014 and 2015 in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile.

East , west … who’s best ?

Indeed, one feature of the continent’s economic performance is the opening up of an east–west split. While the

commodities boom of the past decade has benefited the region as a whole, the countries along the western seaboard have tended to be more open to foreign investment and have been more active in entering agreements to reduce the barriers to international trade. Chile, Mexico and Peru are all involved in the negotiations to create the new Trans- Pacific Partnership, involving a dozen nations from both sides of the ocean. Meanwhile, Mexico is a member of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), while Chile and Colombia have both negotiated bilateral free trade agreements with the United States. In contrast, the eastern countries have tended towards greater protectionism while the Mercosur trade bloc has struggled to make tangible progress.

In common with many other emerging economies, the countries of Latin America are undergoing a period of retrenchment and consolidation following a period of very rapid growth.

The countries which will win out are those which are able to implement structural reforms. But even though there are concerns about a return to bad habits in a few countries, in general the region is much better placed today than it was in the past to weather an economic slowdown. Many countries have built up large reserves of foreign exchange, while the climate for foreign investors is generally friendlier.

But perhaps most important of all, the past two decades have seen the rapid expansion across the continent of a large urban middle class. Across five of the region’s major emerging economies (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) people in the middle-income group now account for nearly half the population. There are, of course, relatively large numbers of people still on much lower incomes, but research

by HSBC* suggests that many of these will move to the middle-income bracket over the coming decades.

Even more striking, perhaps, is the fact that in some countries, such as Argentina, the proportion of middle-income consumers will actually decline by 2050 as significant numbers of citizens migrate into the higher-income group. Serving their needs will continue to mean that the region remains an attractive proposition for British businesses, if they can only re-focus their radars. * Consumer in 2050: The rise of the emerging market middle class (HSBC Global Research, October 2012)

17

LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON...

Riding The Retail Wave

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Eye on Retail The leasing team at Lambert Smith Hampton might have a new name on their business cards, but the day to day challenges remain the same.

L

easing Director Criona Collins can afford to be upbeat these days, displaying the kind of positivity that just wasn’t possible in the Northern Ireland retail property marketplace of a year or two ago.

Back then, things could hardly have looked worse. Today, there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful, especially when you’re the property consultants in charge of lettings, asset management and management at Belfast’s retail jewel in the crown – Victoria Square.

“Victoria Square has continued to go from strength to strength,” says Criona Collins. “In fact, we’re at the stage where we can start to fine tune the tenant mix.

“European retailer Mango is just about to open its doors with a 8,000 Sq. Ft. flagship store, a new Karen Millen store opened a couple of months ago, we’ve got an impressive new concept Costa Coffee branch up and running. We are now looking forward to the arrival of two more great brand names in the run up to Christmas.”

“Yo! Sushi, the Japanese style conveyor belt sushi chain founded

by Simon Woodroffe, will open its first restaurant here in the coming months. We are also delighted that Victoria Square is to be one of a select number of UK locations for the new Goldsmiths Boutique retail concept,” adds Criona Collins.

Criona Collins reckons that there is no doubt these days that Victoria Square is the Number 1 choice for national and international retailers and food/coffee chains locating within Northern Ireland.

Collins concedes Donegall Place/ Royal Avenue may have lost out where Victoria Square has gained and Collins says that a cohesive City Centre strategy is urgently required.

“The wider City Centre needs a decisive strategy that involves all of the stakeholders –landlords, retailers, property professionals and the local authorities included.

It’s important for Belfast that we make sure that Donegall Place / Royal Avenue /Castle Lane regain their glory as busy, thriving retail zones,” says Collins.

“The problems can be solved.

The arrival of successful shopping centres within city centres have led to difficulties in a number of other UK cities in the past, but there are ways of making sure that traditional and new retail centres co-exist. Working together, the key stakeholders can develop Belfast City Centre’s role as Northern Ireland’s Regional shopping destination, adds Criona Collins.

Lambert Smith Hampton isn’t a new name to the Belfast and Northern Ireland property marketplace. But it re-appeared as a force to be reckoned with on the local stage when the London-based company acquired BTWShiells several months ago.

The firm’s experts are responsible for the management and leasing of a number of shopping centres across Great Britain and Republic of Ireland and Criona Collins says that lettings are on an upward trend at most of these. A good example, she says, is Derry’s Foyleside Centre, where new retail arrivals include iConnect, Clintons and Monsoon.

Forestside Shopping Centre has also witnessed a huge take up of space, approx 40,000 Sq.ft. with Next and H&M respectively.

Retailing she adds is a much more sophisticated business all round now,” she says. “Shopping centres have to compete to attract the top retail names, and to convince retail decision-makers to invest in them.

The whole retail experience is evolving and there are many shopping developments which are exciting and will attract retailers and consumers alike.

There is a need for both retailers and shopping centre owners to keep abreast of the changing consumer behaviour whether that is their focus on social media as a platform for communication or the ever increasing use of smartphones. Consumers increasingly want to network with friends, check out prices and have a more traditional shopping centre experience all at the same time.

Research is a key ingredient in ensuring that retailers have all the correct information as their head

Criona Collins, Director, Lambert Smith Hampton.

offices have strict criteria when undertaking new acquisitions.

Intelligence is fundamental to gain insight into shopper behavior.

Demographics, dwell time, potential spending power are all essential ingredients in helping retailers hit their required effort rates. It is imperative to know who the customers are, where they are coming from, how long they stay and how much they spend.”

Collins says that retail growth is encouraging. “It’s not massive growth, but it’s moving in the right direction all the time,” she says. “Customers are spending more, the housing market is improving and relative political stability helps, as does the large number of tourists around the city centre. There’s no doubt that the atmosphere in Belfast is very good.

The impending arrival of brands like Goldsmiths Boutique, Swarovski and Yo! Sushi adds another level of sophistication to Victoria Square, a centre which, in turn, has added a whole new layer of retail sophistication to the city as a whole.

“I think we’re all very pleased with how the centre has evolved and developed over the last year or so. It’s now a retail venue which ranks among the very best that the British Isles can offer....and that’s not overstating it,” says Criona Collins.

Victoria Square’s success, has had a beneficial knock-on effect on the established city streets that immediately surround it, the likes of Arthur Street and Cornmarket.

Among the retail names to sign up for pitches there are Joules, Jaeger and Doctor Marten’s.

What appears to be evolving is a rationalisation of retailer’s demands, as retailers seek to trade out of fewer locations - to cap their cost base and utilise other multi channels to drive turnover. The knock on effect of this strategy is that moving forward there will be fewer retailers to take space and we may see a continued trend of high vacancy rates in Shopping Centres and Parks throughout Northern Ireland.

One solution may be a complete review and over haul of our rating system which is the single largest barrier to retailers entering Northern Ireland’s retail market place.

The wider retail property market, in fact the commercial property market in general, has entered a new phase, says the Lambert Smith Hampton director. Criona Collins quotes one assessment that described the 1980’s as ‘carefree’, the 90’s as ‘careless’, the 00’s as ‘careful’ and the current decade as ‘considered’.

“I think it says it rather well, doesn’t it?” she asks.

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Eye on Cover Story

Martin Agnew & The Henderson Group...

Family Ethos As Important As Ever There are plenty of businesses around that like to talk about having a family ethos. There are few – and even fewer of their scale – that can back it up as much as the Henderson Group.

D

espite its size and the fact that it is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest companies by just about any measure, Henderson Group retains that family flavour. The company itself remains in the control of the Agnew family. There are many family links within its 2,500-strong employee base, some of its suppliers have been around for so long they’re close to being family and quite a number of Northern Ireland families run some of the 400 or so SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVOXTRA, VIVO and VIVO Essentials outlets as family businesses.

Joint Managing Director Martin Agnew is known as a man who prefers to get on with the running of the company rather than talking about it to the media. But it’s something he should do more often.....he’s clearly passionate about the company that his great grandfather first established and that he’s committed his working life to.

“We don’t dwell on the past. We might have a long history but we prefer to look forward,” he says. “My father (John Agnew, the company’s chairman) has a drawer in a filing cabinet with a few bits and pieces in it, but that’s about it.

“Family values, on the other hand, are in our DNA as a company. They are important to us and I suppose they do colour everything we do and the successes that we’ve had.”

With their father John in the chairman’s seat – but still very much involved at Henderson HQ in Mallusk – Martin and his brother Geoffrey are the fourth generation of Agnews to take the helm.

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They share the Managing Director’s role – Martin looking after Wholesale and Henderson Foodservice while Geoffrey has responsibility for Retail.

“We’ve always been a family business and we think it has its advantages,” he says. “We’re not beholden to the City and we can and do take quick decisions.

The continuity that family ownership brings has been good for this business and we want to see that continuing as the next generations come through.”

“Family values are hugely significant throughout our business and our retailers and suppliers are testament to how this can be such a success. We work with local retailers and suppliers right across Northern Ireland who are family businesses and like ourselves have been passed down through the generations.

In some cases they have been in partnership with us for over 30 years.”

Both Agnew brothers have children approaching or passing through the university years with some possibly destined for careers in the family business.

But they’ll be coming into a very different business than their fathers first joined nearly 30 years ago. “When you grow with a business, it’s harder to see how things have changed,” says Martin Agnew. “But there’s no doubt that it’s bigger and much more diversified and it’s harder to keep an eye on everything....impossible, in fact.

“I’d like to be able to know everyone in the business and know what they do... but it’s just not possible with a business of this size.”

The solution to the problem of managing a large-scale enterprise? “It’s all about having the right management team on board to lead it,” says Agnew simply. “And that’s exactly what we’ve got. Several years ago, we moved to a holding company board system with a number of different autonomous operating companies.... and it has worked very well.

“But what’s important is to have great teams of directors in each of the businesses. As MD’s, we rely on those key people and they understand what the business is all about. It doesn’t run on tram lines, but our management team knows the direction we’re travelling in.”

He emphasises the importance of good IT systems as a means of keeping track of what has become an increasingly complex business.

How does Martin Agnew encapsulate what the day to day running of the Henderson Group is all about?

“It’s all about volume,” he says. “We work on very fine margins, so it’s about our buying team finding the best prices and our operations people managing costs effectively. But we’re focussed on sales....sales come first. If we get the sales right, we get the volume and improve our cost prices. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Achieving growth doesn’t just mean controlling costs and getting the prices right, it’s also about investing in the SPAR/EUROSPAR/ VIVO network, expanding stores and looking out for new locations.....before they’re spotted by competitors.

“We might operate 400 or so retail outlets, most of which are independently owned by local families all over Northern Ireland, but there is always room for more,” says Martin Agnew. “We’re always actively looking for good retail sites. It’s something we think about all the time.

“As a brand, we have to continue to be relevant in the marketplace. We constantly look at store formats and the products we offer our customers. It’s a market which has changed a lot...with the rise of the discounters, for example, and the growth in online grocery retailing.

“So we have to look all the time at what we’re offering. Convenience stores nowadays are a lot more than shops where people stop for milk, bread, cigarettes and the odd grocery item they had run out of. Our stores are places where customers can find full meal solutions or do the family shopping for a few days.”

Henderson Group owns and operates five retail brands in Northern Ireland, but when it comes to other activities, the Group operates well beyond its confines. The fast-growing Henderson Foodservice business, which supplies hotels, hospitals and catering sites, operates all over Ireland.

“We’ve seen double digit growth at Henderson Foodservice over recent years and we’re going to continue to grow the business.”

There are also some hidden jewels in the Henderson crown. The company has developed third party logistics operations through which it puts its expertise in logistics to good use, providing a service to both suppliers and other retailers.

It has a Print division which started life producing in-house point of sale materials but has developed to such an extent that 50% of its output is for external customers.

And a further spin out is a standalone retail technology enterprise which is able to provide retail scanning and security systems to external customers as far afield as Australia.

As a corporate entity, Henderson Group aims to re-invest its profits

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Eye on Cover Story

William Orr and Son is a third generation, family-run farm business in Raffrey, Co. Down and one of Northern Ireland’s most respected potato family farms. The Orr’s have been supplying to the Henderson Group since 1980 and make at least ten deliveries a week to the Group. Pictured: Robert Orr (Centre) and his two sons, Philip (Left) and Richard (Right).

with an additional investment on a year-to-year basis. That means that it has a cool £23 million or so to invest after a very healthy 2013.

Martin Agnew says that calls on capital won’t be hard to find. One is the Group’s sprawling headquarters site at Mallusk.

“We’ve purchased a neighbouring site, currently used by Marks & Spencer, and we need to develop the whole site to provide better office space and to cope with our needs going forward.

It’s an investment with no tangible return, but it’s one we have to make for the future of the company.”

If he’s asked for one factor that sets both Henderson Group and its retail brands apart, Martin Agnew is quick to identify a community connection... and it’s clearly something he feels that the retail multiples can’t hope to mirror.

“Our stores are community based and the people who run them are free to change what they want to change to reflect that,” he says. “It’s normal, for example, for a SPAR store to buy potatoes from a producer very local to the store as well as from our wholesale division. And there are plenty of other local differences in evidence around our network.”

Michael Crawford and family own SPAR Whiterock Road, Belfast. First established in 1961, the family have remained loyal customers of the Henderson Group for over 50 years. Very much a family run business Michael and his wife Deirdre run the store with the support of his daughters Sarah and Karen, sons Michael, Mark and Damien and also their son in law Andrew McBride.

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“ Our stores are community based and the people who run them are free to change what they want to change to reflect that. It’s normal, for example, for a SPAR store to buy potatoes from a producer very local to the store as well as from our wholesale division.

“Very much at the heart of every community, both independent and company owned stores work hard to invest back into the surrounding areas. It’s not just about providing their everyday essentials but supporting local charities and organisations and this is often done through fundraisers, sponsorships and work programmes.”

Local retailers are kept in the loop through a system of retailer committees – known as Guilds. The Guilds meet every 6-8 weeks and discusses everything from ranging to promotions and logistics.

Henderson Group managers can and do appear to face the odd tough question.

“We have to be on the money or they will let us know pretty quickly,” smiles Martin Agnew.

Retailer conferences are another important element in the wider picture whether they’re local or outside of Northern Ireland. The wholesale company took 250 retailers and suppliers to Berlin last year, and are off to Lisbon next year.

But what of Martin Agnew’s own business ethos. He answers the

question with an anecdote.

Immediately before our interview, he’d attended one of many retirement lunches held throughout the year at Mallusk... this one for a warehouse team leader who had just completed 43 years in Goods Inwards.

“I told those at the lunch about my first real job with the company which was spent ‘on the ramp’....unloading incoming goods into the warehouse. There were a number of key things that I learnt back then.

“The first is simple.... the value of hard work. The guys on the ramp had a pace to what they did, and you had to keep up with that pace or you struggled; they set a pace for the rest of the warehouse.

“The second is quality and integrity.

The Goods Inwards team made sure that we weren’t sold short and nor could they be influenced for that to happen.

“The third is team working and how important it is to everything in a business like this one.

“And the last one? The importance of having fun while you’re working. And maybe that’s the most important of the lot...”

Northern Ireland’s first choice for news www.u.tv

ALAN CLARKE STEPS DOWN BUT WHAT A LEGACY 24

Eye on Tourism Alan Clarke’s diary for the month of August could hardly have been much busier. There were plenty of lunches, lots of dinners, even a healthy smattering of breakfasts as the outgoing Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board said his official farewells to a wide array of friends and colleagues in the industry and well beyond it.

H

e stepped down at the end of August, leaving a void which will be very hard to fill. And the Tourist Board has been remarkably slow to do so. At the time of writing, with Clarke due to depart in just over two weeks, they had still to announce an interim appointment let alone start the process of finding Clarke’s replacement.

Given what the Tourist Board has achieved over recent years, it seems both incongruous and worrying.

As for Alan Clarke, who has been in the top job since he returned home from key tourism roles in Scotland 13 years ago, he has plenty of achievements to look back on. In fact, it’s clear that he presided over what has been a golden era for tourism in Northern Ireland after many long years of seemingly thankless struggle.

“There’s plenty to look back on,” he says, glancing around a North Street office still decorated with mementoes from the opening of Titanic Belfast, the Irish Open at Portrush, Derry’s City of Culture Year, the MTV Awards and – much more recently – the Giro D’Italia.

That list of events is impressive enough, but Clarke looks back on specifics. “I remember a woman in the voluntary sector in East Belfast called Kathleen Neill who inspired me to fight hard to a Titanic legacy in Belfast.

“When we started talking about it seriously, there were plenty around who said that we shouldn’t celebrate a ship that sank, or that we couldn’t afford to do anything on a serious scale.

But we kept the faith.....and the day I remember particularly isn’t the day of the opening, but the day when the Assembly voted to allocate the funds we needed to make it happen.

“Only then did it become real for me. As someone once told me, no project is real until you start

mixing the concrete,” he smiles.

“Now, when I look at the record-breaking numbers coming to Titanic (upwards of a remarkable 3,000 a day at current summer levels), it’s hard not to take a lot of pride out of what was achieved in Belfast.”

He’s also particularly proud of May’s Giro D’Italia start and opening days. Once again – and there’s a recurring theme here – the numbers of people who turned out to watch far surpassed the Tourist Board’s own estimates.

The same can be said of Titanic’s visitor numbers and the number of fans who turned out at Portrush to see the Irish Open in 2013, and to break European Tour records along the way.

On the strategic front, Alan Clarke is credited with changing the way that the Tourist Board did things.

A scattergun approach to tourism development was replaced with a concentration of the five so-called Signature Projects – St. Patrick & Christian Heritage, The Mourne Mountains, Causeway Coast & Glens, Derry’s Walled City and Titanic.

There were those who railed at the idea of concentrating on specific areas, and noses out of joint, particularly in Fermanagh where the Lakelands wasn’t included in the final five.

“But I think we did the right thing in concentrating on our strengths, and that approach has been born out by what has happened in tourism development since then,” says Clarke, who is quick to pay tribute to the role of local government in supporting – and funding – tourism here. He’s full of praise, in particular, for Tourism Minister Arlene Foster.

“People at the front line in tourism have their own concerns.

Hoteliers, for example, want to fill their rooms tonight.

Strategic thinking isn’t always

what they want to hear about.

But the industry as a whole has been supportive of what we’ve done and how we’ve done it.”

Back on the subject of highlights, another specific memory of Alan Clarke’s is the evening he drove up to Derry for the announcement of the UK’s first European City of Culture. “To be honest, I didn’t go with high hopes of Derry getting the nod, but I packed a few things into a bag in case I decided to stay,” he says. “The announcement, and the reaction to it, was incredible....and yes, I did have to find a hotel room.

“But there’s a lot more to the City of Culture year. It’s achieved long-term benefits for Derry, and I think it really has contributed to a change of mindset. It’s a really vibrant place to visit now.”

His successor – when eventually appointed – won’t be without challenges, though. “A clear challenge going forward are the budget cuts that the Stormont administration is facing in the near future.

“We all appreciate that there are plenty of calls on government funding – for health, education and other areas – but it’s vital that the momentum we’ve build up on tourism isn’t lost. There is still a big job to be done to continue to develop the tourism offering here in Northern Ireland. Our politicians face some tough choices. I just hope they make the right decisions.

“The way we’ve looked at it over the years is that Northern Ireland has a tourism balance sheet, but it’s a balance sheet based on reputation. We need to gain as many credits as we can because it’s inevitable that there will be negatives.”

That said, he’s among those delighted that Northern Ireland has just enjoyed its most peaceful summer for many years, with very few negative entries added to that reputational balance sheet.

“There are still issues remaining around flags and protests, but a peaceful summer has been a big impact....and it’s easy to see the results if you look at the number of tourists in Belfast and elsewhere.”

Clarke has worked well with Tourist Board Chairman Howard

Hastings over the past few years since Hastings took over the chair from Tom McGrath. But the fact that Howard Hastings is due to step down from the role at the end of the calendar year highlights the succession gap – and lack of clarity – facing the organisation.

It’s also an open secret that Alan Clarke – in common with some of his colleagues and others in the industry – has his doubts about the politically-enforced system which sees the Tourist Board doing its job, and Tourism Ireland overlapping by doing the same job for the whole of the island....nominally, at least.

“To put it in a nutshell, I believe that Northern Ireland has to stand out from the Ireland tourism brand. Northern Ireland is a different tourist product.

We’re not the same as Cork & Kerry, and we have to be allowed to stand out on our own.”

That’s one item on his parting list of priorities which his successor may or may not choose to take on board.

Another is air connectivity.

He reinforces the need for more routes to key European and worldwide cities, but not those ‘sunshine’ routes. He also stresses the need to continue to focus on the development of top-class hospitality and tourism skills, and he counsels on the importance of organisations like Northern Ireland Screen and the universities playing their part on the wider tourism effort.

And then there are events......

“In the past few years, this organisation has been more like an events board than a tourist board, but that’s been a good thing. We need to keep the events coming. The news that we’re going to host the British Open Golf in a couple of years time is fantastic.....but we’ve got to continue to build. Look at the difference that big events have made to this place in recent years.

“We’ve done a lot. Tourism now accounts for 5.2% of the local economy......but in Wales that figure is 13%.

Now there’s a challenge.”

Hard to replace? There’s no doubt about it.

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Eye on Profit 200 - Business Leaders Forum

WHAT CAN THE POLITICIANS DO FOR US? There’s a famous scene in the classic Monty Python movie The Life of Brian where a discussion starts over what the Romans had done for the local populations. In the end, a lengthy list of Roman achievements is produced.

I

f the question is re-worked and the Romans replaced

by Stormont, a rather more modest list might be the result.

It’s amost fashionable to roll one’s eyes when the achievements of our local adminstration is mentioned. But it’s important to be fair. We tend to forget that not too many years ago the very prospect of any form of Stormont administration looked like little more than a pipe dream. We also tend to forget that the coalition government in London isn’t the only coalition around. Our local one is a whole

26

lot more challenging in that it contains dominant parties from polar opposite ends of the scale.

But with Stormont starting to grasp the proverbial nettle on some difficult issues, not least the big ones around public sector cuts and welfare reform, we thought it was time to ask some business leaders and personalities a pertinent question:How important is it to business and the economy that the Stormont administration finds a way to resolve its differences and move on to positive and decisive local government?

It’s a question that has been asked before, of course, and it can tend to get a fairly cynical but often hard-hitting response from respondents whose main concern is the economy and the performance of their individual businesses.

The responses this time around make for interesting reading...

Richard Buckley Editor

Laura Jackson Partner within Audit Department BDO Northern Ireland

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olitical stability and progress can be major contributory factors in driving forwards a sustainable economic recovery in Northern Ireland. We know that on the increasingly rare occasions when there is violence on the streets the images broadcast around the word do us no good at all. Similarly any sign of protracted political stalemate and lack of decision making can harm the entrepreneurial spirit and the confidence levels of the business community. However an over emphasis on the negative issues can also hold us back and the fact is that politically and now economically Northern Ireland is making progress in the broadest sense.

Positive relations among politicians are essential for business and the economy and relationships between those in power are still a critical factor in the economic recovery now underway. Those relationships will become increasingly important as we enter into a new phase of local government and a transfer of important powers to local councillors.

Some criticism can justifiably be made of the lack of progress on key issues such as welfare reform and some flagship infrastructure projects. At the same time though the reform of local government is moving ahead, inward investment is on the increase and we should celebrate our ability to attract and host major cultural and sporting events. Even on fractured issues such as parades it should be acknowledged that we have just come through the quietest marching season in a decade.

Most regions will say they would like to see more decisive and cohesive political direction and of course in Northern Ireland we are no different.

Eye on Profit 200 - Business Leaders Forum

Michael Johnston

Jarek Zasadinski

Deirdre Heenan

Managing Partner, Carson McDowell

CEO, Greiner Packaging Ltd.

Pro Vice-Chancellor University of Ulster

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he simple answer is “very important”.

Whilst there have been encouraging signs including growth in arts and entertainment (the ‘Game of Thrones’ effect), a 6% tourism increase (in part due to the Giro D’Italia) and an expected £6.5M boost to our rural economy from GIB backed anaerobic digestion plants, current economic output in NI is roughly back to that of 2003. Our economic recovery remains fragile and if austerity is fully implemented, the effect on our public sector will be severe.

Arguably our politicians are still struggling to engage in ‘normal’ politics in the long shadows cast by the Troubles. However, surely one of the best ways to deal with that legacy is to promote economic development equally amongst all sectors of the community.

Failure to implement welfare reform has resulted in a loss to the Executive of £87M for 2014-2015 and, in the absence of progress, this reduction will increase. All departments, save health and education, are facing cutbacks.

Budget reductions in DETI could have a significant impact on funds available to Invest NI for start-up companies and to support businesses to develop products and services.

Less investment in improving infrastructure and transport links may also make NI less attractive to outside investment. Construction activity early in 2014 is down to nearly 50% compared to 2007, partly due to a failure to make decisions and prioritise spending.

NI has a lot to offer businesses and, to be fair, Stormont has been supportive in pressing for devolved power to vary corporation tax. However, continuing disputes in our Executive and the instability of the local administration (whether real or perceived) does not encourage key decision makers, whether local or international. A strong economy is not only good for business, but for lasting peace and Stormont’s own future.

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t should be an utmost priority of the Stormont Administration to find a way to resolve its differences and move on with positive and decisive local government. The everyday discussion partner of local businesses is the local government. The businesses rely on stable, efficient and fully functional government bodies. Unawareness of how the things will look like and who will bear which responsibilities is detrimental to the decision making on both public and private sides. As the economy is slowly getting out of recession very often certain decisions need to be made within a matter of days. Perfect opportunities for the business owners may come only once and they have to make a call based on the current circumstances surrounding the firm.

Disfunctional local government only hinders the potential success of the recovery.

orthern Ireland is home to universities that have an international reputation for academic and research excellence; factors that foster innovation, encourage inward investment and position our graduates for high value career opportunities.

Investment in higher education is crucial if NI is to remain competitive in the global economy. But with further budget cuts to be implemented, we risk jeopardising the ability of the local higher education sector to drive economic growth and innovation.

The United States has learned a hard lesson when it comes to under-investment in higher education, with businesses struggling to find the quality graduates they need to thrive and levels of research and innovation falling behind those of emerging economies.

Obama is now taking remedial action, increasing grants and investment to encourage people into higher education and support academic research, but at what cost?

According to an article in Forbes, the US, once renowned for pioneering innovation in university education, may now have lost its edge as the emerging economies of China and India each now graduate more engineers and scientists per year than the United States.

Northern Ireland still has, relative to its population, the smallest higher education sector in the UK. Under the most recently proposed budget cuts not only could the number of people in higher education begin to fall, so too could our ability to deliver a high quality educational experience.

It is essential that our devolved government takes a wider view of the strategic importance of higher education and considers how our universities contribute significantly to our economic competitiveness and our social and cultural wellbeing.

Now is the time to lay strong foundations to support economic recovery; now is the time to invest in higher education.

27

EyeonProfit 200 - Business Leaders Forum

Mairtin O Muilleoir

Jeremy Poots

Ewan Boyle

Managing Director of the Belfast Media Group & Belfast city councillor

Managing Partner at Brand Agency, Mammoth.

Director, Johnston Campbell

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rucially important because values and goals are set from the top. And if the leadership isn’t rocking, then woe betide those of us further down the ladder.

But what you gonna do? There are many business variables we don’t control: currency exchange rates, VAT rates, car parking charges. But business gets on with it.

So, if Stormont remains log jammed, if the Giants Causeway falls into the sea? What will business do? What it always does: sell.

Would our job be more difficult sans Stormont? Of course, but, as the Belfast-born abbot of the San Francisco Zen Monastery Paul Haller likes to say: “it is what it is”.

And business too must give leadership. We must instil confidence in the community by building our companies, investing continuously, providing sustainable jobs which offer a living wage, and showcasing the excellence which lies at the heart of our economic proposition.

We need to push on, stay relentlessly positive, leave the nay-sayers in our wake and stay focused on the future.

We have seen the past and it doesn’t work which means we don’t have the option of merely spectating while the Executive runs out of road. Instead, business must show it has the bottle and the genius to build the strong and prosperous economic base which can underpin the peace.

No-one would be more delighted than this writer if peace, love, understanding and the Holy Spirit herself were to descend on Stormont. But while we await that eventuality, I am going to be out there shaking the bush, boss.

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“P

erception often equals reality” – at least in the world of brand and marketing. And, on a positive note for our Administration, the perception of “Brand Northern Ireland” has transformed enormously over the last 4 or 5 years in particular. Much has been achieved to position Brand NI to external audiences and put it on the map as a place to live, work and play. From the Titanic exhibition adding £27 million to the NI economy; the G8; Game of Thrones; the Giro; and golfing hero, King Rory, to name but a few, all have helped boost our economy and create a positive brand perception beyond our shores.

But, if we set aside the feel good factor and promotion, the reality at a local level is a very different story. Stop and think for a minute of the Stormont Administration and our politicians collectively as a brand. What a revolution it would be if the NI Assembly was less obsessed with flags, marches and religious divisions and instead focused on the value of their reputation as much as private companies are today.

Indeed, if this was a private sector company we would be telling them how strong the brand position and offering really could be if the Administration were more collaborative in approach, more often. Which would surely help make those valuable inward investment announcements happen more frequently?

In summary, the Administration needs to start acting and thinking like a commercial organisation.

And if differences internally cannot be overcome completely, then agree to differ and move forward strategically by agreeing to position a strong united front to increase the strength of “Brand NI” – and keep turning positive perception into reality.

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usinesses behave best in, and are attracted to, a stable political environment.

In Northern Ireland we have understandably become accustomed to attributing political stability to a continued cessation of violence.

Yet that is merely one aspect of any stable political structure and in 2014, more than 15 years after the Good Friday Agreement industry and commerce in Northern Ireland requires and deserves more.

Part of that is strong and coherent leadership; considered, clear and consistent decision making in key policy areas and the communication and subsequent outworking of an agreed vision.

Many business people in Northern Ireland just don’t see evidence of this and while the on-going job creation is strong, strategic and welcome the Executive’s challenge to provide coherent decision-making remains.

For anyone running a company the loss of revenue in penalties from the Exchequer for a failure to make decisions about welfare reform is galling given that many firms experience genuine cash flow problems and would love to be able to invest.

One can only speculate about what could be bought with the estimated £114m that will extracted.

These decisions on welfare reform are part of what the politicians were elected to do – make the tough calls, do the hard things and lead.

If they stick to doing what is popular then there will be no progress. Doing the difficult is part of a mature and stable political environment.

Right now Northern Ireland business needs that more than anything else!

Eye on Profit 200 - Business Leaders Forum

Trevor Annon

Mark Regan

Norman Apsley

Chairman, Mount Charles Group

CEO, Kingsbridge Private Hospital

Norman Apsley, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Science Park

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tability, and the comfort framework it provides, is a vital component in our lives.

In the context of Northern Ireland it is a commodity that we have, unfortunately, not been able to take for granted for many decades.

Those of us in the business community understand the need and the benefits associated with planning for the future.

Uncertainty has a negative effect on the decision-making process.

It is quite remarkable that Northern Ireland PLC has, despite its stability deficiency, been able to make so much progress on so many fronts.

All organisations have to cope with pressure in order to ensure the long-term viability of investment strategies.

Those pressures are compounded by the unique cultural dynamic that is intrinsic to our collective community psyche.

In an ideal Northern Ireland a magical injection of long-term stability would do so much for our emotional and economic health.

The loss of many of our talented young

t seems an extraordinary paradox that just as the private sector is coming out of one of the longest economic depressions in living memory, the current ideological political wrangling could potentially bring this fragile growth crashing down.

Business is starting to produce profits and sits on the cusp of providing sustainable job security for our young people but confidence is essential to future business investment and risk taking.

Without strong political leadership and focus on growing the economy we will continue to lag behind the rest of Great Britain and Europe.

That would be a shame, as my experience in selling our private health provision internationally is that we are highly regarded in the global marketplace in terms of our expertise, our inventiveness and our ability to sell our products and services in highly competitive environments.

The positive potential for a reduction in Corporation Tax has now become a double edged sword as Welfare Reform penalties have started to impact

t the Northern Ireland Science Park, and right across our collaborative networks in science and technology research & innovation, we have been at the forefront of post-conflict investment from the USA and the EU for some time.

In the slipstream of this, there has been significant private sector investment in Northern Ireland from major names including Intel, IBM, HP, Dow and CITI. However, it is important for the decision-makers to realise that, as grandiose as these big names may seem, none has yet double-invested (ie building and staff) and so they remain mobile.

The topics we’re driving are not exclusive to the Science Park – they’re not high-end, “techy” or out of reach. They are both locally relevant and global in impact: quality agri-food, health and life science, ICT, digital media, medical devices, low carbon energy and transport.

We are creating a platform from which to motivate and enervate the next generation, by demonstrating the economic potential for those with quality education in subjects such

people as a direct consequence of uncertainty is both an indictment and a challenge.

If we are to retain that talent we must continue to accentuate the positives in our society.

A comprehensive commitment to the reality rather than the abstract principles of stability would be a start.

dramatically on the local economy.

Our politicians need to pay more than lip service to the fact that economic growth is dependent on a strong private sector generating wealth. That wealth comes from our export potential and ability to attract a balance of foreign direct investment.

The business community here, supported

by Invest NI, has never lost its appetite to be globally competitive and our politicians of whatever ideological persuasion will fail the people of Northern Ireland if they don’t put economic growth as their first priority.

as the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Northern Ireland needs to be turning out highly skilled young people if we are to compete in a global economy which becomes more accessible every day.

Leadership (and indeed vision) from the top is essential to produce not just a strategy, but a decisive plan to which all of us in Northern Ireland can subscribe and in which each has a part.

Only then can we be truly confident of a maintained momentum and continued success to achieve the potential that is clearly there.

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Eye on Food

Production Soars At Kestrel Foods Established in 1996 by Lorraine and Michael Hall, Kestrel Foods is a Portadown based business with international presence.

Experts in high quality dried fruit, nuts and seed snacks, Kestrel Foods supplies its Forest Feast and Acti-Snack products across the UK, Ireland and into more than 30 markets worldwide.

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uilding on a successful year, Kestrel Foods has recently made significant investment into its production facilities, with the instalment of a new piece of roasting machinery.

The equipment will further boost its production capacity at its plant in Carn Industrial Estate.

“Making this significant investment into our production capabilities represents an exciting development for our business,” explains Kestrel Foods Managing Director Michael Hall.

“We source our dried fruits and nuts from the finest quality producers across the globe and with the new roaster in place we will have complete in-house control of how we flavour and roast ingredients to create our finished product.

“This means not only will our production capacity increase, but we will also be able to expand our product portfolio through the development of new flavours and lines,” said Michael.

This expansion in production is the latest in a number of recent positive developments for Kestrel Foods. The business has described the past twelve months as ‘a landmark year’, with

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companywide sales growth up 25% on the previous year.

“Our established Forest Feast brand continues to represent high growth opportunities and our strategy of focusing on export and securing alternative routes to market is proving extremely effective,” said Lorraine Hall, Sales and Marketing Director, Kestrel Foods.

“Over the past twelve months we have grown the presence of Forest Feast with airlines, luxury hotels, cafes, pubs, restaurants and online retailers, and we continue to experience ongoing growth within the food service sector,” said Lorraine.

Forest Feast announced a new partnership with Athletics Ireland earlier this year, with the sponsorship of the all-Ireland ‘Little Athletics’ programme, aimed at encouraging activity in young people, as well as continuing its long standing partnership with Swim Ulster for the Forest Feast AquaSprint Junior Swimming League.

The past year has also seen Kestrel Foods diversify into the sports nutrition sector, with the launch of its Acti-Snack brand.

The business developed the range of nutritionally balanced

mixed fruit, nut and seed snacks to help consumers meet specific nutritional and athletic objectives as well as meeting the demands of consumers seeking healthy, gluten free snack options.

“The initial response from retailers and consumers to Acti-Snack has been hugely positive, with listings secured in over 100 pharmacies, health stores and online outlets

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across the UK, Ireland and international markets including the UAE and Norway,” said Lorraine Hall.

The business has recently been recognised among some of Ireland’s most progressive, innovative and pioneering companies, with Lorraine and Michael Hall having been shortlisted as finalists in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 awards programme. The results of these prestigious business awards are due to be announced in October.

“We believe in putting innovation at the heart of everything we do - by investing in our production facilities, by exploring new product development and distribution channels, and by working in partnership with the world’s finest producers to create premium quality products.

“We believe that has been the key to our success to date and will remain our focus for the future,” said Lorraine Hall.

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Eye on Economy

IAN COULTER...

Business Must Continue Tax Campaign In the month when Business Eye takes the wraps off this year’s Profit 200 top corporate performers, Ian Coulter makes a very simple point about the results.

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he Tughans Managing Partner and past Chairman of CBI Northern Ireland says that there needs to be a Profit 300. “We need more companies operating up there at the top level,” he says simply. “The problem facing the economy here is how we’re going to achieve that in the timeframe we need to do it in.”

Coulter being Coulter, he’s not short of ideas. But one of his dominant themes won’t surprise anyone who knows him.

“A lower rate of corporation tax would make a big difference,” he says. “I think we’re in a good place now as far as the decision makers in London are concerned, but the business lobby in Northern Ireland – everyone who supports this – will need to continue to be clear and vocal on the wider reasons why we are seeking this change both at home and at Westminister.

“We’ve got to remember that there are opponents to a lowering of corporation tax, opponents who see it as a benefit to big business and big business alone.

It’s vital that we communicate the message that it will deliver benefits to our society as a whole.”

Corporation tax apart, Ian Coulter agrees that prospects are looking brighter for the local economy.

“It helps that our main markets are doing particularly well,” he says.

“Both the Irish and UK economy are predicted to produce growth rates that are amongst the best in Europe over the next 2 to 3 years.

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This growth has to be good news for us here in Northern Ireland.

“Add to that some notable achievements on the FDI front, and other developments such as an increase in construction industry activity and you start to see a healthier picture emerging.”

But Coulter is well aware that all is not completely rosy in the economic garden. He throws out one stark statistic. The percentage of the NI workforce working in the public sector in December 2007 was 29.9%. Given the determination to reduce the size of our public sector, some would have imagined that December 2013’s percentage would be considerably lower. Instead, it stood at 30.4%.

“To be fair, that’s against the background of a private sector that has been hit hard by recession, but it’s still a sobering statistic,” says Ian Coulter. “Combine that with our continued budget deficit and you start to see the reality of the wider picture.

“That’s why we badly need more companies to be operating at the size and scale of those in your current Profit 200. It’s essential.”

On the positive side of the equation, he goes on to note that merger and acquisition activity has continued to increase, and points to the recent purchase of local companies by US based organisations; Whale in Bangor by Brunswick Corporation, Telestack in Omagh by Astec Industries and Newtownards based Hughes

Insurance by Liberty Mutual, to name a few. Recent experiences of acquisitions by international buyers show that the local target company can expand and grow as part of a wider international organisation leading to the creation of more jobs.

‘We’ve also seen much improved private equity finance activity which can make it easier for business owners to de-risk, by selling some but not all of their business and staying in to grow the company.”

He acknowledges that the rise in interest rates could have a negative effect on growth as well as on the early stage recovery in real estate and could affect our economy disproportionately to that in Great Britain.

“It would be great to see more real estate development coming back to the Northern Ireland marketplace, but rises to interest rates will add a further challenge in addition to the funding challenges that remain” he said.

Then there’s the question of proposed welfare cuts and the net effect they could have on the private sector, particularly in the services sectors.

Coulter makes no apologies for coming back to the corporation tax theme. “After spending a fair amount of time on this I remain of the view it’s the one sure way to give this place a genuine and lasting boost,” he says.

“Invest NI will need all the weapons it can get in its armoury, particularly given some of its existing methods of attracting foreign investment will be altered once new EU regulations come into effect.”

He’s realistic about the potential timescale on the tax move....if it happens. “I think we could see the power being given the NI Executive sooner rather than later, but we’ve then got to have a vote in the Assembly and legislative planning and roll out so we have to be realistic as to timeframe.

“But the very fact that it was going to happen in the future would be enough to be a game changer and to start seeing its effect come through.”

Coulter also added an interesting if unlikely angle on this debate - a recent report on the distressing subject of child poverty showed that Northern Ireland was among the worst regions in the UK. The main reason given in the report was salary levels. Our salaries in the private sector lag almost £5,000 behind other parts of the UK and over £8,000 behind RoI, with no prospect of improving.

“It’s an area that business needs to cross link into the debate at home,” urges Ian Coulter. “We need to get salary levels up, the levels in the private sector remain low in comparison to everywhere else in the UK and that leads to widerreaching economic problems.

“The message that we need to get across as a business community is that the devolution of corporation tax could potentially raise the average salary level in Northern Ireland from £21,500 to the UK average, say £26,500 or beyond. That’s an argument people would have no difficulty understanding and hopefully agreeing with ....and you’ve only got to look 100 miles down the road to see that it can happen.”

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Eye on News

Airport Director Is Nominated for Coveted UK Director of the Year Award Michelle Hatfield, Director of HR and Corporate Responsibility at George Best Belfast City Airport, is one of nine business leaders from Northern Ireland to have been handpicked by the Institute of Directors to represent the region in the prestigious UK finals of the Director of the Year Awards in London.

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arlier this year, Michelle Hatfield won the Leader in Corporate Responsibility category in the IoD NI Director of the Year Awards, sponsored by insurance brokers, Abbey Bond Lovis.

After careful consideration, the IoD NI shortlisted each

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of the high calibre regional winners down to the final nine to compete for the top prize in the UK finals of the Director of the Year Awards in London on 24 October.

Michelle Hatfield manages the airport’s corporate responsibility activity and community engagement programme, including the George Best Belfast City Airport’s Community Fund which has donated over £150,000 to local projects and groups such as the Short Strand and Knocknagoney Community Centres, Action for Children, and North Down Special Olympics.

Michelle Hatfield has been shortlisted for the Leader in Corporate Responsibility of the Year category in the UK awards.

Also shortlisted for the UK final awards are:

• Jim Dobson, of Dunbia, for the Large Company Director category • Tracy Hamilton, of Mash Direct, for the Mid-Market Company Director of the Year category • Brendan Mullan, of Bryson Charitable Group, for the MidMarket Company Director of the Year category • Mark Hutchinson, of SJC Hutchinson Engineering, for the Family Business Director category • Gordon Milligan, of Translink – for the Public/Third Sector category • Ian Jeffers, of The Prince’s Trust NI – for the Public/ Third Sector category • Simon Campbell of Portview Fit-Out, for the New Chartered Director category • Aidan Flynn of Maurice Flynn & Sons, for the Young Director category

IoD NI Chairman, Paul Terrington, congratulated each of the finalists: “It’s a delight to see so many inspiring business leaders, who represent such a vast range of local industries and sectors, shortlisted for the UK finals of the Director of the Year Awards.

“The number of local Directors shortlisted for these awards is almost double that of last year, which is hugely encouraging in that more and more of our homegrown, local directors are of high enough calibre to rival their counterparts across the water.

“I wish each and every one of the shortlisted candidates success at the ceremony in October.”

Both members and nonmembers are welcome to book for this event and show their support. For more information, please visit www.iod.com/events

Eye

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Eye on Profit200

Banks Are Ready To Back Business Winners

By Ivan McMinn, Head of Corporate Banking, Danske Bank

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his year’s Business Eye Profit 200 sees many familiar names holding on to the top spots.

These companies have once again successfully generated impressive turnovers in the face of a challenging and continually changing business landscape.

While we are now beginning to see consistent, strong signs of recovery, we are not yet in a position to say that we have returned to full power. Indeed, improvements in the economy have been taking place at a slower than expected rate.

On a positive note, at Danske Bank we have experienced a significant upturn in customer demand for asset finance over the last 12 months, a key barometer of where the market currently is and where it is heading in the future.

The business community is remaining positive, but this optimism is tempered with inherent caution in the wake of what has gone before. The companies featuring in the Profit 200 will have faced challenges as a result of this caution.

Growth through acquisition has been slower than anticipated, due to supply in some sectors outstripping demand. Sellers, keen to secure the best price possible for their businesses, are holding off in the hope that

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the value they obtain for their businesses will rise. For trading companies taking advantage of exporting opportunities, a stronger pound has proven to be an additional challenge.

It is unsurprising that we are seeing energy companies taking up many of the prime locations on this list. Agri-food has also remained buoyant, as it tends to during recessionary periods.

Agri-food has again proved to be a sector which has a stable demand and is particularly resilient during tough times.

Our local companies are experts at sourcing new products, at reaching untapped markets and striving towards innovative solutions and this is evident by the plethora of agri-food names appearing in the Profit 200.

Even with an exchange rate working against them, manufacturing companies such as Wrightbus, Eakin Holdings and Bombardier are making a big impact on a global scale, establishing their names as world leaders and landing major contracts in countries far afield.

I think it is worth mentioning the positive influence that Invest NI has had recently. The efforts made by the organisation over the last five years are now coming to fruition and yielding results. This is most evident in the number of companies in the Profit 200 successfully

exporting their products around the world. It is no coincidence that most of the companies in this list of top names are developing their opportunities outside Northern Ireland.

These companies have access to highly skilled locally grown talent which sets them apart from their competitors. They have strong management teams and avail of the assistance and support which is on offer.

The banking sector, in response to this upturn in business activity, is starting to migrate towards a normal position once more.

At Danske Bank we are committed to providing the right advice and support to local companies to help them adapt to a recovering economy and respond to growth opportunities. Financial support is available for companies that have growth potential and are keen to look at their opportunities. Staying close to our customers to encourage

this success and continuing to acquire new business customers is a key focus for our team in 2014 and will continue to be our focus in 2015.

In closing, on behalf of Danske Bank I would like to congratulate each of the Profit 200 companies and wish them every success for the year ahead.

Ivan McMinn is Head of Corporate Banking at Danske Bank and can be contacted at ivan.mcminn@danskebank.co.uk

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

1

Scottishpower Renewables (UK) Ltd

31/12/2012

89,100

208,900

96,500

200,400

-

2

Northern Ireland Electricity Ltd

31/12/2013

70,000

258,000

53,500

201,900

547

3

Glen Electric Ltd

31/03/2013

60,331

812,670

62,847

843,154

6034

4

Aes Kilroot Power Ltd

31/12/2012

39,968

160,695

24,217

124,854

117

5

Terex GB Ltd

31/12/2012

36,947

286,973

36,000

308,366

847

6

Aes Ballylumford Ltd

31/12/2012

36,091

160,695

13,632

124,854

117

7

Creation Consumer Finance Ltd

31/12/2013

33,825

151,264

39,481

147,792

166

8

Eakin Holdings Ltd

31/03/2013

26,682

56,216

18,729

50,852

202

9

Moy Park Ltd

31/12/2012

24,410

1,089,570

4,793

1,072,301

8449

10 Aes (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

22,877

124,839

48,604

206,089

159

11

W.& R. Barnett, Ltd

31/07/2013

22,280

499,728

20,708

417,727

278

12

Hampden Group Ltd

03/02/2013

20,828

33,468

10,835

36,225

439

13

The Old Bushmills Distillery Co. Ltd

30/06/2013

20,128

59,582

16,509

52,257

103

14

Gortmullan Holdings Ltd

31/12/2012

18,952

576,017

-264,464

558,557

2772

15

Almac Clinical Services Ltd

30/09/2013

18,702

115,458

24,070

111,868

860

16

SHS Group Ltd

28/12/2012

18,364

391,229

25,752

430,231

688

17

John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd

31/12/2013

18,358

642,761

15,620

620,389

2470

18 T.G. Eakin Ltd

31/03/2013

18,057

28,181

13,942

25,353

58

19 Short Brothers Plc

31/12/2013

16,730

545,403

29,533

466,541

5014

20 Schrader Electronics Ltd

31/12/2012

16,617

172,629

15,331

169,808

964 37

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

21

38

Soni Ltd

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

30/09/2013

16,224

131,403

-4,205

105,259

112

22 Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd

02/02/2013

15,947

157,558

12,372

166,368

1944

23 Power NI Energy Ltd

31/03/2013

15,700

607,200

7,200

710,800

197

24 Caterpillar (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

15,249

795,848

-4,975

771,422

2,718

25 Diageo Northern Ireland Ltd

30/06/2013

15,054

134,127

-1,404

147,536

127

26 Norbrook Laboratories Ltd

02/08/2013

14,401

188,456

15,875

180,658

1673

27 Montupet (U.K.) Ltd

31/12/2013

14,180

93,924

10,182

70,700

582

28 Lissan Coal Co. Ltd

30/09/2013

14,048

576,646

14,070

542,474

156

29 Coolkeeragh ESB

31/12/2012

13,949

169,298

14,319

168,387

3

30 Cooneen By Design

30/11/2012

13,577

89,438

16,446

82,593

135

31

31/12/2012

10,825

69,194

9,556

53,734

299

32 McAleer & Rushe Properties Ltd

31/03/2013

9,542

15,257

11,360

37,906

13

33 Randox Laboratories Ltd

31/12/2013

9,376

78,453

322

60,018

704

34 Fane Valley

30/09/2013

8,720

534,000

5,828

340,000

-

35 Radius Plastics Ltd

31/03/2013

8,393

25,025

978

36,424

120

36 Northstone (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

7,960

298,755

8,634

285,569

992

37 First Derivatives Public Ltd Co.

28/02/2014

7,947

69,902

6,160

56,469

806

38 Ulster Carpet Mills (Holdings) Ltd

31/03/2013

7,552

54,048

4,985

55,412

517

39 Heat, Energy & Associated Tech. Ltd

31/12/2012

7,522

29,472

9,160

38,003

184

40 F.P. McCann Ltd

31/01/2014

7,225

91,027

6,243

85,308

690

Howden UK

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

41 Liberty Information Technology Ltd

31/12/2012

7,215

29,274

6,308

24,912

326

42 PBN Holdings Ltd

30/06/2013

6,984

23,120

-765

27,742

157

43 Sangers (Northern Ireland) Ltd

30/09/2013

6,927

225,612

8,580

223,284

227

44 Nicholls’(Fuel Oils) Ltd

31/05/2013

6,806

315,499

5,672

322,429

129

45 John Graham Holdings Ltd

31/03/2013

6,772

319,459

4,719

264,196

1418

46 Andor Technology Ltd

30/09/2013

6,332

54,565

8,932

58,321

344

47 Mantlin Ltd

31/12/2012

6,266

15,650

8,811

17,577

-

48 BSG Civil Engineering Ltd

31/12/2012

6,222

31,668

4,929

28,054

44

49 Thompson Aero Seating Ltd

31/03/2014

6,112

26,935

4,555

20,764

119

50 Charles Hurst Ltd

31/12/2013

6,034

395,960

4,643

346,950

897

51

31/03/2013

6,020

268,446

4,102

204,130

14

52 Calor Gas Northern Ireland Ltd

31/12/2012

5,938

36,353

3,093

36,514

76

53 Tennent’s NI Ltd

28/02/2013

5,894

60,565

5,893

67,199

54

54 Dairy Produce Packers Ltd

31/12/2012

5,850

136,564

1,287

139,303

252

55 Galen Ltd

30/09/2013

5,707

47,861

5,306

43,484

24

56 Gardrum Holdings Ltd

31/12/2012

5,706

79,226

8,373

57,867

85

57 Whitemountain Quarries Ltd

31/12/2013

5,658

73,108

4,668

63,137

170

58 Westland Horticulture Ltd

31/12/2012

5,564

93,839

4,579

68,084

422

59 Allstate Northern Ireland Ltd

31/12/2012

5,498

77,104

1,271

64,559

2005

60 Harcourt Construction (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

5,248

6,517

-4,546

35,397

31

Sse Airtricity Energy Supply (NI) Ltd

39

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

40

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

61 BHH Ltd

31/07/2013

5,206

285,661

5,291

244,396

183

62 Hilton Meats (Retail) Ltd

30/12/2012

5,179

271,447

7,111

250,662

494

63 Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd

31/12/2013

5,053

54,382

-571

45,112

117

64 Elite Electronic Systems Ltd

31/03/2013

4,931

25,389

4,079

25,994

248

65 Abbey Centre Ltd

31/07/2013

4,744

17,132

4,025

17,920

-

66 Faughan Ltd

31/12/2012

4,711

259,929

4,744

240,800

730

67 Multi Packaging Solutions Belfast Ltd

30/12/2013

4,684

25,911

5,583

25,209

170

68 O&S Holdings Ltd

31/12/2013

4,614

27,403

3,899

26,219

281

69 United Dairy Farmers

31/03/2013

4,609

418,424

5,188

437,276

884

70 Lagan Construction Group Ltd

31/03/2013

4,562

165,090

3,812

125,793

330

71

31/05/2013

4,441

29,073

1,479

33,825

366

72 Seagoe Technologies Ltd

31/03/2013

4,441

24,807

6,578

26,415

243

73 John Thompson & Sons, Ltd

31/07/2013

4,440

260,226

4,718

224,412

157

74 Bemis Healthcare Packaging (Perfecseal) 31/12/2012

4,394

39,377

3,129

40,049

262

75 Ballyvesey Holdings Ltd

30/09/2013

4,261

498,271

5,360

496,271

2344

76 Linden Foods Ltd

30/09/2013

4,223

207,285

4,278

168,402

896

77 O & S Doors Ltd

31/12/2013

4,166

26,904

-885

26,219

281

78 Carnbane House Ltd

31/12/2012

4,035

38,374

3,200

46,018

105

79 BI Electrical Services (NI) Ltd

31/12/2013

3,986

16,442

3,043

12,212

47

80 Premier Transmission Ltd

31/03/2013

3,951

20,573

1,571

15,628

2

H & A Holdings (NI) Ltd

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

81 Bedeck Holdings Ltd

30/09/2013

3,760

30,050

1,549

27,556

362

82 Capita Managed It Solutions Ltd*

30/04/2012

3,732

139,880

5,194

128,663

893

83 Lynas Foodservice Ltd

31/10/2013

3,645

93,495

3,395

80,447

253

84 Kilwaughter Chemical Co. Ltd

30/04/2013

3,522

23,020

4,006

19,901

104

85 Bow Street Mall Ltd

30/09/2013

3,488

8,646

263

9,638

7

86 Kainos Software Ltd

31/03/2013

3,480

29,719

2,033

25,379

369

87 Cornerstone Group Ltd - The

30/09/2013

3,479

178,907

3,218

156,946

1370

88 Controlled Electronic Mgmt Systems Ltd 27/09/2013

3,413

12,630

3,135

10,961

200

89 Encirc Ltd

31/12/2012

3,347

236,594

-3,573

211,224

1096

90 NIHG Ltd

31/12/2012

3,344

24,284

5,138

72,940

2

91 Huhtamaki (Lurgan) Ltd

31/12/2012

3,320

27,466

3,155

26,940

195

92 O’Hare & McGovern Ltd

31/12/2012

3,313

35,514

3,330

41,412

112

93 Regal Processors Ltd

31/12/2013

3,289

9,795

3,201

8,869

28

94 Calvin Klein Stores UK Ltd

29/12/2012

3,240

63,043

2,915

62,618

569

95 McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd

31/12/2013

3,215

157,734

4,167

150,585

382

96 John Hogg & Co, Ltd

30/04/2013

3,204

37,482

1,783

56,350

122

97 William Keys & Sons Ltd

31/12/2012

3,163

67,999

3,120

43,929

19

98 Devenish (NI) Ltd

31/05/2013

3,009

95,093

2,587

95,496

176

99 P.K. Murphy Construction Ltd

31/03/2013

2,977

20,895

3,257

19,482

89

100 Kingspan Environmental Ltd

31/12/2012

2,950

56,778

7,006

77,135

483

* ‘ARD changed to 31/10’

41

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

42

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

101 Downtown Radio Ltd

31/12/2012

2,918

8,102

2,845

7,734

28

102 Heathcotes Fine Foods Ltd

31/03/2013

2,862

936

388

12,743

28

103 Skainos Ltd

31/03/2013

2,854

4,865

8,464

8,481

14

104 Retlan Manufacturing Ltd

31/03/2013

2,780

113,744

2,467

111,352

600

105 Coca-Cola Hbc Northern Ireland Ltd

31/12/2012

2,703

193,122

3,113

205,422

608

106 Hotpursuit Enterprises Ltd

30/06/2013

2,645

30,614

-1,958

41,664

12

107 Copeland Ltd

30/09/2013

2,615

41,042

2,555

39,889

181

108 Tappaghan Wind Farm (N.I.) Ltd

31/12/2013

2,593

5,114

3,359

6,249

3

109 Telestack Ltd

28/02/2013

2,582

16,314

2,485

14,084

84

110 Boland Reilly Homes Ltd

31/12/2012

2,573

1,661

-7,482

1,792

10

111 A.& F.A. Dundee Ltd

31/08/2013

2,566

25,731

2,452

27,133

153

112 Delta Print And Packaging Ltd

30/06/2013

2,564

38,685

2,188

31,486

244

113 Lagan Asphalt Group Ltd

31/12/2012

2,557

65,909

120

86,517

92

114 James E. Mccabe Ltd

31/12/2012

2,548

91,194

1,325

89,907

511

115 Larne Harbour Ltd

31/12/2012

2,542

4,645

4,736

6,734

31

116 B.H.C. Ltd

31/03/2014

2,529

44,637

2,996

43,458

288

117 Lagan Technologies Ltd

31/12/2013

2,514

22,182

31,839

12,924

364

118 J. H. Turkington & Sons Ltd

30/12/2013

2,491

21,624

-19,119

10,874

62

119 Mill Row Ltd

28/02/2013

2,458

16,314

2,364

14,084

84

120 Galgorm Manor Hotel Ltd

31/10/2013

2,426

12,246

2,211

10,856

319

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

121 Skea Egg Farms Ltd

31/12/2012

2,418

51,638

1,490

45,053

94

122 Clearway Disposals Ltd

31/12/2012

2,412

121,132

10,348

152,696

158

123 Relay Software Ltd

31/01/2013

2,412

5,558

1,892

4,964

54

124 Medwyn Holding Ltd

31/03/2014

2,409

44,368

2,996

43,459

288

125 B.P. McKeefry Ltd

30/09/2013

2,400

5,214

1,439

4,503

140

126 Tullymore House Ltd

31/10/2013

2,379

12,312

2,299

10,856

319

127 Belfast International Airport Ltd

31/12/2012

2,337

29,963

2,147

30,231

154

128 Decora Blind Systems Ltd

31/12/2013

2,336

32,482

1,453

29,670

388

129 Mallaghan Engineering Ltd

31/12/2012

2,330

34,588

797

21,758

125

130 Equiniti ICS Ltd

31/12/2013

2,320

17,449

5,231

19,316

279

131 Warner Chilcott UK Ltd

31/12/2012

2,314

60,798

3,251

61,311

211

132 Nicobrand Ltd

31/12/2012

2,303

6,292

1,742

6,510

24

133 Heatons (N.I.) Ltd

30/04/2013

2,293

40,913

537

36,652

442

134 Resource (NI) Ltd

30/09/2012

2,284

35,295

1,736

60,022

2262

135 Agnew Commercials Ltd

31/12/2012

2,280

67,309

1,888

70,188

148

136 Interpress (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

2,280

8,229

2,409

8,714

-

137 Dungannon Proteins Ltd

31/12/2012

2,266

7,184

2,487

6,967

12

138 Drinks Inc. Ltd

31/03/2013

2,234

47,476

2,936

47,653

54

139 Westbank Business Park Ltd

31/08/2013

2,228

21,779

1,938

20,282

91

140 Ballygarvey Eggs Ltd

30/09/2013

2,224

15,702

2,824

12,447

36 43

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

44

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

141 Avondale Foods (Craigavon) Ltd

31/03/2013

2,205

39,695

872

35,132

358

142 Foyleside Ltd

31/07/2013

2,181

36,203

3,529

37,549

4

143 Germinal Holdings Ltd

30/06/2013

2,108

27,983

2,702

27,240

107

144 Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK), Ltd

31/12/2013

2,091

54,913

-3,570

38,190

277

145 Northland Developments Ltd

31/08/2013

2,089

9,174

-

-

15

146 Lamex Foods Ireland Ltd

31/03/2013

2,078

171,226

626

146,590

7

147 Fiveways Shop & Service Station Ltd

30/04/2013

2,055

22,008

1,218

15,554

181

148 Brett Martin Holdings Ltd

31/12/2012

2,025

116,109

2,205

124,069

786

149 Hastings Hotels Group Ltd

31/10/2013

2,024

32,057

2,487

30,967

1100

150 Delwyn Enterprises Ltd

31/08/2013

1,980

11,279

1,421

9,081

74

151 Premier Electrics Ltd

30/09/2013

1,952

21,442

338

31,003

41

152 Killultagh Estates Ltd

31/03/2013

1,948

13,050

-376

12,898

8

153 Abbey Insurance Brokers Ltd

31/03/2013

1,937

10,269

1,844

10,047

201

154 Terumo BCT Ltd.

31/03/2013

1,922

22,686

1,944

26,555

230

155 Western Building Systems Ltd

30/04/2013

1,917

37,114

2,250

25,842

50

156 Novosco Ltd

31/12/2013

1,892

16,225

1,385

11,929

78

157 Bavarian Garages (N.I) Ltd

31/12/2012

1,855

73,773

1,623

71,933

179

158 Glenbeigh Ltd

30/04/2013

1,854

20,253

2,079

16,680

312

159 Hamilton Shipping (Port Services) Ltd

31/12/2012

1,844

1,666

1,411

8,882

12

160 Sse Renewables Holdings (UK) Ltd

31/03/2013

1,790

-

1,444

-

-

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

161 Bulrush Horticulture Ltd

30/09/2013

1,772

12,734

1,751

11,758

81

162 Kelvatek Ltd

31/12/2012

1,759

10,329

-215

5,081

55

163 Winemark The Winemerchants Ltd

31/12/2012

1,751

19,633

966

20,780

258

164 Lagan Cement Group Ltd

31/12/2012

1,746

47,259

1,755

51,924

166

165 Fyfes Vehicle & Eng. Supplies Ltd

28/02/2013

1,729

14,720

1,801

14,325

161

166 Morrow Contracts Ltd

30/04/2013

1,729

12,792

1,230

11,428

87

167 DCC Energy Ltd

31/03/2013

1,723

276,590

927

267,101

186

168 Clear Channel NI Ltd

31/12/2012

1,711

5,064

1,698

5,170

17

169 Carncastle Properties Ltd

30/11/2012

1,697

6,493

2,640

7,245

27

170 Munster Simms Engineering Ltd

31/12/2013

1,695

18,508

1,655

14,893

168

171 Sse Airtricity Gas Supply (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

1,692

110,012

4,560

106,411

50

172 Almac Pharma Services Ltd

30/09/2013

1,684

42,428

1,243

37,541

436

173 Joseph Barrett & Sons Ltd

31/07/2013

1,671

2,666

-373

2,579

29

174 T.J. Booth & Sons Ltd

31/05/2013

1,662

21,893

1,019

16,938

18

175 Frylite Ltd

31/03/2013

1,655

31,233

1,576

32,519

178

176 Em News Distribution (NI) Ltd

31/12/2012

1,651

60,964

1,924

64,966

190

177 BA Kitchen Components Ltd

31/03/2013

1,626

21,602

859

22,421

222

178 W.F.B. Baird & Co., Ltd

30/04/2013

1,621

7,274

3,695

7,744

-

179 Ulster Independent Clinic Ltd

30/04/2013

1,604

24,141

1,974

24,036

333

180 JMW Farms Ltd

30/09/2013

1,595

23,384

1,614

22,255

67

Eye on Profit200 Information supplied by

the Company Shop Business Information Division

Company Name Year End Pre-Tax Turnover

(£000) (£000)

46

Pre-Tax Profit previous year (£000)

Turnover No of previous year employees (£000)

181 Springvale EPS Ltd

30/06/2013

1,580

18,689

1,144

14,764

85

182 MacNaughton Blair Ltd

31/12/2012

1,554

71,065

1,218

68,227

461

183 Sse Renewables Uk Ltd

31/03/2013

1,545

9,741

3,122

7,081

-

184 Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd

31/08/2013

1,543

20,205

929

15,375

175

185 Wilson’s Auctions Ltd

31/03/2013

1,537

10,441

723

9,141

143

186 Edward Dillon (Bonders) Ltd

30/06/2013

1,519

8,780

753

9,122

-

187 John Morgan Estates Ltd

31/03/2013

1,506

1,795

886

1,534

3

188 Webtech (N.I.) Ltd

31/12/2012

1,489

19,076

1,508

12,279

135

189 Breezemount UK Ltd

30/09/2013

1,481

24,795

1,283

22,608

508

190 Texthelp Ltd.

30/09/2013

1,480

9,799

1,311

9,445

103

191 Trade Mouldings Ltd

31/03/2013

1,480

-

1,291

-

-

192 Trench Holdings Ltd

31/12/2012

1,478

164,271

-3,134

210,934

483

193 Irish Waste Services Ltd

30/11/2012

1,462

7,675

134

7,564

56

194 Motis Ireland Ltd

31/12/2012

1,449

48,551

1,365

34,543

32

195 McAleer & Rushe Ltd

31/03/2013

1,448

66,265

6,039

108,571

128

196 R & H Hall Trading Ltd

31/07/2013

1,444

117,590

1,677

108,133

8

197 Crighshane Energy Ltd

31/03/2013

1,439

4,703

-228

-

-

198 Natural World Products Ltd

31/12/2012

1,417

12,080

1,511

11,256

-

199 K. Hughes & Co. Ltd

31/12/2012

1,416

19,375

640

17,772

50

200 MMD Communications

31/01/2013

1,410

9,992

538

6,240

68

Eye on Digital

Tourism & Social Media – The perfect travel companion How the tourism industry can leverage social media and sell itself to potential visitors.

Social media is a powerful tool.

It has changed the face of newsgathering, politics and more acutely travel and tourism.

There can be little doubt that the explosion of social media impacts every form of business.

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter, provide instant ways to reach thousands even millions of people, and social media, such as Linkedin connect people interested in business relationships. Social media allows people to speak about great and not so great experiences, to become instant critiques or evangelists and via Youtube to even become instant stars. Tourism and travel customers have created social media networks in which they share reviews of cities, hotels, restaurants and/or attractions.

Travel being the personal, subjective experience it is, there’s no wonder social engagement – be it online or in person – has such a huge impact. The places people choose to visit and the activities they take part in are hugely influenced by current trends, the opinion of friends and the power of social opinion. Social media is merely an extension of this explorative human drive and travel businesses should ignore it at their peril. But to what ends should channels like Facebook and Twitter be tapped?

99.9% of tourists will research a location online prior to their

48

decision-making. This is a crucial area of engagement. People often post stories about their experiences, both good and bad and as these websites become more prevalent they also impact not only a locale’s reputation but also the way that we need to market and advertise. But don’t ignore something that appears negative, like the finest concierge – help, engage and then solve.

If you don’t, someone or rather somewhere else will and you’ll lose potential visitors.

Behind the cursory attention being given to social media is, partly, a lack of clarity as to what exactly travel businesses should be doing and what customers are looking for when they engage in social networks. And indeed, the answers are not entirely clear.

According to the PhoCusWright study, travellers do not appear to engage in social networks with the primary intent of actually booking travel. While customers may research trips and find inspiration, purchases on social media are less frequent.

It’s personalised endorsement via social To a great extent this is wordof-mouth advertising taken to a new level. Tourism entities, be they attractions, hotels, transportation systems, restaurants or communities may use social media as a personalized form of advertising. The use of social media can help your tourism entity to enhance its buzz and create credibility and story-telling that

has the potential to be shared among like-minded individuals.

The essential point to remember is that like tourism, social media exists to bring people together.

Do not doubt the impact of the social media. Social media presents a whole new world of instant communication. Imagine a prompt or incentive to check-in via Facebook or Twitter at the location you are visiting – instantly friends, fans and followers know where you are, and this advertises the location.

An endorsement from a friend or family member has greater impact than say, a celebrity or person-of-note. Your Facebook wall and Twitter feed is the perfect platform for this, and another thing is, it’s trackable and informs a larger data-driven landscape for the tourism industry.

It’s important however to know which social media platform perfoms best for your business or service. The term social media covers a wide range of possibilities.

Know which form of social media you are using and which audience it targets. Twitter and Facebook can be compared to mass media newspapers. On the other hand, blogs and content sharing networks may target a specific segment of the population.

If you own or are responsible for a tourism destination or attraction consider your social strategy before launching in full steam ahead.

Do you want people to visit your website? Do you want to incentivise them to book there and then? Maybe you want them to spread the word about

by Marco McKay (creative director) of digital agency Simply Zesty

your city, hotel or restaurant?

There are many ways to leverage social media to increase market interaction.

Decide what you want to do before you begin your journey.

The key to social media is personalization. What you want to do is make your social media part of the tourism and travel experience and not merely another piece of marketing or information.

It’s there… use it.

Use the medium as a way to get as much feedback as possible. One of the number one problems in tourism is getting good feedback.

Use social media as a creative way to allow people to tell you what they really think. Use techniques that allow people to interact in a way that allows them to feel they are part of the process and have a stake in your success.

Engaging with travellers in realtime on social media has huge implications for the travel industry, meaning extra products and upsells can be presented as travellers need them. The bigger the portfolio of products on the books of agents and DMOs, the more effective this interaction will be.

Return flights to Silicon Valley anyone?

Marco is the Creative Director at simply zesty, Ireland’s largest digital agency, with a team of over 50 digital professionals in Belfast & Dublin. Contact him today on 028 9033 4044 and find out how digital can accelerate your business. Part of UTV media plc.

digital strategy meets creativity Left brain, right brain. Digital smarts meet real-world business solutions.

Your customers behave & interact in a particular manner online. Whether it’s through mobile, search, social or simply visiting their favourite website.

At simply zesty we understand that journey & turn your customers into real-time conversions, or “sales” – if you like.

From innovation consultancy to digital campaigns we have a team of fifty collective smarts that speak your language.

Contact us today, & let our brains meet.

Visit www.simplyzesty.com or call simply zesty on 028 9033 4044.

Eye on Branding

Can You Be A Big Brand?

When we talk of big brands, many of us will think: Coke, Nike, Apple... A client coming to us, as communications consultants, probably isn’t immediately thinking, “I want my brand to be the next Apple”, but deep down, they’re bound to wonder if it would ever be possible. A lot of this comes down to the product and budgets, but a heck of a lot is about branding.

By Valerie Ludlow, Client Marketing Director at ASG.

W

ith a client who wants to build their brand (no matter what stage their business is at), there are a few important fundamentals we need to get in place. At ASG we take them through a brand audit process to: DEFINE, CREATE, CONNECT, and only then: COMMUNICATE. We work with a range of clients, some very well-known brands, for whom this process is already well-defined and others who are just starting out, but most are

50

somewhere in the middle. For all, this brand audit is a very useful exercise.

Starting at the very beginning (as Mary Poppins advises), you must DEFINE your key message and brand values – what is the very essence of your brand? How do you want to be seen? What marks you out from the crowd? Will your customers find your brand interesting? How can you own the space?

You must also truly understand your audience: where they are, what they do, what they like, how they behave and how they communicate. You’ll need to know this so you can talk to them in their own language and on a platform they’re already on (simple stuff).

Everything you do, how your brand looks, what you say and how you say it will all determine how your brand is perceived – it’s not just a matter of a nice pretty logo: it’s about walking the walk and talking the talk.

The CREATE stage is the fun part: turn your vision into a living, breathing, three dimensional creation that you can unleash on the world.

We would obviously advise working with professional designers to get the tools right for communicating: whether it’s a website, a sales pack, uniforms, press releases or

packaging, all must ooze the qualities and personality you have defined for your brand.

The next thing you must do is CONNECT: what are the retail/sales channels you will use to take your product out to customers.

How can customers who decide they like the sound of your product get their hands on it?

We were thrilled to see that a Co Down company, Shortcross Gin, has just secured a deal with Fortnum and Mason, London.

What a coup! They are this month’s “Spirit of the Month” in F&M and they’re maxing out the promotional opportunities on the back of this – exactly the way to do it.

Eye on Branding Since 2011, we have worked closely with Co-Armagh-based Linwoods to develop their brand for their Super Healthy Foods range of 10 milled seeds varieties. This innovative product can be added to any meal providing a direct source of easily digestible vitamins, minerals and nutrients and is stocked by independent health stores and multiples in Ireland, Europe and USA. Some might consider this a niche product, but this is a massive growth area and this Northern Ireland gem has recently secured listings in Tesco stores

throughout the UK and in all Waitrose stores across the UK. Securing a retailer is not the end of the brand story; it’s actually just the beginning. The most important thing is what you do to keep your brand front and centre in your customers’ minds in order to get them to buy it and keep it there.

So, back to the Big Brand plan: once you have Defined, Created and Connected your brand, you’re ready to Communicate.

It’s time to start the conversations.

Many small companies start this process by themselves and then maybe begin to run out of steam. This is where it’s essential to get help: enlist the services of communications professionals to use all the tools at your disposal to share your brand with your audience or customers and ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE. At this stage, it’s about exposure,

connection, experience and “talkability” – get seen, get heard and get talked about.

As long as there’s a clear and easy way to buy your product, you’ll see the results.

There’s no doubt about the might of social media for branding. Being online gives you a

voice to speak to the world. A brand can use digital / social media in so many ways: have a conversation, post how-to videos and become an expert in your field; give advice, share the views of others with voxpops or through blogger engagement. Keep it newsy, fun and relevant – and DON’T SELL! Get the images right, deploy quality video and use pictures that, once again, ooze your brand personality.

Is it classy, edgy, irreverent, sustainable, sexy? You’ve defined your brand image, so make sure everything visual says it too.

Use advertising and PR – identify the right

media channels to reach your customers.

Place your product among brand leaders, write an expert column, share your news, be current, relevant and create a presence.

Find collaborations: maybe it’s a blogger, maybe it’s a celebrity or a like-minded brand which sits comfortably alongside your own.

There is power in tapping into someone else’s established audiences or customers if they are comfortable with your brand and your values – work it!

Finally, if you can, make your brand experiential.

Create events that

captivate, engage and excite your audiences. By allowing people to experience your brand, you stand a much higher chance of getting them engaged. Granted, it is time- labour- and resource- intensive, but if you can, get out there and let customers taste it, feel it, try it out. The connection you will get back can be extremely powerful.

So, to summarise, if you get the foundations of your brand right and then put the right resource into communicating it in every which way you can, your brand success is out there for the making.

For find out more about ASG’s joined up thinking approach to brand communication, visit www.asgireland.com

51

Eye on Branding

BRAND: THE POWER TO TRANSFORM BUSINESS. When you are finding it difficult to differentiate from competitors, a complete brand re-invention can lead to business transformation.

Mammoth Managing Partners Paul Martin and Jeremy Poots

Managing Director, Mammoth, Katrina Dowling Managing Director, Massive PR, Julie McCabe

Digital Director, Andrew McCrea Business & Marketing Director, Claire Trainor Client Services Director Dublin, Sarah Maunsell Creative Director, Carolyn Green

Leading brand agency, Mammoth, explains what makes one brand stand out from another. Why do some people use one law firm over another, go to Starbucks rather than Costa, or fly BA instead of Virgin?

Managing Partner, Paul Martin says:

marketing of a range of headphones

“Very often there is little setting brands

that Apple would buy them last month

apart and our choices become driven by

for $3bn? Or that Netflix could somehow

emotional connections. We are talking

re-invent how we consume programming

about small amounts of variation which

through their micro-subscription TV and

can make huge amounts of difference.

streaming service to become one of the

The most successful brands do not focus

largest media companies in the world? Or

on the 90% of their business that makes

that Air BnB could innovate the stagnant

them similar to competitors, but instead

hospitality sector with their ‘making

elevate the 10% to make them different.”

the most of the host’ model to rent out unused bedrooms around the world -

Co-Partner at Mammoth, Jeremy

becoming the largest global hotel chain in

Poots adds, “The best brands are an

the world in the process without owning

untouchable mix of ‘what you get’

a hotel! All have blown away competitors

and ‘what you feel’, turning users into

through differentiating in their sector

ambassadors and generating viral word

with a small but powerful ‘10% twist of

of mouth that money cannot buy. Who

difference’ - and a brand position that

would have thought that rapper Dr Dre

resonated with their audiences.”

could add such kudos to the launch and

52

“We’ve created an integrated offering to give our clients the best possible platform for differentiation and growth through our Brand Consultancy team, our Digital and Social Media team and our Reputation Management team, with our sister company, Massive PR.”

53

Eye on Branding

With a proven track record in

customers and a core idea that defines

transforming brands Mammoth are

that opinion and creates the perception

experts at identifying the 10% that’s

that you want in the minds of your

different. Key clients include Bank of

audience. And of course brand today is

Ireland, 3fivetwo Group, ICON plc, Liberty

all about perception.

IT and Carson McDowell but finding that 10% is not as easy as it sounds,

“At Mammoth, we work collaboratively

highlights Paul Martin.

with our clients. This means more workshops and focus groups, which

“We’re talking about the human part of

inform and shape our creative

your brand; the energy, ethos, beliefs and

presentations. We are more interested

values that are the driving force behind

in what really makes you tick than

what you do. We need to understand

whether you are blue or purple in colour.

how your brand is perceived. We talk to

It’s a challenging, involved and creative

staff and customers, benchmark against

way to work together.

competitors and other industries and get a genuine feel for how it is experienced

“We have shaped our offering specifically

and interacted with by the outside world.

to deal with our clients needs. We’ve

It’s a mix of emotions, experiences and

created an integrated offering with three

opinions that help build a clear picture of

key service areas that work together

what the core idea at the centre of your

to give our clients the best possible

brand may be. Whether you know it or

platform for differentiation and growth

not, your brand already has a personality,

through our Brand Consultancy team,

the secret is to be in control of it, give it a

our Digital and Social Media team and our

consistent voice and most importantly be

Reputation Managment team, through

confident about it.”

our sister company, Massive PR, via Managing Director, Julie McCabe.

The role of the branding agency is to understand your business strategy, the

Martin concludes, “like all good brands,

landscape you work in, where future

Mammoth react and change to meet

revenue streams are coming from

the demands of their clients and the

and to help you build a platform for

marketplace. Which is why, after 14

differentiation and growth. Branding

years, we felt the time was right to add

today is not the job of a design agency;

further strength and depth to our Senior

it takes much more than design to create

Management Team in our Belfast office.

a brand.

We have also appointed a new Director to head up our Dublin office to service

Managing Director of Mammoth, Katrina

longstanding clients based there. This

Dowling explains, “Your audience will

will propel us further in our quest to

always develop their own impression of

re-invent, launch and nurture even more

your organisation and brand, but we can

corporate brands this year and beyond.”

shape that opinion; we can build values that galvanise staff, themes that engage

54

“After 14 years we felt the time was right to add further strength and depth to our Senior Management Team in our Belfast office. We have also appointed a new Director to head up our Dublin office to service our longstanding clients based there.”

BELFAST 84-94 Great Patrick Street Belfast BT1 2LU t. +44 (0) 2890 240 250 e. info@mammoth.tv

DUBLIN 28-32 Pembroke Street Upper Dublin 2 t. +353 1 901 2664 e. info@mammoth.tv

Brand how your prospect thinks or feels when they hear or see your brand name

Contact Tel +44 (0)28 9037 1010 heather@thepiercepartnership.com thepiercepartnership.com

— More than a logo — Considered relative to; vision, core values, strategy — Consistently communicates; reputation, credibility, relevancy — Creates; emotional connection, trust, differentiation, recognition, distinctiveness — Results in; loyalty, elevation, increased sales/profits What’s your story?

Stand apart with Brand Etiquette

Eye on Branding

Stephen Roycroft’s New Lease Of Agency Life Stephen Roycroft says that having the chance to run an advertising agency has made him feel like a 25-year old starting out all over again in the advertising industry.

R

oycroft, who’s actually twice that age and won’t thank us for highlighting the milestone, is a familiar and respected figure on the Northern Ireland media scene who cut his teeth in the media itself before moving on to the agency sector at McCann Erickson...and the past 18 years with the Ardmore Group, latterly as its Deputy Managing Director.

But he’s just made the leap from Holywood to South Belfast to take over the MD’s seat at RLA left vacant by the retirement of a legend of the Northern Ireland advertising industry, Ian Erwin.

“I’m loving it,” says Roycroft a couple of months into his new role.

“After 25 years Ian has handed over a business that’s in great shape.

“We’re going to be making a bit more noise about RLA,” he adds. “We’re brand builders ourselves, and I intend to make RLA feel and behave more like the strong brand that it is elsewhere in the UK. Expect to see and hear a lot more about us come September.

“Our objective? It’s very simple... To think BIG. We intend to be a top three agency in Belfast within a few years.

I think that’s definitely achievable.

RLA is more than a local Northern Ireland advertising agency. It forms part of the Bournemouth-based RLA operation, an advertising agency specialising in automotive industry clients as well as full service advertising for a broad range of blue Chip clients. And RLA, in turn, is part of the £125 million Mission Marketing Group plc, a London headquartered group comprising 11 different communications agencies operating in specialist and general fields throughout the UK. “And that’s the uniqueness of RLA Belfast. We’re a locally-based full service advertising agency, with home-grown,

56

seasoned campaigners at the helm and highly experienced teams. But we’re connected into a large agency in Bournemouth and to an even larger Plc. Taking skills into Belfast when necessary from the larger group makes us an agency plus in my book,” says Stephen Roycroft.

What’s more, he doesn’t have to wrestle with an unwieldy chain of command to get to the top of the Mission Group Plc. Roycroft reports to Chris Goodwin, RLA’s Bournemouthbased CEO, and Goodwin sits on the board of the Mission parent company in London.

RLA Belfast employs a team of 15, a headcount that Stephen Roycroft intends to expand in the not too distant future.

“ That’s the uniqueness of RLA Belfast. We’re a locallybased full service advertising agency, with homegrown, seasoned campaigners at the helm and highly experienced teams. But we’re connected into a large agency in Bournemouth and to an even larger Plc. Taking skills into Belfast when necessary from the larger group makes us an agency plus in my book.”

“I see no reason why we can’t expand importing GB and ROI work back to Northern Ireland. Modern instantaneous communications are seamless now, and our cost base here is low enough to add unique value to and from the Group.

RLA Belfast already looks after dealer marketing work for the Kia car brand across the UK and consumer retail in the Republic; provides a wide range of services for Tesco in NI; works with Invest Northern Ireland, Volvo in NI and Danske Bank, amongst other key clients.

The new RLA Belfast Managing Director also drops a clear hint that the agency is intent on expanding the current Client base and services provided. “…for example, we want to creatively scale up our digital provision here in Belfast,” he adds.

“It’s time to think BIG about RLA here in Belfast, just like we do. A local Agency with unique connections to a major marketing and communications Plc should make us indispensable in what we do for Clients here.”

57

Eye on Branding

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD The word branding often means different things to different people, but simply put, it can be described as the way your customer perceives you.

Y

our brand is the result of a set of associations and perceptions in people’s minds and branding is an attempt to harness, influence and control these associations in order to help the business perform better.

Any organisation, no matter how large or small can benefit from creating a strong brand or brands that present the company as distinctive, exciting, dependable or whatever attributes best fit that business.

Branding can help set you apart from your competitors, add value to your offerings and help you to engage with your customers.

That’s why at The Mount Charles Group we have invested significantly in developing new brands that reflect our diverse catering offerings.

58

We pride ourselves on being the best in the business, and it was important to us that all our brands reflect that.

Strong brands should create an emotional response in the minds of consumers and so we have developed our new brand identities with each of our specific target audiences in mind.

When we were appointed as the exclusive in-house caterer for the University of Ulster in 2013, we embarked on a journey to develop a series of new catering solutions that would keep everyone on campus happy.

As such, we developed new brand identities – U:Eat, PANGO, Café MOKA and crEATe. U:EAT is a new style urban eatery which replaces the traditional canteen style service across the University of Ulster.

PANGO is a brand new popup street food trading post.

Inspired by street food traders and designed specifically for the ‘hot grab and go’ sector, the name PANGO says grab and go eating; it stands for fresh food, straight from the pan, to go.

MOKA is a fairtrade and fiercely independent coffee outlet.

MOKA isn’t a corporate coffee chain. It has a local, individual voice. It cares about Fairtrade but doesn’t take itself too seriously day-to-day. It makes friends from customers and it has fun!

Finally, we established a bespoke hospitality service called crEATe which offers a tailored catering service throughout the University of Ulster.

But we haven’t stopped there, as we continue to widen our offering and win new contracts, we continue to develop new brands to suit individual sectors.

Most recently, we have established the Real Good Food brand, specifically designed for the business and industry sector. So far this concept has been successfully rolled out into a number of businesses including Copeland Limited and Convergys with more outlets planned for the near future.

As an organisation, we understand the value of our brands and that is why we are committed to investing in our brand portfolio.

Together with our first-class service, our brands ensure we stand out from the crowd.

That is why we are constantly reassessing the marketplace and the impact our brands have on our customers to ensure we continue to put our best foot forward.

“ We pride ourselves on being the best in the business, and it was important to us that all our brands reflect that.”

Eye on News

PROGRESSIVE INVESTS £1M IN BALLYMENA HIGH STREET Ballymena town centre has received a significant economic boost with Progressive Building Society re-opening its doors after a £1m investment.

T

he redevelopment of the branch, one of 12 that Progressive has in cities and towns across Northern Ireland, is a good news story for Ballymena which, along with 9 other UK towns, is the subject of a six-year study ‘High Street UK 2020’ by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to breathe new life into its North Antrim high streets.

The First Minister Peter Robinson MLA officially opened Progressive’s new building, where he outlined his commitment to supporting investment in Ballymena’s high streets, which is starting to overcome research that had placed it as having one of the largest vacancy rates within Northern Ireland.

Commenting at the event, he said, “I am delighted to officially open the Progressive Building Society Ballymena branch. I congratulate the board of Progressive for investing £1 million in this redevelopment.

Such a major redevelopment is very welcome news for the town of Ballymena and will be seen as a vote of confidence in the town and its people.

The new facilities will offer members more modern and comfortable facilities in which to conduct business and importantly sends a signal to the wider Northern Ireland public that the Progressive is committed to investing in the local economy and developing the local High Street.

The First Minister Peter Robinson MLA officially opened Progressive’s new building along side Darina Armstrong, Chief Executive of Progressive, John Trethowan, Chairman of Progressive and William Burgess, Ballymena Branch Manager.

Resident in Ballymena since 1978, Progressive has its roots in local communities across Northern Ireland.

Commenting at the opening Darina Armstrong, Chief Executive said, “We know that customers seek out great value, but don’t want to compromise on quality, so we’re always looking to meet these evolving demands by enhancing our branches and our products.

“At Progressive we also understand the importance of investing in the community and we are committed to playing our part in the re-generation of Ballymena and bring an extra boost to the local economy. High Streets across the UK have had challenging times but Ballymena

is a good example of a location where investment is starting to go back into the heartbeat of our towns and this is an area that we will continue to support.

“The procedure of applying for a mortgage can appear complex, especially with the changes within the Mortgage Market Review. We believe our 12 strong branch network provides the opportunity for customers and members alike to come into one of our branches and directly engage with qualified and expert staff. Whether it’s for a mortgage or savings product, our staff will take customers through every step of the process, ensuring they fully understand what’s involved.”

Eye on News

Bumper summer for International Airport It’s been a summer of good news at Belfast International Airport... with a significant expansion by Jet 2 and new route announcements from Virgin Atlantic and Wizz Air.

J

et 2 is to base an additional aircraft at Belfast and will be running for new routes – to the key European cities of Prague and Rome and to sunshine destinations Gran Canaria and Zante.

The introduction of these routes, along with the addition of a third dedicated aircraft, will see Jet2.com operate its biggest ever flying programme from Belfast International Airport next year: Over 250,000 seats will be available for local passengers. More than 70 services a week wil operate to 16 in demand sun and city destinations.

And Jet2 is to increase frequency on the busy Malaga route.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “In our tenth year of flying from Belfast International Airport we are thrilled to be announcing major growth plans for summer 2015.

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“Since our first flight took off we’ve not only increased capacity but we have also grown our destinations from two to 16. Our city break offering continues to expand with the introduction of Prague and Rome, plus the addition of Gran Canaria means holidaymakers now have a trio of Canary Island gems to choose from. What’s more we have introduced our first Greek hotspot – the stunning Island of Zante!

“These developments really demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing our loyal local customers with unrivalled choice and flexibility when it comes to planning their next well earned break. With our fantastic range of destinations, coupled with great flight times and award winning customer service, we are confident we have the right mix to cement our position

as one of the leading leisure operators at Belfast International Airport.”

Uel Hoey, business development director at Belfast International Airport, added: “This very welcome announcement is the best way for Jet2. com and Jet2holidays to celebrate 10 years of flying from Belfast International

Airport. This major expansion reinforces the airline’s belief in Northern Ireland.”

Virgin Atlantic is to run direct flights by Boeing 747 from Belfast International to Orlando in Florida during late June and July next summer while Wizz Air has returned to Belfast and will operate a twice weekly link to Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania.

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Our business is nursing care.

Our bank is Bank of Ireland.

We approved over £500m in lending to Northern Ireland businesses in 2013.

This year we want to lend more.

Naomi Carey and Janet Montgomery

hutchinsoncarehomes.com

Talk to Northern Ireland’s Enterprise Bank today

bankofireland.co.uk £500m is based on the average number of Business, Commercial and Corporate approved credit applications between January 2013 and December 2013. This approval is based on formal credit applications across all Business sectors and includes renewals, applications for new money, increase of existing facilities and restructuring of facilities.

Bank of Ireland UK is a trading name of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England and Wales (No. 7022885), Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London EC4M 9BE. 8513140701

Eye on Enterprise

Bank of Ireland UK Champions of Local Enterprise Ian Sheppard, Head of Business & Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland, UK.

Having approved more than £500m of new lending to local businesses in 2013, Bank of Ireland UK is keen to cement its standing as Northern Ireland’s Enterprise Bank and is on track to surpass that figure this year.

I

an Sheppard, Head of Business & Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland UK says: “Our priority is to support and encourage business growth in Northern Ireland and our understanding of the local market ensures we are well placed to deliver on that.”

“We have an experienced and knowledgeable team of local business advisors available across our branch network that can provide businesses with the full range of financial services required for growth. Moreover, we have dedicated experts working across specialist areas such as global trade; foreign currency management and working capital finance to ensure we can help all types of businesses achieve their ambitions for growth.”

Bank of Ireland UK invests heavily in building strong customer relationships

and stays close to their customers and Naomi Carey, joint Director of Hutchinson Care Homes would agree.

Naomi and her sister Janet Montgomery run an award-winning nursing care business and they have been Bank of Ireland UK customers since 2005. Naomi says: “We have a very good relationship with Bank of Ireland UK, they’re a great bank that is interested in our business and their support and advice is a great asset to our company.”

“Last year we approached the bank to help fund the acquisition of two new homes in Ballyclare. From the outset they were interested in details, they knew and understood our business and the unique challenges we faced and they could not have been more supportive throughout the process. In the event they helped us to put new systems in place for the new properties and took away many of the concerns we had in the crucial acquisition phase.”

Bank of Ireland UK is active in the Northern Ireland business community and works in partnership with key industry bodies and business influencers to ensure they continue to provide relevant support to

local enterprises. Their partnership with the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce & Industry through the Connecting for Growth Programme is assisting local companies to grow by offering opportunities to increase cross border trade activity in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Bank of Ireland UK also plays an important role in supporting the growth of Northern Ireland’s Knowledge Based Economy through the bank’s sponsorship of Northern Ireland Science Park’s (NISP) INVENT 2014 programme which showcases the most exciting prototype technologies emerging from Northern Ireland. While in recent years, the bank’s own unique and pioneering Enterprise Week initiative which is designed to champion the ambitions of local enterprise has proved to be the model for engaging with SMEs whether customers or non-customers.

Ian Sheppard concludes: “Bank of Ireland UK is a passionate advocate for the local business community and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that the finance, expertise and support we provide to this sector is relevant, practical and can help to drive business forward in Northern Ireland.”

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Eye on News

DELTA BOOSTS RED CROSS FLEET With the support of Ulster Garden Villages, Delta Print and Packaging and the Layland family of Templepatrick, a new emergency response Land Rover vehicle has been added to the Red Cross fleet of vehicles in Northern Ireland.

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utlining how the vehicle will be used to support communities Sharon Sinclair, Northern Ireland Director with the Red Cross said: “This type of vehicle will be familiar to people who see the Red Cross responding to disasters across the world. The Red Cross also deliver a range of services across Northern Ireland to enable individuals and communities cope with and recover from crises or emergencies. Volunteers, people who freely and regularly give of their time to help others, are

crucial to the delivery of our services and having appropriate transport is crucial for the wide range of tasks that they undertake. The addition of this 4x4 emergency vehicle to the fleet will assist the Red Cross in helping to meet the needs of communities, including during severe weather and in areas difficult to reach in conventional vehicles” Explaining why Delta Print and Packaging opted to sponsor the vehicle Mr Terry Cross, Founder and Chairman of Delta Print and Packaging and also

Pictured with the new Red Cross Land Rover Defender are Mr Billy Webb of Ulster Garden Villages, and Mr Terry Cross, Founder and Chairman of Delta Print and Packaging and also Red Cross NI President.

Red Cross NI President said: “Every community needs a level of resilience. It needs individuals who are willing to give of their time to help support others who are in need. The ethos which the Red Cross has is the same team ethos that is evident in Delta Print and Packaging. Our staff and employees regularly help each other to achieve shared objectives

and we acknowledge the wider benefits that are derived from supporting such sentiment. You never know when you may require the assistance of emergency response services or support to retain your independence at home, but if these vital services provided

by Red Cross are not supported they will not be available for people to benefit from.”

Asset based lending Business changing finance Blending stock or property funding lines with specialist invoice and asset finance, we maximise asset values as well as the range of funding challenges we can solve. To find out how you can utilise the value of assets in your business, speak to one of our experts today.

Talk to us today on 028 9517 0406 or visit www.closecommercialfinance.com Close Brothers Commercial Finance is a trading style of Close Brothers Limited and Close Invoice Finance Limited. Close Brothers Limited is registered in England and Wales (Company Number 00195626) and its registered office is 10 Crown Place, London, EC2A 4FT. Close Invoice Finance Limited, a subsidiary of Close Brothers Limited, is registered in England and Wales (Company No. 00935949) and it’s registered office is 10 Crown Place, London, United Kingdom EC2A 4FT.

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CF Business Eye ABL ad 186x126 V2 PRESS.indd 1

14/08/2014 16:39

Countdown On For Top Business Awards

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orthern Ireland’s top companies and business personalities will be spotlighted once again at the 2014 UTV Business Eye Awards in association with Flybe.

The awards ceremony takes place on 23rd October at the Culloden Estate & Spa and the corporate

sector is being urged to enter between now and the closing date of Friday, 26th September via www.businesseye.uk or the UTV website www.u.tv.

The awards are being sponsored by Flybe for the second year running. The airline’s Commercial

Manager North, Andrea Hayes, was on hand at George Best Belfast City Airport to encourage businesses and individuals to enter this year’s awards. Andrea (left) is pictured with Brenda Buckley of Business Eye and UTV’s Marc Mallett, who will be on stage to host the awards on 23rd October.

Award Categories & Criteria There will be 17 different categories for the 2014 Awards...

Business Personality of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

The Northern-Ireland based business personality who in the opinion of the judging panel has contributed most to the local business sector and the local economy as a whole in the last 12 months.

SME of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

The small to medium-sized enterprise (up to 50 employees) which, in the opinion of the judges, can demonstrate significant business growth over the past year to 18 months across any sector of the local economy.

Employer of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

The Northern Ireland company or organisation which, in the view of the judges, has done the most to create a balanced, satisfying and fulfilling working environment for its employees.

Young Business Personality of the Year SPONSORED BY

This category sets out to identify the achievements of Northern Ireland’s young (35 years old or under) entrepreneurs and business leaders, with entrants able to demonstrate clear achievement and dynamism in their chosen field.

Company of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

The Northern Ireland-based private sector company which has made the biggest positive impact across the spectrum over the past 12 month period in the view of the judges‌ for reasons which may include business and/or employment growth, acquisitions or other deals, export achievement, etc.

Retailer of the Year The retail organisation, ranging from international/national chains through to locally owned groups, which has made the most significant contribution to Northern Ireland, in terms of investment, innovation, expansion or growth.

Tourism / Hospitality Project of the Year The individual project within Northern Ireland which, in the view of the panel, has done most to raise standards in the hospitality industry and to attract more tourists to the region.

Best Digital/Online Company of The Year The company or organisation which has demonstrated the most successful and most innovative use of online/digital technology to advance its business aims.

Entrants can include organisations which have successfully adapted to online/digital from more traditional foundations as well as pure online/digital enterprises.

Business / Education Award An award which will recognise the best of business education.

The award can be for companies or public sector organisations providing education for business programmes, or for private sector organisations forging links with education bodies.

enter online at utvawards.businesseye.co.uk Deadline for Entries – Friday 3rd October 2014 Agri Food Innovation Award

Research & Development Project of the Year

Business Consultancy of the Year Award

Open to companies and organisations which can show clear evidence of an innovative research and development project either on an in-house basis or on behalf of clients.

The Northern-Ireland based business personality who in the opinion of the judging panel has contributed most to the local business sector and the local economy as a whole in the last 12 months.

SPONSORED BY

A new award category reflecting the strength and growth of the Northern Ireland agri-food and food processing sectors. The awards sets out to recognise the organisation which can demonstrate outstanding innovation in a sector where innovation is crucial to business sector. This can apply to new product innovation, innovation in manufacturing process or innovation in product marketing.

Evidence of commerical success or commercial potential as a resuilt of innovation should be demonstrated.

Deal of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

This award will recognise the merger, acquisition, MBO, MBI, new start or key investment deal which, in the opinion of the judging panel, has produced benefits for the company or companies concerned as well as for the wider Northern Ireland economy.

Green Company of the Year Award SPONSORED BY

International Award SPONSORED BY

Waste Reduction Project of The Year

This award sets out to recognise achievement by a private sector Northern Ireland organisation towards the wider environmental cause. This may focus on a wide programme of environment measures, or one specific initiative which improves a company’s environmental contribution.

SPONSORED BY

This award is open to organisations trading internationally from Northern Ireland, and will recognise the most important achievement/ contribution by such a company outside of Northern Ireland during the period, whether in terms of export sales, overseas expansion/ investment or acquisition.

This award provides the opportunity for both private and public sector organisations, and especially those in the hospitality industry, to gain recognition for their outstanding waste reduction initiatives. Entrants will be judged on waste reduction measures including best practice, originality, exemplarity, quality of content and focus on waste prevention as well as long-term and lasting impact including waste from landfill.

Fleet Manufacturer of the Year SPONSORED BY

This award, sponsored by fleet market leaders Fleet Financial, will recognise an institution bringing innovation and consistency to the asset and vehicle finance markets in Northern Ireland.

Eye on Hospitality

LEO SMALL...

MAKING BIG MEMORIES FOR TITANIC VISITORS

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Eye on Hospitality “The way I look at it is that I’m in the business of making memories for those who visit Titanic Belfast, whether they’re tourists or attending a function here. If they walk away with the right kind of memory, and come back.....I’ll have done my job.”

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hat’s not the philosophy of Titanic’s Chief Executive, rather that of the man who heads the 30-strong team of chefs and kitchen assistants responsible for producing all the food that Titanic has to offer.

Officially, Leo Small is the Executive Chef for Irish catering company Fitzers at Titanic Belfast.

The Dublin-based firm won the contract to provide catering at the centre against tough competition before it opened its doors in 2012.

In reality, he’s the man in charge of the cafe and bistro food outlets on Titanic’s ground floor as well as the catering for all major events at the venue whether indoors out (increasingly) outdoors. And that means everything from a Chamber of Commerce dinner to a Royal visit or – as will be the case in September – a world title boxing match on Titanic’s Slipways.

Even without the business and sporting events, Titanic Belfast has been handling upwards of 3,000 visitors daily over the summer period, with numbers topping the 4,000-mark at weekend.... numbers that put the catering job into stark perspective.

“It’s a dynamic place, there’s no doubt about it,” says Leo Small.

“We’re facing catering challenges on a daily basis, and we’ve got to keep on top of our game all the time.

“There’s a huge variety of challenges facing us. We can be cooking for the Queen one day and preparing bacon butties for 750 GAA All Stars the next,” he says, quoting a seemingly far-fetched but genuine example of the job at hand.

Born and bred in Newcastle, Co. Down, Leo Small had food in his blood from birth. His family runs a butchery business (Small’s of Newcastle) as well as a coffee shop in the resort town and it’s in the latter that he started to ply his trade....quickly discovering that he wanted to cook in higher places than a humble coffee shop.

A few NVQ’s at catering college later, he was working at the Downshire Arms in Hilltown when he took part in a TV cookery programme and came under the notice of one Antoine Edelman and was offered the chance to cook at London’s Savoy Hotel for a year.

Back home, he headed south to Dublin where he spent the next five years working for Conrad Gallagher of Peacock Alley fame, one of Ireland’s most innovative chefs of the 1990’s. In 2000, Small teamed up with Irish American entrepreneur John Shanahan to help set up the now famous Shanahan’s On The Green.

He returned home to the North to set up his own pub/restaurant venture but discovered after a while, to use his own words, that it’s easier to work for someone else than yourself. But it’s more likely that he chose the wrong time to kick off the venture... right at the start of the one of the worst recessions anyone can remember.

Moving back into employment, Leo Small joined Avoca as Head Chef of its Belfast operation and moved on from there to join Simon Dougan’s Yellow Door outside catering operation....his last senior role before touching down at Titanic.

“Lenny Fearon (one of the directors at Fitzers) is an old friend of mine from my Dublin days and I bumped into him on my way to an Ireland game at the Aviva Stadium. He told me about the Titanic operation and

asked if I’d be interested in the job. It was as simple as that.”

So Small joined the team at Titanic in February of 2012, a couple of months before it opened, and set about the job of preparing for what lay ahead.

“The thing about this place is that our visitors have seen the film, and they know a bit about how lavish things were on the Titanic. When I started here, I had to become a bit of a historian.....I had to research the food that was served right through the ship at breakfast, lunch and dinner. So we’ve tried to replicate that.

“The Cafe offers steerage food, but really high quality and with a modern twist. The Bistro, if you like, tried to reproduce the kind of fare on offer in Second Class. And upstairs in our function suites, we work hard to offer Titanic’s World Class levels.”

Titanic Belfast has even introduced a White Star Menu, where groups of up to 200 can enjoy the highest levels of food with silver service and a chef producing desserts live in front of the diners. The catering team has also introduced a highly successful Afternoon Tea (again based faithfully around the tea available on the ship itself), which has been packing groups into the centre, particularly on Sunday afternoons.

“We’ve added a few touches to the afternoon tea experience, like our own Tea Sommeliers, for example, who’ve been specially

trained to select and recommend teas for our guests. And we’ve launched a Children’s Afternoon Tea with malted milk shakes and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the menu.”

But consistent quality – right down to the waiters’ white gloves - isn’t the only challenge facing Small and his team of 15 chefs. Sometimes it can be sheer numbers. In September, 16,000 fans will descend on the area outside Titanic Belfast for the Carl Frampton v Kiko Martinez Super Bantamweight title fight.

“And, earlier on the same day, we’ve got 250 guests sitting down inside Titanic for a wedding reception,” Small adds with enthusiastic energy.

Major business events and other set piece functions remain Titanic’s ‘bread and butter’, as Leo Small puts it. “But they’re not something we take for granted. We work very hard to make sure that we get our menus right, and that we get our large-scale catering absolutely right every time.

“We’ve a new banqueting menu coming into operation in September. We’re very aware that we’ve earned a reputation for doing things well, and doing things differently, here. And we’re not about to lose that reputation.

“But, above all else, we want our guests to leave here with a really good impression of the food and of the service... whatever they came to Titanic Belfast for. That’s vital to us.”

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Eye on Law

Forget-Me-Not: Privacy In The Internet Age Everyday use of the internet is an inherent part of the modern world in which we live. The revelations which emerged during the Leveson Inquiry, brought the thorny issue of protection of privacy centre stage. Although this may be surprising, given the level of media commentary, there is currently no law of privacy as such, in the UK. There are however, a number of rights that, in various ways, relate to privacy.

By Rosemary Lundy, Partner, Corporate and Commercial, Arthur Cox. Human Rights Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 provides that “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.” The influence of Article 8 has resulted in a raft of cases for “misuse of private information”. Cases involving “super injunctions”, for example, such as, John Terry, who applied for an injunction to restrain the publication of details about his romantic life, have been well publicised.

Social Networking This also extends to the contentious area of Social Networking which gives users the opportunity to actively share personal information with others. Some argue that, as the information is shared on a voluntary basis, its use cannot constitute a violation of privacy in the conventional sense. This view however is not shared by the EU who endorsed the data protection principles through the EU Data Protection Directive.

The Data Protection Act The Data Protection Act 1998 was implemented to regulate the “processing” of “personal data” of UK citizens. The act protects the misuse of confidential information and is policed by the Information Commissioner’s Office who will enforce any suspected breaches of the act. Compensation may be awarded where loss or distress can be proven to be the result of a breach of the Data Protection Act.

How Does This Impact On Business?

Companies need to be aware of the Data Protection Act 1998 when processing information including information gleaned from the internet and with the law in relation to monitoring telephone calls or electronic communications.

Increasingly employers find themselves involved in claims based in privacy. The extent to which an employer may intervene in respect of activities which occur outside of the work place, in a private capacity, requires careful handling. For example the Court of Appeal recently held that an employer is limited in the invasion of an employee’s privacy which it can undertake to justify a dismissal.

This particular case concerned whether it was reasonable for an employer to dismiss an employee

The Internet The core principles of the Data Protection Act also apply to situations in which information is circulated or collected on or from the internet. These obligations generally fall upon the person who is operating the website from which any personal data is processed.

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after he was cautioned for committing a sexual offence with another man in a public toilet.

Cases of online harassment or “cyber bullying” are on the increase. The case of McGettigan v Short Brothers Plc involved sectarian harassment by text.

These cases reinforce the importance having appropriate policies in place tailored to a company’s business needs.

Company Privacy But it’s not just individuals who are protected, the courts have held that companies enjoy privacy rights too, which may be used to restrain excessive and unwarranted media intrusion and others seeking to attack a business aggressively.

The Protection from Harassment (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, for example, offers the potential for protection from persistently violent or threatening protesters.

Legal remedies available to a company include an injunction, damages and delivery up or destruction of offending material. However, an injunction will invariably be the most important remedy in the vast majority of privacy cases.

Right To Be Forgotten In a ground breaking case the European Court of Justice set a significant precedent on what is being called the “right to be forgotten”. The EU held that old, inaccurate data should be removed from search results on the internet. This is good news for many people who regret posting photos of drunken escapades online. Already, search engines such as Google are reported to have been flooded with requests to have information removed. It is important to note that not all information is covered, only where the impact on privacy is greater than the public’s right to find it.

Presumably this right will extend to businesses and companies albeit that it will depend on the nature of the information, its sensitivity and impact.

Concerns over censorship have been voiced and some commentators say that it will create “memory holes” decreasing the quality of the internet.

Interesting times indeed!

Making commercial sense Outside insight

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eing on the ground in more locations than any other commercial property agency, it’s fair to say we know the market inside out.

Lambert Smith Hampton has 27 offices across the UK and Ireland. We have access to all the latest research and trends in the commercial property market.

In advising clients our key objective is to create added value based on properly researched independent advice.

With a team of 75 in Belfast we offer specialist services from retail consultancy to asset management, building surveys to property management, rating to valuation, auctions to corporate recovery, business space agency to capital markets.

With our blend of national prominence and local knowledge, Lambert Smith Hampton is well placed to offer best advice on all aspects of commercial property.

Lambert Smith Hampton Clarence House, 4-10 May Street, Belfast BT1 4NJ T +44 (0)28 9032 7954

Eye on Technology

i3 Digital help tourists Un-Lough Neagh-Ture The team at i3 Digital are celebrating yet another milestone in delivering truly innovative and immersive digital solutions to bolster tourism in one of Northern Ireland’s beauty spots, Lough Neagh.

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he company of digital firsts has just launched a brand new app, Un-lough Neagh-Ture, which is the first environmental Augmented Reality (AR) app of its kind in Ireland! i3 Digital’s multi awardwinning app team designed and built the app as a navigation and educational tool for local nature enthusiasts and tourists.

Un-Lough Neagh-Ture features 16 environmentally significant sites located around the Lough Neagh Wetlands, including local and national nature reserves.

The cutting edge app immerses users and provides them with the ability to view specific virtual ‘floating’ information on their smart phone while enabling them to locate, identify, and report

natural heritage species and specific habitat features. The free app also enables users to explore and learn about the countless unique environmental sites and quickly identify the key natural and public facilities at their disposal.

Once users have downloaded the free app from Google Playstore they are also fully equipped to photograph Lough Neagh’s truly stunning scenery from their smart phone and share immediately on social media. Should there be any concerns, unique species spotted or areas of question, users can simply tag the pictures with a GPS co-ordinate and forward them onto the LNP for observation using the ‘Report It’ tool.

The Un-Lough Neagh-Ture app created by i3 Digital and the

new user experiences produced have also fostered a new working partnership between the LNP and Translink aimed at promoting Lough Neagh as a top ecological destination. Lough Neagh is a renowned wildlife haven with unmistakable viewpoints dotted around the shoreline. The app is especially useful for the countless bird watchers from around the world that flock to the Lough to see the immense numbers and varieties of birds on its shores throughout the year. i3 Managing Director, Adrian Bradley, gleamed “The new Un-Lough Neagh-Ture” app further cements i3 Digital as a ‘company of digital firsts’ and we are delighted with the response the cutting edge app has received so far. i3Digital is renowned across the UK and Ireland for being at the fore front of Digital Technologies and Augmented Reality solutions, and we’re delighted to have had the opportunity to work in Partnership with Translink and Lough Neagh Partnership

to introduce this technology to the eco-tourism sector.”

To access the free app, search for ‘Un-Lough NeaghTure’ in Google Playstore.

New Mental Health App Mindful of Employees Carecall, a commercial subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health (NIAMH) has praised Belfast IT company i3 Digital after the recent creation of its new employee mental wellbeing app.

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he first app of its kind offers employees of subscribing organisations free, confidential and immediate synopsis and support, and is available to use around the clock, 365 days per year. The new Carecall app features a simple and quick 7-question ‘How Are You Feeling’ study which is immediately analysed. The user is given a rating on their stress levels and what they should do to alleviate their symptoms. The app, which brings complete confidentiality

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and privacy to the traditionally uncomfortable mental health equation, also provides advice on mental illness-related conditions linked to alcohol misuse, anxiety, bereavement, depression, eating disorders, phobias, and self-harm.

Adrian Bradley, MD of creators i3 Digital, stated “NIAMH wanted a revolutionary app that offered immediate, impartial, and clear advice on mental health issues, which unfortunately people still find difficult to openly discuss, especially with their work

colleagues or managers. The app was created with complete user confidentiality and discretion in mind, with expert advice and prognosis from trusted mental health professionals also a key brief. We’ve created the best user-oriented app of its kind, one that offers not only a professional prognosis of users’ conditions, but sound advice and directions for where people can turn to get help for an abundance of mental health concerns. We feel the Carecall app further cements i3 Digital’s position in the Irish and

UK marketplaces as experts in app design and client understanding.”

Carecall’s Director, Katherine McDonald, said “We are very pleased with the Carecall App and encouraged by the amount of downloads before the official launch which will take place in the Autumn to coincide with World Mental Health Day 2014. i3 Digital worked with us to develop the App from concept to finished product, keeping us to schedule, and we are confident our customers will find it a useful platform for promoting self-care.”

Eye on Marketing

Hitting The Digital Sweet Spot

Peter Doak, Caster & Candy.

We’ve all been there, perhaps out on the golf course or in the boardroom.

It could be that club and ball connect perfectly or precision planning pays off and we deliver the perfect result. When it comes to your digital marketing, hitting that sweet spot just got a little bit easier as Peter Doak from Caster & Candy explains.

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nvestment in the digital economy is paying dividends in Northern Ireland. In many ways, we’ve led the way in the UK with investment in digital infrastructure. An infrastructure and platform that has attracted global firms like NYSE Technologies, TV Production company HBO and insurance specialist Allstate and seen them invest in setting up operations in Northern Ireland.

The opportunities created both economically and socially by the development of high speed communications infrastructure are already being reaped, but what about your business?

Have you gone native? Do you know your big data from your small and are you simply

advertising to potential customers or actually engaging with them?

With the highest ownership of tablet computers in the UK and nearly half of the population owning a smartphone, the opportunities for your brand to gain new customers and target new audiences are manifold.

Social media use continues to rise with 53% of people in Northern Ireland accessing Facebook, Twitter and similar services online, either at home or on the move and when it comes to purchasing – three in five (60%) of people purchase goods and services on the internet.

And while there are few people out there who don’t know their Facebook from their Twitter, some businesses aren’t approaching the digital world with the same strategic focus that they would apply to the rest of their marketing initiatives.

That’s the sweet spot of digital marketing, and that’s where Caster & Candy come in.

Led by Peter Doak, the team at Caster & Candy combines traditional media know-how with digital expertise.

Hence the name – Caster to reflect our broadcast and traditional media expertise and Candy – well it’s pretty simple – we want to create sweet, engaging content that delivers for your brand.

And that’s crucial too – delivering. We don’t just want to be another firm on the block talking about how important digital marketing is. We want to make it relevant and profitable for local companies.

So rather than just jumping onto the social media bandwagon and throwing up a Facebook or Twitter page we will enable companies to approach their digital marketing in a targeted and strategic manner.

Caster & Candy is also

unique in having developed a specialised digital marketing technology known as ONE, specifically designed to increase visibility and ROI on your digital marketing initiatives.

Digital marketing can’t just be an add-on, or a nice to have.

Customers expect more and want to be engaged and excited.

You have to appeal to them, bringing them on board and increasing fans and followers is only the start of the process.

Any campaign must also deliver results. We believe passionately that with the advent of new technology online, analysis of return on investment is of paramount importance. And we will work with companies to constantly ensure that we meet targets and achieve their goals and objectives.

Imagery, words, video content are all part of the experience and journey – whether you are a banker or baker – we use our technology, expertise and service to deliver a world class digital marketing strategy and structure for your business.

The opportunities presented by digital technology for our local companies to grow on a global scale are plentiful, but in the wrong hands you risk missing out on the sweet spot.

That’s the digital sweet spot – when activity and effort combine to create real return on investment and Caster & Candy is here to help you hit it.

Contact Peter today to discuss hitting the digital sweet spot for your business on (0)28 9031 6131 or email info@casterandcandy.com. Visit the Caster & Candy website at www.casterandcandy.com

Surpassing expectations Celebrating one year of finding the best available talent for your business.

Left: Gary Irvine FIRP Principal Search Consultant

4c Executive Search – 9th Floor Causeway Tower 9 James Street South Belfast BT2 8DN

Top Left: Orla McGreevy Business Support Executive

Top Right: David Winterburn Senior Search Consultant

Right: Emma Kieran Search Consultant

– T +44 (0) 28 9055 8120 admin@4cexecutive.com 4cexecutive.com

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Eye on News

BT BUSINESS MOBILE LAUNCHES 4G IN NORTHERN IRELAND BT Business is to offer quick and easy access to mobile data with the launch of its new 4G mobile plans. Every new BT Business Mobile connection now comes with 4G access and unlimited BT Wi-fi as standard and at no extra cost, offering small to medium sized businesses better connectivity from their mobile service than ever before.

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he new BT Business mobile plans mean customers can do more on their mobile devices, wherever they are, with an online experience similar to in the office.

With 4G*, businesses can make the most of the Cloud, with fast, secure and uninterrupted access to company applications and programmes, using them as if they were stored on their own device. They can quickly and easily view large emails, files,

presentations and stream HD videos whilst on the move. Staff can also collaborate with other colleagues on documents in real-time online, using services like Microsoft Office 365.

The new 4G services run over the BT Business national mobile service, enabled by the MVNO agreement BT signed with EE earlier this year**.

The data, text and calling plans are specially designed to meet the needs of all businesses. Existing

BT’S Head of Business, Paul Convery, is joined by Ulster Rugby stars (L-R) Robbie Diack, Jared Payne and team captain Rory Best.

BT Business Mobile customers can enjoy the benefits of the new service when they re-sign.

With access to 4G and BT Wi-fi, customers can keep connected and productive throughout their working day. Every BT Business Mobile customer will have unlimited access to over 5 million BT Wi-fi hotspots across the UK and customers can download the BT Wi-fi app which will automatically connect them when in range of a hotspot, helping save on mobile data costs.

Graham Sutherland, CEO, BT Business, said: “Our research shows that 24% of employees now work regularly out of the office. As part of our strategy to offer a portfolio that provides value for money and meets the changing needs of businesses, we’ve designed our new mobile plans to cater for this.

Our new plans give customers the connectivity they need to help them stay productive when out and about, along with the flexibility to choose a plan that suits their way of working.”

The new plans range from single user to shared bundles, data-only plans and a new Mobile Flex plan that can offer tailored pricing for larger customers.

Customers have the option to select a SIM only plan or can choose from a competitive range of handsets.

Customers can also add Mobile Extras to make sure they don’t run out of what they need, including options that they can share across their business.

They can also take advantage of new short-term, 30-day roaming Extras for roaming in both Europe and the rest of the world. For further details on pricing and plans please visit www.bt.com/businessmobile.

u.tv wins Online Platform of the Year at the CIPR Media Awards 2014

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TV’s website u.tv was named ‘Online Media Platform of the Year’ at the 2014 CIPR Northern Ireland Media Awards which took place last Friday at The MAC, Belfast.

UTV’s website was described by the judges as “a fantastic site with everything you need in life. Suitable for desktop and mobile platforms, a very well thought out simple to navigate site with the user in mind.”

Michael Wilson, Managing Director, UTV Television: “The digital team at UTV have delivered a great site, great user numbers and now received the recognition they deserve from a panel of highly respected journalists. Congratulations

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to the whole team who have worked tirelessly to make u.tv the powerful source of online news it is today.”

Morgane Campioni, Director of Online Channels, said: “Our platform delivers high-quality multimedia content to over one million unique visitors every month and our team are delighted to have won this prestigious accolade.”

Congratulating the winners, CIPR NI Chair Chris Love said: “These awards celebrate the strength of our local media who bring colour, debate and insight from the very heart of what is making the news. This year’s standard of entries was exceptional and judging proved to be tougher than ever before.”

SIR WILLIAM CHECKS IN TO THANK STAFF

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ir William Hastings along with Julie and Howard Hastings were joined by staff from the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa who are amongst 26 employees to have clocked up 424 years of employment between them

at the hotel. The Chairman of Northern Ireland’s leading hotel collection, hosted an event to celebrate the long service of the employees, spoke of the hotels fascinating history and thanked them for their hard work and dedication over the years.

Eye on News

BRINGING A SMILE TO DUNMURRY FOR A DECADE Leading dental surgery, Dunmurry Dental Practice is celebrating 10 years of delivering award-winning service to some 12,000 patients annually.

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he practice, founded by local dentist Philip McLorinan and his wife Debbie, provides general, cosmetic and family dentistry across Dunmurry, Belfast and Lisburn. Growing from strength to strength they now employ 24 staff across the six surgery practice.

Since 2004, the practice has been recognised for delivering the latest and the most effective dentistry with a series of high profile awards and the team welcomed patients, suppliers and The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Lisburn City Council, Councillor Margaret Tolerton, to a reception to show their appreciation for the support of the local community.

The Mayor praised the Dunmurry

Dental Practice, for their achievements over the last decade and their continued commitment to the ongoing development of the practice.

“Philip, Debbie and their team has shown outstanding commitment to their business and services to patients in the local area. They have achieved so much in such a short space of time and I am delighted to show my support for a local company who gives so much to the community.”

Offering a wide range of dental and cosmetic treatments to NHS and private patients, the team at Dunmurry Dental Practice has invested significantly in training, technology and equipment to ensure patients receive the best possible service and treatment for their needs.

22 Not Out For JN Wine J

ames Nicholson Wine Merchants (JN Wine) led by Jim Nicholson (pictured) are celebrating this week after the County Down company was named ‘Regional Merchant of the Year’ for Northern Ireland at the prestigious International Wine Challenge Awards in London.

This marks a record 22 wins for JN Wine in the competition and caps a vintage year for the Crossgar-based company, which has been supplying carefully-selected wine to trade and retail customers across the island of Ireland for almost four decades.

The awards ceremony, now in its 31st year, is widely accepted as the world’s toughest, meticulously judged wine competition, which recognises excellence, expertise and passion for wine – while also acknowledging the hard work of the those people behind each firm.

Practice Principal Philip McLorinan said, “We are absolutely delighted to share our 10 year anniversary with so many people from the area.

We made a commitment when we opened, aiming to provide ‘highquality, pain-free and plain-speaking dental care’ for all our patients and we hope have stayed true to that”.

“By investing in our staff and the latest technology we’ve carved out a strong reputation for ourselves

and we look forward to the next 10 years of working in Dunmurry.”

The family-friendly celebration also helped to raise funds for the practice’s chosen charity, Stepping Stones NI, an organisation that provides training and employment support to people with learning disabilities or learning difficulties, and Dunmurry Dental Practice will be running charity events during May to raise awareness and money for this important charity.

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Eye on Interiors

The Standing desk has been around for many years, used by eccentrics like Hemingway or Dickens, but rarely seen inside a normal office environment.

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n 2005 Dr. James Levine from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, conducted a series of experiments with the main aim to see how much people move in their everyday activities, or don’t move, and the implication this might have on their health.

Dr. Levine soon found that in a controlled experiment, where his subjects had normal eating and exercise habits, the people who showed signs of weight gain were those who sat for longer during the day.

He showed that the impact of sitting all day for years is associated with a range of health problems, from obesity to diabetes to cancer.

Being stationary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin.

“Excessive sitting,” Dr. Levine says, “is a lethal activity.”

The average office worker spends 5 hours and 41 minutes sitting each day at his or her desk, most experts recommend splitting your time between standing and sitting, because standing all day can lead to back, knee or foot problems. The easiest ways of accomplishing this are either using a desk that can be raised upward or a tall chair that you can pull up to your desk when you do need to sit. It’s also important to ease into it, they say, by standing for just a few hours a day at first while your body becomes used to the strain, and move around a bit, by shifting your position, pacing, or even dancing as you work!

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Sit or Stand?

Sitting Comfortably?

There was a time when standing desks were a curiosity—used by eccentrics like Hemingway, Dickens and Kierkegaard, but seldom seen inside a regular office setting

The average office worker spends 5 hours and 41 minutes sitting each day at his or her desk, and new research has shown the cumulative effects of sitting are linked with severe health risks. Some describe the problem with a new phrase that’s undeniably catchy, if somewhat exaggerated: “Sitting is the new smoking.

For more information you can find us at www.innov8officeinteriors.com t. 02890238180 Or Why not visit us at our showroom?

1-3 glenmachan Street Belfast, BT12 6JB

Mervyn Watley, Director of Real Estate and Corporate Services for the Northern Ireland Science Park and Mark Skillen, General Manager, Atlas Communications.

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Eye on Technology

North West Businesses ‘Bring Your Data Home’ Data hosting facilities can be elusive and expensive. In the North West, however, a new data centre is taking advantage of Project Kelvin’s high speed telecommunications connections to tempt local businesses to bring their data home to a secure and cost effective local facility.

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he amount of electronic information produced & distributed by companies can be huge and the cost of storing & distributing it all can be staggering – which is why cloud hosting has become increasingly popular.

The problem is that when local companies buy into generic data hosting facilities they have no idea where these data centres are located across the globe or how secure they really are. Specifying that you want your data hosted in Europe, to meet data protection legislation, costs a premium and there is an even more limited choice of facilities available in the local marketplace.

This has now changed dramatically with the launch of a new high speed data centre in Derry~Londonderry, the result of a joint venture between Atlas Communications and the North West Regional Science Park.

It’s a collaboration which promises to boost the local economy by attracting top quality tech companies to NWRSP as well as supporting the wider business community who are seeking local high speed cloud-sharing.

“Not only is this is an eco-friendly, highly efficient data centre which has been designed with the local business community in mind,” said Mark Skillen, General Manager of Atlas, “with this new facility we are providing an essential service to the growth of Knowledge Economy businesses in the technology sector while facilitating the whole of our SME sector to bring their data home.”

For the tenants of the NWRSP and other local businesses, the benefits of being able to continue to operate in the event of major data loss are inestimable and in the spirit of the partnership between the Science Park

and the Letterkenny Institute supported

by SEUPB, this facility will also be available to SME’s throughout Ireland.

High calibre tenants matched by high calibre services mean the Science Park is already demonstrating its ability to stimulate business growth that will strengthen the knowledgebased economy and lead to increased employment opportunities.

Mervyn Watley, Director of Real Estate and Corporate Services for the Northern Ireland Science Park, is delighted at the continued partnership with Atlas Communications which has been ongoing for the last ten years.

“The Data Centre brings yet another unique offering to the North West Regional Science Park and gives us the ability to provide support services to our tenants that are some of the most competitive in the world. All of our tenants are ultimately trading in a global marketplace and they have to be competitive on that scale.

“The facility itself is one of the most eco-friendly in the sector with a specially developed cooling and ventilating system that is energy efficient and integrates seamlessly into the building structure contributing significantly to reducing the overall environmental impact of the building,” he explains.

Atlas Communications, a 30-year family business, has succeeded in establishing itself as one of Northern Ireland’s leading suppliers of Public and Private Sector telephony and network solutions.

It provides both small offices and large scale enterprises with a range of tailored data, Internet and telephony communications solutions, including cloud hosting services.

Mark Skillen, Atlas Communications

Mark Skillen & Daniel McLaughlin Biznet.

General Manager who is directly responsible for the development of the Data Centre explained: “We understand the importance of keeping data stored in an easily accessible location. The datacentre should feel like an extension of the company’s IT Department. You should be confident in the safety of your data and be able to access it as and when you need.

“Northern Ireland recognises the importance of data centre facilities and providing related services to local customers – but, in actual fact, there are very few physical resources located here. Now we can take advantage of the proximity to Kelvin and provide high speed links between Belfast and Derry making the North-West one of the most highly advanced and connected technology centres in Ireland.”

A point that was not lost on Daniel McLaughlin, Head of Hosting and Infrastructure for BIZNET, one of the first clients for the Atlas Data Centre, who said that the decision to move into the NWRSP was underpinned by the access to high quality telecommunications connectivity and security of supply.

“The security of our customer’s data is paramount to our business; our product, BiznetP6, is a web based SaaS [Software as a Service], Supplier Performance Management application primarily serving the Oil & Gas market and our client base also extends to multinational pharmaceutical companies.

This makes the security of our communications, our data storage and retrieval critical to our global client base.

We need our data available 24/7/365, anywhere in the world; Atlas has now become our chosen partner for this.

“The fact that this facility is certified to the ISO 27001 standard means that it is recognised as operating to the highest security standards with international recognition and is immediately aligned with client processes and our relationship with Atlas, who having an office on site, means that we effectively have extended our own in-house telecoms support.

“We have eight people normally located in this office but the facilities are now on a par with our Houston office meaning that we can recruit candidates of the highest calibre and offer a quality of specialist working environment that is comparable with the world’s best technology and digital centres,”he enthused.

Delighted with the response from NWRSP tenants Mark Skillen reiterated that the Data Centre facility was a resource for the whole of Ireland.

“We have all the facilities you would expect with the added advantage of being close to hand so you gain access to your data as and when you require it. Data is a business asset so knowing where it is located is important, not just to meet regulatory requirements but peace of mind.”

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Eye on Finance

Making Waves

Harry Parkinson, Managing Director of Close Brothers Commercial Finance

Harry Parkinson, Managing Director of Close Brothers Commercial Finance talks to us about Northern Ireland’s changing economic landscape and how our thriving tourism industry is delivering a welcome boost to the economy.

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ourists used to be few and far between on our shores. Between the Troubles and our famously wet weather, we certainly weren’t renowned as a popular holiday destination.

However, a lot has changed in recent years and Northern Ireland is no longer the tourist blackspot it was once perceived to be.

Belfast’s cruise industry in particular has enjoyed considerable growth within the last few years.

The city is expected to welcome a total of 61 tourist-packed vessels this year, making Belfast the second most popular cruise city on the island of Ireland, with only Dublin receiving more visitors.

With almost 110,000 passengers and crew expected to arrive by the end of October, Belfast now outperforms many other popular UK cities including Liverpool and Glasgow in this highly competitive market.

This rise in cruise tourism is providing welcome support for the city and the wider region’s blossoming tourism and hospitality industry.

Our new found popularity as a holiday destination is a visible measure of the province’s considerable regeneration in recent years.

A key example is the Titanic Quarter. Originally home to one of the world’s busiest ship building industries, the area lay dormant for many years after the ship yard’s gates closed, but has since undergone

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a radical transformation which included the launch of the £76 million Titanic Belfast and the development of new business and residential properties.

As a result, the area is now lively and vibrant and has become home to many new industries that are attracting considerable foreign direct investment to the region.

In fact, a recent report by UKTI shows that Northern Ireland has outperformed the rest of the UK in attracting foreign investment. The Inward Investment Report 2013/14 shows that we experienced a 32 per cent increase in the number of foreign direct investment projects in 2013 – compared to 10 per cent in Scotland, 11 per cent in England and 18 per cent in Wales.

The report further revealed that each of the investment projects in Northern Ireland were, on average, associated with the creation or safeguarding of 77 jobs, which is great news for our economy.

Our ‘traditional’ industries have changed - once famous for textiles and shipbuilding, we have moved on in recent times, adapting to ever-changing consumer demand and embracing new technology with open arms. As a result, we now harbour some of the most innovative and forward-thinking companies in the UK. One industry that has experienced massive growth here in the last ten years is the film industry.

In particular, the HBO blockbuster fantasy series, Game of Thrones that was filmed on our shores has been a phenomenal success and hopefully one of the first of many to be created here in Northern Ireland.

These developments have meant that we are seeing a difference in the way businesses here operate and the range of services they are offering as many adapt to suit the shift in consumer demand.

In fact, one of our clients, Quinn Coaches, who you will read more about in the case study below, has recently extended their offering by launching a Game of Thrones tour.

It’s this type of innovation that is keeping Northern Irish firms driving the economy forward. Indeed, the latest Close Brothers Business Barometer found that over a fifth of local firms are prospering in the current climate, and of that number, 40 per cent claim that their profits are increasing.

Of the firms we talked to, a third said that they expect their companies to expand within the next 12 months.

We realise that in order to meet these growth aspirations and continue to innovate, businesses need to access appropriate funding that allows them to grasp opportunities as and when they arise.

That is why we are actively working with SMEs from all sectors to ensure they have access to the funding they need to cope with the changing marketplace.

Our team of finance specialists has extensive experience of working with businesses from a wide range of sectors. Our flat management structure means that we are offering quick, local decisions that allow businesses to meet their potential, be it a PR agency, a computer software developer an agri-food business or a coach tour operator.

Rather than offering standard off-the-shelf

packages, we take the time to assess each business on an individual basis, which allows us to offer tailored asset and invoice finance packages.

At Close Brothers Commercial Finance, we want to ensure that Northern Irish SMEs are able to flourish and take advantage of the exciting opportunities that no doubt lie ahead. Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see a stronger line-up from the tourism and film industries in the Profit 200 within the next few years.

For more information on Close Brothers Commercial Finance and how we could help your business, please visit www.closecommercialfinance.ie

CASE STUDY Quinn Coaches Ltd Product - Hire purchase

Quinn Coaches Ltd is a family run business offering luxury coach hire for clients in Northern Ireland, UK and Europe. They make coach hire affordable without compromising on quality, comfort or luxury. With over 30 years experience in the transport industry they can offer a wide range of transport solutions.

The business had won a new contract with a key client and in order to prepare for and deliver this, they needed to purchase six brand new luxury coaches. Company Director, Phelim Quinn, was looking to raise additional finance but wanted just one finance partner to fund all six vehicles.

Phelim was introduced to Close Brothers Commercial Finance and a hire purchase agreement was put in place to finance the new coaches. The overall value of the arrangement came to circa £1.4m, a considerable sum of money to be agreed and processed through Close Brothers’ due diligence channels.

The funding was agreed by all parties within the timeframe required, which allowed Phelim and his team to fulfill their new contract.

Quinn Coaches Ltd said: “We would like to thank Close Brothers Commercial Finance for their support and we would highly recommend their services.”

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Business Eye Launches Fleet Industry Show For 2015 Business Eye has announced the details of the second Fleet Industry Motor Show and Awards along with a Prestige Vehicle Live Auction courtesy of The City Auction Group at Titanic Belfast.

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unique event which brings together the whole industry in one place and on one day. Top manufacturers plus a series of key companies and suppliers to the company car market will be in attendance.

Promoted by Business Eye and it’s sister publication, Fleet Industry Magazine - the two day Fleet and Motor Show will give fleet buyers, company car drivers and members of the public the chance to see, discuss and drive a wide range of vehicles.

The event which also includes a fleet forum discussion and exhibition will culminate with the highly acclaimed Fleet Industry Awards with awards going to top vehicles, companies and suppliers to the industry.

For more information regarding this prestigious event please contact Donna Hosking on 028 9047 4490 or 07892 406262

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Award Categories Best Fleet Manufacturer

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Best Fleet Car of the Year

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Customer Service Award

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Road Safety Initiative of the Year

Best Local Fleet Provider

Risk Management Project of the Year

Fleet Manager of the Year

Best Small Light Commercial of the Year

Service Maintenance Dealer of the Year

Best Short Term Rental Company

To register for the forum or for more information on sponsorship opportunities and entry process contact Donna Hosking on 028 9047 4490 or alternatively 07892 406262.

Eye on News

RORY’S FORMER HOME OPEN FOR BUSINESS Northern Ireland property developer and entrepreneur Gary McCausland is offering golf fans a unique opportunity to literally walk in the footsteps of Rory McIlroy and play a round of golf on the course that the world’s number one golfer designed and built himself.

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obinhall House, a luxurious 14-acre private estate on the outskirts of Belfast, was home to McIlroy from 2009 to 2013 during which time he became the world’s number one golfer, winning the US Open and US PGA Championship on the way. Its world class championship golf facility was purpose built by Rory to enable him to replicate virtually every shot required to win each of the four Major Golf Championships.

The facility is still used by McIlroy to practice when he’s in Northern

Ireland and now, for the first time, golf enthusiasts will also have full use of this exclusive golf facility during their visit - with a percentage of proceeds going towards The Rory Foundation which was set up by the golfer himself to support children’s charities around the world.

Two-hour golf packages include a practice session on the very same putting green and short game area where Rory honed his skills, followed by nine holes on the actual course which

was modelled on some of the world’s top golf courses with holes based on Augusta, St Andrew’s, Pebble Beach and Congressional (where McIlroy won his first major championship).

To find out more or to make a booking, call +44 (0) 28 9042 9977 or click on www.robinhallhouse.com, www.facebook.com/robinhallhouse or www.twitter.com/robinhallhouse

Chartered Accountants And Executive Ministers Unveil Business Lending Guide Two Executive Ministers have helped launch a new guide by Chartered Accountants Ulster Society to assist local businesses in accessing finance. The Business Plan Helpsheet is aimed at Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Ireland who are seeking finance to develop or expand their operations.

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he Business Plan Helpsheet is a 20 page booklet offering stepby-step advice on the information and structure which businesses should include in their business plans to support applications for finance and to ensure that prospective lenders receive all of the information they need to make a decision.

The Helpsheet was launched today at Parliament Buildings, Stormont by Chartered Accountants Ulster Chairman Paul Henry; Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Arlene Foster MLA; and Minister of Finance and Personnel Simon Hamilton MLA. The aim of the helpsheet is to encourage the survival and growth of local SMEs by increasing the chances of those businesses accessing capital, which has been one of the major challenges

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cited by businesses throughout the recent economic downturn.

The Business Plan Helpsheet is available for free online now at www. charteredaccountants.ie/ulster Speaking at the launch of the Helpsheet, Paul Henry of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society said: “Availability of credit and access to capital are crucial to the survival and development of business. Our members across Northern Ireland tell us that this has been one of the most challenging aspects of the economic climate.

“We hosted the Funding for Recovery Conference in Belfast in February this year to highlight the issue and facilitate a discussion between the business community, their advisers and the lenders. We hope that by making this Helpsheet freely available we can assist

Pictured at Parliament Buildings with copies of the new Business Plan Helpsheet are Patrick Gallen, CA Ulster; Simon Hamilton, Finance Minister; Arlene Foster, DETI Minister; and Paul Henry, CA Ulster.

local businesses to understand the core information, language and approach that they should use when forming a business plan as an approach for lending.

“As Chartered Accountants, we need to play our part and provide leadership in addressing this issue.

Chartered Accountants have always helped businesses to plan their futures, to develop strategies and to write cogent business plans. We hope that by putting some of that guidance down in writing and making it available online, we can help businesses to get a clear expectation of what lenders require which will help the quality

and success of loan applications and speed the lending process.

Welcoming the new helpsheet, Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster said: “It is crucial that businesses can access affordable finance to assist their growth potential. Northern Ireland has proportionately more small businesses relative to its population base than the rest of the UK. “My Department, through Invest Northern Ireland, has developed an Access to Finance initiative, which is helping to ensure that businesses are not held back due to a lack of finance.”

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Eye on Financial Planning

Damian McLarnon & St. James’s Place Wealth Management HIGH QUALITY APPROACH TO FINANICAL SERVICES

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Eye on Financial Planning St. James’s Place Wealth Management is a well known brand name in the financial services arena... but very few who’ve heard of it, clients included, know much about the scale of the organisation.

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hat’s a state of affairs that Damian McLarnon intends to change. He arrived at the organisation’s Belfast office in May to take on the key role of Senior Business Acquisition Manager, a role which involves stepping up the firm’s profile but also increasing its client base in a very specific way.

“My main challenge is to encouraging the financial adviser community to realign their business to St. James’s Place,” he explains. “They’ll do that for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, there’s a strong reputation of this organisation in the marketplace.

“Secondly, this marketplace is shrinking. Financial advisers tend to be in the 50+ age bracket and it’s fair to say that a lot of them are thinking about an exit strategy into retirement.

“We can help with that. We’re in the business of looking carefully at and acquiring strong financial adviser practices.”

St. James’s Place Wealth Management became a FTSE 100 company earlier this year and has £47.6bn of client funds under management.

The Belfast office is based at Cromac Square in the Gasworks area, it has been operating in Northern Ireland since 2000 and over the last 14 years has built up a dedicated network of 37 Partner Practices and 47 advisors who are delivering comprehensive wealth management advice including: • Investment planning • Retirement planning solutions • Ways to protect your estate: Including Inheritance Tax Planning and long-term care • Business advice: Corporate financial planning.

Damian McLarnon joined St. James’s Place from Davy Private Clients, the wealth management arm of the Irish-based financial organisation. There, he was Head of Financial Planning and led the project team that completed the acquisition of Belfast-based Square Seven. Prior to his role at Davy, he worked with Octopus

Investments, a London-based firm of investment specialists serving the adviser community.

“So I know the adviser marketplace here in Northern Ireland very well. All in all, we’re not talking about a very big market in this region, but a thorough knowledge goes a long way.

“Our role here at St. James’s Place is to support our Partners and their Practices, whether they are one-man operations or team of up to four of five advisers. We want to see more of them coming on board with this organisation, and we also want to raise the profile of this brand.”

It’s already a very strong brand in UK terms, accounting for around 10% of the financial adviser community in the country as a whole.

“We’ve been showing consistent growth over recent years in an industry that is contracting as the big banks have pulled away from providing financial advice.

Here in Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Santander and First Trust are among those who have been contracting in this field, and the trend looks like continuing.”

Key areas for the financial advisory sector at the moment include the continued ramifications of the major pension changes announced in George Osborne’s recent Budget, changes which allow much easier access to pension funds... and open up a number of investment avenues.

St. James’s Place’s Belfast office is organising a day of ecomomic forum events in September to look at the future of the Northern Ireland economy. The events take place on 10th September in the morning at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast and later the same day at the Roe Park Resort in Limavady.

Speakers include Dan Looney, as Asset Management Consultant with St. James’s Place Wealth Management; Philip Kent of the Foresight Group, which has invested some £90 million in Northern Ireland over recent years and Professor Neil Gibson, Director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy.

“ We’ve been showing consistent growth over recent years in an industry that is contracting .”

“It’s important that we keep our Partners and our clients abreast of the wider economic picture,” says Damian McLarnon. “Issues like the potential devolution of corporation tax powers to the local Executive could have far-reaching implications for companies and individuals here in Northern Ireland, as could the proposed far-reaching reform of the public sector here.”

Back on direct business issues, McLarnon says that he is setting out to increase the size of the St. James’s Place partner network here. With that in mind, he’ll be increasing contacts with financial advisers operating throughout the region.

St. James’s Place in Belfast forms part of the parent firm’s Northern Region based in Leeds. But the company has its main operating base in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where a management and support staff numbers close to 1,000.

“That equates to a member of support staff for every two financial advisers,” Damian McLarnon points out.

The company managed to perform well throughout the challenges of recession and various strict regulatory changes, which overhauled the entire financial advice sector.

“The public trust their financial advisers, and we think that they trust advisers even more when they have the backing of a FTSE 100 company. We support the adviser/client relationship but we don’t interfere in it. That’s not our role. The financial advisers we support run their own business on an autonomous basis.... and that’s very important.

“They also tend to stick with us.

Some 94% of our Partners have been with St. James’s Place for a number of years,” says Damian McLarnon.

“What they are delivering these days is lifestyle planning.... it’s a bit more than financial planning. That’s what we aim to deliver through our network.”

The title ‘Partner’ is a marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives and they represent only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website at www.sjp.co.uk/products.

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Eye on News

Mount Charles Group Wins Multi Million Pound Contract With Southern Regional College The Mount Charles Group has been awarded a significant contract to provide catering, cleaning, vending and ancillary services to the Southern Regional College (SRC).

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he contract, which lasts seven years and is worth over £1 million per annum, will see the Belfastbased food service and business support solutions company operate in nine SRC campuses.

Managing Director of the Mount Charles Group, Cathal Geoghegan said: “We are of course delighted to have won this prestigious contract after a rigorous tender process.

“While it’s a tough sector to work in with the increasing imperative to keep costs low and quality of

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service high, we have substantial experience in meeting those needs. The multi service nature of our business means that we can create tailored packages that meet specific business needs.

“This contract with SRC has boosted our employee figures by 80, taking the total number to 1,600. Those 80 team members have TUPE’d across to work for us and with their help, we have begun to successfully operate the contract,” he added.

The Mount Charles Group also provides cleaning and catering

across four South Eastern Regional College campuses as well as several schools, including Belfast Royal Academy and Friends’ School Lisburn.

Director of Finance and Corporate Services at SRC, Jim O’Hagan said: “Southern Regional College is looking forward to working with the Mount Charles Group and to getting the new contract up and running as we approach a new term. It is important that high quality and keenly priced services are provided for the benefit of our

Mount Charles CEO Cathal Geoghegan.

students and we believe this will be achieved through this partnership with Mount Charles.”

SUPPORTING GROWTH Proudly serving NI businesses for 25 Years

BDO have been providing a wide range of professional services to Northern Ireland’s businesses over the last 25 years.

Throughout that time our clients have grown in size and in number, and we have too. All because our mission has remained the same, to deliver exceptional client service.

Thank you to all who have supported BDO throughout the years.

We look forward to continuing the journey together over the next 25.

T: 028 9043 9009 www.bdoni.com @BDO NI BDO Northern Ireland is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct investment business.

Eye on Travel

The Changing Face Of The Travel Industry?

In recent years, like most other sectors, we in the Travel Industry have had to change the way we do business. This change started with suppliers - airlines, cruise companies, hotels etc – and has worked its way down the chain to distributors, retailers and ultimately the customer.

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he reason for the changes is universal - the drive for increased efficiencies. Today every one demands from their supplier a faster, more efficient and cost effective service. In the Travel sector this has meant a greater reliance on technology Technology is now central to the success of everyone in the Travel business.

Whether it is searching for hotels, finding flights or collating information for travellers the quality of your IT and Communications Systems can be the make or break for a business. Right now the race in our industry is to build, grow and sustain businesses through technology and the investment in technology and the people who know how to get the best out of it has never been greater At Selective Travel Management, we invest in excess of £200k every year in technology to ensure that we can consistently provide our corporate and leisure clients with: • The most appropriate and most competitive airfares, hotels, car hire rates • Cost saving analysis • Carbon footprint reports • Access to corporate and negotiated rates with scheduled and low cost carriers as well as hotel chains and car hire companies.

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• Rapid response and comparisons with our competitor’s offerings • Tailor made packages worldwide • Lowest airfares for the journey required If technology is key is the internet the channel of choice?

Absolutely not - booking travel via the internet needs to be handled with great care.

Booking patterns show that more and more travellers are returning to the travel agent. This is not only because the agent is often more competitive but because of the personal service a ‘bricks and mortar’ travel agent delivers compared to the internet.

When travel plans are disrupted or have to be changed for personal reasons, it can be very frustrating trying to get things sorted with an online company. There is a lot to be said about ‘knowing who you’re dealing with’, particularly when you are spending a lot of money.

Booking the individual components of a trip through a range of different websites may pose many problems such as missed connections, through baggage check in and financial protection, to name but a few. A licensed and bonded travel agent will provide you with a seemless package, offering financial protection, staff on hand to ensure support in the event of voluntary or involuntary changes to your arrangements not to mention the ‘human touch’!

So what is the future?

High street leisure focussed agencies will slowly decline in numbers and those left will be highly specialised with well trained and extensively travelled staff. These agencies will provide a complete personal service by appointment or walk in and offer exclusive and sought after holiday experiences worldwide.

There is no doubt that on line booking sites will continue to improve, so too will their ability to cope with multi-sector and multi product transactions.

Of course there will also likely be a growth in fraudulent and unlicensed sites and operators - so proceed with caution.

Airlines will continue to attract travellers onto their sites with low lead-in prices while at the same time allocating very few seats at these price levels and in practice selling upwards every time. Large agents will continue to receive negotiated fares from many airlines and offer deals more competitive than the internet prices offered by the same airlines.

Corporate travellers will continue to be highly sought after and require both a value for money and expert service. By entrusting their business to an experienced Travel Management Company businesses will expect to be able to access a comprehensive travel offer, backed up with a 24/7 personal

Mukesh Sharma, MD of Selective Travel Management, part of the World Travel Centre group.

service and, vitally, management information to ensure that their money is being spent wisely.

Through new technology, this service will become even quicker and more efficient. It’s what the business traveller has always wanted and will continue to need.

Travel will never be a commodity.

Yes, a customer may simply want to get from A to B but their satisfaction, or otherwise, will be influenced by a range of factors that ultimately come down to the quality of service delivered through the various stages of the process. Technology can certainly make the travel business more efficient but it will never replace the added value that only ‘the people factor’ can deliver.

Mukesh Sharma in Managing Director of World Travel Centre, one of Ireland’s largest travel companies with offices in Belfast and Dublin. Selective Travel is the corporate travel division.

Contact Selective Travel: T: 028 9096 2000 E: corporate@selective-travel.co.uk W: www.selective-travel.com T: Selective Travel Mgt (@selectivetm)

Eye on Communications

The value of high-speed networks Matt McCloskey, sales director, eircom

Virtual networks and internet networking are an essential part of modern life. And moreso, becoming increasingly an essential part of community, social and business life in Northern Ireland.

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ecent research by Ofcom has shown that half of consumers in Northern Ireland access the internet on their mobile phone and that more than half of adults in Northern Ireland use a smartphone. Over four in ten households in Northern Ireland have a tablet computer and over half of internet users in Northern Ireland use social networking sites.

Northern Ireland has the widest broadband coverage in the EU, with the Assembly identifying connectivity as vital to our businesses and our social fabric.

Now the new Super Connected Belfast scheme will provide Belfast with the digital infrastructure to make it a world-class digital city, benefiting business, residents, visitors, students and investors.

The scheme is providing city-wide broadband access to speeds of at least 80 megabits per second, with high-speed ultrafast capacity of at least 100Mb for businesses that require it. Support will be available for up to a maximum of £3,000 (excluding VAT) for individual premises to cover the initial installation cost of the connection.

(Type this URL into your browser for more information https://www. connectionvouchers.co.uk/) Wireless infrastructure within the city centre and at transport hubs, conference venues and other key locations will also be upgraded by 2015. eircom knows more than most about the business and lifestyle improvements which can be offered by connection to superfast fibre networks and can offer even higher-end solutions for those businesses with high bandwidth needs.

With increasing globalisation and the rise of e-commerce, it has never been more important for Northern Ireland companies to get connected to high availability network services, to help drive their business digitally.

Broadband connections of up to 80 Mbs are can be more than adequate for many small businesses that use the internet for simple web transactions. But standard broadband connections are shared with other users which means that when your competitors are busy in the same area, your speeds can suffer. What’s more, the bandwidth

will have a usage restriction and upload speeds will be much lower than download speeds. Finally, if that all-important internet connection goes down, its best endeavours to fix it and could take up to 24 hours to get you back online.

So while broadband is great for many, for those businesses for whom the Internet is business critical, whether it’s ecommerce, datacentre services, cloud computing or high speed communications, then eircom’s fibre-based Managed Internet Access is perfect.

Managed Internet allows businesses to take advantage of download speeds many times faster than broadband of up to 1Gb. What’s more, the connection is dedicated which means you don’t share and speeds are guaranteed, 100Mb means 100 Mb and it’s both ways. Finally, we will manage the router for you and if it breaks we will fix it in five hours. All this means with eircom’s Managed Internet, we have your network covered so you can rest easy and concentrate on your business.

To date, eircom has installed Wide Area Network, or WAN, and Managed Internet for one of Northern Ireland’s leading exporters - Chain Reaction Cycles, a company which turned over £155 million last year mainly through online sales.

We also manage a mission-critical contact centre with Concentrix,

which recently announced over 1,000 new jobs for Belfast.

Since entering the market here in 2007, eircom has worked with the Northern Ireland Civil Service in creating a single network across 300 sites which connects 21,000 staff on a single network for data and Unified Communications. In conjunction with Capita, eircom has also placed the region’s 1,100 schools onto one WAN. As well as installing internet and IT infrastructure for major companies like busbuilder Wrightbus, IT firm Concentrix, and hotel chain Hastings, our firm also caters for the smaller trader.

Over the past number of years, eircom has installed 450km of fibre across Northern Ireland and, based in Belfast, we have more Cisco engineers than any other company and supply, monitor and manage our services from the city – not a remote offshore location – with a hands-on, tailored service.

We can connect departments and organisations together through wide area networking, and we can help employees access this network through Local Area Networking and Wi-Fi. We can help organisations and employees communicate more effectively and reduce travel costs through collaboration technologies.

And we can help SMEs make connections with their counterparts and customers all over the globe with just the click of a mouse, the roll of a cursor or a tap on a screen through our Managed Internet Access.

To find out more, contact eircom at: Forsyth House, Cromac Square, Belfast, BT2 8LA. Tel: 0800 039 2000.

Web: www.eircom.co.uk

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Eye on Giving

PETER LUNN CHAIRMAN OF LUNN’S THE JEWELLERS What are your thoughts, in general, on charitable giving?

So many people simply want to ‘put something back’. I was a founding Director of SOS Bus, the huge number of volunteers that work for the charity are amazing and dedicated folk and when asked why they do it, many say ‘I just wanted to put something back’.

I believe we all have a moral duty to help others, financial giving where possible is great but many people contribute so much by giving very generously of themselves.

Is your giving personal or corporate or a combination of both?

A bit of both but unfortunately the size of giving has been impacted by the recession.

Personally, amongst other charities, I support my church and as Convenor of the church Finance Committee I am acutely aware of how tough raising finance can be. Some years ago I established The Lunn’s Charitable Trust and in addition we have a great staff charity team within Lunn’s which has supported many worthwhile causes. Every couple of years our team votes for the cause they wish to support, currently our staff are raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

How do you give to charity: monetarily, your own time as a volunteer or your specialist skills?

Monetarily, where I can and also using what business skills I might have, for example, my time spent as a Director of SOS Bus, helping on church committees and more recently as a Director of Giving Northern Ireland.

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What types of causes do you favour and why?

It’s often said that there are no bad charities, there is just such a huge amount of need everywhere.

Having said that we, in Giving Northern Ireland we seek to guide people towards a targeted approach to their giving. People in this province are renowned for their wonderful generosity yet a scattergun approach to giving can be much less impactful than a well thought out targeted approach. My personal particular interests outside my church are locally based, trying to help people who have been hit by hard times and who may also be troubled by alcohol and drug abuse. That’s why I set up the Lunn’s Charitable Trust which seeks to help people who are often homeless and in need of specialist care and shelter. I wish we could do more in the Trust but as the economy improves so will our ability to do more in the Trust.

Do you believe that companies and individuals have a duty to help others? If yes, why?

Yes, I passionately believe this.

What a selfish, horrible world it would be if we were not able to help others. ‘Putting something back’ refers to so many facets of giving, volunteering for charitable work, caring for others and financial support.

The many thousands of carers in our society are unsung heroes and rarely get credit for all their unselfish endeavours.

From a corporate point of view I believe that the same moral code applies, business is there to make profit, to create wealth and to use that wealth wisely. Some of that wealth should be directed back into helping those who are less fortunate. Many companies

already subscribe to this philosophy and part of our remit in Giving Northern Ireland is to help those in our corporate world, who at present don’t fully subscribe to the concept of targeted giving to fully join in the concept of ‘putting something back’.

What is your message to business people who may be thinking about becoming more involved in strategic philanthropy?

Do! It’s a joy for you personally as well as for your families and businesses to help make a difference by having a strategic approach to giving. At Giving Northern Ireland we are here to help, please start by giving us a call if you need advice, our Office Manager is Tracy Bell who can be reached at 028 9044 6407.

7. Giving Northern Ireland was set up last year to champion Philanthropy. Why do you think it is important that there is an organisation that helps

businesses and individuals think more strategically about giving?

As I have said earlier we are very generous people in Northern Ireland but we are also pretty busy and whilst many of us support a variety of charities perhaps we haven’t really sat down and thought about how targeted giving can make a real difference to people’s lives. There are many organisations within the province who can give useful advice but at Giving Northern Ireland we do not support any specific charity whether local or international. Our whole ‘raison d’être’ is to promote giving, the advantages of structured giving and the joy that this can bring to both the giver and the receiver.

New thinking about energy

www.electricireland.com LoCall 0845 309 8138

Eye on Business Personality

YOUNG BUSINESS PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH Richard Simpson, Atlas Communications

(L-R) Claire Dickson, Business Eye; Richard Simpson, Atlas Communications and Alan Cunningham from Electric Ireland.

Richard Simpson Plans to Extend Atlas Communications Global Reach Richard Simpson may have taken over a long established and respected Telecoms name in Northern Ireland but his plan to develop a fast moving, highly responsive, service orientated business to business solutions provider has catapulted Atlas to the top of every preferred supplier list.

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o what is the secret of success for the young man who has taken over the family business from a career in business journalism?

“I come from a philosophy of first understanding the client’s business, working out quickly how we can help them implement low cost, high performance systems that will streamline their business operation and drive profitability or service delivery.

“We focus on long term relationships, not quick fire sales and we work hard at our ongoing support for clients, with a locally based help desk that is geared to solving problems so quickly that there is virtually no interruption of business,” explains Richard.

It is that laser focus on the client that has brought this quietly

spoken young man to the point where the business is expanding rapidly with a new office in Dublin to service an all island operation.

“We have always been recognised as an independent market leader in Northern Ireland and for example we have dominated fast service delivery in the Super Connected Cities Broadband scheme in Belfast, something we are now bringing to Derry/Londonderry.

“Also our in-house hosted data centre, which most people recognise as ‘cloud storage’, has recently benefited from a significant hardware technology investment, which will guarantee business continuity for all our clients. And we are now expanding to a second site in the North West, to offer localised services

to our growing customer base.

“Indeed this is just one service that will actually be marketed on a European basis as it allows public and private sector clients to meet information storage requirements of stringent Data Protection regulations.

“It also supports a real trend towards hosted telephony, which means that SME’s do not need to invest in expensive hardware but can utilise cutting edge telecoms technology that drives business efficiency and profitability.

“I think the secret of our success across the board is that we are independent, we respond quickly and with an emphasis on the personal approach, we put the client first and don’t get hung up on counter-productive processes that can hamper the bigger name telecoms providers.”

So what is the ultimate ambition for Richard Simpson?

“There is no limit to the geographical scope of our business because we will always be independent, we will always be innovative and we will always

prioritise the business needs of our clients over the red tape of the multinationals, that has always been the secret of our success.

“My team and I have great plans to further develop our services bringing additional, affordable solutions to businesses in Northern Ireland knowing that no matter how small the business it is inevitably competing in a global marketplace. We are testament to that reality.

“Effective telecommunications is the secret to doing business internationally from a home base and we stand behind the services we provide and the people we employee, to deliver on our promises” he says with quiet confidence.

This is exactly the kind of young business person that will make the vision of Northern Ireland competing successfully in a global marketplace a reality and with people like Richard Simpson at the helm we will continue to punch above our weight which has to be good news for corporate Northern Ireland.

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Eye on Innovation

Sizzling success tastes good for Peter

Sam Butler talked to Peter Hannan about his success in creating award winning beef and bacon flavours for customers in many parts of Europe 96

Eye on Innovation

P

eter Hannan is fast running out of space for awards on the walls of his Moira office.

The founder and managing director of Hannan Meats, a successful catering butchery business, recently picked up a further 15 citations for outstanding beef and bacon in the influential Great Taste Awards, an annual competition, often described as the “Oscars’ of the food industry, run by the UK Guild of Fine Food to identify the tastiest food.

The latest 15 award certificates covered 33 gold stars, 21 for seven products at the highest level in this year’s awards. Five of his products, a sweet-cured bacon rib and four salt-aged beef dishes, were subsequently included in the Guild’s Top 50 foods, more than any other company in these islands. The achievements this year repeated his success in the competition in 2013 and followed his Supreme Champion title the year before.

Hannan, a supplier to top restaurants and celebrity chefs such as Mark Hix in London and locals like Michael Deane and Tony O’Neill, has amassed an amazing 127 gold stars over the past four years in the awards. Hannan Meats, which employs just 30 people in Moira, has now won more gold stars in the Great Taste Awards than any other company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland!

How does the Kildare-born entrepreneur, who set the business up in 1989 on the back of vast experience in the meat industry in Ireland, Britain, other parts of Europe and the US, explain his exceptional achievements?

“I guess it’s because I am really passionate about great tasting food and always on the look-out for deliciously different taste experiences,” he says. Dedication to original food and innovative dishes is certainly in his DNA. Among many examples of this is his extensive investment in what has become the world’s biggest Himalayan SaltAgeing Chamber, an initiative that has enabled him to produce meat with superb flavours and texture.

“What I am part of is a revolution in food here. There’s marvellous food happening here now, mostly being crafted from superb products sourced from local farms. As a food producer and someone who loves

“ Hannan Meats, which employs just 30 people in Moira, has now won more gold stars in the Great Taste Awards than any other company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland!”

great food, I draw tremendous inspiration from the whole process, the farmers, processors and the chefs who are helping to transform Northern Ireland into a European centre of gastronomic excellence.

We need this dynamism, ambition and confidence to drive the food industry forward and also to enhance our tourism appeal.

“I am convinced too that people here are increasingly recognising the outstanding quality of local products and the exciting menus being created in restaurants and hotels across the country. Success in events such as the Great Taste Awards is helping to showcase internationally the quality and originality of local products and is giving producers, especially artisans, confidence in their expertise and products. Encouraged my Great Taste gold stars, many artisan businesses are now selling in Britain and the Republic. Abernethy Butter, Broighter Gold and Passion Preserve are great examples of this,” he adds. These and other artisans are quick to acknowledge his encouragement and support.

Hannan traces his interest in ingredients and food production to his days on the family farm in Co Kildare. “I helped my father around the farm, prepared animals and also watched my mother, a magnificent cook, creating delicious meals and snacks largely from our own produce and from neighbouring farms. I was taking sheep to market as a youngster.” It’s no great surprise that one of his hobbies is collecting cookbooks! Others are rearing horses and salmon fishing.

He acknowledges his dependence

on the quality of raw materials from local farms such as the famed Glenarm Organic Estate in Co Antrim, which supplies quality shorthorn animals, and his chain of Hereford farmers. He values greatly his friendships with local farmers and works alongside many of the gifted chefs here, in the Republic and Great Britain on the creation of different dishes using his beef, bacon and lamb. He is completely ‘hands-on’, driven by a passion for excellence and personally scrutinises everything his business produces.

“Working with chefs, especially Mark Hix in London, on different menu options is fascinating and challenging. Our open door policy encourages them to visit our processing plant, to see what we have available and to sample our beef and bacon as well as the essences, flavoured oils, rubs and relishes that we are also now developing with En Place Foods in Cookstown, a subsidiary business.

“We work with chefs in developing original dishes for their menus. Hix, for instance, has created a network

of Hixster upmarket restaurants in London around the ‘Mighty Marbled Glenarm Steak’ which we supply from our salt-chamber.

“The quality of local produce, especially our beef, pork, bacon and lamb, is now attracting the interest of top English chefs.

They readily admit that they are unable to source the same quality and variety of meat that is readily available here from suppliers of Hereford and Glenarm Shorthorn animals, as well as dry-cured bacon and pork from rare and out-door bred pigs and excellent poultry.”

Most of the products supplied to chefs are also available to shoppers through his hugely popular Meat Merchant shop at the factory.

“As a business we have set our sights only on excellence in provenance, quality and consistency.

These begin with breed, feed and excellent animal husbandry, and we are essentially at the centre of a dynamic partnership that’s focused on coming up with new ideas for our developing network of customers,” he adds.

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Eye on Hospitality

Leza Nulty, Commercial Manager Heineken NI is joined by Odyssey Arena’s Head of Food & Beverage, Rowly Gallagher and General Manager Adrian Doyle.

Odyssey Arena Launches New Heineken Lounge Experience Odyssey Arena, Northern Ireland’s premier entertainment venue is delighted to announce the launch of its new Hospitality facility, The Heineken Lounge.

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he Arena has teamed up with Heineken NI to provide customers with the ultimate hospitality experience while attending the biggest concerts and shows at the venue.

Heineken NI secured the pouring rights at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast in time for the 2011 MTV European Music Awards. The 7 year pouring partner deal coincided with a multi-million investment in the Odyssey Arena including a complete refurbishment of all the corporate hospitality suites and an upgrade for all the public bars and concessions throughout the Arena. The unveiling of the Heineken Lounge illustrates the Odyssey Arena’s ongoing commitment to support the

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customer experience at the unique entertainment venue.

This excellent partnership has worked extremely well for both parties as Adrian Doyle General Manager at Odyssey Arena explains. “Events at the Arena provide a fantastic forum for marketing opportunities thus maximising Heineken’s brand within the market place.

With over 140 events each year we have been able to provide Heineken with a fantastic opportunity to target music fans.”

Adrian continues to explain how Heineken has been able to benefit from their sponsorship, increasing brand awareness through Odyssey Arena’s online and off line marketing tools. “With

over 100,000 email subscribers, and hundreds of thousands of visitors per month to the Odyssey Arena website, Heineken has also been able to benefit from valuable online exposure and branding opportunities to new audiences.”

Leza Nulty, Commercial Manager for Heineken NI highlights the importance and benefits of their affiliation with the entertainment venue. “Heineken has benefited greatly though the relationship with the Odyssey Arena. This form of sponsorship provides a very unique opportunity to increase brand awareness and provides multiple outlets for communication with our target audience. All of the above are essential in developing a high profile visibility strategy

here in Northern Ireland.”

In the dynamic and sophisticated world of Marketing in which integrated communication strategies play roles of increasing importance, both partners are enjoying the benefits of this unique relationship and know the importance of obtaining every opportunity to seek ways to enhance the customer experience.

The partnership sees Heineken, Murphy’s Stout and Symonds Cider pouring throughout the venue, with draught Tiger beer available in the 64 seat Electric Ireland hospitality suite.

Desperados, Sol and Bulmers is also available as bottled product.

Odyssey Arena will be celebrating its 14th anniversary this December and continues to provide the best in world class entertainment, with acts such as Michael Bublé, Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran, Paulo Nutini and John Bishop, all heading to Belfast in the months ahead the Heineken Lounge will continue to provide fans with an outstanding hospitality experience.

Est. 1984

Improving Your Cash Flow

• • • • • • •

Celebrating

30 Years

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Debt Recovery (B2B & B2C) - Domestic & International Cash Flow Assistance Pre-litigation reports Insolvency Help Credit Reports Credit Insurance Advice Invoice Discounting Advice T: 028 9055 9999 E: debt@redmondjohnson.com Twitter: @redmondJohnson1 www.redmondjohnson.com Forsyth House, Cromac Square, Belfast BT2 8LA Redmond Johnson is a trading style of Cashflow Management Ltd.

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Eye on Banking

Relationship Banking in their DNA Being close to its customers and understanding their needs is in the DNA of First Trust Bank and its staff. Across the organisation, from its frontline branch staff to its specialist business banking teams, it has never lost that personal touch. As it seeks to play its part in speeding up the economic recovery it is turning to that core strength to underpin its support for business customers. Its new regional banking structures have also been designed to deepen and broaden those customer relationships.

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Eye on Banking

I

ntroducing the new leadership team for Greater Belfast and Down Region, Aisling Press, Regional Manager explains the rationale for the Bank’s approach and how they are supporting businesses to take advantage of the economic upturn.

“We have listened to what our business customers have been telling us. We have structured our business to ensure we are able to provide the support our customers need from us to allow them to remain focused on the day to day running of their businesses.

Quite simply, we are focused on the customer experience with a relentless passion for understanding their business and the specific sectors they operate in, their challenges and their needs. We believe that it is only with this depth of understanding and appreciation that strong and lasting customer relationships can develop.”

“We do however recognise the importance of matching that with tangible actions and processes that work and which deliver the necessary customer support in an efficient and timely manner. That of course includes appropriate funding to allow businesses to expand and develop and we have launched a number of business funds in the last two years which have been tailored to specific funding needs.”

For business customers, all branch locations in First Trust Bank are served by a branch manager, who is in turn supported by a team of business specialists. Local decision making powers and funding discretion allow them to make swift decisions based on local knowledge and a deep understanding of the customer’s business. “Keeping it local is vital”, says Press.

“We know that local relationship management and decision making is very important to our customers and we have structured ourselves to meet that need”.

“We are also acutely aware that our business customers are not a homogenous group and different sectors have differing needs in terms of expertise, products and structures.

With this in mind we ensure our business relationship managers have sufficient sectoral expertise to make informed lending decisions which support the customers’ business decisions. Across our business teams we have specialist advisors with a depth of understanding in key sectors such as agrifood, manufacturing,

retail, hospitality, healthcare and the various professions. This expertise can be matched to individual customers to add real value to their business.”

“We also insist that our team get out of the office and spend time with our customers on their premises to build up appreciation of their businesses, their structures, their processes and their challenges. There is nothing more insightful than walking the shop, office or factory floor or indeed the farm on a regular basis with our customers. ” It seems that continuity of relationship is also very important for many customers and according to Press, the Bank works hard to deliver consistency of service.

“Not surprisingly, the majority of our customers want stability and continuity in their relationships with us and we have been able to ensure the core team remain a constant. In that structure, the team is still able to bring in more specialist support as and when required, so that customers can get all of their financial requirements, whether for their business or personal banking needs, under one roof.”

Another important focus for the Bank is to make the customer’s engagement with it as painless as possible. As an illustration of that approach they have designed a standard business plan template and credit application form. There are a number of benefits of this approach according to Press.

“It’s not intended to be onerous but to provide support to customers in thinking about the important financial indicators in their own business and to enable them to provide the right information to our specialist team to ensure a to ensure a speedy and appropriate response.

First Trust Bank has also stepped up its involvement with the local business community in recent months to demonstrate its support for the wider NI economy. As well as being active members of various business bodies such as the CBI, NI Chamber of Commerce and other local Chambers they are also a lead sponsor of the NI Centre for Economic Policy at the University of Ulster. Explaining why this is important, Press said; “These engagements give us a broader perspective and a greater depth of knowledge which we can use to the advantage of our customers. They also allow us to support initiatives which can benefit the wider economy and we are only too delighted to do so.”

The First Trust Bank, Greater Belfast and Down team, is led by Aisling Press, Regional Manager, supported by Michelle Harbinson, Regional Business Manager and includes Branch Managers such as Stephen Burns, High Street, Belfast. A similar structure covers the rest of Northern Ireland.

Summarising the First Trust Bank way of doing business, Press concludes; “Our approach is very straightforward and, based on what many customers tell us, somewhat refreshing. We genuinely engage with our customers, and take a positive interest in what

they’re trying to do. With that affinity and appreciation we can then deliver appropriate and beneficial support in a timely and collaborative manner. We see it as our role to add value to our customers businesses and to help them become bigger, better and stronger!”

Bailies Coffee – Experience ‘Refreshingly Different’ Banking Bailies Coffee, Belfast’s very own award winning coffee roaster not only supplies the finest, freshest, hand-roast coffee sourced from origin, but specialise in supporting independent coffee shops to indulge their combined passion for quality coffee and superior customer service.

Wishing to expand its operations to take full advantage of the growing demand from discerning customers for quality and freshly roasted coffee served in equally superior independent coffee shops, the company recently turned to First Trust Bank in High St, Belfast to help finance its future expansion plans. This has included a move to a new 27,000 sq ft facility in Belfast, more than three times the size of its previous operations . The move will provide room for production growth, research and development, additional warehousing and the development of the company’s sales and marketing strategy, targeting the local and all-Ireland and UK markets.

Describing the relationship with First Trust Bank, Russell Bailie, company founder and self-confessed coffee fanatic, said; “In a word – refreshing!

Following a decision to move from

my existing Bank and taking time to consider the competition, First Trust Bank was head and shoulders above the others. They took a genuine interest in my business, understanding its particular demands and challenges and listened to what my growth plans were. They have always demonstrated flexibility and a can do attitude, delivering the necessary support and solutions in a timely fashion to allow me to secure the new premises and plan for the future.

“A bit like the secret to our finest coffee blends, the biggest plus is their people and how they interact with us. They are a people friendly bank, a pleasure to work with and are always there when you need them. I have found them to be both down to earth and realistic as well as understanding what makes a business tick. Importantly they have introduced us to a range of new financial tools and facilities that ensure we can remain competitive and efficient in what is already a highly competitive industry. I view this move as the next catalyst for our ambitious expansion plans and believe that First Trust Bank will be with us every step of the way.”

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Eye on Recruitment

A NEW DAWN FOR ENGINEERING Engineering firms play a vital role in the Northern Ireland economy, says Darren McVicker, Managing Consultant VickerStock Recruitment, we need to be investing and innovating more to ensure that the rich pool of talent and expertise we have can compete and succeed globally.

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here is no doubt that engineering is in our blood in Northern Ireland.

Building, making and doing are all part of the psyche for engineering and manufacturing firms, but times are changing.

We have a strong heritage of excellence and expertise, but in today’s global markets we need to invest more to ensure that we stay ahead of the pack.

The name of the game is global competitiveness.

And, don’t get me wrong – we do already have companies who are taking a global lead.

Look at the fact that we have four of the top 100 UK aerospace supplier firms in Northern Ireland. From Bombardier, to Thales, B/E Aerospace and Magellan Aerospace, we are more than capable of tapping into a multibillion global industry like aerospace.

Whether large or small firms, these companies and many others across Northern Ireland have set themselves by investing in research and development and enhancing the skills base of their employees to ensure success.

Opportunities for engineers exist in fields as diverse as renewable energy, materials handling, biotechnology, aerospace and many more besides. These are high value

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jobs that can deliver not just for the individual but for the economy as a whole.

Enhancing our skillset is paying off in these sectors with significant investment and interest in our expertise in renewables as we gain a reputation as a region of excellence in biofuels with a range of innovative design, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance companies operational.

We are also becoming known as a prime location for our proficiency in biotechnology and our knowledge and delivery of composite materials has resulted in many of our firms tapping into the global space industry, which is worth some £9 billion to the UK economy every year.

The fact remains, however, that we cannot wait for opportunities to come to us, in fact this new global economy it is about creating those opportunities ourselves. It is about harnessing the expertise and engineering know-how and enhancing and improving on it.

The resources are here, but skills, knowledge and experience need to be leveraged more to deliver market-led innovation.

We need to proactively pursue opportunities for growth and also innovate continually to deliver the high value products, services and technologies

Darren McVicker, Managing Consultant, VickerStock Recruitment.

will set us apart and ensure the continued resilience of our economy.

VickerStock, Northern Ireland’s leading specialist technical engineering recruitment agency, offer recruitment solutions and expert engineering advice to candidates and companies within the construction and civil engineering sector as well as a range of engineering sectors including; aerospace, manufacturing and production, supply chain, ICT, electronics and electrical, civils and infrastructure, utilities and renewables.

Based in Belfast, offering both permanent and contract employment with NI’s most sought after employers in the engineering sector, the organisation’s overall goal is to match highly skilled engineers with the specific demands of each individual organisation they represent.

For further information visit www.vickerstock.co.uk or telephone 028 9031 3720.

Eye on Finance

Financial Services Compensation Scheme Many savers are unaware that they can claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for losses incurred through unsuitable advice received from their now insolvent investment adviser.

A

n unavoidable part of life is getting older. The more prudent among us will plan for retirement and may even take financial advice from an independent financial adviser (“IFA”) to invest our pension money wisely. However, what would you do if your IFA provides you with advice which is unsuitable and you lose a large portion or all of your pension? Your first recourse could

IFAs providing poor investment advice, becoming insolvent and then leaving investors without compensation does not promote confidence in financial markets.

Accordingly, the FSCS will provide up to £50,000 compensation for each claim against an IFA. Richard Creed, Financial Services Lawyer at John McKee Solicitors, has been assisting clients in lodging claims with the FSCS. Richard has noticed a pattern of behaviour “ Our advice when obtaining financial from one IFA advice is to use somebody who has been in particular recommended to you, if possible. Further, who has been if you don’t understand something, it is recommending that clients probably best not to invest!” take their money out of be a complaint against the IFA who their pension fund with a reputable provided you with the unsuitable pension provider and putting it in advice and if that does not bring a SIPP so that it can be invested results, send your complaint to in an Unregulated Collective the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Investment Scheme (“UCIS”).

However, what if that IFA has gone A UCIS is any collective investment out of business? One option is to scheme that is not regulated by investigate whether you can bring the Financial Conduct Authority a claim to the Financial Services as either an authorised fund or a Compensation Scheme (the “FSCS”). recognised scheme. They are not The FSCS was created to subject to the same restrictions satisfy one of the Financial as regulated Collective Investment Conduct Authority’s main aims Schemes in terms of their which is to promote confidence investment powers and how they in the financial markets. “Rogue” are run, nor are they subject to the

Richard Creed, Financial Services Lawyer at John McKee Solicitors

same investment and borrowing restrictions. UCISs therefore pose a relatively higher risk.

Many clients will not realise that they have invested in a UCIS as it will not have been marketed to them as such. The UCIS will have been marketed to them as a low-risk, high-return investment. However, not only are UCISs unsuitable for the typical person planning for retirement and therefore breaching FCA rules, there are actually restrictions in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 prohibiting IFAs from promoting UCISs to retail clients (which comprise the majority of individuals). There is therefore a relatively clear case to bring to the FSCS should you have been advised to invest in a UCIS. Richard has represented one client who was advised to invest £90,000 of the £130,000 in his pension pot in a UCIS, all of which has been lost.

This client has a claim with the FSCS for £50,000. Another client was advised to invest £135,000 of the £150,000 in her pension pot in a UCIS, all but £20,000 of which has been lost. Richard is assisting her

with bringing two £50,000 claims to the FSCS. This client was able to bring two claims as the IFA worked at two different practices. Although these clients can not recover all of the money which they have lost, they originally had written all of the money off and are very pleased to potentially be receiving £50,000 and £100,000 respectively.

It is important to note that by no means are all or even a majority of IFAs “rogue” or “negligent” and obtaining investment advice from a good IFA is much better than not receiving financial advice at all.

However, we would recommend choosing your IFA wisely. Our advice when obtaining financial advice is to use somebody who has been recommended to you, if possible. Further, if you don’t understand something, it is probably best not to invest!

To contact Richard, email rcreed@jmckee.co.uk or call him on 028 9023 2303”

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Eye on Awards

Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards Noel Doran of Irish News presents Career Inspiration award (Large organisation) to Linda McDonagh of Allstate Northern Ireland

Anna Beggan of Tughans presents the Best Place to Work Award (Small organisation) to Simon Cole of Automated Intelligence Ltd.

Margaret Byrne Sunderland CEO

A clutch of the north’s most visionary and people-focused companies were honoured at the eighth annual Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards in the spectacular surroundings of Titanic Belfast.

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epresentatives from a cross section of businesses/organisations, both in the public and private sector, were among the 500-strong audience.

A record 20 awards were handed over to household business names like Eircom, AllstateNI, Lloyds Banking Group, Musgrave and O’Neill’s Sport.

Belfast City Council and the NI Civil Service were also among the public sector recipients, as were two Derry schools in St Mary’s College and St Cecilia’s.

And there was a number of new companies with their names being engraved on the iconic and much sought-after WEA trophies.

These included Ballyrashane Creamery, TotalMobile and Belfast software company Automated Intelligence (which was the night’s only double award winner).

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Indeed such was the interest in our newly-introduced Career Inspiration Award that it was sub-divided into four categories for small, medium, large and education, where the winners respectively were Young Enterprise NI, Automated Intelligence, AllstateNI and St Cecilia’s.

This year a record number of companies entered; there was a greater number of entries from public sector, education, IT and manufacturing sectors; and in the judges’ opinions, the standard was unquestionably higher than any previous year.

“We’ve been overwhelmed yet again by the runaway success of the Workplace & Employment Awards,” Irish News marketing manager John Brolly said.

“This high-calibre winners’ list proves that, as our economy begins to pick up again, Northern

Ireland possesses the visionary leadership and flexible working environment to thrive and prosper.”

Stormont Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry, who was a top-table guest at last night’s function (and whose department has been a staunch supporter of the Workplace & Employment Awards) since their inception in 2007, told the audience that the initiative reinforces the message that the north has people in its workforce capable of making “a real difference” to the economy.

“If we are to compete in a global economic arena, we must continue to do all we can to drive up skills on all fronts, and facilitating the creation of a workforce equipped with the skills needed by companies within Northern Ireland is the strategic focus,” he said.

“Skills are widely accepted as the key raw material required in any modern knowledgebased economy and are one of the main drivers in how we will achieve our long term economic goals,” he added.

Co Armagh-born Margaret Byrne, whose stellar career trajectory

Dr Stephen Farry of IiP presents the Managing Talent Award (Large organisation) to Sandra Mahood of Musgrave Retail Partners NI

has taken her to one of the leading administrative roles in the Barclays Premier League as chief executive of Sunderland AFC, was keynote after-dinner speaker, taking guests on a journey into the trials and tribulations of the north east club’s boardoom.

The awards were supported by seven key business partners in Tughans, Liberty IT, Investors in People, Tesco, H3 Health Insurance, PowerNI and Titanic Belfast, and were endorsed by industry bodies the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD).

2014 Champions in a league of their own!

Recruitment Innovator of the Year Winner: Webrecruit Ireland Work-life, Health and Well Being – Public Sector Winner: Northern Ireland Civil Service Work-life, Health and Well Being – Private Sector Winner: GE Energy Highly Commended: Graham Construction

They’ve made it through the early stages, the shortlisting, the debates, all the way to the top. These are the winners of our Workplace & Employment Awards.

Congratulations to them – and everyone who entered this year.

You’ve helped make it our biggest and best so far. Thank you.

Workplace Excellence Winner: St Mary’s College, Derry Highly Commended: Ulster GAA Highly Commended: St Mary’s University College, Belfast

Best Place to Work – Small Organisation Winner: Automated Intelligence Limited Best Place to Work – Medium Organisation Winner: eircom Best Place to Work – Large Organisation Winner: Lagan Construction Group Ltd Disability Best Practice Employer Winner: Belfast City Council Highly Commended: Clanrye Group Highly Commended: trip-ability.com

Right Place to Work – Small Organisation Winner: Aurion Learning Right Place To Work – Medium Organisation Winner: TotalMobile Ltd Right Place to Work – Large Organisation Winner: Lloyds Banking Group Highly Commended: Henderson Group

Managing Talent – Small/Medium Organisation Winner: CDE Global Highly Commended: Roe Park Resort

Managing Talent – Large Organisation Winner: Musgrave Retail Partners NI Highly Commended: Survitec Group

Innovative Employer – Small Organisation Winner: Manor Architects Highly Commended: Core Systems

Innovative Employer – Medium/Large Organisation Winner: O’Neills International Sportswear Co Ltd Green Award Winner: Ballyrashane Creamery Highly Commended: Newforge House

Career Inspiration Award – Education Sector Winner: St Cecilia’s College, Derry Career Inspiration Award – Small Organisation Winner: Young Enterprise Northern Ireland Career Inspiration Award – Medium Organisation Winner: Automated Intelligence Limited Highly Commended: George Best Belfast City Airport

Career Inspiration Award – Large Organisation Winner: Allstate Northern Ireland Highly Commended: Cookstown District Council

BUSINESS PARTNERS

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Eye on Finance

BDO Marks 25 Years

commercial environment, has been the desire of the business community to not merely survive but to flourish. That characterises the businesses with whom we work, many of which have been BDO clients for the best part of our 25 years; they seek out new markets, develop new products, develop local talent - all of the features of a successful business which we bring to our work. We are proud of the fact that we count a number of household names among our long term client base.

“ While we embrace new sectors and work with an increasing number of businesses and organisations, our core aim will always remain the same; putting clients first and delivering exceptional client service.”

Peter Burnside, Managing Partner, BDO Northern Ireland

BDO Northern Ireland celebrates a major milestone this month, when the business advisory firm marks 25 years of operation, while all the time looking to the future for both the company and for Northern Ireland.

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anaging Partner Peter Burnside says that at this important benchmark for the company, the local economy too is at a crucial juncture, emerging from the downturn and entering a period where there is potential for sustained recovery.

And Peter and his team are determined to be at the centre

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of that economic growth.

“It is in some ways remarkable to us that 25 years have passed already since BDO was established in 1989.

Northern Ireland has seen bad times and good times since then, but one thing which has always been strong, despite some very severe pressures and at times a very difficult

“Northern Ireland is home to a number of world leading companies who are exporting their products and their expertise across the globe.

Sitting alongside those bigger companies there is a raft of new SMEs who are quickly establishing themselves in new sectors, embracing new technologies. In 1989 we weren’t in such a strong position as a regional economy and it is very rewarding now to be part of that ongoing recovery.

Peter points to the quality and experience of the BDO team as a driver of growth over the lifetime of the company.

“Among the most pleasing things for us as a management team is the number of colleagues who have been with us for the greater part of those 25 years and the associated low level of staff turnover. Even over the last 5 years of economic downturn we always maintained our recruitment programme and just this month we are

about to embark on a fresh round of graduate recruitment.

“The career path within BDO is clear and it is notable that the most recent partner in the Firm, Laura Jackson, joined as a graduate trainee 12 years ago.

The fact that Laura is now the tenth partner is a demonstrable sign of the commitment we have to staff development and training. New entrants to the market recognise that and I am always delighted to see first hand the talent that exists locally. We want to keep on harnessing that talent to the benefit of our clients as well as our colleagues.

“There is a diversity within the Northern Ireland BDO team, our partners, associates and advisors which means that specialist sectors in which we operate have increased over time. We now go beyond the type of accountancy, audit and tax advice which traditionally may have been expected. In BDO we have a depth of expertise across energy, family owned businesses, agri-food, property, procurement and business recovery for example which enable us to work with the wide spectrum of businesses which operate locally.

Looking ahead to the next quarter of a century Peter is confident about the prospects for both BDO and for Northern Ireland.

“The success of any company can be measured in employee numbers, turnover, client base and in all of those respects I am glad to say that BDO has always shown growth on those metrics. While we embrace new sectors and work with an increasing number of businesses and organisations, our core aim will always remain the same; putting clients first and delivering exceptional client service. That won’t change as we look ahead to the next quarter century of growth.”

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Eye on Efficiency

Six Steps To Improving Your Business Efficiency I have the advantage of meeting many different SMEs, in a variety of different industries. Unsurprisingly, the more SMEs I meet up with, the clearer the similarities in business operations become.

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elow are 6 suggestions I would propose to help improve business efficiency that I think everyone can put into practice: 1.Re-evaluate your business process systems – have you outgrown your current business system?

Have you ever felt that you are outgrowing your current business systems, or are still using excel to manage your reporting and business processes? Then this point is for you. You may even find that your current processes are working for now, but have you considered what will happen as you grow? An excel spreadsheet might be ok for 2 or 3 people in a department but as you reach 5-10+ it becomes inefficient. The ‘excel problem’ has had a lot of discussion amongst SMEs. But without a doubt the most common issues I hear is a result of bad quality, out of date, data. The manual updating of data in excel has often lead to:

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duplicate copies stored on individual machines, inaccurate and doctored information (to boost activity figures) and reports built to paint a rosy (not accurate) picture. Plus most reports built on excel formulas have become stale, especially as current processes are outgrown.

2. Bring customer and business information sources into one place.

Storing all of your information in one place will help you to collate one piece of accurate information in seconds. For example, imagine trying to build a marketing list based on customers who purchased product X from you 12 months ago (you would need that from accounts), filtering your data to create a good list (information stored by marketing or sales), and then passing leads to your sales team (probably another list of active leads). That is a lot of running around for one task, that could be easily created if all stored in one centralised database.

3. Connect your accounts system with customer information to avoid re-keying and lessen the admin headache.

Undoubtedly the most up-to-date customer information you have is stored in your accounts system.

5. Enhance sales force professionalism by having relevant information to hand wherever they are.

Empowering your employees with key information will only enhance their performance and your company’s reputation.

Accessing customer specific information whilst on site could be the difference between closing a sale, renewing a contract or losing the opportunity. More accessibility can even give employees the ability to process orders remotely, increasing productivity whilst on the road.

Plus it’s usually the most valuable.

Individual customer information such as, special pricing, credit limits and invoicing details will help you give your customers the personal experience they crave.

This customer information (such as customer purchasing history) can then be used to increase sales and relevant communications.

The time taken to rekey information into multiple systems is high and has loads of room for human error. Linking your systems so they update each other will easily save you time and lessen the admin mistakes, altogether making you more efficient.

4. Keep track of your potential customers.

Sales teams are known for avoiding as much admin as possible. They want the quickest and easiest way to hit target, which in truth is what management want too. But, without a simple way of monitoring your pipeline some potential opportunities may slip through unnoticed. It is important to keep track of your potential customers buying process and understand what information has been sent at each stage. This means informed decisions can be made at the point of close. Holding this all in one place will make it easy to update and keep track of pipelines.

6. Add a fully integrated online sales channel.

2014 has seen a massive increase in online activity, in particular “Business to Business” (B2B) online sales. To successfully sell online in B2B you will need to provide customers with relevant information (such as special pricing, credit limits and stock availability) all of which is stored in your back office accounts.

Link your accounts information to your website and you can provide up-to-date information online with orders confirmed straight into your accounts removing the need for rekeying.

So your current processes might be fine for now, but if you’re starting to notice any of the above, or it sounds familiar, fine is not going to be fine for much longer.

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Eye on Leadership

L to R: Paul McAfee, Bike Category Manager, Chain Reaction Cycles, Anne Clydesdale, Director of the William J Clinton Leadership Institute and Maybeth Shaw, Business Partner, BDO NI.

Leadership in the Family Business Here is what we know – around three quarters of all businesses in Northern Ireland are family businesses, but only around a quarter of them will survive beyond the second generation, and just over a tenth beyond the third generation.

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hat a challenge for leaders within family businesses, and indeed for policy makers in Government as attempts are made to rebalance our economy.

What a challenge for the “next generation” of families in business.

These are some of those challenges: the readiness of the next generation, the unique and complex nature of family relationships and roles in the business, the shareholding dilemmas. As if that’s not all, there is the importance of effectively integrating non family managers/directors, the transition and evolvement of family ethics and values and the formalising and structuring of family communication and management processes – and then there’s the day job!

Family businesses represent the most enduring business model in the world.

There are numerous statistics showing the significant contribution that family businesses make to the economy (74% of all businesses in NI are family businesses)

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and society in general, the economy as a whole drawing great strength from families who, generation after generation, foster the spirit of entrepreneurship.

In the context of the above it is clear to appreciate how important the continuing success of family firms through the generations relies heavily on ensuring that the next generation, to whom the baton may one day be passed, are not only up for, but are able for, the challenge.

Becoming involved in a family business can be an enormous privilege as well as hugely rewarding and exciting. It can also however be demanding and challenging with the greatest of expectations and responsibilities being placed on the shoulders of the next generation to transition the family business into the next era. Such responsibilities are sometimes greater than the individual is maybe prepared for, or even have the ambition for.

Whilst the above may sound anecdotal,

the statistics speak volumes. As hinted at above, only 26.9% of family businesses survive past 2nd generation, 11.3% past 3rd generation and 3.2% beyond third generation. The reasons for these worrying statistics have been researched, understood and documented and the ‘reason’ is clear – Next Generation Leadership. Fundamentally as a family business we have to ask ourselves, what are we doing to provide the right support, development and education to the next generation of Family Business Leaders, to ensure our long term success? How, and when, should we provide the right opportunities, exposure and networks to ensure the capabilities and confidence of the next generation truly emerge?

The process by which we allow the next generation of our family business leaders to develop, and evolve, should not be focused on any one particular development activity occurring at any

As a family business, Chain Reaction Cycles is fully aware of the challenges and responsibilities facing family businesses no matter what stage they are at in their life cycle. As a Company that has already benefited from some of the excellent programmes provided by the William J Clinton Leadership Institute We are delighted that the Institute at QUB together with BDO have designed and launched a Family Business leadership programme locally in N.Ireland. This will undoubtedly provide a focused platform for the continued success of NI family businesses”.

Maurice Donaldson, Head of Strategy & Planning, Chain Reaction Cycles Ltd

one time. It is the sum of events and opportunities that take place in settings that combine family, business and subsequently the family’s relationship with the business that will all play a part.

The sum of all these events will influence the individual, who will require space to create, challenge and define their own path and test their own leadership base outside the formal boundaries of the family business. It is within this ‘space’ that a Leadership programme, specific to Family Business Leadership, can provide the real opportunity.

The William J Clinton Leadership Institute has been working with BDO to understand the leadership challenges for family members in delivering sustainable success.

We know that effective leadership, at all levels, is one of the central drivers of long term success. That’s evidential, we can show that. In public companies, in government, in social enterprises, this represents one of the great challenges, but there are some unique challenges within family businesses. Leadership starts with a sense of the future, with a vision of where we should be that creates purpose and meaning around which others may be engaged. With family members having differing starting points for their perceptions and differing motives about that future, there is a particular challenge for leaders in creating long term success. BDO’s work provides the evidence around family business failure that shows the work there is to do if we are to rebalance the Northern Ireland economy with thriving family businesses in all sectors. The Leadership Institute’s work shows how leadership, innovation, and the ability to adapt and change are the critical factors that can dramatically improve the prospects for long term success.

The outcome of the BDO and the William J Clinton Leadership Institute collaboration is the “Family Business Programme: Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders”. It is the only programme on the Island of Ireland that takes participants to the unique and complex interaction that family business leaders face, creating the best platform for a family business to grow and evolve from one generation to the next. The programme will commence in late October 2014.

For further information and details of the Family Business Programme at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute please contact: T: 028 9097 4394 E: leadershipinstitute@qub.ac.uk W: www.leadershipinstitute.co.uk

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Eye on Hospitality

Food For Thought Taking on the mantle of an iconic Belfast brand name was a bold move by restaurateur Andy Watt, and one that has proved to be an important ingredient in the success of his flourishing business venture…

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ntrepreneur Andy Watt opened The Terrace Restaurant and Urban Deli at Robinson & Cleaver Belfast just over a year ago, and right from the start, branding played a pivotal role in the business’s growth.

“I had been looking around for suitable premises in which to open a restaurant in Belfast and when units at the old Robinson & Cleaver building became available I jumped at the chance,” said 27 year-old Andy, who originally went to Yellow Door, a leading brand in the deli restaurant and outside catering sector, for his initial training in the food sector.

“The whole draw for me was in being able to use the iconic Robinson & Cleaver name and the historical old building, with its elegant architectural features and balcony with stunning views of Belfast City Hall,” explained Andy.

“Other retail franchises lease out parts of the building but I was the only one to take the name Robinson & Cleaver as the basis for my brand.

“The store closed in 1986 – the year I was born - but I was always very aware of it. My father’s family business, Fred Malcolm jewellers, is located nearby and, growing up, my perception of the brand was that it was both well-known and well-loved throughout Belfast and beyond.”

However, honing in on such an exclusive marque, with all its connotations of high-class glamour, also had its pitfalls, creating the possibility that diners’ perceptions would be of a traditionally themed restaurant offering expensive fine dining.

In reality, both the downstairs Urban Deli and the upstairs Terrace restaurant have a distinctly modern, urban city chic, with menus that reflect this theme, offering quality, contemporary food at competitive prices.

“We have had customers expecting to find a fine dining restaurant, especially when we first opened,” admitted Andy.

“The challenge for me has been in updating the brand to reflect its newly modernised personality.”

His instinct in choosing the famous Robinson & Cleaver name brought immediate dividends when, because of the brand heritage, the restaurant opening attracted press and media coverage, providing priceless free publicity.

“There’s no doubt that this publicity helped get the business off to a great start,” said Andy.

“We got lots of people coming in and reminiscing on the times they visited or worked at the old Robinson & Cleaver store.

We still do – the name has a great magnetism about it.”

To help capitalise on this rich legacy, Andy commissioned

distinguished Belfast art consultant, Carrie Neely to source a number of fabulous photographs of the old department store, all displayed prominently in the upstairs Terrace restaurant.

Andy also commissioned Carrie to paint large individual head and shoulder cartoon-style portraits of both Mr Robinson and Mr Cleaver, as well as one of the building itself, cleverly integrating the theme in a more contemporary way.

The original Robinson & Cleaver logo - a classic font that can still be seen in gold lettering on the glass window at the entrance to the downstairs deli – lent itself well to adaptation by Andy for his restaurant (stamped on the coffee cups, water bottles, menus etc) and the cocktail menu has a Robinson & Cleaver theme, with drinks such as ‘Mr Robinson’s Breakfast’, ‘Cleaver Punch’, and ‘The Auld Stairwell’.

Customer clarity is extremely important, and while on first glance it may seem difficult to reconcile a traditional, family-run department store with a trendy new restaurant, the two business philosophies have a lot in common.

As a department store, Robinson

& Cleaver was a quality brand, known to support local companies and famed for its personal service and highly trained staff. These are corporate values which Andy also embraces, and by aligning what was essentially a new and untested business with this well established brand, he has provided solid foundations on which to establish his business in the hugely competitive restaurant sector.

“The first year was all about finding our feet and coping with the day to day running of the restaurant, which took off from day one,” said Andy. “We’ve now reached a point where we are ready to market our business more assertively and have employed a PR Consultant to help us define and build the brand, integrating the Robinson & Cleaver provenance in a modern upbeat way throughout our business offering.

“It’s all about thinking strategically about our brand philosophy and relaunching the Robinson & Cleaver name into the 21st century, capitalising on all the positive values we share with this famous Belfast brand,” concluded Andy.

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Eye on Finance

Commercial Property – A Sectoral View

By Geoff Sharpe, Corporate Banking Manager, Danske Bank.

Recovery...

The dynamic of the commercial property market in Northern Ireland has been well-documented in recent years – more often in a negative light than a positive one.

However, following an extended period of market correction and almost dormant activity levels, there is sufficient evidence to support the view that the market is showing tentative signs of recovery.

We have seen a significant increase in the level of activity in the market in the last 18 months, albeit it from a low base. There appears to be increasing demand for assets from investors, both private and institutional, and we are also seeing an increased level of interest from the business sector in relation to investment in owner occupied premises. Of particular note is the level of demand from institutional investors, who accounted for over 70 percent of the c£160m transactional volume in 2013.

That said, activity level in the first half of 2014 has been somewhat subdued, the result of a lack of quality assets coming to market, and considering the focus on the Project Eagle transaction which has no doubt stalled activity. Now this has completed, it is anticipated that activity levels will increase in the second half of the year.

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A number of important transactions have completed in the first half of the year, including the sale of the Obel development for £20 million to an institutional investor, Shane Retail Park for £30m, Victoria House (under offer) and the sale of prime office space in the Ormeau Gasworks to a local investor, funded by Danske Bank.

The Challenges...

Despite these encouraging signs, the journey back to recovery for the commercial property market will not be without its challenges.

One of the greatest challenges we see and hear about is the lack of Grade A office space in the market, with some indicators pointing to identifiable market requirements for as much as 1 million sq ft of office space, compared to the current market supply of only around 120,000 sq ft.

As well as creating barriers to attracting foreign direct investment, this also presents somewhat of a ‘Catch 22’ scenario from a banking perspective – with the developer unable to secure finance to develop the end product purely on a speculative basis and occupiers typically seeking the completed product before making any contractual lease commitment.

The typical inclusion of lease determination clauses at shorter intervals also creates challenges from a financing perspective due to the shorter term of the income commitments. However, factors such as income spread across the tenant portfolio, availability of other income sources and refinance positions at the end of lease break dates can help mitigate these factors.

Rental values too remain problematic in many cases and, while there has been evidence of office rental tones trending upwards from £12.50 per sq ft to £14.00, these still fall short of the a market rate of £15.00 which would appear to be the ‘trigger point’ at which appraisals for new Grade A developments offer a satisfactory return.

The Opportunities But it isn’t all negative by any means. As with any economic recovery in any sector, these challenges are complemented by opportunities for the commercial property market.

The lack of Grade A office space and imbalance of demand and supply will inevitably push investors up the risk curve, with a number of ‘secondary’ assets likely to be redeveloped in the

coming months. While these projects may be difficult to secure bank finance against during the development phases – particularly if speculative in nature – they are likely to present a significant upside & opportunity to investors and may be able to secure finance post-completion or letting.

Valuable opportunities also come with the entrance of new investors into the market, who are seeking to develop a relationship with a local bank which understands the market and has the capacity to support transactions, and bring local market knowledge to the table.

At Danske Bank we have a strong pipeline of activity in the commercial property sector and are keen to consider new proposals and lending opportunities – particularly to projects with longer term contracted income streams and quality tenants, or owner occupied properties. We have appetite to support long term financing commitments and can offer a flexible approach to the structure of transactions.

We are committed to playing our part in stimulating the local commercial property market and unlocking the potential for sustainable economic growth in this sector.

Eye on News

NI... WE’RE ADDICTED TO GADGETS Northern Ireland is becoming a nation of gadget lovers, according to Ofcom. More than half of us now have a smartphone (55%) with almost as many (45%) owning a tablet computer, like the iPad or Kindle – up from 29% a year ago.

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he rise in tablet ownership is all the more remarkable when you think that the first iPad was launched just four years ago.

Linked to the take-up of these mobile devices is the number of people accessing the internet on the move, rising 6 percentage points in the past year to 51%.

The striking figures are revealed in Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report for Northern Ireland which examines take-up and use of communications services across the UK. The encouraging thing for Northern Ireland is that, where we once lagged behind the rest of the UK in adopting new technologies and devices, we are now on a par and, in some cases, ahead of our neighbours.

“ Telecoms infrastructure, both fixed and mobile, is critical for consumers and for the economy as a whole. On the mobile front, coverage is significantly better than it was and with the roll-out of 4G services starting to gather momentum, there’s more to come.”

Tablet ownership in Northern Ireland, along with Wales, is highest in the UK, while access to Next Generation Access networks (which are used to deliver superfast broadband) is highest in Northern Ireland at 95%. That compares with 80% in England, 64% in Scotland and just 58% in Wales. Ofcom notes that much of this is down to investment by Deti and BT over recent years.

One of the other big stories to come out of the Ofcom report are the significant improvements to 2G and 3G coverage in Northern Ireland over the last year. 3G coverage especially has been a long running complaint for mobile users in Northern Ireland but that picture is changing.

Ofcom says the proportion of premises in areas with outdoor coverage from all four national

James Stinson, Ofcom.

3G networks has increased by 20.2 percentage points to 82.1% from a year ago, driven by significant investment by network providers.

Meanwhile, the proportion of homes in Northern Ireland with outdoor 2G mobile coverage from all three national 2G networks has increased by 10.7 percentage points to 91.7%.

James Stinson from Ofcom said: “Telecoms infrastructure, both fixed and mobile, is critical for consumers and for the economy as a whole.

“On the mobile front, coverage is significantly better than it was and with the roll-out of 4G services starting to gather momentum, there’s more to come.

“When it comes to broadband, Northern Ireland still leads the way when it comes to access to fibred services while additional investment is being made to extend this further.”

Other research carried out by Ofcom shows a ‘millennium generation’ of 14 and 15 year olds are the most technologically advanced people in the UK. Teens born at the turn of the century are unlikely to have known ‘dial up’ internet and are the first generation to benefit fully from broadband and digital communications.

It shows that we hit our peak communications technological confidence while we are still in our mid-teens - but this drops gradually up to our sixties and beyond.

Among 16-24s, around nine in ten use a smartphone on a weekly basis and they spend more time on their handsets than anyone else.

In Northern Ireland, these younger people are glued to their smartphones for 3 hours 36 minutes each day, nearly three times the 1 hour 22 minutes across all adults.

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Eye on Finance

OGILVIE...

Keeping It Simple For Fleet Customers Ogilvie Fleet has made quite an impact since the GB-based group first moved into the Northern Ireland marketplace just over 3 years ago.

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he company already has almost 1,500 vehicles on the road here, and it’s set out what amounts to a very clear ambition. “We want to be the Number 1 contract hire and leasing company in this region,” says Jim Humphreys, Ogilvie’s Regional Manager for Ireland.

He’s a man who jumped ship after a long period with another of Northern Ireland’s leading fleet providers to head up Ogilvie Fleet Northern Ireland....and that’s not a decision that he took lightly.

“I had no reason to take any risks at that stage of my career, but I liked what Ogilvie was offering, the service that it brought to its customers and it’s no nonsense approach to what can be complex and frustrating business for lots of fleet customers.”

Ogilvie, headquartered in Scotland and still a family-owned company, takes a very clear approach to how it brings fleet services to its customer base.

It works hard to cut through the complexities, to do away with the grey areas, and to bring a new fairness and trust to the fleet arena.

“Let’s face it. There are lots of different areas where existing fleet operators can pile the charges on to unwitting customers....and that’s exactly what they go on to do. For our part, we put trust and transparency at the very heart of our customer offering.”

Humphreys can provide plenty of examples. Take end of contract damage charges.

Northern Ireland has plenty of fleet customers who’ve been caught out by end of contract vehicle surveys which produce higher than expected charges for repair.

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Ogilvie’s solution is a simple one. It provides each customer with a table of end-of-contract damage costs and this fixed cost matrix forms part of the Ogilvie Fleet Master Service Agreement which customers sign at the outset. “This way, our customers know exactly how much end of contract damage is going to cost them (if anything) and they know it well in advance,” adds Humphreys.

Ogilvie also offers its customers attractive early termination facilities, as well as competitivelypriced contract extensions on the other end of the scale. And, while most fleet operators will happily charge its customers a hefty levy for exceeding agreed mileages, Ogilvie says that it is equally happy to credit its customers when their mileages at end of contract fall below agreed levels.

“It’s all about fairness and it’s all about making sure that our customers understand fully what charges they will face and when they will face them. No one in any business wants to have to face unexpected costs,” he adds.

The company’s different approach even extends to tyre management. Instead of sending its customer’s vehicles (and their drivers) to tyre-fitting depots, Ogilvie has a contract with KwikFit which means that the latter’s mobile units replace tyres at the home or offices of fleet drivers.

“We take the whole business of vehicle and fleet management back to basics. That’s the way to keep costs down. And we work hard to establish a firm rapport with all of our customers, whatever the size of their vehicle fleet.

Ogilvie’s local team started life in temporary premises in Dundonald, but has been based

at the centrally-located Quay Gate House (at the junction of the Sydenham By-Pass and M3) for the past 12 months.

Locally-based and locally managed, the company has another key difference from others in the marketplace here in that it doesn’t use third party finance providers or finance facilities offered by car manufacturers.

Instead, the company finances all of its own deals.

“That can mean that we won’t be offering some of the eyecatching but short-term deals which manufacturers offer every now and again, but they’re not without their drawbacks and customers need to be aware of added costs and the big issue of whole life vehicles costs. End of contract terms are a potential sting in the tail that also need to be examined very closely.

“For us at Ogilvie, maintenance agreements aren’t a profit centre and nor are end of contract costs. But the same can’t be said of others in the fleet space here in Northern Ireland,” Humphreys adds.

Ogilvie already has 1,500 vehicles under its wing here, but the company can point to a total fleet of more than 11,000 vehicles in the UK as a whole. Ogilvie Fleet – with bases in Stirling, Sheffield, Birmingham & Belfast – forms part of a wider £200 million turnover Ogilvie Group, led by Duncan Ogilvie, which also has interests in construction, house building and telecommunications.

“The personal touch remains important to us as a company.

We have a relatively small team here in Belfast dealing with all of our customers directly, and we certainly don’t have any contact centres or anything of that kind,” adds Jim Humphreys.

On the technology front, though, Ogilvie Fleet customers can make use of a MiFleet service offering on the company website (www. ogilvie-fleet.co.uk). This is an

Jim Humphreys

online fleet management tool which offers a range of real time information on a customer’s vehicles, and it comes at no extra cost to Ogilvie’s fleet users.

And the company can offer short-term rental options to its customer organisations, allowing them to provide vehicles, for example, to employees on a temporary basis or to add vehicles to the fleet for a short time without having to enter into two or three-year arrangements.

“We’re delighted at how much progress we’ve made since we started from scratch here in Northern Ireland not too long ago,” says Jim Humphreys. “Our progress shows that relationships matter, and that honesty, integrity and transparency also matter to companies out there.

“We’ve spent £10 million or so locally on vehicles and services since we opened our doors here in Belfast. This is the company’s first move outside the North of England and Scotland, so it counts as a major vote of confidence in the Northern Ireland business sector.”

Contact Jim Humphreys on Belfast 028 9045 0800 / Mob 07778 621 601 or email jim.humphreys@ogilvie.co.uk

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Eye on Retail

HIGHFLYER NICOLA A WOMAN ON A MISSION Numbers play an important role in the life of Nicola Irvine, Store Manager at Tesco Extra Knocknagoney - one of the most precious gems in the supermarket chain’s Northern Ireland network.

B

elfast-born Nicola is a Pure Maths graduate and a trained statistician which is probably just as well bearing in mind she has a multi-million pound budget to manage for the flagship store which has recently had a major refresh.

The 80,000 sq ft supermarket, located in the prime catchment area between Holywood and east Belfast and enjoying enviable transport links to most parts of the city and further afield thanks to the road network it overlooks, attracts around 2.5m shoppers a year.

Needless to say, with Nicola’s staff numbers rising to 460 from 430 in July following the £2.3m refresh which includes the opening of a new Virgin travel shop, Phone Shop and Beauty World, it’s as well she can do the maths.

Tesco Knocknagoney, which opened 15 years ago, unveiled its new look store at the beginning of the month (July) and, in addition to the new travel, beauty and phone elements, the general merchandise / non food area now resembles an upmarket department store more so than somewhere you pop to for the weekly shop. The refurbished section features interiors – everything from plush soft furnishings to the latest kitchen gadgets such as espresso makers – and lots of other desirable consumer goodies.

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The project, though, is all part of Tesco’s investment plan for its Northern Ireland stores this year which will include a brand new Extra at Banbridge.

Tesco Knocknagoney represents the ‘next generation’ of stores and will include more than 1,000 lines of locally-sourced food and drink from 80 suppliers.

When you consider the logistics of managing and running such a significant store, Nicola seems to have been made for the job of Store Manager.

One of the youngest women to become a Store Manager from Tesco’s Graduate Trainee Programme, Nicola, now 33, is very proud that she will lead the charge for Tesco at Knocknagoney.

“Tesco Knocknagoney has more manhours to plan than any other Tesco store in Northern Ireland, so understanding logistics is crucially important as well as making the budget work as hard as it can to meet all our customers’ needs in store.

“Staff numbers have grown following the re-launch from 430 to 460, so there is a lot of planning to do to ensure everything runs seamlessly all of the time.”

Nicola is a staunch advocate of female leadership at Tesco and wants to see other young women in retail management.

While some high-powered of business leaders would baulk at

such a huge responsibility, Nicola seems to take it all in her stride, while aiming to bring as many of her female colleagues along with her.

“I love to see young women becoming empowered in their career,” she says.

“Retail Management can be very maledominated and I am a strong advocate of female leadership initiatives, therefore I try to create opportunities and programmes to inspire young women to aim for a management job. I believe I am a good example of this – if I can do it, they can do it too.

“I was fortunate enough to be one of the first women to become a store manager within Tesco and owe a lot to the excellent Graduate Trainee Programme. I think the Tesco Graduate Programme is a great example of Tesco growing its own and offering its candidates fantastic career opportunities. I took up my first Store Manager post when I was 27 in Banbridge where I oversaw the refresh there, then Tesco’s Lisburn store before the more recent makeover here at Knocknagoney.”

Unusually for a supermarket, nine of the 30 new jobs at the refreshed store are in Beauty World which offers a selection of treatments such as gel nails and 3D brows at rock bottom prices.

Nicola agrees Tesco Knocknagoney is now so much more than just a

supermarket: “The changes have been significant and with the addition of many new features we believe we are now offering shoppers something completely new and different. This is now a location where, under one roof, they can do their grocery shopping, then relax, chill and even pamper themselves.”

With very competitive prices on the beauty treatments – eyebrow threading is £5 – and premium beauty lines, including Butter London nail polish and Natio skincare, now available in store, it has never been easier for time-poor women to grab a bargain beauty pick-me-up.

TESCO IN NUMBERS 100 per cent of Tesco pre-packed chickens come from Moy Park, pre-packed beef from Foyle Meats and pre-packed pork from KARRO (Cookstown) supporting over 3,000 local farmers £80m is the amount at which annual purchasing of Northern Ireland produce has grown yearon-year (last Autumn), taking it to over £580m, up 16% 55m Tesco branded eggs supplied in one year by Skea Eggs, Dungannon.

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Eye on Agri Food

Lewis Cunningham, managing director of Wilson’s Country, talked to Sam Butler about how the Craigavon company in reinventing the humble potato in response to changing consumer trends in today’s fast moving consumer market..

You Say Potato...

Lewis Cunningham, managing director of Wilson’s Country in Craigavon, pictured with Harry Chambers, one of the company’s network of growers.

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ewis Cunningham’s command of market data on potato sales, consumer requirements and developing dietary trends throughout Ireland is impressive.

His finger is well and truly on the pulse of the market for what used to be a staple product in the daily diet of families throughout the island. He brings a scientific mastery of consumer attitudes, trends and sales to the most traditional of Irish businesses.

This comprehensive market knowledge has led to Wilson’s Country’s standing with retailers and consumers as among the

Branding – the funky You Say Potato brand

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most innovative food businesses in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. An excellent example of the innovation underpinning the business, headed by chairman Angus Wilson, is the recent initiative that has brought the potato into the ‘grab and go’ convenience era with a novel and quirky ‘You Say Potato’ rebranding.

And it’s also a rebranding, a good marketing case study,that takes account of the growing international concern over food waste especially during 2014, the European Year Against Food Waste. According to EU data, about 90 million tonnes of food are wasted annually across Europe, and could hit an alarming 126 million tonnes per year by 2020.

Wilson’s Country is effectively changing the way consumers think of and buy potatoes, our most traditional food. The new range offers potatoes in either four packs in a stand up pouch with a sturdy handle for convenience. The smaller packs, 400g and 650g, are easier to stand up in a fridge or cupboard and are geared for a meal for two people.

“What we’ve set out to achieve is to create a new identity for our potatoes using the stand up pouch and a different, funky brand that’s been designed in particular to appeal to younger consumers. We

are mindful that these consumers now have wider choice for meals that includes pasta and rice. Our research shows that we are holding our own against these other meal options. But we can’t afford to be complacent. We want to do better.

“Our response has been shaped by extensive market research over the past few years which shows that consumers are no longer eating potatoes seven days a week. As a result, sales of potatoes in Northern Ireland have flat lined over the past two years.

“A key factor contributing to this situation may be a reluctance to buy conventional large bags of spuds. Younger consumers also are most influenced by dietary considerations in particular efforts to reduce carbohydrates.

We believe the You Say Potato range will keep us connected with younger consumers.

“Of course the love affair between potatoes and local consumers still exists. But a spud is no longer a spud. Consumers want a product that combines convenience, taste and value for money. Crucially, they also see waste as an important factor. The bigger bags are seen by some as a waste. They use a couple of potatoes and then throw what’s left into the bin.

“Furthermore, our discussions with focus groups found that consumers want evenly sized potatoes which they can cook in a variety of ways within minutes of arriving home.

The same is true for home bakers, they all want convenience. Our packs also include tips for using spuds in a wide variety of dishes.

“What we hope to achieve by launching the smaller packs is to make it easier for consumers to use potatoes more often each week and thereby to increase sales in our key markets of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Currently, we sell more than 50 per cent of our potatoes in the Republic, where sales are continuing to grow. We also believe the new range has export potential and have been talking to retailers in Britain. Feedback has been very positive,” adds Mr Cunningham.

The company, which was formed in 1986 and currently employs more than 100 people, has backed the reinvention of the potato, the new packaging and brand creation and marketing with extensive investment, ploughing £500,000 into a state-of-the-art packing line and the revamping of its cold stores on the processing site at Carn Industrial Estate, where it has been based since 2005.

Eye on News

SENIOR MANAGERIAL APPOINTMENT AS TRADE CREDIT BROKERS PREPARE FOR FURTHER GROWTH Trade Credit Brokers Ltd has appointed Aiden O’Connell as National Sales Director. Trade Credit Brokers Ltd, part of the IFG Group PLC, has regional offices in Belfast, Cardiff and Dublin and is Northern Irelands only specialist credit insurance broker covering Ireland and the UK.

N

igel Birney, Trade Credit Brokers UK Regional Director said “We are delighted that Aidan has chosen to re-join the company as he will add further specialist experience to our management team having previously spent 6 years in our Dublin office and his appointment confirms our ongoing commitment to providing our clients with the most experienced and highest level of specialist credit insurance service available” He added”, “In recent years Trade Credit Brokers have developed very strategic relationships with most of

Northern Ireland’s banks together with high profile commercial funders such as Keys Commercial Finance (www.keysfinance.co.uk).

We have also specialist brokerage status with UK Export Finance, the government department who work with companies to support UK Exports and we are the appointed broker for City of London based Trade Finance Partners Ltd, widely recognised as the market leader in providing specialist transactional finance www.tradefinpartners. com. I am very confident that these relationships, together with the high level of experience and specialist expertise we have

across all our regional offices, will enable Trade Credit Brokers to remain as the premier specialist credit insurance broker in Ireland and one of the leading specialist brokers across the UK for many years to come. As a specialist broker we have access to the entire credit insurance market

which enables us to provide our clients with every option available when they are considering using credit insurance to protect their company against the potentially fatal financial impact of bad debt” Trade Credit Brokers Ltd. can be contacted on 028 9023 9999 or at www.tcbrokers.com

NEW NAME FOR ESTATE AGENCY GROUP Simon Brien Residential is the new name for the former BTW Shiells residential property business.

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he announcement follows the acquisition of BTW Shiells commercial property operation

by Lambert Smith Hampton.

The established residential estate agency practice which operates Province-wide has a team of 42 staff across their current branch network.

Simon Brien, one of the industry’s most respected professionals, continues at the helm bringing his 30 years of experience to support and service all aspects of professional services the business provides including: Private Resale Homes; New Developments; Residential Lettings; Property

Management; Auctions; Corporate Recovery and Financial Services.

Simon, previously partner in the Eric Cairns Partnership and Director in BTWShiells, remains confident about the onward development and growth plans for the business and optimistic about the continual recovery in the Northern Ireland Housing Market: “Over the years we have built on our reputation as market leaders in all areas of Residential Estate Agency with particular focus on the private resale market, land and new homes.

Our track record includes delivering over 20,000 house sales and £⅟2 billion in land sales. We believe that Residential Estate Agency

requires a personal approach to client relationships and also in-depth knowledge of local market variants, together with a professional approach.

The timing is perfect for us to take the business forward to the next level.

The property market is delivering real growth, optimism across the N.I. Economy is building, and Simon

Brien Residential has the team, experience and portfolio in place to build on our established position as market leaders in Northern Ireland.”

Working closely alongside Simon is the Senior Management team of Ciara Crawford, David Menary, Karen Wilson, Mark Leinster, Martin Mallon, Caroline McGovern and Laura-Ann Barr.

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Eye on Moving On

1 Sinead Stewart has joined A&L Goodbody to take on the role of Associate in the Banking Team.

Sinead trained with a firm in Birmingham and then worked for London firms, Dundas & Wilson LLP and Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, where she specialised in the fields of real estate finance and property law.

Capita Managed IT Solutions has made two 2 senior appointments. Rosemary Gormley becomes Business Operations Director. She was previously Head of Operations at BT Ireland and has worked for both Santander and Lloyds Bank Group. Joining her as Sales Director for Ireland is 3 Tony Rice. He was formerly with Steria where he was Business Development Director, and he has also worked for both Siemens and Parity.

1 Sinead Stewart

2 Rosemary Gormley

3 Tony Rice

Leading law firm Tughans has appointed 4 Neil Smyth as Partner in its Litigation Department. A Law and Politics graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, Neil has been a key member of Tughans’ Fraud Department since 2005 and has extensive experience of County Court and High Court litigation.

5 Amy Black joins Lighthouse Communications as a Client Executive. She is a graduate of both Queen’s University and the University of Ulster and has worked in the charity, banking, consumer and travel sectors.

4 Neil Smyth

7 Sean O’Neill

5 Amy Black

8 Carolyn Avery

6 Robbie Milliken

9 Emma MacSweeney

6 Robbie Milliken has joined Bank of Ireland (UK) plc as a Business Manager within the Business Banking Belfast Growth team. Robbie is a Chartered Accountant having qualified with PwC and has over 6 years of experience in Corporate and Business banking.

7 Sean O’Neill has also joined Bank of Ireland (UK) plc as a Business Manager within the Business Banking Belfast Growth team. Sean holds an Economics Degree and Advanced Diploma in Credit and has 16 years’ experience in the financial services industry.

8 At commercial property firm Colliers, Carolyn Avery has been promoted to Associate Director within the Commercial Lease Consultancy/Rating Department at Colliers International. She has over 10 years’ experience undertaking negotiations for both landlords and tenants in relation to rent 9 reviews and lease renewals. Emma MacSweeney has been promoted to Associate Director within the Investment Property Management Department.

10 Lindsay Pigott becomes Senior Surveyor 11 within the same department. Peter Bryans has been promoted to Senior Surveyor within the 12 Valuation Department and Christopher Henry joins Colliers as a Graduate Building Surveyor within the Building Consultancy Department.

13 Judith Corbett becomes a Partner at law firm A&L Goodbody. She has extensive experience in all areas of commercial property with an emphasis on commercial landlord and tenants as well as investment acquisitions and disposals.

14 Paul Clarke has been appointed as Channel Manager for UTV Television in Northern Ireland with responsibility for leading local production output, resources and budgeting.

Paul joined UTV in 1981 and since then has held a number of key roles within the company, including those of Executive Producer, Channel Editor and most recently Head of Local Programmes.

10 Lindsay Pigott

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11 Peter Bryans

12 Christopher Henry

15 John Moore has been promoted to Managing Director for Hays in Northern Ireland. After overseeing five consecutive years of year-on-year growth as Operations Director, John’s new role entails accountability for the strategic, operational and financial performance of the UK’s largest specialist recruitment business across Northern Ireland. John has been with the company since 1997.

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Eye on Moving On

16 TLT has appointed Richard Houliston in the law firm’s growing NI Banking & Restructuring team. Richard will be based in the Belfast office.

Richard joins from A&L Goodbody in Belfast where he was an associate in the Banking and Financial Services team. He previously worked at UK law firm SGH Martineau in London and Birmingham. Richard is dual-qualified in Northern Ireland and England & Wales.

13 Judith Corbett

14 Paul Clarke

15 John Moore

17 Mike Crone joins the Smarts Communicate team as Studio Manager. He has experience working with a range of clients and providers including television companies, blue chip marketing executives and celebrity management teams.

18 Megan Taylor joins Smarts Communicate as an Account Executive having recently moved back to Northern Ireland from Toronto, where she worked for one of North America’s top communications agencies, Faulhaber Communications.

19 Philip Burton has been appointed as an Administrative technician at leaf. Philip has over 20 years’ experience within the IT industry with more than 10 years working in major bid teams for large IT corporations including HP, Fujitsu, ICl and Siemens. Philip will be responsible for supporting services to the Sales and Finance departments.

16 Richard Houliston

17 Mike Crone

18 Megan Taylor

20 John Quinn has been appointed as Marketing Executive at Leaf. John has 4 years’ experience in the technology and marketing sector, working with teams across Philadelphia, Belfast, Dublin and Barcelona to drive growth for clients including Cisco, Microsoft and EMC. John has also been responsible for the strategic development of several start-up technology companies in Northern Ireland and joins Leaf to oversee and develop the company’s marketing strategy.

21 Iain Bell has been appointed as Leaf’s newest support assistant for client issues including refurbishing and amending faulty hardware and preparing new hardware before deployment.

Iain is developing his career in IT after a career move from Chemical Engineering.

19 Philip Burton

20 John Quinn

21 Iain Bell

22 Robert McKibben has been appointed to the position of IT Consultant at Leaf.

With over 10 years’ experience in the IT and communications industry Robert will be supporting Leaf clients’ computers, mobile devices, phone systems, IT infrastructure and hosted services. Additionally, Robert will be advising and recommending efficient and cost effective IT solutions to clients.

23 Sarah Law has been appointed as Leaf’s newest support assistant. Sarah is also Leaf’s resident placement student from Queens University who is studying BSc Computing and IT. Sarah joins Leaf having already built experience by handling the Queens University Student Helpline where she answered queries and logged calls about problems that arose when students were registering online.

22 Robert McKibben

23 Sarah Law

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Eye on Internet

Can we now finally put the madness of mobile-first to bed?

By Gareth Dunlop, Fathom.

Every time I hear the phrase “mobile-first” all I hear in my head is “customer-last”.

How did anyone ever think it might be a good idea to over-simplify a customer’s online experience of a business or brand to single device?

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he digital industry needs to ask itself the classic matriarchal question “If Eric Schmidt told you to put your head in the fire, would you do it?” Unfortunately for the industry, and the clients of some of its agencies, the answer might well be a resounding yes.

In February 2010, Google CEO Schmidt proclaimed Google a mobilefirst business, where product design and application testing centred on mobile devices first. Accurately forecasting the diminishing importance of desktop and the rapid growth of tablet and smartphone platforms, he quite appropriately announced that Google was changing to align itself with the market forces he observed.

Sure enough, in the following year, smartphone and tablet sales were greater than PC sales for the first time in history.

This trend has intensified since 2011, and let’s face it, is unlikely to be reversed any time soon, or indeed ever. Globally, mobile data traffic is rising 78% year on year.

So in isolation, the story is a simple one, of the very capable CEO of the world’s largest media company, identifying changes in the marketplace and aligning company strategy appropriately. Schmidt was observing a set of circumstances and drawing a set of conclusions and implications for his company as a result.

I can’t speak for Schmidt but I don’t see any evidence that he was doing anything more than that. I don’t think he was saying that every digital business should always start the design process with mobile.

I don’t think he was saying that every sector should focus user tests on mobile.

Or every application, every website, every app, every problem or every solution.

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Business strategy, marketing planning, yes even digital integration has always been much more difficult, much more nuanced, much more complex than this.

The reason that these are more difficult, nuanced and complex is because they involve humans. What’s more, these humans or customers or users (delete to taste) are living in an increasingly complex world, where interaction with a brand or organisation spans online and offline, and from desktop to smartphone to tablet, entirely naturally and effortlessly.

We see the advert watching television at night and quickly respond by looking something up on our smartphone. This prompts us to speak to our colleague over coffee the next morning and visit a website at lunchtime. At the weekend, we might check competitors’ websites (using a search engine to find them) on our tablet before deciding to make a purchase and go to the high street to buy the product. This sales transaction effortlessly bleeds online and offline and across devices and channels.

So why on earth would a business seek to connect to that user under the overly-simplified hackneyed all-tooeasy banner of mobile-first? Give me a break; if I was looking for easy answers to difficult questions I would have gone to Slideshare and searched for “inspirational quotes from digital leaders”!

It’s difficult to know if a recent comment

by Google’s VP of Display Advertising Neal Mohan is a change of direction, a clarification of old strategy, or simply a case of stating the obvious. Speaking at an online ad conference in Mountain View recently he said “If you’re just focusing on mobile, you’re solving yesterday’s problems. 90% of consumers start a task

on one device and finish it on another,” he noted. “Consumers are way ahead of where advertisers and publishers are.”

How can this be news?

“Users in ‘doing things their own way and in a manner which suits their lifestyle’ shocker”!

This isn’t an effort to have a go at one of the most innovative, successful and brilliant companies that we have ever known, rather it’s a spirited attempt to ask the Internet industry to stop treating them like gods, stop over-simplifying their messages, and to continue to make digital strategy and design decisions by focusing on the thing that matters most, the user.

Gareth Dunlop owns and runs Fathom, a user-experience consultancy which helps ambitious organisations get the most from their website and internet marketing by viewing the world from the perspective of their customers. Specialist areas include user-testing, usability and customer journey planning, web accessibility and integrated online marketing. Clients include Invest NI, Power NI, Property News, Ordnance Survey Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland. Visit Fathom online at fathom.pro.

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Eye on Motoring

dfcbelfast.co.uk Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

CAN THE SOUL SURVIVOR OF THE BOXY DESIGN ERA CUT IT AS A COMPACT CROSSOVER? Nissan’s Cube is no longer with us but the Kia Soul survives from the boxy design phase. More than that, it has just been seriously face lifted to compete with other quirky compact cars like the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur.

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he success of the Juke surprised some of us and one theory is that it ap-peals to the ‘empty nesters’ whose children have flown and who are seeking something different to the more sensible cars dictated by parenthood.

Clearly most buyers of such funky cars are private but can Soul the second make a case as a fleet car?

Well, of the two engines available the 1.6 turbo diesel has better bottom line appeal.

It is a bit sluggish but returns a creditable 56mpg Combined and has emissions of 132g/km. Good but not great, so no cigar there.

The 1.6 petrol car feels quieter to drive - an improvement on the first genera-tion - but returns 38mpg combined and emits 170g/km. So this one is even less likely to win approval from the company accountant though it costs about a grand less. I suspect the weight of the new Soul is making its presence felt in these figures. (It runs on the same chassis as the larger c’eed model.)

Despite its shortcomings, there is something about the Soul, and Kia’s de-termination to press on, that commands a covert respect. There are things to like including disc brakes all round,

a decent boot and comfortable seats. There is a choice of six speed manual or automatic.

Interesting options include lane departure warning, high beam assist and self parking! List prices range from £12K to £20K for a well adorned top model with

satellite navigation and the works.

Given the competition I would expect some serious discounting and that might change the arithmetic for companies who could use a distinctive runabout.

And there is always that sevenyear warranty to factor in!

is the relatively modest 44mpg combined and emissions of 164g/ km - thats edging on the naughty for a compact car these days.

If you take a hard headed look at the Yeti range then the value lies with the two-wheel drive models and the smaller engines which are priced from a more affordable £16,600. A Greenline 1.6 TDI that emits just 119g/km

and is in VED band C catches my eye but is priced at just over £18K. With talk of impending penalty taxes on diesels, maybe it is time to look at petrol again.

The 1.2 TSI has the same 105PS output as the 1.6 TDI. While it is in VED band F, it is cheaper to buy and avoids whatever the green legisla-tors have in mind for the future.

FACE-LIFTED YETI SOFT ROADER OR HARD HEADED BUSINESS CAR? The Yeti is built for the urban jungle, says Skoda.

That’s not a bad advertising slogan for a car with a name that you are not likely to forget.

T

here’s no doubt that this compact cross-over has been a hit for Skoda. Now they have face lifted the range and divided it into two lots. There is the cheap and cheerful Yeti with two-wheel drive and the premium Yeti Outdoors which has the option of four wheel drive.

Having spent some time with a high spec Outdoors model, I can see its ap-peal. Rugged looks, spacious interior and a distinctive boxy profile make this one of the more stand-out cars on the

road today. The familiar 140PS TDI engine from the VW camp gives a good account of itself.

This Yeti goes where you point it and feels stable. As it has 4-wheel drive you might also tackle the occasional beach, muddy field or snow flurry without getting into trouble. It is good for the 62mph dash in little over 10 seconds and has a perky attitude.

With a price tag of nearly £25K however, you do wonder how much you need that all-wheel traction and extra kit. Then there

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Eye on Motoring

The end of the paper car tax disc The little circle of paper which was first introduced in 1921 and displayed on a car’s windscreen will no longer be required from 1st October.

I

f you have a tax disc with any months left to run after this date, it can be removed from the vehicle but you will still need to display your MOT disc.

Another change that will take place as part of the car tax reform will affect selling a used car as

Annette Shanks, Customer Care Manager, DFC

it will no longer be possible to transfer tax to the new owner.

The previous owner will have to reclaim the unused tax, and the new one will take on responsibility for taxing the vehicle.

If you are concerned whether your vehicle is taxed or not you can use a convenient link to the DVLA website https://www. vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ Alternatively of course you can contract hire your vehicle through us at DFC. We will provide you with total vehicle management saving you time and money.

For details on our special offers visit our website at dfcbelfast.co.uk or contact us on 02890 734222

visit our website... dfcbelfast.co.uk

Local Company Local People Local Service

DFC is Northern Ireland’s only major independent locally owned Vehicle management company.

For 25 years DFC have supplied, funded and managed cars and vans.

We are confident we can provide a cost effective solution for your business or individual needs.

Call us today for more information on our car and van offers on 028 9073 4222 or email sales@dfcbelfast.co.uk 128

Supplying cars and vans to the business community

call us on 02890 734222

Celebrate our 25 years in business with these great offers L DEA E H OF T TH MON

Skoda Octavia 2.0TDi SE Elegance

Hyundai ix35 1.7 SE

Renault Captur 1.5 Diesel

3+47, 10k p.a.

3+47, 10k p.a.

3+47, 10k p.a.

Kia Rio 1.1 CRDi

Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDi 2Wd

From £209/mth + VAT

ONL Y LEFT 5 !

BMW 518d SE Auto Saloon 3+47

From £320/mth + VAT

From £199/mth + VAT

3+47

From £135/mth + VAT

From £179/mth + VAT

3+47, 10k p.a.

From £199/mth + VAT

We also offer many makes and models on Personal Contract Hire

Peugeot Partner L1 1.6HDi 75 Professiona

Mitsubishi Outlander Hybrid 2.0 GX3 Auto

3+47, 10k p.a.

3+47, 10k p.a.

From £179/mth + VAT

From £285/mth + VAT

DFC is Northern Ireland’s only major independent vehicle management company. Based in Belfast, DFC advises business owners about the best vehicle options for their needs.

Pictures for illustration purposes only

visit www.dfcbelfast.co.uk email sales@dfcbelfast.co.uk or call 028 9073 4222 129

For used VAT qualifying vehicles visit our website...

dfcbelfast.co.uk

Eye on Motoring

Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

TOPLINE TIGUAN TAKES TO THE ROADS OR THE FIELDS! Volkswagen rather seriously describes the Tiguan as a compact SUV rather than as a crossover. Okay, I take their point - this is a car that puts function over fashion. There is nothing frivolous about the Touareg’s little brother.

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o take things further the latest Tiguan comes with a choice of two or four-wheel drive and a choice of front ends.

Escape models have a 28 degree an-gle of approach compared to 18 degrees for road-orientated models.

The R-line model that I drove was the top tarmac version with a potent 177PS, 2.0-litre TDI engine.

This gave me a punchy performance with acceleration to

62mph in 8.3 se-conds. Yet it felt subdued and refined most of the time. Against the energetic urge of this tuned engine, combined consumption of 48mpg and emissions of 151g/km with the six-speed manual gearbox seem a reasonable compromise.

Such efficiency is down to VW’s Bluemotion technology, stop-start and the all-wheel drive system which only kicks in when

the sensors say it is needed.

This makes for secure driving when the roads are awash. For a 4x4 the Ti-guan R can show a surprisingly clean pair of heels.

This is a premium model and has all the equipment and comfort you could wish for - including heated seats. Alternatively, VW offer a 1.4 TSI petrol Ti-guan with twowheel drive. It offers a spritely 160PS thanks to a combination

of super and turbo charging. Yet it achieves 42mpg combined with emissions of 156g/km.

Tiguan prices start at £20,895 for a 1.4TSI with two-wheel drive, but the R-spec 2.0TDI with 4motion all-wheel drive will not leave much change out of £30K. The new models have the latest VW family look and a sensible range of equipment depending on price.

VOLVO ROLLS OUT ITS NEW GREENER DIESEL TO STYLISH ESTATE Volvo’s sporting estate, dubbed the V60, is now as easy on the wallet as it is on the eye! The new Drive-E turbo diesels, being rolled out across the Swe-dish range, are among the most efficient on the market and well worth con-sideration by company car drivers.

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his means a gradual goodbye over the next year to the likeable but loud D5 diesels in favour of new four-cylinder units with as much power and much better economy and emissions. In their place come two-litre diesels with be-tween 120 and 230hp and indeed petrol engines of the same capacity punch-ing up to 300hp.

While they are not exactly silent, the new diesels deliver smooth power and torque and make great

130

pace across country without much need to change gear. Even less so if you go for the new eightspeed automatic gearbox that is smooth and fuel conserving.

The D4 model that I drove could romp up to 62mph in 7.2 seconds and on to a 140mph should you find an unrestricted autobahn on your travels. Despite this exuberant performance the bottom line figures are stunning. We are talk-ing about a potential 74mpg combined and

emissions of 99g/km. That is the measure of the efficiency of the design of these new engines.

What you get in real life depends on driving style and conditions and I was happy to return 50mpg plus whilst enjoying the performance.

The D4 escapes from road tax and had minimal company car tax in Band A. All of which should please the bean counters.

As well as being lively to drive, the V60 D4 handles well and rides comforta-bly. The styling is

an amalgam of coupe and estate car with good legroom and a very useful though shallow boot area that can be augmented by col-lapsing the rear seats.

Safety features include radar that scours the road ahead for obstacles, warns when you are getting too close and applies the brakes if you are about to hit something.

My car was priced at £32,995 but did reflect this in terms of performance and equipment.

BiK 15%† FROM

COMBINED

MPG 76.3mpg* UP TO

An incredibly efficient 76.3mpg – and just 98g/km emissions.

CO2 98g/km* FROM

BEAUTIFUL EFFICIENCY

P11D £16,299 FROM

NEW INSIGNIA

A natural winner, New Insignia has been awarded ‘Fleet Car of the Year’ by Business Eye. With class-leading CO2 emissions of just 98g/km*, its sensational economy also comes with superb standard features such as alloy wheels, Bluetooth®, cruise control, CD/MP3 CD player and USB connectivity.

VAUXHALL FLEET Visit www.vauxhall.co.uk/fleet

Official Government Test Environmental Data. Fuel consumption figures mpg (litres/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km). New Insignia range: Urban 24.8 (11.4)-62.8 (4.5), Extra-urban 46.3 (6.1)-88.3 (3.2), Combined 34.9 (8.1)-76.3 (3.7). CO2 emissions 189-98g/km.

*

Official EU-regulated test data are provided for comparison purposes and actual performance will depend on driving style, road conditions and other non-technical factors. † = 2014-15 tax year. General Motors UK Limited, trading as Vauxhall Motors, does not offer tax advice and recommends that all Company Car Drivers consult their own accountant with regards to their particular tax position. (August 2014).

LAND IN LONDON. ACTUAL LONDON. We fly from Belfast City Airport to London City Airport.

Not to Gatwick, Luton, Heathrow or Stansted.

On sale now from ÂŁ39.99 one way.

For travel from 27.10.14

Available for travel from 27.10.14 to 28.03.15. Advertised lead-in fare does not apply to all routes. Fares are one way including taxes and charges, only available on Flybe.com, subject to availability. No debit card fees apply. Bookings made by credit card will incur a fee of 3% of the total transaction value, with a minimum charge of ÂŁ5.00 per booking. Route information correct at time of going to print.