Business Eye Oct Nov 2014

Issue 145 Oct/Nov 2014 ÂŁ2.50 Voted best Business Magazine in Ireland 2005 and Magazine of the Year for Northern Ireland

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

Judith Totten KEYS GOING FOR GROWTH Features: 10

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UTV Business Eye Awards...

20-Page Special

STRAIGHT TO BUSINESS Up to 40 flights a day around the UK from Belfast City. flybe.com

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Healthcare Takes Centre Stage

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Oats... A Growing Business

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Contents

titanicbelfast.com NOV 2014 ISSUE 145

Cover Story

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Judith Totten... Keys Going For Growth

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Terminal Transfer

British Airways Area Manager Brenda Motgan talks about the transfer of BA’s Belfast flights to Heathrow’s state of the art Terminal 5, with first-class connections onto to airline’s global network.

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UTV Business Eye Awards 2014 Donaghy & Decora Take Top Business Awards Eamonn Donaghy took the Business Personality of the Year Award and Lisburn-based Decora Blind Systems the Company of the Year title at the 2014 UTV Business Eye Awards with Flybe, held once again at the Culloden Estate and Spa in late October, and once again the showpiece night of the annual business calendar.

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Let’s Celebrate Success Ellvena Graham, Head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, reckons that it’s time to celebrate business success here, and says that the bank is playing its role in supporting local businesses of all shapes and sizes.

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Linergy... Green With A Capital ‘G’ The winner of this year’s UTV Business Eye Green Company of the Year is a small Tyrone company with impeccable green credentials. Linergy turns food production waste into energy for further food production...

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Healthcare Sector Business Eye Healthcare Awards... A First For Northern Ireland The first ever Business Eye Healthcare Awards took place in early October at Belfast’s Europa Hotel with the top organisations and individuals right across the healthcare spectrum in Northern Ireland being recognised. In assocation with 3fivetwo Group, the event was attended by over 300 guests and compered by UTV’s Marc Mallett.

Northern Ireland’s Tax Champion Eamonn Donaghy was chosen as Business Personality of the Year at the UTV Business Eye Awards as the driving force behind Grow NI, the campaign for devolved corporation tax in Northern Ireland.

And it looks like the award could have been perfectly timed...

Care Circle Group is a group of 12 care homes dotted around Northern Ireland, but one which is managing to set new standards in a sector which has had more than its fair share of negative publicity over recent years.

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Healthy Growth For Porridge Leader Autumn, it seems, is prime porridge season as more of us swap lighter breakfast options for a bowl of the warm stuff. Sam Butler talks to James Mathers, general manager of White’s Oats, Northern Ireland’s oat miller, about the future plans to grow the innovation-led business.

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Eye On Giving Grainne Walsh, Head of Consultancy at Stratagem, talks about philanthropy and how she makes charity work part of her everyday professional life.

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Air Travel Mike Rutter, formerly one of the top team at Flybe, is now calling the shots as Head of Revenue at Aer Lingus.

He talks about the airline’s performance in the Belfast marketplace and possible future growth and expansion.

Eye on Events

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Eye on Banking

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Eye on Internet

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Eye on Agri Food

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Eye on Digital

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Moving On

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Eye on Law

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Eye on Interiors

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Eye on Motoring

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Eye on Finance

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Young Business Personality

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

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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Setting The Standards

Agri Food Sector

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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Southern Seafood Bob McCoubrey of the award-winning Mourne Seafood Bar on why the restaurant group’s next move has taken it amongst the foodies south of the border in Dublin.

Judith Totten has a passionate commitment to her role at Keys Commercial Finance, the business finance group which has pumped a total of £50 million into local companies since it arrived on the market here almost four years ago.

Regulars

Specials

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

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It has to be good news for all of us that Ulster Bank has managed to pull itself back from the brink.

Comment

“Northern Ireland and the NE of England came out well ahead of the next two UK regions – Scotland and the West Midlands. In fact, it’s reckoned that the Northern Ireland Knowledge Economy has grown by 33% over recent years.”

Richard Buckley EDITOR Irish Magazine Editor of the Year 2005

News that the bank had returned to an operating profit (of £394 million) was followed by confirmation that its owners, Royal Bank of Scotland, won’t be seeking to offload what had once looked like its terminally ill Irish operation.

The fact that Ulster Bank is back in the game is testament in part to its leadership team, as CEO Jim Brown was quick to point out, and in another part to the change in fortune for the economies north and south of the Irish border. Dublin, as everyone knows, is booming once again and Northern Ireland isn’t looking too bad either, tagging along on the back of the UK’s improving picture.

Jim Brown talked at some length about Ulster Bank’s business lending and, this time around, made much less mention of the recovery of debts and the sell off of property portfolios. And, despite the fact that there will always be some residual bitterness in the wake of the crash, he’s right to move on and look to the future.

Another bank chief looking to the future is Gerry Mallon at Danske Bank. Danske has posted a profit of £81 million for the first nine months of the year, along with a 13% rise in income.

And so it is time to forget about blaming the banks for the financial crisis. Business needs them in a very vital sense, and it can only be good that they’re starting to get back to their collective feet once again.

On a very different subject, one of the best pieces of news to emerge in recent times was a report which showed that Northern Ireland (along with the North East of England) was the fastest growing knowledge economy region in the UK. The 2014 Knowledge Economy Index, commissioned

by NISP Connect and sponsored by Bank of Ireland, looks at indicators including employment, salaries, venture capital investment, start ups and patent registrations.

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Northern Ireland and the NE of England came out well ahead of the next two UK regions – Scotland and the West Midlands. In fact, it’s reckoned that the Northern Ireland Knowledge Economy has grown by 33% over recent years.

Theres little doubt that one of our best hopes for export growth is in knowledge economy based companies.

And, as NISP’s Steve Orr pointed out at the launch of the report, it is critical that this isn’t just a piece of good news for all of us to smile about. Policies and actions, he says, are required to turn it into real economic good news.

Quite what policies and actions he is talking about isn’t clear. And, if he’s waiting for the Stormont administration to do something, he might just as well forget about it.

That said, he and the report make a very valid point about the value of the knowledge economy here and what can be achieved. But, at the end of the day, it will be up to the companies themselves to continue to make the running. That’s what they’ve done well to date...

And finally to the world of airports and air travel.

The battle between Belfast’s two airports goes on, it seems. After a good summer and autumn for the International Airport – what with the arrival of new Wizz Air routes, some expension by easyJet and the cautious touchdown this summer of a Virgin Atlantic route – Belfast City Airport has scored twice in reply.

First it welcomed the introduction of Flybe’s excellent new service connecting Belfast City with London City Airport, a route which deserves to be given a warm welcome by the Northern Ireland business community.

Then it landed a twice weekly service to Barcelona which should, by rights, have gone up the road. It’s being operated by Spanish airline Vueling, the fastest-growing part of the Willie Walsh’s International Airlines Group (IAG), and forms part of an expansion of its Barcelona base.

But, whatever the airport politics, both are routes to be welcomed for business, leisure and inward tourism reasons.

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Eye on News

FROM HIGH SEAS TO ‘HIGH RISE’ Former Passenger Terminal Used for Movie Shoot A new movie starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss has completed filming in the unlikely surroundings of a former ferrypassenger terminal in Belfast Harbour.

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he film, ‘High-Rise’, is set in a 1970s apartment block and filming led to the transformation of the former Stena terminal at Ballast Quay into sets including a lobby, penthouse suite and roof-top garden.

The movie joins an increasing number of productions filmed in the Harbour Estate, including ‘Game of Thrones’ and films such as ‘City of Ember’, both based in the Titanic Studios. Other productions such as ‘Killing Bono’ and ‘Mo’, a biography Mo Mowlam, have taken advantage of the surroundings

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of the nearby Harbour Office.

Roy Adair, Belfast Harbour’s CEO, said: “Given the history of Ballast Quay this really is a transformation from the ‘high seas to high rise’. Although the building was purpose-built as a passenger terminal, its high ceilings and wide, open spaces made it an ideal location in which to build a variety of sets and accommodate an in-house props department.

“Although we knew that the Harbour’s development of a new £40m terminal for Stena would open up new possibilities for

Ballast Quay, we didn’t imagine one of those would involve Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons.

“It’s a far cry from the days when the quay was used as a store for sand and stone ballast for sailing ships, but we’re happy to work with Northern Ireland Screen to look at similar projects in the future.”

Directed by Ben Wheatley and produced by Academy Awardwinner Jeremy Thomas, ‘High Rise’, is an adaptation of JG Ballard’s classic British thriller of the same name.

Location Manager Andrew Wilson, added: “During my 16-year career as a Location Manager, Belfast Harbour has always been hugely supportive of the Film and TV Industry. Being able to use the old Stena terminal at Ballast Quay gave us the freedom to create a wonderful set that matched the vision of

the director Ben Wheatley and production designer Mark Tildesley.

“Without the continued support and foresight of the Harbour and like-minded bodies, Northern Ireland would simply lose out on these fantastic projects and the economic and cultural benefits that they bring.”

‘High Rise’ was produced through Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company, with the involvement of the British Film Institute and FilmFour, Scope Invest Producteurs, Embargo Films, Ingenious, and support from Northern Ireland Screen. HanWay Films are handling international sales. It is due for release in 2015.

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Eye on News

Lloyds Bank Foundation For Northern Ireland Creates Change For Vulnerable People A ground-breaking £1.9m programme initiated by Lloyds Bank Foundation for Northern Ireland has helped improve the lives of hundreds of people in Northern Ireland.

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reating Change, a unique long term funding pilot programme, which has just been completed, helped 18 smaller charities to grow, increase outreach and become more sustainable.

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for NI set up the six year Creating Change programme in 2008 to provide £1,880,479 to voluntary and community organisations in a bid to make a long term difference to the groups and the communities they serve. Each group was also supported by the Foundation with training and mentoring.

The programme has just finished and in an independent report completed by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research found that this long term approach to funding recognised that achieving change takes time,

particularly on complex social issues.

“This was a bold, groundbreaking initiative. The Foundation wanted to see what impact it could have on small charities if they received funding over a longer period of time. Many charities are constantly fire-fighting never knowing if they’ll have enough money to keep going. The idea behind this project was to take away that concern and give them a chance to develop in a safer space,” explained Lloyds Bank Foundation for NI Executive Director Sandara Kelso-Robb.

The overall aim of the Foundation is to support underfunded, grassroots charities that enable people, especially disabled and disadvantaged people, to play a fuller role in society. The Creating Change programme began in 2008 when the economy was in crisis and charities were being hit

by massive reductions in European funding making it impossible for organisation to develop strategically and work towards sustainability.

Each of the charities received funding of up to £100,000 over the course of the pilot project and this gave them more long term security.

It also allowed them to apply for funding from other organisations, , with the advantage of having much of their core funding already in place.

For every £1 invested by Lloyds Bank Foundation for NI via the Creating Change programme, these groups were able to leverage a further £5.80 from other sources – making a total of £10.6 million pounds in additional

funding brought in by these groups.

For example, Carryduff group Caring Breaks was awarded a £890,000 grant from a significant funder as they were able to demonstration the stability of the organisation.

“During the recession many charities were taking much more conservative decisions and becoming risk averse because they just didn’t know where their funding would come from. Our approach was to offer a flexible funding model plus support and an active relationship with Foundation staff in order to help these groups to become more sustainable in the long term,” said Lloyds Bank Foundation for Northern Ireland Chairman, Tony Reynolds.

The best…

…year on year on year!

VIP’S CHECK IN FOR LONDON CITY FLIGHT

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lympic Medallist Dame Kelly Holmes and film and TV actor Jimmy Nesbitt were amount the first passengers to experience the New London City to Belfast City service. They flew into

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Belfast to join another gold Olympic star – Dame Mary Peters, to support the Sport Changes Life fund raising luncheon in October. Looking after them was Andrea Hayes, Flybe’s UK Regional Manager (NI and North)

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Eye on News

New Business Support Organisation Launches in NI Small and medium sized businesses across Northern Ireland are set to benefit from a new support network.

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usiness First Network aims to help the SME-dominated Northern Ireland economy by providing its members with free advice and assistance in all areas of business law, compliance and health and safety regulations.

In addition to this, they offer protection to businesses when facing tax enquiries, employment disputes and much more.

Formed by local businessman, Michael Osborne, who has over 30 years’ experience working with SMEs, and Co-Director Carol Townsend, the new membership based organisation is keen to support companies here in Northern Ireland.

Michael Osborne, Director of Business First Network, explains; “I’ve worked in this sector for many years and saw a gap in the market both here in Northern Ireland and across GB where small to medium businesses need advice, assistance and support across a wide range of issues.

“Having access to essential business services ensures that the owner/director of the company has peace of mind and allows them to get on with the day-today running of their business.”

The new business will create up to 10 jobs across Northern Ireland and has seen an investment of over six figures to date. With the aspiration of 5,000 members in NI in two years, and 50,000 in the UK over five years, Michael has set his goals high but maintains that the organisation is an affordable solution to the many issues facing SMEs today.

“Businesses across NI and the GB need a one stop shop solution to all their needs from networking to business law, compliance and regulation.

We offer much more with the opportunity to meet other likeminded people at various exciting events throughout the year and an excellent loyalty scheme.

“Via the loyalty scheme

members have access to hundreds of offers and discounts up to 50% across the country, including: hotel stays, eating out, shopping, and leisure activities, which ensures that they can reward themselves as well as their family and friends. Many members have been able to cover the cost of their yearly membership, just by using their loyalty card.”

“We’ve designed a support organisation to ensure that business owners can grow, save, protect and reward their businesses. No other organisation offers this range of support in this all-encompassing service.”

Business First Network also offers competitive pricing on essential business services, including: commercial insurance, card payment processing, telecommunications and IT services, finance of business, private medical health care and independent financial advice. This gives SMEs the tools to be in the driving seat of their own businesses.

At the hub of this network are numerous local NI companies, providing their expertise, advice

and services. Michael explains, “It was important to me as a local businessman that I worked with local companies.” In doing so, Business First Network plays an instrumental part not only in supporting SMEs but also, the local economy.

For more information contact Business First Network on 028 90451062 or email info@ thebfn.co.uk or visit www. thebfn.co.uk.

TUGHANS LAUNCHES ADVISER SERIES Belfast Law Firm Tughans is to continue its long standing partnership with the Chartered Accountants Ulster Society in 2014-15 by delivering a fourth tailored programme of seminars focusing on a wide range of legal issues.

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ntitled ‘The Adviser Series’, the sessions will commence on 14th October 2014 and cover topics such as Shareholders Disputes, Employment Law and Defamation, Director’s Duties and the Importance of Wills.

Commenting on the partnership, Chairman of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society, Paul Henry said, “We are delighted to renew our partnership with Tughans. We welcome the expertise that Tughans bring

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to the Adviser Series and the tremendous range of benefits that the series provides to our members right across Northern Ireland. The firm is a key partner for us and we look forward to the new series of seminars and webcasts.”

John-George Willis, Head of Tughans’ Corporate Department said, “A close working relationship between accountancy and law is very important towards the delivery of effective results for our mutual clients particularly in

the corporate sector. Legislation is constantly changing and we are delighted to once again have the opportunity to provide these seminars on both new and core aspects of the law for the Society’s members.”

John-George Willis (right), Head of Tughans’ Corporate Department weighs up legal and accountancy issues with Paul Henry, Chairman of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society, ahead of their jointly delivered ‘Adviser Series’ of seminars.

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Eye on News

SERIOUS SCOOPS UK FRESHEST SMALL PR TEAM GONG AT MANCHESTER AWARDS’ GALA A pioneering Belfast-based marketing communications’ agency has become the UK’s Freshest Small PR Team following its success last night in the 2014 UK Fresh PR Awards held at the Hilton, Deansgate, Manchester.

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he agency which specialises in food and drink, professional services, energy and construction marketing outscored two well established London firms for the title with judges describing the category as boasting ‘three excellent shortlisted contenders but having only winner’.

The accolade comes just weeks after the agency’s first foray into the CIPR PRide NI Awards where it received three Silver gongs in the Community Relations category for its work with Tesco in Newry, the Outstanding Small Agency and the overall Outstanding Public Relations’ Consultancy.

Founder and MD, David McCavery said the latest award was clear recognition that Northern Ireland agencies can compete successfully against their GB counterparts.

The judges commended SERIOUS for its innovative ‘virtual’ business model which offers its clients access to a range of UK-wide expertise across a range of disciplines including PR, Brand Storytelling, Digital, Social, Branding and marketing consultancy.

David McCavery said a bold strategy initiated in 2010 to re-invent SERIOUS as a premium, specialist virtual marketing communications’ agency which taps into UK-wide market-leading talent was now paying dividends.

“With the old labels of ‘PR’, ‘Advertising’ and ‘Social Media’ becoming increasingly blurred, uncertain or even confused, SERIOUS provides media neutral solutions that are savvy and smart, forward-focused rather than rear-view focused.

David McCavery of SERIOUS receives the trophy from Nermin Al of category sponsors, Kantar Media.

“Strong client endorsements, a distinctive brand proposition and a record for high quality work have led to these recent recognitions and positioned us for further success in 2015 and beyond. These accolades are evidence we are pursuing the right strategy but our focus will continue to be on serving our clients well and delivering outstanding work for them.“ SERIOUS, which was formed in 2007, is based in the heart of Belfast city centre and has worked for a range of clients including innovative start-ups like BubbleBum and ShredBank

through to SMEs such as Portview, Cleaver Fulton Rankin and the McAvoy Group. It is also the retained PR agency for Tesco in Northern Ireland.

Moira man David McCavery is a former journalist and regional newspaper editor who worked with the Mourne Observer, Ulster Star and Dromore Leader and as an independent freelance for all of the major Belfast news’ organisations prior to entering PR in 1990. He took a six-year break from the profession and founded SERIOUS in October 2007.

He is married with three sons.

CITY AIRPORT LANDS BARCELONA FLIGHT The rivalry between Belfast’s two airports intensified this month with news that the City Airport has landed a new direct European service.

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panish airline Vueling has confirmed thart it will commence a twice weekly service to Barcelona in May of next year. The airline, based in Barcelona, forms part of the International Airlines (IAG) Group, headed by Willie Walsh, which also owns Iberia.

It has built up an impressive range of routes from Barcelona over the past couple of years.

The arrival of Vueling to

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Northern Ireland is being seen as a significant opportunity to attract additional inward tourism to the region.

Brian Ambrose, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport, said: “It remains our aim to attract new airlines to Northern Ireland and facilitate more direct European routes from Belfast.

We are therefore delighted that Vueling has chosen to include Belfast City Airport as one of a select few UK airports in its plans to expand its network.

“The hugely popular European airline, which carries a high percentage of business travellers, has an extensive network with over 100 destinations across Europe including Paris,

Belfast City Airport chief Brian Ambrose with Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy.

Brussels, Rome, Madrid and has a growing presence in Russia, North Africa and Scandinavia.

“This is a very exciting opportunity to work with Vueling whose strategy is to partner with airports that have high levels of customer service and are

aimed at business travellers.”

In August 2013, IAG announced its plans to deploy an additional 120 A320s to Vueling between 2015 and 2020, with the airline expected to be one of Europe’s largest low cost carriers by the end of 2014.

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Eye on News

FLYBE KICKS OFF LONDON CITY ROUTE Flybe has launched its new route from Belfast City to London City Airport, linking Belfast once again with the airport in London’s Docklands.

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he new route is one of a number introduced by Flybe to and from London City.

And six purple Flybe planes were christened in a “Spirit of the Regions” theme and a naming ceremony took place at Belfast City Airport by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Nichola Mallon and the Regional Development Danny Kennedy MLA, alongside Paris Anatolitis of Flybe. Together they unveiled “Spirit of Belfast aircraft, ahead of the inaugural flight’s take off.

Speaking at the event the Lord Mayor, said: “This is a first for Belfast to have an aircraft named in its honour and I am delighted to have been able to perform the ceremony. Whilst “Spirit of Belfast’s” first stop is in London today, in future it will be a unique way of promoting the City throughout Flybe’s network across

the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe.”

Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy, said: “I welcome the launch of this daily service to the centre of London’s business community. As we continue to recover from a challenging financial climate, being able to connect to key markets is vital. Establishing a route like this, not only provides local business people with an opportunity to commute much more conveniently, but also enhances Northern Ireland’s ability to attract inward investment.”

Enterprise Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster, added: “Today’s official launch of ‘The Spirit of Belfast’ is excellent news for the Northern Ireland business community who have been seeking this service to London City for some time. I welcome Flybe’s continued commitment to Northern

Belfast’s Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon and Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy officially name Flybe’s “Spirit of Belfast” aircraft before its inaugural flight to London City Airport. Also in the picture is Andrea Hayes, Flybe’s UK General Manager and Paris Anatolitis, Flybe Director of Route Performance.

Ireland and its business community by offering a direct flight to the heart of the financial capital. With three daily services, the new flights offer greater flexibility for those travelling to London for a full day’s business or, indeed half a day, if that is all that is required.”

Saad Hammad, CEO of Flybe, said: “From today, purple Flybe aircraft will be a regular feature in the skies between Belfast City and London City as we begin our new regular daily services. This can only benefit our

brand profile and reach over the longer term as knowledge of Flybe’s role in connecting Northern Ireland with London becomes more widespread.

“Our new London City routes provide direct links for customers travelling to the heart of London’s financial district.

They also offer City of London and Canary Wharf customers faster and more efficient access to the UK regions and neighbouring European destinations than travelling via Heathrow or Gatwick, or travelling by, ferry, road or rail.”

Translink On Track

T 028 9027 9540

ranslink’s Marketing Communications and Business Development Teams recently celebrated multiple PR and advertising awards success. At the annual Chartered Institute of Public Relations Northern Ireland (CIPR) PRide Awards, Translink won Gold in both the ‘Public Sector’ and ‘Corporate &

Business Communications’ categories for its ‘Life’s better’ campaign. At the Publicity Association Northern Ireland Awards, the company won Silver for its Enterprise train ‘Dublin Day’ campaign in the Best Use of Radio category plus two Bronze Awards for Multi-Media campaign (Sign of Good Times) and Best Advert (Life’s better).

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Eye on Events

AIRPORT SIGNS UP WITH PR FIRM

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olywood based public relations consultancy Lighthouse Communications has signed a significant strategic partnership with George Best Belfast City Airport.

The contract believed to be one of the biggest client-agency deals in Northern Ireland will see Lighthouse

provide all the full suite of marketing communications functions for the Airport. At the announcement are Katy Best, Marketing and Commercial Director at the Airport, Stephen Smith, Director at Lighthouse Communications and Brian Ambrose, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport.

RORY FLIES IN FOR CHARITY LAUNCH

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ot long after his Ryder Cup starring role, Rory McIlroy was back home with a spot of typical generosity.

Not only did he fly in to officially open The Cancer Fund for Children’s Daisy Lodge Short Break Facility for families affected by cancer...but he put his hand deep into his own

pocket by donating £1 million to help with the Centre’s running costs.

The Centre in the Mournes near Newcastle offers free short breaks to families hit by cancer in both parts of Ireland.

Rory is pictured with Caleb Overton and Amy Uprichard who have been affected by cancer and received support from the charity.

Eye on Events

RINGING A MESSAGE OF PEACE AROUND THE WORLD

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ver 500 boys from Campbell College Belfast fought in World War 1 - 126 of whom never returned. To commemorate this loss and mark the 100th anniversary of World War 1 Old Campbellian and Bangor man Robin Dunseath has devised an initiative that will connect all the major countries involved in

World War 1 as they share one simple message of peace. From Belfast to Brazil, on Saturday 4th October, 100 messengers in 40 countries passed a ‘Message of Peace’ around the world in a telephone relay that started with one phone call made by the current Head Prefect at Campbell College Belfast - Sam Jordan.

CLOTHING BRAND’S RUGBY LINK

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lster Rugby seems to have official sponsors for just about everything these days....so its no surprise that they’ve signed up with Remus Uomo, a

locally-based mens clothing brand.

Suited and booted for the launch of the partnership are Ulster Rugby stars Robbie Diack, Jared Payne and Andrew Trimble.

TOP GONG FOR ARDMORE One of Ireland’s most successful and established creative, integrated marketing communications agencies, Ardmore Advertising, is celebrating securing the top award at the annual CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards.

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Mark Irwin, Miriam Pierce and Larry McGarry from Ardmore with the award

he Holywood, County Downbased agency, which employs almost 50 people and was recently selected by Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI) “for its progressive and innovative approach”, scooped the coveted title, Marketing Agency of the Year at the annual awards ceremony. Ardmore was also Highly Commended for its Translink ‘Life’s Better’ campaign in the Marketing Game Changer category and Marketing Team of the Year categories, and Ardmore client, Visit Belfast, was commended for its ‘Lovin’ Belfast’ campaign in the Best use of Digital category.

Speaking about the awards,

Managing Director, John Keane, said: “We’re thrilled to have been recognised at these important industry awards, especially for work which we are so proud of. These accolades belong to the entire team who generate fantastic results based on strategic and creative campaigns and to our clients who trust us to come up with new ways to deliver their vitally important marketing messages.”

Established in 1989, Ardmore Advertising has grown to become one of Ireland’s leading integrated communications and brandbuilding agencies with a highlyexperienced, specialist team.

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Eye on Law

(L-R) Micaela Diver and Kate McCann, A&L Goodbody.

Competition and Procurement Law Heats Up Business Eye spoke to Micaela Diver, Associate, at leading corporate law firm A&L Goodbody to find out how their specialist team is reacting to an increase in state aid, procurement and competition law cases.

A

fter a five year period with relatively few legislative changes to the area of competition and procurement law, companies in Northern Ireland should note that things are changing. Over the last twelve months changes have been introduced which could lead to a considerable rise in the number of legal cases in the area.

Ms Diver said: “We are receiving an increase in instructions in state aid, procurement and competition law and there are several factors contributing to this rise in activity.

As decisions are made in the European Parliament, Westminster and Stormont, we are seeing more enquiries from public and private sector organisations as they assess how new legislation could impact on their business. We expect this to continue with the introduction of the new Procurement Regulations in early next year.”

Enforcement On 1 April 2014 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) replaced the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission

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as the regulatory body in the UK. This has brought a renewed focus to businesses in line with the CMA’s commitment to deliver effective enforcement of competition law. A&L Goodbody anticipate that this mandate will result in a rise in investigations taking place by the beginning of 2015 and their specialist lawyers have warned local companies to urgently review their competition compliance including when they engage in public procurement.

Ms Diver said: “Businesses must ensure that they are compliant across both competition and procurement law when involved in the tendering process. The law can be breached in a lot of ways when it comes to public procurement and companies are expected to take full responsibility for their competition compliance”.

Specialist Team Ms Diver is the key competition and procurement solicitor in the Belfast office, with a particular focus on crisis competition litigation, mergers, state aid and public procurement. She began her legal career in litigation, with a view to specialising in procurement. Ms Diver spent a period of time in A&L Goodbody’s Dublin office, working directly with the EU and Competition team before returning to Belfast to head up this specialist department.

Diver said: “Our team is going from

strength to strength in this area. I have recently been joined by Kate McCann, who has been heavily involved in complex negotiations from the outset. Kate focuses on dawn raids and crisis calls which require action at short notice. As a team, we have a wealth of experience in this area which allows us to advise on contentious and noncontentious issues, on a multijurisdictional basis. We have seamless links with our team in Dublin which strengthens our knowledge and expertise in this area.

Some of our recent work includes advising the social housing sector on the best methods for innovation within the procurement sector. We have also recently provided merger control advice in both ROI and the UK using the North/ South connections within our office.”

A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland is unrivalled in its expertise and experience and their Belfast-based lawyers have experience working in several jurisdictions, bringing an international depth, and highly regarded reputation on contentious and non-contentious matters.

Micaela Diver can be contacted by emailing mdiver@algoodbody.com or calling 028 9031 4466.

Eye on News

SOLD! NI Firm Sells Houses To Help Cancer Care Leading East Belfast Estate Agent Johnston & Company will be supporting CLIC Sargent NI as their official charity partner. Staff at Johnston & Co have committed to doing whatever they can to raise funds for CLIC Sargent and the Northern Ireland Homes from Home Appeal – including a donation from the sale of every property they list.

E

very week in Northern Ireland, two children and young people hear the shocking news they have cancer. Treatment normally starts immediately, is often given many miles from home and can last for up to three years. Being diagnosed with cancer is a frightening experience and the emotional, practical and financial implications of treatment are intensely challenging for the whole family. All the money raised by Johnston & Co Estate Agents will go towards building a second Home from Home in Belfast for Teenagers and Young Adults who are receiving treatment for cancer.

Commenting on the announcement Johnston & Co Estate Agents Director, Betty Beverland, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting CLIC Sargent’s Homes from Home appeal.

We have an exciting programme of fundraising activities planned and will be making a donation from the sale of every property we list.

Supporting local charities is very important to us and what better way to support such a worthwhile cause than selling houses to help build a very important Home from Home for young people with cancer.

“Through our partnership with CLIC

Belfast Office: +44 28 9077 0999 Dublin Office: +353 1 668 5144 www.salesplacement.com Sales & Marketing Recruitment Specialists

Sargent we have learned a lot about the huge distances that families in Northern Ireland have to travel to get the cancer care their child needs.

We know that the Homes from Home Appeal will make a massive difference to those families, so we are delighted to get on board and look forward to helping CLIC Sargent realise their ambition of building a second Home from Home in Belfast.”

CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. It provides clinical, practical and emotional support for young cancer patients and their families, from diagnosis onwards.

From diagnosis onwards, the CLIC Sargent’s aim is to help the whole family deal with the impact of cancer and its treatment, life after treatment and, in some cases, bereavement.

In an independent survey 91% of our clients have recommended Sales Placement to another company.

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Eye on News

NITB & Tourism Ireland At World Travel Fair I

t’s something of an open secret that there’s not a lot of love lost between the two authorities who share responsibility for tourism promotion in this part of the world.... but it’s not something that anyone in either the NI Tourist Board or Tourism Ireland likes to talk about !

But, if every picture tells a story, then this one certainly does......

The venue is the World Travel Market in London, the largest event in the global travel and tourism calendar, and the two rather uncomfortable looking gentlemen

are our very own Howard Hastings, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, and Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland’s Chief Executive... perched in front of a large-scale image of the Giant’s Causeway.

They were in London to launch a Tourism Ireland stand at which 24 tourism enterprises from the North were represented.

The World Travel Market, held at Excel London in the city’s Docklands, attracted some 50,000 industry professionals and 3,000 international media representatives.

The sweet sound of success!

T

he SoundHouse has had a bumper result at the 2014 Publicity Association of Northern Ireland Awards, held at the prestigious Belfast City Hall recently. They picked up Gold and Silver for the memorable campaign they created for Jookit.com, which the judges described as catchy, quirky and fun.

What’s more, The SoundHouse and

sister company The PictureHouse were involved in the production of the sound and/or vision of no less than 21 out of the 23 award-winning TV and radio commercials on the night an amazing 91% ... including the DOE, HSENI Farm Safety, Stena Line, Firmus, Hovis ltd, Charles Hurst plus many more and of course Jookit.com

#breaktheinternet for social media campaigns that are larger than life...

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We see the potential too.

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Eye on Cover Story

JUDITH TOTTEN...

KEYS GOING FOR GROWTH The arrival of her first grandchild several weeks ago has been a bit of a game changer for Judith Totten.

“S

omething like this helps you to realise that long hours aren’t everything,” she smiles.

“Now I find myself wanting to get home a bit earlier to have a chance of seeing little Emily.”

It’s unlikely, mind you, to change this Managing Director’s passionate commitment to her role at Keys Commercial Finance, the business finance group which has pumped a total of £50 million into local companies since it arrived on the market here almost four years ago.

The Keys success story has been one driven by the determination of Totten, her senior lieutenant Diane Woodside and what is now a 12-strong team which includes the experienced presence of former Danske Bank General Manager Colin Dundas and Nick McCafferty, erstwhile Sales Manager of Bibby Financial Services.

In its most recent set of accounts, Keys Commercial Finance posted a healty six figure net profit ....fairly unheard of in an industry where long development periods for new players would be the norm.

“We’ve also diversified our product range,” explains Judith Totten. “In our early days, we had to concentrate on high intervention, full credit management clients.

Nowadays, we’re working increasingly on much lower intervention clients, many of whom look after their own credit control in a totally confidential environment.

“To remain a one product company is no longer an option for us. We have to look at funding exports, at working with clients who are sourcing raw materials overseas, and at end to end finance options through the business cycle.”

The Northern Ireland economy, she says, is on the right track once again and that

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includes once-struggling sectors such as construction and its support industries.

“And it’s good to see that the banks are much more active in the marketplace. That said, it’s vital that we don’t end up in a financing price war,” she warns. “We all have to manage pricing appropriately and that means looking at the risks involved in any proposal before we rush in. Pricing has to be appropriate to the business and the project that you’re funding.”

While some might view Keys as a competitor to the banks, Judith Totten sees it differently. “We should be working together more often,” she says.

“Everyone needs the big banks. Certainly, we need a clearing bank to work with. There’s a role for all of us in funding and supporting business.”

Grandchild apart, it’s been a momentous year for Judith Totten for another reason. She took her seat back in April as a new board member at Invest Northern Ireland, and has already found herself appointed to the organisation’s Audit and Fund of Funds Committees.

“It’s a great honour for me, and it has already been a fascinating experience. There’s no doubt that the public sector is a very different animal, and Invest NI is answerable to a number of governmental masters. So there are a lot of boxes to be ticked. But it has been a real eye opener for me, and one which will help me run our business and advise our clients with more understanding of their frustrations with public sector process.

“On the other side of the coin, I hope that my business experience will bring something to the Invest NI table alongside the other business representatives on the board.”

She goes on to pay tribute to the leadership skills of Alastair Hamilton, Invest NI’s Chief Executive, and says that the INI experience has helped her to see where funders like Keys sit in the wider scheme of things.

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Eye on Cover Story

“We’re confident that we can grow the Keys brand substantially in the next 12 months and beyond and we’re confident that we’ll see corporate level funding being a key part of that growth. So we are here to stay!”

“There are so many different types of funding open to companies of differing sizes and growth stages. In some ways, seeing the broader picture from an Invest NI perspective has been something of a Road to Damascus moment for me.”

Away from Invest NI, Totten remains involved in the Halo NI business angels network which brings her into contact with small-scale micro businesses seeking funding for some leading edge projects.

Whilst she emphasises the importance of family life, it’s clear that she continues to put in the hours at Keys. “Am I a workaholic?”, she asks.

“I don’t think so. But it’s not unusual for me to be working into the wee small hours while I’m sitting in front of the television in my PJ’s!...

“But I love the job. I love the roller coaster of business life and I really can’t see myself doing anything less.... or anything different.”

Keys Commercial Finance, she hints, has some fairly major plans in the pipeline (watch this space....). But, even in the short to medium term, she says that the size of funding deals Keys is doing will be

22

increasing with the key support of the company’s funders, Dutch-based bank ABN Amro.

“We used to be capped at £100,000 a deal. Now we’re free to do deals up to £500,000 with ABN Amro’s blessing.

Anything above that goes on to ABN’s books and they are most definitely open for business.

“What’s more, we’re now dealing with ABN Amro at headquarters level over in Holland rather than through any UK operations.

That’s a compliment to how well we are doing.”

It seems clear that the Dutch bankers have a sensible strategy at play. While Keys Commercial Finance grows steadily, the deals are being done in Keys’ name. But, once the Belfast-based operation starts to hit increasingly higher notes, is it possible that ABN Amro will come in with an offer to have their own name over the door?

“It’s always a possibility,” admits Judith Totten. “But it’s one for the future. What we’re concentrating on is expanding our product set and increasing our customer base within the Northern Ireland business community.

“We’re confident that we can grow the Keys brand substantially in the next 12 months and beyond and we’re confident that we’ll see corporate level funding being a key part of that growth.

So we are here to stay!”

That growth also brings a new discipline with it. “We’re looking closely now at our key internal structures,” she adds.

“We don’t want to revert to being the rigid bankers that a lot of us used to be. We like to be flexible and informal where we can. But there is a balance to be struck between flexibility and professionalism.

The team and clients alike take comfort from discipline.

We all need boundaries.

“But, whatever the structures, we have a truly excellent team and a team which is entirely responsible for the success of this business.”

So, does nything keep her awake at night?

“Of course. We’ve had six ‘collect outs’ (where Keys has to extract its funding from businesses....often in a hurry) and one fraud case in our relatively short lifespan.

But that’s not bad for this industry and during a time of

challenge in the economy,” she says. “Things like that can introduce me to night time TV... which really isn’t great.

“But, with the team I have around me and their professionalism , I really don’t have too much that bothers me.

“The team at Keys is a happy one... if we weren’t, the business quite simply wouldn’t work. We enjoy what we do and that is evident to any visitors to our offices at Boucher. The kettle is always on and everyone is welcome.

“I’ve always said that, on the face of it, this isn’t a complex business. It’s really not that hard to do the right thing... we borrow some money, we lend some money, we fund the growth aspirations of our clients. Yes, we wrap great service and support around that, but it’s hardly quantum physics, is it?”

Contact Judith Totten at Keys Commerclal Finance on 028 90 660791 or via judith@keysfinance.co.uk

Eye on Food

Seafood Specialist Finds Dublin His Oyster Sam Butler talked to Bob McCoubrey about his restaurant business and commitment to increase awareness of the quality of local seafood.

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ob McCoubrey is a successful entrepreneur who became so frustrated about the costs of doing business in Northern Ireland that he chose Dublin as the third location for a Mourne Seafood Bar. And it’s turned out to be winning move. The restaurant there is now a popular choice with affluent diners and has also won critical acclaim for the original and tasty seafood dishes developed by McCoubrey’s business partner chef Andy Rae. McCoubrey, a marine biologist by profession, considered locations in Belfast but found that lower rates and VAT charges made the choice of Dublin a “no brainer”. “Our Dublin restaurant is at Charlotte Quay, one of the city’s upscale areas, and is much cheaper to run because rates are significantly lower than in Belfast.

“The Dublin restaurant is almost twice the size of Home, which we opened in Wellington Place in 2012, yet the rates in the southern capital are 44 per cent of what we pay in Belfast.

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“In addition, VAT there for restaurants and other hospitality businesses is just nine per cent against 20 per cent in Northern Ireland. Both make a huge difference. Doing business in Dublin benefits our bottom line substantially and gives us greater scope for further investment.

“Low VAT in the Republic has created 6,500 new jobs and saved upwards of 30,000 in hospitality.

Cutting VAT here would provide a substantial boost in jobs in the sector. The real difference is that they really are serious about the growth of tourism and hospitality there,” he adds.

McCoubrey would like to create more jobs here... but only if the figures stack up. The three award winning restaurants here together with the city’s first cookery school and a seafood processing operation at Kilkeel together employ 150 people, 25 of them graduates.

Kilkeel has 20 on the payroll processing seafood for all the restaurants from local trawlers and is a fast developing export business “We’re currently looking at innovative ways to add value to seafood in Kilkeel, creating original products for export. We’ve some superb seafood in Northern Ireland, much of which has been shipped abroad for years, and it makes sense to harness it for the local economy,” he says.

His business journey began growing oysters and mussels on Carlingford Lough more than a decade ago. He sold the shellfish to a few outlets in Belfast and also for diners in Paris. When he realised the huge mark up on the oysters in Paris he decided to turn the ground floor of his home in Dundrum into a seafood restaurant using his own oysters, a business he subsequently sold, as well as shellfish and other seafood.

Focusing on seafood when most

diners associated a good meal out with steak, he admits, was risky. It proved to be an immensely successful venture, and Dundrum, opened in 2005, remains among the most popular restaurants here.

Today, he’s selling over 2,000 oysters through his restaurants.

“Success in business is often about timing. We benefited from the growth in travel to European centres such as France, Spain and Portugal from cheap flights.

Holidaymakers enjoyed freshly cooked and different seafood dishes in these countries and came back home ready to experience the best that Northern Ireland could offer. This trend was also enhanced by reports promoting fish as a healthy option. We are harnessing both by creating up original dishes using from fish and other seafood.”

The Dundrum restaurant was followed by the opening of the first Mourne Seafood Bar at Bank Street in Belfast in 2006 and then Home in Wellington Place in 2012, originally a popup experiment that’s now permanent and has twice won prestigious

Bib Gourmand awards for the quality and originality of its food.

What he also set out to do was to increase awareness of seafood and especially how best to cook tasty dishes using freshly sourced fish.

“We found that many diners had very limited knowledge of the huge range of fish and seafood that is readily available and few people knew how to prepare meals using these products. Girls in particular were reluctant to consider fish because they had no real experience of fresh fish at home and generally weren’t keen on handling seafood.”

This recognition led to the decision to set up a cookery school above the restaurant in Bank Street, another successful initiative, and to offer courses on cooking with fish. “We’ve worked with local schools on courses for students. Much of our business comes from local organisations and companies, both large and small, especially for team building exercises.

They all enjoy the opportunity..... with a glass or two of wine.”

Giving someone work experience can be rewarding for you too Youth Employment Scheme

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nidirect.gov.uk/skills 0300 200 7876 *

*Local network rates apply

Eye on Agri Food

Sustaining The AgriFood Sector

By Harry Parkinson, Managing Director of Close Brothers Commercial Finance

In Northern Ireland, we have a proud heritage of food and farming. We thrive upon the provenance, quality and reputation of the food and drink that we produce.

A

s such, the agri-food sector is a significant and important part of our economy. The food and drink manufacturing and processing sector accounts for an estimated 21% of Northern Ireland’s total manufacturing sector and is worth over £552 million to the local economy*.

Despite the economic challenges of recent years, the industry has continued to grow year-on-year and now employs over 19,000 people across the country*.

The sector contributes £1bn per annum of value added** and has demonstrated a strong track record of export growth.

70%** of all sales from the food and drinks processing industry are outside Northern Ireland.

Furthermore, through its purchases of goods and services, the sector has a wider supply chain role, making significant contributions to the local transport, packaging and engineering industries.

GROWTH PROSPECTS Global prospects for food production have changed positively over the past three or four years and the agri-food sector has the potential to respond to the additional demand.

Many of our biggest and most successful businesses are already driving growth through exports. Also, in addition to larger food processors, Northern Ireland has experienced a surge

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Pictured is the Close Brothers Commercial Finance Team (Ireland) (l-r): Robert Keane, Tony Neill, Gavin Smith, Cecil Doherty, Mike Twomey, Trevor Collier, Ronan Kelly, Jennifer Meagher, Paul Stephens, Emma Blair, Helen Wall, Harry Parkinson, Jane McDaid, Adrian Madden, Frank Byrne, Ger Reddy, Chris Guilfoyle, Patrick Barry, Gary Coburn, Cathal Ryan.

of smaller, niche and artisan food enterprises in the last few years, many of whom have already won awards both on a local and international level.

In fact, Northern Ireland’s food sector achieved a recordbreaking medal haul at the recent Blas na h’Eireann, the Irish Food and Drink awards.

Overall, NI firms achieved 34 awards in what is considered to be one of the most prestigious events for the food industry on the island of Ireland.

With an increasing number of local farm businesses and food companies achieving recognition both at home and further afield, we are experiencing an increasing demand for our products.

It’s becoming clear that many Northern Ireland businesses either have, or can develop the outstanding food and drink that consumers value and are prepared to purchase at a premium.

Consumer culture is changing and there is a growing demand from consumers for food and drink that they can count on to offer the very quality, taste and flavour which provides an immense opportunity for our local agri-food industry.

export its beers to the Czech Republic, one of the world’s most famous beer drinking countries.

Meanwhile celebrated local chef Simon Dougan of Yellow Door Deli in Portadown scooped the Deli and Farmshop Signature Dish of 2014 with his Strangford Lough Prawns, Leeks and Comber Potato soup at the recent final of the UK Great Taste Awards.

Shankill Road based Ewing’s Seafoods, has been listed among the Top 50 Foods in the UK, Ireland and other parts of Europe by the UK Guild of Fine Food.

We also have local firms like Hannan Meats of Moira who supply to Fortnum and Mason, one of the world’s finest food shops.

It is important that we take notice of these local success stories and the associated increase in consumer demand.

Furthermore, we must ensure that the agri-food sector is ready and well equipped to seize the opportunities that this will bring.

The ability of farm businesses and food producers and manufacturers to access suitable finance to fund their plans for growth will ultimately determine whether they are successful in meeting this challenge.

LOCAL SUCCESS STORIES This is evident from the amount of positive publicity the local food and drink sector has generated recently. Earlier this month, Lisburn-based Hilden Brewery secured a five-figure deal to

HOW WE ARE HELPING That is why we are actively working with farm businesses and food companies of all shapes and sizes, both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to ensure that they have access to

the funding that they need to for their business to thrive and make the most of opportunities as and when they arise.

Our team of finance specialists has considerable experience of working with businesses across the food, drink and farming sectors.

Our in-depth industry knowledge allows us to offer tailored invoice and asset finance packages and our flat management structure means we can offer quick and local decisions that enable these firms to get on with business.

At Close Brothers Commercial Finance, we firmly believe that with the right financial backing, there is no limit to the potential of our food and drink sector. Northern Ireland has some of the best produce in the world and we want to help local firms capitalise on it.

Sources * Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland, 2013 ** Northern Ireland AgriFood Strategy Board

For more information on Close Brothers Commercial Finance and how we could help your business, please visit www.closecommercialfinance.ie or call our local sales team on 028 9517 0406

Eye on Law

Eight Auto Enrolment Pointers For Employers

By Rosemary Lundy, Partner, Corporate and Commercial, Arthur Cox.

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ew laws that came into force in October 2012 require employers to automatically enrol “eligible jobholders” into a pension scheme. For the first time, all employers will have to make contributions for their staff into a scheme unless they opt-out. These requirements are known as auto enrolment and are discussed in detail below. Employers should ensure that they understand their obligations regarding auto enrolment so that they avoid potential penalties from the Pensions Regulator. The pointers below may help give employers an idea of how to prepare for auto enrolment.

1. Employers should identify the date when they must start auto enrolment. The largest employers started enrolling from 1 October 2012, with smaller and new businesses continuing to be phased in over the next four years.

2. Employers should identify a suitable autoenrolment pension scheme that must meet certain minimum requirements. Employers may already have a scheme which qualifies as an auto enrolment pension scheme.

3. Employers should assess their workforce - not all employees are covered by the auto enrolment duties and there are different requirements for different types of employees. Generally though, to be eligible for auto enrolment, an eligible

jobholder must be at least 22, not have reached state pension age and be paid earnings that exceed the earnings trigger of £10,000 (in 2014/15). Employers must assess their workforce on their staging date but, practically, it will often not be possible to do this; and get everything in place on the one date. We would therefore advise that an initial assessment be made prior to the employer’s staging date with any subsequent changes monitored.

4. Employers will need to put in place realistic budgets – auto enrolment is likely to have an impact on employment costs. Employers are required to pay contributions into their scheme for every employee who has been automatically enrolled and who has not subsequently opted-out of membership. Employers will therefore need to take this into consideration when setting company budgets.

5. There will be an optional waiting period of up to three months (known as “Postponement”) before an employee needs to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Workers can, however, opt-in during the waiting period.

Someone who has opted-out can apply to re-enrol, but only once in a 12-month period. Employers cannot encourage jobholders to opt-out of auto enrolment nor can they encourage candidates to do so during the recruitment process – penalties will apply.

7. Employers will need to start to communicate with employees - many of their employees who are not already in a pension scheme are likely to have little or no interest in it and will not fully understand the implications of auto enrolment. Some may take a long time to digest any information that employers provide to them.

8. Employers should consider how they will actually implement the auto enrolment process - not only will employers have to have a procedure in place for auto enrolling employees, employers will also need processes to deal with any optouts, new employees or requests for enrolment from employees who are not required to be enrolled automatically.

6. Individuals can opt-out of scheme membership, within one month of becoming a scheme member or receiving enrolment information. If they do so, all contributions must be refunded.

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ON-SITE SHREDDING IS FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.

OUT OF SITE SHREDDING IS FOR THEIR EYES TOO!

Eye on News

NAVIGATING TO BUSINESS SUCCESS The Northern Ireland Branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development held a successful Seminar on the theme of Leadership recently in Parliament Buildings, Stormont Estate.

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utlining their thoughts on effective Leadership were William Montgomery, former Navigating Officer of HMS Ark Royal and Chief Executive of ‘Ask Ten’ a leadership consultancy which works with major organisations including the British Cabinet Office; and Frank Douglas, Chief Executive and Founder of Caerus, an international company which works with organisations on leadership and transformational HR Programmes.

The event was organised by CIPD NI in partnership with Grafton Recruitment and attracted senior executives from across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Speaking after the seminar Brian Harvey, CEO of Grafton Recruitment commented, “Grafton are proud to work in Partnership with CIPD on the Leadership seminar. With two of the best inspirational leaders in the UK the event was an inspirational guide for leaders working in challenging business circumstances

Pictured left to right: Frank Douglas, CEO of Caerus; William Montgomery, CEO of AskTen; Brian Harvey, CEO of Grafton Recruitment and Peter Aiken of CIPD Northern Ireland.

showing that they can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary by applying the principles.”

Seminar organiser Peter Aiken, of CIPD NI said, “The CIPD is the professional body for HR and People development and with 130k members throughout the UK and Ireland is committed to championing better work and working lives.

This Leadership event aimed to challenge senior executives to be

greater leaders learning from the first hand experiences of William Montgomery and Frank Douglas.”

Delegates were given practical tips for the future and gained insights into how leadership issues were tackled by the speakers throughout their careers to date.

More information on the work of the CIPD and the benefits of membership is available from the CIPD website at www.cipd.co.uk;

Diamond Systems Shines Bright On The Fire and Security Industry Standing strong as industry leaders in the Northern Ireland fire and security market for over 25 years, local company Diamond Systems show no signs of slowing down, with exciting times ahead as they look into the new year.

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wards, apprenticeships, innovation and expansion have made 2014 busier and more successful than ever for Belfastbased company, Diamond Systems.

Backed by a long-standing history of quality performance, the family run business, founded in 1987, has upheld their dedication to customer care and high quality service amidst substantial growth.

Managing Director, Steve Snoddon who is now in his 20th year at Diamond, attributes their continued success to a genuine focus on customer needs, rather than the common

30

“one size fits all” approach of many large fire and security companies.

“Being a local, family-run business, we offer a personal level of service that is unsurpassed in the industry creating a level of trust, familiarity and understanding with our customers.”

Throughout 2014, Diamond has added a variety of new commercial and residential projects to their evergrowing portfolio of case studies including big name clients such as Belfast Harbour Commissioners as well as Queen’s University.

Steve continues, “Our diverse customer range provides our engineers

with access to a variety of system sizes and types, and alongside this world-class training from our main Partners Siemens, Axis and UTC.” The company was recently shortlisted as one of the final seven candidates for SME of the Year in the 2014 Business Eye Awards for demonstrating significant business growth over the past year.

Angela Bennett, Financial Director at Diamond Systems, comments, “The company continues to go from strength

to strength thanks to the commitment of our staff to consistently delivering premium level service. We continually invest in training and resources to ensure we keep ahead of the game and deliver what our customers need.”

As 2014 draws to a close it’s clear that Diamond have outshone their competitors throughout the year, but with an ever-growing staff, new partnerships, and some very exciting plans, 2015 is looking very promising for this busy local business.

Eye on Communications

Unlocking the Power of Knowledge with Wi-Fi Matt McCloskey, sales director, eircom

Wi-Fi technology is breaking new ground. No longer a passive service, this is fast-emerging a dynamic, interactive communication and analytics tool. Here, Matt McCloskey of eircom talks us through some thought-provoking examples of how Wi-Fi is creating a competitive advantage for many businesses in today’s knowledge economy.

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i-Fi is more than mobility and access. It’s about intelligence. Over the last five years we have witnessed a step-change as to how this service is deployed and utilised. It’s time to look at Wi-Fi as a new channel to detect, connect with, engage with and interpret customer behaviour.

Wi-Fi infrastructure can be leveraged to detect customer mobiles as they walk into the premises and businesses can push notifications to the user to promote their services. Using customised portals and social media checkins, businesses can interact in a more highly personalised, intimate way, reward repeat visits and build brand loyalty. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Bringing Wisdom from the Crowd With location-based analytics, it is now possible to present realtime product offers, navigation

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and maps, and recommendations to the visitor based on their behaviour. What’s more, insights generated through Wi-Fi location services can enhance the overall effectiveness of a venue. For example, management can maximise the use of floorspace and make critical decisions about the display of goods by mapping their Wi-Fi traffic.

Intu, one the UK’s biggest retail property groups, boasts over 400 million customer visits and 30 million unique customers to its 20 shopping centres every year. By installing new Wi-Fi access points and location-based analytics, the company grew their customer database to 1 million unique registrations with over 50% opt-in rate for store promotions.

The ability to also monitor footfall and measure popularity of locations ensured the facility was more aligned to buyer needs – and this reflected positively in customer satisfaction surveys.

Delivering Benefits Beyond the Retail Sector The benefits of this approach are not the preserve of retail.

For organisations across all sectors – from hospitality and transportation, to healthcare and education – Wi-Fi can deliver better informed business decisions and improve the overall experience for end users.

At the University of New South Wales facilities planners have been using Wi-Fi to map paths that students take across across campus, and where they congregate. Data of this type can inform locations for eateries, classrooms and video surveillance cameras.

Copenhagen Airport has improved efficiency and passenger experience using

Wi-Fi. Interior maps and information updates are relayed to passengers, so helping their journey through the airport.

Predictive modelling based on Wi-Fi analytics is used to measure the passenger flow and waiting times, allowing the airport to allocate staff and optimise every inch of the terminal.

And in the sports arena, Premier League Club Liverpool deployed Wi-Fi last year with the ultimate aim of providing fans with in-match stats, food and drink offers, access to online retail and in-play betting.

Around the globe, healthcare systems are increasingly under pressure to provide a higher level of patient experience. In the US, institutions use Wi-Fi to capture and analyse visitor movement and patterns. Customised portals presented on the visitor’s device can also highlight maps and possible areas of interest such as cafés, gift shops and ATMs.

Is your Business Ready to Explore?

Wi-Fi access is becoming regarded as an essential utility, in the same way that we view our water and electricity. At eircom, we have been delivering enterprise Wi-Fi to local businesses for many years, offering them improved workforce mobility and helping them to generate additional revenue. In this evergrowing knowledge economy, we are ready to work with companies who are prepared to explore the intellectual value that Wi-Fi can deliver and how this can better serve their business goals.

Matt McCloskey is Sales Director with eircom business solutions in Northern Ireland. Want to know more about what Wi-Fi can do? Contact Matt on uk.linkedin. com/in/mattmccloskey or contact eircom at: Forsyth House, Cromac Square, Belfast, BT2 8LA. Tel: 0800 039 2000.

Web: www.eircom.co.uk

Eye on People Solutions

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.

The BDO People Solutions Team “Growing Our Services and Our Team”

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he ongoing success of the BDO People Solutions Team over the past number of years, coupled with the needs of the NI marketplace for innovative and quality Organisational Development and Human Resource solutions, has led to the appointment of two new team members to the team at BDO. Together, the team brings an impressive range of Organisational Development and Human Resource experience that combines industry practice with consultancy expertise covering the private, public and charity sector.

The core belief of the team is simple: ‘business is about people’ and the services are designed to allow clients to drive performance, success and growth through their most valuable asset: their people.

Services are delivered through the following key streams: t 0SHBOJTBUJPOBM %FWFMPQNFOU t )3 "EWJTPSZ 4FSWJDF t 'BNJMZ #VTJOFTT

Joanne Best, Senior Manager, Lynn McWatters, Assistant Manager and Cathy Booth, Director.

Organisational Development

HR Advisory Service

Family Business

The performance, development and effectiveness of an organisation can be defined by its capacity to learn and change – the bedrock of this service.

For 15 years the members of the team have worked with clients from across the public, private and charity sectors in the review, development and implementation of programmes of work that support and drive change. From one-off projects to deal with complex and urgent issues, to long term development projects, the team’s breadth of expertise spans the following key areas: Learning and Development, Managed Recruitment Services, Change Management and Strategic Planning, Organisational Reviews and Employment Mediation Service.

This new and exclusive advisory service has been developed on the basis of a defined and deep understanding of the HR needs of small to medium sized business – those businesses who do not have, or need, a dedicated HR function or resource.

Working only with a small number of businesses the team has the capacity to work in complete partnership with clients, fully understanding their HR needs in the context of their business.

Working with a dedicated BDO advisor from day one this service is delivered through telephone, e-mail and face to face support. Understanding your needs and your business, our advisors will work with the business to develop the partnership.

We understand the unique challenges faced by family businesses and, by working closely with them, have helped to address and solve the competing conflicts that often arise between family and business.

There is no such thing as a typical family business for us. Our clients range from first generation businesses with one shareholder to multi-generational businesses with many shareholders. All family firms are different – and there are no easy answers – which is why we at BDO offer jargon-free advice on the principles, processes and procedures that can help families to recognise and address the many diverse issues and conflicts that can arise within family owned businesses.

Working across sectors, the team are highly reputable and well respected for their expertise and approach to project and advisory service delivery. Listening to what their clients say is an integral part of developing their offering: “Having worked with the BDO People Solutions team on a number of challenging HR projects

over the last 13 years I can highly recommend the team. Their approach to HR support is always based on a true understanding of our business combined with their HR expertise and knowledge.

They are always happy to work with us on finding the right solution for our business needs.”

Assistant Director of HR, Social Enterprise Sector

If you would like further details on any of the above services, or to speak with one of the team, we would be delighted to hear from you.

The team can be contacted on 02890 439009 or via email at cathy.booth@bdo.co.uk

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Eye on Travel

British Airways Celebrates Move Of Flights To Terminal 5 British Airways is a major industry partner of Selective Travel. This month I have asked Brenda Morgan, BA’s Area Manager, to outline the airline’s on-going commitment to the Northern Ireland market and the rationale behind the move of the Belfast flight to Heathrow Terminal 5.

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t British Airways, we are delighted to offer passengers from Northern Ireland with up to six flights a day from Belfast City Airport to London Heathrow. The route has become an essential airlink for both business and leisure customers, offering excellent connectivity to our global network of almost 130 destinations worldwide from London Heathrow.

British Airways understands the extensive travel requirements of our business passengers and with over 90 years of expertise in serving customers and catering for their needs, we acknowledge the importance of providing the most premium experience for both our longhaul and shorthaul passengers on the ground as well as in the air.

On 26th October, British Airways

flights from Belfast City Airport to London Heathrow moved to the airline’s flagship Heathrow home, Terminal 5. The previous schedule had been operating into Terminal 1 since the route started in June 2012. The move is expected to cut minimum connection times for Northern Ireland passengers to onward British Airways flights from Terminal 5 by 30 minutes, to just one hour - significantly reducing journey times. This will allow for even smoother connections for our passengers to over 100 cities worldwide served by Terminal 5.

Shorthaul passengers arriving in London for business will also be able to access the city with ease via rail using the Heathrow Express as well as tube and road links in addition to enjoying

the excellent facilities of the award winning terminal.

Voted the world’s ‘Best Airport Terminal’ for the third consecutive year in the World Airport Awards, Terminal 5 offers our point to point as well as longhaul passengers with a vast array of facilities and services to enhance their experience through the airport. Passengers have the chance to indulge in the largest retail offering of any UK airport with 112 stores including luxury brands such as Cartier, Prada, Gucci and Burberry. There is also an array of world-class restaurants available to choose from including Gordon Ramsey and Cavier House & Prunier.

Furthermore, British Airways has invested £60 million in creating a choice of six lounges, known as ‘Galleries’ for eligible customers to relax in, which are capable of hosting up to 2,500 people. This is a 25% increase in capacity in comparison to the current Terminal 1 lounge. These ‘Galleries’ epitomise elegance and luxury with a decadent look and feel created using crystal chandeliers,

Mukesh Sharma, MD of Selective Travel Management, part of the World Travel Centre group.

art installations, mood lighting to reflect the time of day as well as complimentary refreshments.

Eligible passengers can also take advantage of the Elemis Travel Spa situated within Terminal 5 while waiting for their connecting flight.

Provided by the leading skincare expert, the two large spas boast a number of treatment rooms with treatments offered on a complimentary basis to First Class and Club World customers as well as Gold Executive Club members travelling on longhaul flights.

Whether travelling for business or pleasure to London Heathrow or connecting to important longhaul and European destinations, our recent move of flights to Terminal 5 will certainly enhance the travelling experience of our passengers through the airport. We look forward to welcoming you on board!

Mukesh Sharma is Managing Director of World Travel Centre Belfast, one of Ireland’s largest travel companies with offices in Belfast and Dublin. Selective Travel is the corporate travel division. For more information visit www.selective-travel.co.uk

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Continuous Commitment As a client of Caulfield Corporate you will form a relationship with our company and we will be a long term partner for your business. That is why we put a premium on getting to know you and your organisation.

We put your needs first and we will always keep it that way.

Caulfield Corporate 162 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 6AL T: 028 9066 1999 F: 028 9066 3560 caulfieldcorporate.com

Eye on Banking

Let’s Celebrate Success Says Ellvena Graham, Head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland

If you are ever in doubt about the many positive things happening in Northern Ireland’s business community, the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards would be an excellent antidote.

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e presented the Ulster provincial winners and runners-up with their prizes at Riddel Hall this month, and were truly inspired by their achievements. The shortlisted firms ranged from a manufacturer selling innovative agri products across Europe to a local tech provider winning some of the UK’s biggest IT contracts against competition from multi-national companies.

Entries to the awards this year were at record levels, and were particularly strong in categories for women in business, startups and small firms. And it’s not just the numbers entering that gives us cause for optimism – the standard across a range of sectors was exceptionally high too. The benefits of entering really are numerous – ranging from brand exposure through to providing a platform to talk to potential new customers. Staff can be more motivated and it can play a significant part in the success and expansion of a business.

Many businesses have a truly innovative story to tell – this is the chance for them to do just that.

At Ulster Bank, we are strongly committed to encouraging and supporting business emergence

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and growth through the £1billion that we have to lend to businesses in 2014. Just as we’re saying ‘yes’ to people looking to buy their own home, we’re also keen to provide entrepreneurs with the support they need to kickstart their journey. We also have significant expertise across a range of sectors and can offer tailored support for specific industries and individual companies.

In fact, in terms of the lending applications that we are receiving from local companies, there has been a significant increase this year in the quality of applications coming in. This is particularly true

“We know that our local SMEs are hard working – they make up around 99.9% of all businesses in Northern Ireland and employ around 347,000 people. As the backbone of our economy they provide jobs and opportunities in every part of our society.”

for new and emerging businesses.

All of this tells us that local business people are increasingly savvy, ambitious and determined to bring their ideas to fruition.

The knowledge and support of a financial institution can be an important part of their firm’s growth – providing a stable platform while they translate their ideas and plans into concrete business realities. That’s why our start-up proposition includes, among other things, transaction fee-free banking for two years from account opening, and a subscription free business card for the first year.

We know that our local SMEs are hard working – they make up around 99.9% of all businesses in Northern Ireland and employ around 347,000 people. As the backbone of our economy they provide jobs and opportunities in every part of our society. The fortunes of the SME sector impact on many people on a very personal level. We understand that, and it’s why we’ve moved our business banking teams back

into our branches to be closer to our customers and communities – so that what we offer is connected to local knowledge.

At Ulster Bank, we put a high priority on really understanding our customers, the sectors in which they operate, their challenges, and their requirements.

That’s one of the reasons why we are so active in the local business community, working closely with key industry bodies and business influencers. Our partnership with the NI Chamber of Commerce and its Connections programme for instance helps us create strong international links, as well as helping local firms tap into the experiences of other local companies and into the well-established worldwide chamber network.

We are acutely aware that we succeed when our customers succeed, that’s why we are so strongly committed to ensuring they get the individual support they need, and why we are so keen to help them celebrate their achievements.

CALLING NORTHERN IRELAND’S BRIGHTEST MANAGERS Enter the CMI National Management & Leadership Awards

Eye on News

ASG Host Digital Media Seminar Does your business communicate effectively in today’s constantly evolving media marketplace? That was the question posed

by ASG when the Marketing Communications Company hosted a seminar on how digital has changed the media landscape.

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SG, with over 30 years’ experience and expertise in the Northern Ireland communications market, welcomed over 30 clients to the Hastings Stormont Hotel to look at how offline and online platforms are working together in a media landscape that is more complex than ever before.

Leading industry experts from Northern Ireland media

platforms – press, outdoor, radio and TV – demonstrated how they have developed their traditional platforms in line with online, to provide integrated media solutions.

Guest speakers were Kevin Traynor, Belfast Telegraph; Darren Jackson, PML; Simon Mann, Downtown Radio / Cool FM and Trevor Jordon, UTV. Colin Anderson OBE, ASG

Colin Anderson OBE, ASG Chairman and founder; Darren Jackson, PML; Simon Mann, Downtown Radio / Cool FM; Kevin Traynor, Belfast Telegraph; Trevor Jordon, UTV and Seamas McKenna, ASG Deputy CEO.

Chairman and founder said: “Today’s media landscape is more complex than ever before and it’s constantly evolving. ASG continuously keeps abreast of these changes and we wanted

to demonstrate to our clients how we are working closely with media platforms when developing strategies and planning their media mix and communications solutions.”

Eye on News

Hilden Brewery ‘Toasts’ Their Success With YES Hilden Brewery and Ashleigh Hanley YES participant have jointly benefitted from the Department for Employment and Learning’s Youth Employment Scheme (YES).

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ES is a voluntary scheme which aims to give young people between the ages of 18 and 24 help and support in looking for permanent work by offering work experience opportunities.

Highlighting the benefits of the Scheme to employers, Seamus Scullion, Partner (Hilden Brewery) said: “I was persuaded by Lisburn JobCentre to provide an opportunity for a young person under YES. We interviewed

four candidates and were impressed by the competence and enthusiasm of them all. We selected Ashleigh and weren’t disappointed. Ashleigh fitted into our small team here very quickly and within a short time she was making a real contribution to our business.

She continued to work in her own time towards further qualifications in bookkeeping and financial management.

By the end of her period on YES, we had no hesitation in offering her

Pictured at Hilden Brewery are (L-R) YES participant and now Hilden employee, Ashleigh Hanley, Seamus Scullion, Partner, Hilden Brewery and Suzie Cruikshanks, Lisburn Jobs & Benefits Office

a permanent employment. She is now a key member of our team.”

Ashleigh Hanley was previously unemployed and signed up to YES identifying a vacancy with Hilden Brewery to gain the experience that employers value so highly.

Ashleigh said: “I have gained many new skills and experience. I am more confident going forward and I would encourage other young people to get involved. This has been a very positive

experience for my employer and me.”

Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry said: “Some young people find it difficult to find a job because they don’t have experience.

The emphasis is on providing them with an opportunity to sample the world of work and develop employability skills for use at future job interviews.”

To get involved with YES call 0300 200 7822 or visit www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/yes.

Eye on News

UTV LAUNCHES AUTUMN WINTER 2014 SCHEDULE Emmerdale stars Lucy Pargeter and Natalie Robb were in Belfast today (Wednesday 1 October) to celebrate the launch of UTV’s Autumn / Winter Schedule for 2014.

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ocal presenters including Julian Simmons, Sarah Clarke, Joe Mahon, Marc Mallet, Frank Mitchell, Rose Neil and Sarah Travers were joined by the soap stars better known as Emmerdale characters Chas Dingle and Moira Barton. Alison Comyn, news anchor for UTV Ireland, was also on hand to complete the UTV line up.

Michael Wilson, Managing Director, UTV said:

“UTV Live at 6 is by far the most watched news in Northern Ireland outperforming our rivals on a daily basis and regularly delivering audiences in excess of 200,000. That’s something we are immensely proud off, to know the public trust us to bring them the stories that matter.

“X Factor is still the most watched programme in Northern Ireland every weekend with double the audience

Pictured at the launch of UTV1s Autumn / Winter Schedule in Belfast UTV’s Julian Simmons, UTV Media Group Chief Executive John McCann, Rose Neill, Marc Mallett, Sarah Travers, Managing Director UTV Michael Wilson and Joe Mahon. UTV’s programme line up for the upcoming season includes current affairs, new drama, returning audience favourites as well as new locally commissioned programmes.

of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC NI on Friday night and on Saturday night more than half the local audience were watching X Factor on UTV again, well ahead of Strictly and bucking the national trend.

“Building on the record success of Lesser Spotted Ulster, now into its 15th series, we will be producing a new series with Joe Mahon entitled Lesser Spotted Journeys which will be filmed

throughout Ireland and broadcast on both UTV and UTV Ireland.”

2015 will also see a new six part, fly on the wall documentary series about the £3million investment in the renovation of Mount Stewart on the shore of Strangford Lough.

Presented by Brian Black the new series will reveal the secrets of one of the most loved public attractions in Northern Ireland.

Spring into Action for

Action Cancer Does your wardrobe or home need a spring clean?

Reduce clutter and create space, donate to Action Cancer!

Every year your donations allow Action Cancer to carry out over 2000 therapeutic support services to people affected by cancer in Northern Ireland. Help us to continue this by donating your preloved clothes, shoes and furniture into one of our stores across Northern Ireland.

Turn your preloved into reloved!

Don’t forget to gift aid your donation!

FIND YOUR LOCAL ACTION CANCER STORE: ANDERSONSTOWN: 131a & 133c Andersonstown Rd, Belfast, BT11 9B

CARRICKFERGUS: 9 Market Place, Carrickfergus, BT38 7AW

CREGAGH ROAD: 12 Cregagh Road, Belfast, BT6 9EQ

L’DERRY/DERRY: 21 Little James Street, Lderry/Derry, BT48 7BG

ORMEAU ROAD: 455 Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 3GQ

BALLYCLARE : 4 The Square, Ballyclare, BT39 9BB

COLERAINE: 20a Railway Road, Coleraine, BT52 1PE

ENNISKILLEN : 5 Cross Street, Enniskillen, BT47 7DX

LURGAN: 34b Market Street, Lurgan, BT66 6AH

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: 168 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 6LA

BANGOR: 6/8 Market Street, Bangor, BT20 4SP

COOKSTOWN: 23 James Stree, Cookstown, BT80 8AA

LISBURN: 51 Market Square, Lisburn, BT28 1AG

NEWRY: 4 Hill Street, Newry, BT34 2BW

FOR LARGER COLLECTIONS: E: retail@actioncancer.org P: 028 9080 3344

Tax Campaign Leader Takes Top Business Award

Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer Flybe (second left) presents Business Personality of the Year to Eamonn Donaghy, KPMG (centre).

Also pictured is Brenda Buckley, Commercial Director Business Eye (second right) with Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

With expectations high that David Cameron will soon announce the devolution of corporation tax powers to the Northern Ireland Executive, the leader of the business campaign for lower corporation tax here has been honoured at a major awards ceremony.

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amonn Donaghy, a partner at KPMG in Belfast, took the Business Personality of the Year title at the 2014 UTV Business Eye Awards with Flybe.

The awards, now in their eighth year, were presented at a gala event held at the Culloden Estate &

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Spa on Thursday 23rd October.

Decora Blind Systems, a fast-growing Lisburn-based company employing 500 people and manufacturing blinds for sale all over the UK, took the coveted Company of the Year title.

Other key winners on the night included SME of the Year The Rug

House, a company selling rugs to customers in 30 countries worldwide from a 60,000 sq.ft. Warehouse in Newry, Co. Down. A second Newry company, Norbrook Laboratories, took the International Award for its continued achievement in export markets.

It was a poignant achievement for one of Northern Ireland’s leading companies in the year that it lost its Chairman and Chief Executive, Edward Haughey, in a tragic helicopter accident.

Joseph Doherty, the driving force behind a third Newry company, ReGen Waste, was the winner of the hotlycontested Young Business Personality of the Year category, while innovative Belfast IT company Novosco took the Employer of the Year Award.

Flybe’s General Manager for Market

Development, Andrea Hayes, a member of the judging panel, commented that the entries for the 2014 awards were of a higher quality than ever before.

“We were delighted with the allround quality of the entries, and the Awards once again produced some excellent winners, both individuals and organisations.”

Michael Wilson, Managing Director of UTV Television, said: “This year’s awards have once again showcased the strengths and successes of the business sector in Northern Ireland. Businesses here have continued to look for opportunities of expansion and investment and UTV is delighted to be part of recognising and celebrating these top achievers and organisations in such a positive way.”

Full List of Winners – UTV Business Eye Awards with flybe Digital/Online Company of the Year

SME of the Year

Business Education Award

International Award

Sponsored by Business Eye

Sponsored by First Trust Bank

Sponsored by DesignCo

Sponsored by InvestNI

TotalMobile

The Rug House

Ulster Bank

Norbrook Laboratories

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Danske Bank & TreatTicket

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kettyle Irish Foods & Squeeze Juice Cafe

Research & Development Project

Deal of the Year

Business Consultancy of the Year

Agri Food Innovation Award

Path XL

Sponsored by A&L Goodbody

Sponsored by 3fivetwo Group

Sponsored by Tesco

ASM

Wilson’s Country

Young Business Personality

Employer of the Year

Sponsored by Electric Ireland

Sponsored by UTV

Joseph Doherty, Re-Gen Waste

Novosco

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Philip Polly, Cosy Roof

Green Company of the Year

Fleet Manufacturer of the Year

Linergy

Sponsored by Fleet Financial Nissan HIGHLY COMMENDED: Vauxhall

Sponsored by Flybe

Waste Reduction Project of the Year

MJM Marine (Mivan)

Sponsored by Rethink Waste WRAP DOE

Business Personality of the Year

CHNI FareShare

Sponsored by Flybe

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tayto Group

Eamonn Donaghy, KPMG Belfast

Tourism/Hospitality Project

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Judith Totten, Keys Finance

Sponsored by Visit Belfast NITB (Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza)

Company of the Year

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Circuit of Ireland Rally

Decora Blind Systems

Sponsored by Caulfield Corporate

Retailer of the Year

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by Business Eye

Alan Clarke

Lidl Northern Ireland

Retake That perform!

Richard Buckley, Business Eye and Andrea Hayes, Flybe present Alan Clarke with the Lifetime of Achievement Award.

Russell Dickson, from Decora Blinds Ltd collects the coveted Company of the Year Award on behalf of the firm from Andrew Stevenson of category sponsors Caulfield Corporate. Also pictured are Paul Simmons, Flybe (left), Brenda Buckley, Business Eye and Natalie McSorley, Flybe.

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Gerry Lennon of category sponsors Visit Belfast presents Judith Rowan and Vicky Maguire from Circuit of Ireland Rally with a Highly Commended Award in the Tourism & Hospitality Project of The Year category.

UTV’s Marc Mallett.

Jill Smyth and Nuala Hayden receive the Business Education Award on behalf of Ulster Bank from sponsor Richard McCullough of DesignCo.

Brenda Buckley, Business Eye presents a Highly Commended Award in the Digital/Online Company of the Year category to Mary McCall and Oonagh Blair from Treat Ticket. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Business Personality of the Year winner Eamonn Donaghy pictured with Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer, Flybe, Brenda Buckley, Commercial Director, Business Eye and Richard Huntingford, Chairman, UTV.

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Andrea Hayes, Flybe.

Paul Gibson (left) and Glen Cinnamon (right) from Lidl NI, receive the Retailer of the Year Award for the second year running from Ciara Donnelly of category sponsors, Business Eye.

Philip Miley of category sponsors Fleet Financial presents a Highly Commended Award in the Fleet Manufacturer of the Year Category to Mark Swaker and Nicola Weir from Vauxhall. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Tim Turner from Danske Bank receives a Highly Commended Award in the Digital/Online Company of the Year category from Brenda Buckley, Business Eye. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

NITB guests.

Ellen Mackessy and Ronnie Geddis from TotalMobile receive the Digital/Online Company of the Year Award from Brenda Buckley (left) of category sponsor Business Eye.

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Ian Garner of sponsor WRAP (second left), presents a Highly Commended Award in the Waste Reduction of the Year Award category to Nick Cowan of Tayto Group.

Richard Huntingford, Chairman of UTV presents Patrick McAliskey of Novosco with the Employer of the Year Award. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members, Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Joanne McNeill, Claire Dickson, Sheila Davidson and Richard Simpson.

Des Moore of First Trust Bank, sponsors of the SME of the Year category, presents a Highly Commended Award to Jacquelyn Stewart of Squeeze Juice Cafe. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Carmel Mullan, Mark Thompson, Ann McGregor and Michael Wilson.

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Michael Stewart from Nissan receives the Fleet Manufacturer of the Year Award from sponsor Philip Miley, Fleet Financial. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Ciara Donnelly, Siobhan Matthewson, Martin Caldwell, Brenda Buckley and Debby Wilson.

Entertainment from Rick & Ryan.

Mark Regan from 3FiveTwo, sponsors of the Business Consultancy of the Year category presents the award to Caroline Keenan from ASM.

Maurice Kettyle of Kettyle Foods (second right) receives a Highly Commended Award in the SME of the Year category from Des Moore First Trust Bank (sponsor). Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Dr Vicky Kell of Invest NI, sponsors of the International Award, presents the award to Roisin Hughes and Arran Rutledge Norbrook Labpratories. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Rose Neill, presenter, UTV and Richard Huntingford, Chairman of UTV with Brenda Buckley, Commercial Director, Business Eye.

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Philip Polly of Cosy Roof receives a Highly Commended Award in the Young Business Personality of the Year category from Paul Stapleton of Electric Ireland (sponsor).

Ciara Donnelly, Heather Mills, and Judith Totten.

Joseph Doherty of Re-Gen Waste receives the highly contested Young Business Personality of the Year Award from Paul Stapleton of Electric Ireland (sponsor).

Gerry Lennon of category sponsors Visit Belfast (centre), presents the Tourism/Hospitality of the Year Award to Naomi Waite and Susie McCullough of NITB for the Giro d’Italia.

Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

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Oonagh Magee, UTV and Philip Polly, winner of a Highly Commended Award in the Young Business Personality of the Year category, sponsored by Electric Ireland.

Ciara Donnelly, Lewis McCallum, Brenda Buckley, Judith Totten and Heather Mills.

Paul Vallely, from The Rug House, receives the SME of the Year Award from category sponsor Des Moore, First Trust Bank. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

Sandra Corkin, Sharon Fleming, Laura Hewitt, Linda Henderson and Julieanne Vaughan.

Hampton Conservatories team.

Alan Marks, Robert Pierce, Andrew Stevenson and James Allen.

Mark Thompson from A&L Goodbody presents the Deal of The Year Award to Naoimh & Conleth McConville from MJM Marine.

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Fergal Fitzgerald, Nuala Hayden, Jackie Elliott, Jill Smyth, Kelly McCartan, Keith Jackson.

Brenda Buckley presents the Agri Food Innovation Award to Joanne Weir and Lewis Cunningham of Wilson’s Country.

Lidl Northern Ireland, winners of Retailer of the Year.

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Judith Totten (centre) receives a Highly Commended Award in the Business Personality of the Year category from Paul Simmons of Flybe (left). Also pictured is Brenda Buckley, Business Eye (right).

Des Speed and David McCleary from Path XL receive the Research and Development Award from Danny Kennedy, Minister for Regional Development.

Rebecca Reid, Ellen Mackessy and Jacquie Anderson.

Aaron Bell, Jennifer Bell, Debbie Hardwicke and Rosemary Chapman.

Andrea Hayes, Flybe presents the Green Company of the Year Award to Richard Moore, Linergy. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

David Caulfield, Anne McLaughlin, Clara Maybin and Kieran McCracken.

Declan McKillop from CHNI FareShare receives the Waste Reduction Project of the Year Award on behalf of the Organisation from Ian Garner of category sponsors WRAP. Also pictured are Flybe cabin crew members Ken Boyd and Natalie McSorley.

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Staff from Decora Blinds.

BLIND SYSTEMS

C O M PA N Y O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 1 4 W W W. D E C O R A . C O . U K

LINERGY...

GREEN AWARD WINNER IS A TRUE INNOVATOR

Any new venture which is established by a collaboration between competing companies has to be fairly unique. But that’s not the only factor that sets Dungannonbased energy specialists Linergy apart.

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he company, in a nutshell, is a renewable energy operation which developed renewable fuels from organic waste.

It’s a description, though, that doesn’t tell much of the story.

The winner of the Green Company of the Year Award at this year’s UTV Business Eye Awards, Linergy was established back in 2005 at Dungannon’s Granville Industrial Estate, an area which might be described as the beating heart of Northern Ireland’s meat industry.

Within striking distance of Linergy’s small offices are big meat plans run by Linden Foods and Dunbia.

Put together, Linden, Dunbia and Fane Valley employ almost 3,000 staff locally and all three are major players in the agri food sector here.

They send meat products to all of the big UK retail multiples as well as to some key European customers.

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And it was Linden, its parent company Fane Valley, and Dunbia who started to talk several years ago about the problem of dealing with the organic waste produced by meat processing in environmentally responsible and sustainable ways.

“The industry is left with a lot of organic waste. That’s a fact of food processing life,” says Linergy’s Managing Director, Richard Moore. “But not only that. The meat companies are faced with waste disposal costs, they have to think about high energy prices and they operate in a really strict legislative environment.”

Those factors are all key to what Linergy sets out to do. “Each of the companies in the partnership processes and markets different beef, lamb, pork and diary products, but they all face the common challenge of animal by-products and food processing waste,” explains Moore.

The firm’s state of the art rendering facility at Granville takes the animal by-products as well as fallen animals (Linergy provides a collection service for fallen animals to the farming community in Northern Ireland) and effectively turns them into biomass fuels, tallow oil and meat and bone meal.

“It’s not what most people would consider to be a very attractive industry.” Richard Moore admits, “But it’s a very essential one.

Take the case of fallen animals.

What else is a farmer supposed to do with a dead animal? We’re providing an essential service.

“But, more crucially, we’re taking waste from industry which could otherwise cause environmental problems and we’re turning it into something useful and sustainable.

Operations don’t come much more environmentally friendly than that.”

That helps to explain why the judges at the UTV Business Eye Awards were quick to choose Linergy as Green Company of the Year ahead of shortlisted competitors, all of them much larger companies with impressive environmental credentials.

Linergy’s current rendering plant is the result of a multimillion pound investment, and the company has ambitious plans.

“We’re already producing increasing amounts of biomass fuel from waste, and our target is to see more and more of that biomass fuel (tallow oil, meat & bone meal) being put to good use generating renewable energy and heat.

“Tallow oil has the same calorific value as heavy oil and meat and bone meals is equivalent to wood, so the two fuels are very significant and very versatile.”

In another example of green thinking, the tallow oil produced at the plant is used onsite to raise the steam for the rendering process itself, with the majority of the excess used as a feedstock in the UK biodiesel industry.

“We want to work with more and more end customers with both the tallow oil and meat and bone meal we’re producing at Linergy,” says Richard Moore. “We’ve created a virtuous loop where waste from meat plants and dead farm animals are already being used to wholly fuel the rendering plant and partly fuel Linden’s meat plant.

“We’re leading the way in the bio security field, and we’re confident that we can take what we’ve created forward into new and exciting markets.”

Linergy has already come to the notice of Government. In the summer, Environment Minister Mark Durkan visited the company to sign an innovative Prosperity Agreement.

Under its terms, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (the regulator for the industry) will work to reduce red tape while Linergy (and its backers) agree to invest in environmental measures. And it’s no empty promise. The companies are committed to reducing their carbon emissions by a substantial 25%.

Helping your business succeed It’s at the core of what we do.

Whatever your audit, tax or advisory needs KPMG can help.

For further information please contact Jon D’Arcy 028 9024 3377

kpmg.ie

© 2014 KPMG, a partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. (246)

TAX CHAMPION PREPARES FOR GOOD NEWS “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” - Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Eamonn Donaghy reckons that one surprising aspect of his being chosen as Business Personality of the Year at the 2014 UTV Business Eye Awards is the fact that the terms ‘business personality’ and ‘corporation tax’ are being used in the same sentence.

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Eamonn Donaghy, Head of Tax, KPMG.

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aybe tax is getting close to being sexy at last,” jokes the Head of Tax at KPMG’s Belfast office and the front man behind the Grow NI campaign which has led a determined and dogged fight to land corporation tax devolution powers for Northern Ireland.

Eamonn Donaghy wrote his first article calling for the tax move back in 1997, a full 17 years ago. That’s a long time for any campaign of this nature, but the odds are that it’s about to bear fruit. It is believed, not least by Donaghy himself, that the Prime Minister will make the trip to Belfast between now and the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 3rd December. Around the same time, he’s also likely to deliver some of the promised new fiscal powers to the Scottish Assembly.

“What we believe is that the legislation has been prepared over recent months and that it is pretty much ready to go.

We’re also fairly sure that David Cameron will come here to make the announcement rather than leaving it to George Osborne to include in his autumn statement.”

But if Cameron does say the necessary words in Belfast over the coming weeks, Eamonn Donaghy cautions against too much champagne cork popping.

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“This is a two-hurdle race,” he says. “Securing the devolution of powers gets us over the first fence. Getting it through the Assembly and Executive here is the second.”

Delighted as he was to win the Business Personality of the Year Award in October, Donaghy said that he wasn’t sure whether to accept or not. “My worry was that the devolution of powers wasn’t over the line yet,” he says. “But I’m very confident that it’s nearly there and I’ve always grabbed every opportunity to keep this issue front of mind.

“We’ve had periods in the past where the issue has dropped off the radar and Grown NI has always worked really hard to keep it right up there.

“The business case was made and accepted by everyone – Westminster and our local politicians included – some time ago. We got that far in the Spring of 2013. After that, we had to get into the politics and it all got caught up in the Scottish Referendum debate.

“Once you get an issue like this over to Westminster, you’ve no option but to play by the Westminster rules. And, whatever we like to imagine, Northern Ireland is not that important in the overall scheme of things.

The net result, of course, is that the decision was kicked into touch for a while by David Cameron. Eamonn Donaghy says that it’s largely down to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness that a firm timescale was put on that deferment. “If Robinson and McGuinness hadn’t been strong, we might have had problems getting it back onto the agenda at Westminster,” he says.

Once devolution is granted, the corporation tax debate can move to this side of the Irish Sea. Not surprisingly, Donaghy is quick to counter the view of the various opponents and doubters who’ve already had their voices heard.

“This should not be seen as purely a cut to our block grant,” he says. “It’s effectively a transfer from the public sector to the private sector, where real growth can occur.”

A political debate on these shores may result over what rate corporation tax for Northern Ireland should be set at.

“I’m agnostic about the rate,” says Eamonn Donaghy, who clearly sees this as a political issue.

“There are arguments both ways. A 12.5% rate could help us to create and build a very powerful all-Ireland offering, a low tax Ireland. Going in with a lower rate than the Republic has

obvious advantages, but there is always a danger with setting it too low and ending up having to pay for more than you need.

“What the Assembly and Executive needs to do is to look beyond Corporation Tax. We should try to build and deliver a package of tax measures aimed at boosting the economy and increasing inward investment.”

Eamonn Donaghy always emphasises the fact that the whole campaign has been a team effort, and he’s also quick to pay tribute to all members of Grown NI as well as to his colleagues at KPMG.....a firm of 80 partners and some 2000 staff both north and south of the border.

“It’s been a bit like doing a really long and time-consuming pro bono project in some way,” he says. “But the support I’ve received from KPMG has been very significant and very important. “ Benjamin Franklin’s famous phrase is as true today as it has ever been - “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”

Eamonn Donaghy would just like to see one more locallyadministered tax added to the mix, and the odds are that he will be able to raise a modest glass (of Diet Coke, in his case!) in the not too distant future.

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NOVOSCO CAPS LANDMARK 2014

Pictured during a visit to the company’s premises in the Science Park are Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive of Invest NI, Patrick McAliskey, Founder and Managing Director, Novosco and Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster.

2014 has been something of a landmark year for Belfastheadquartered IT infrastructure company, Novosco. Not only is it marking 20 years in business, it has also passed 100 employees, and won its biggest ever single contract. Add to that the announcement in April of an investment of £4million, supported

by Invest NI. And then there’s the host of awards it has won.

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arlier this year, Novosco was named in the prestigious Sunday Times Best UK Companies to Work for listing – the highest placed Northern Ireland business. It also won an Irish News Workplace & Employment Award, before securing Employer of the Year at the recent UTV Business Eye Awards.

The Deloitte Fast50 awards in November brought more acclaim for Novosco. It was the company’s 15th consecutive year in the Fast50, making it the only business on the island

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to appear in the prestigious listing every year since it was introduced in the year 2000.

Novosco’s success in securing major contracts in the GB market has been a big factor in its continuing growth. It recently won business worth around £2.5m to provide infrastructure and network support services to Metropolitan Housing which has 1,800 IT users across 260 UK locations.

Other significant GB contracts include to provide IT infrastructure for a new £237m building at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, and to build infrastructure for Bradford College’s new £50m headquarters. As a result, GB now accounts for around 30 per cent of Novosco’s business.

Patrick McAliskey, managing director, founded Novosco which now has offices in Dublin and Birmingham in addition to its Belfast HQ - in 1994.

He says that its Northern Ireland clients are benefiting significantly from its increased presence in larger markets.

“From the perspective of our Northern Ireland clients, this is a real positive as it enables us to bring back the additional experience and skills that we develop from working for major UK and Ireland health trusts, councils and businesses for the benefit of organisations we work for at home.

“In 2012, we opened a new office in Birmingham and we moved our Dublin office to new premises to help support our ambitions for growth. This also provides opportunities for our Belfast headquarters, as we need additional back-office support to service our increased workload. Indeed many of the 50 new jobs we announced in April are directly related to our growth in GB,” he points out.

An important part of the company’s success is its established partnerships with the very best hardware and software vendors, including its main technical partners Cisco, Citrix, EMC, VCE, and VMware.

The company was awarded Cisco Datacenter Partner of

the Year and EMC Partner of the Year in 2012. Both awards were based on the volume and calibre of work delivered.

In 2009, Novosco branched out into the area of network and Cloud services. This business area, called CloudStream, allows Novosco to fully host a customer’s IT infrastructure.

As part of this investment, Novosco completed a ‘Local Loop Unbundling’ project of all the telephone exchanges in Belfast to allow customers to benefit from an innovative network service called EFM – Ethernet in the First Mile. The Belfast Trust has approximately 60 sites connected using this technology.

Novosco also reached a strategic agreement with Hibernia Atlantic, the organisation responsible for the deployment of the ‘Project Kelvin’ high speed, diverse network, allowing for a multi-Gigabit fibre service throughout the UK and Ireland. This has significantly enhanced the network footprint of CloudStream which will soon exceed 1,000 locations.

Patrick McAliskey says that in addition to its important alliances with its strategic partners, the world-class skills and expertise of its technical staff are fundamental to its success.

“We put great store in recruiting and retaining the very best people. This includes the most expert, most knowledgeable and most innovative engineers.

Many of them are recognised around the world for their skills. They give us a real competitive advantage and are often what separates us from our main competitors.”

To this end, Novosco was extremely proud to be named UTV Business Eye Employer of the Year.

Richard Buckley addresses the audience.

Carmel Mullan, Mark Thompson, Ann McGregor and Michael Wilson.

Claire Dickson and Margaret Western.

Orla McKibbin, David McNellis and Lesley Delaney.

Isobel Jennings, Gary McDonald and Patrick Beatty.

David Mackey, Brenda Buckley and David Cunliffe.

Danny Kennedy, Andrea Hayes and Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer Flybe.

Joanne McNeill, Claire Dickson, Sheila Davidson and Richard Simpson.

Paul Simmons, Chief Commercial Officer Flybe addresses the audience.

Sheila Davidson, Brenda Buckley and Natalie Maginnis.

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Front Row: Eamonn Donaghy (winner of Business Personality of the Year), Rose Neil (UTV), Russell Dickson, Decora Blinds (winner of Company of the Year), Marc Mallett (UTV) and Andrew Stevenson, Caulfield Corporate. Flybe Cabin crew members Ken Boyd (left) and Natalie McSorley (right). Back Row: Paul Simmons, Flybe, Brenda Buckley, Business Eye and Richard Huntingford, UTV.

Richard Huntingford addresses the audience.

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Conleth McConville, Colin McKernan, Gary Annett and Naoimh NcConville.

Adrienne McGill, Simon Cunningham, Ciara Donnelly and Patrick Beatty.

Diva Dolls perform.

Rose Neill and Richard Huntingford.

A Rebranding Photobooth was provided on the night courtesy of renowned local Branding Agency, Mammoth‌ for winners to rejoice and for wannabes to re-invent themselves! See if you can spot anyone you know:

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Eye on Finance

Bank of Ireland UK: helping to unlock your businesses potential with effective working capital solutions If you are a business looking to grow, then unlocking your assets, increasing your cash flow and managing your working capital effectively can give you a competitive edge and help you to fund that growth.

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ccording to research undertaken by iReach Business survey on behalf of Bank of Ireland UK, 35% of Northern Ireland businesses say that managing and appropriately funding working capital is their single most pressing concern. It’s little surprise, then, that more than 43,000 businesses in the UK and Ireland choose to fund their needs using specialist working capital products, according to the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA).

The most traditional and best known form of working capital funding is an overdraft facility which is suitable for many businesses. But, for a business going through a period of growth, with increasing cash flow requirements, there are limits on unsecured lending which can leave a business in difficulty. Invoice discounting may be a better solution.

Invoice discounting is a product which has proved to be an effective

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and efficient source of finance that enables business to convert trade debts into cash to help meet their day to day financial needs.

Gareth Williamson, Branch Manager, Bank of Ireland UK, Portadown says: ” Invoice Discounting is chosen by many strong and successful businesses, from a range of sectors including manufacturing, distribution, service and transport, to provide access to a source of funding which grows as their business does.”

One business owner who knows the value of having the right working capital facilities in place to fund expansion is David Wilson, owner/proprietor of r2scontractservices.com based in Lurgan, Co. Armagh.

In just seven years, he has grown from a self-employed domestic window cleaning business into a specialist in preventative maintenance cleaning for supermarket refrigeration.

He now employs a team of

forty, servicing contracts across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and the North of England and he has set his sights on covering the rest of the UK. Crucial to his phenomenal growth has been the effective management of cash flow, arranged by Gareth, thereby enabling him to confidently bid on new contracts knowing the bank is full-square behind him.

He says: “Having a selfsecuring working capital facility in place, is an asset in itself, growing as my business grows, allowing me to take advantage of new opportunities in the commercial sector. I could not have achieved the scale of growth I have in recent years without the benefit of the facility.”

Gareth Williamson says: “Part of the appeal of Invoice Discounting is that it is completely confidential with the customer retaining the management of their sales ledger and remaining responsible

for collecting debtor receipts.

“Using the software provided as part of the working capital package, when invoices are raised, the customer can notify the bank online of the total value and receives up to 85% on the same day, with the balance payable when the debtor payment is received. It’s a self-securing facility with the debtor book providing the security for the funding.”

David has the final word. “I have always been fortunate to have very supportive managers at Bank of Ireland UK. They financed everything from the outset and they understand my business. They believe in me. “ Invoice Discounting is surprisingly cost effective and, depending on the level of borrowing, can sometimes be less expensive than more traditional forms of funding.

For more information call in at your local branch to speak to one of our 39 local Business Adviser or log on to bankofireland.co.uk/switching

We’re here for the business with big ideas Bank of Ireland UK can help your business reach the next level. If you’re looking to grow your business then increasing your cashflow and unlocking assets could be the answer.

Talk to us today to see how we can support your business with: - a self-securing and flexible working capital solution - access to a local business adviser who has specialist knowledge of your sector

David Wilson

r2scontractservices.com

- a competitive working capital pricing structure to help facilitate cost effective growth

Call in to your local branch to speak to one of our Business Advisers today Northern Ireland’s Enterprise Bank

All lending facilities are subject to the Bank’s lending conditions. Terms and Conditions available from your local branch.

Bank of Ireland Commercial Finance is a member of the ABFA and operates its business in compliance with the ABFA Code for members. Bank of Ireland UK and Commercial Finance are trading names of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc. Registered in England and Wales (No. 7022885), Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London EC4M 9BE. 8676140916

Eye on Healthcare

CARE CIRCLE GROUP – SETTING THE STANDARDS IN CARE HOMES Care Circle Group was recently named the winner in the care home group of the year category at the inaugural Business Eye Healthcare Awards held in early October. The Group was the clear choice of the judging panel, and it’s not hard to see why.

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t’s grown through the years to the stage where it now owns and operates 12 care homes in Northern Ireland with some 800 staff looking after 600 under the Care Circle and Larchwood Care brand names.

Care Circle developed through the shared vision of three directors, Ciaran Sheehan, Nuala Green and Martin Doran who came together in 2001 with a common purpose which was to improve standards of care in the care home sector.

The company is now the largest locally owned independent care home operator in Northern Ireland.

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Martin Doran, Operations Director explained “We aimed to set a standard where care was considered good enough for any of our parents and consequently good enough for any person in need of care”.

Nuala Green, Facilities Director added “We work in a demanding industry, but try to do things differently, providing a level of care that you would be completely happy with for your own family members, and bringing a level of customer service and quality that is now expected by increasingly discerning residents and families.

We are in a people business so while we will never claim to always getting everything right, we always learn from mistakes and ensure we provide the right training, guidance and support to our staff to deliver the best care they can every day”.

Ciaran Sheehan, Managing Director, added. “We are working hard to ensure that our homes are a step above the competition and we’re also firm believers that a good care home can be a very good place to live. It is nice to see the efforts of all of our care teams being recognised by this important award.”

And he’s talking, of course, about an industry which isn’t without its image problems. Care Homes are typically in the news for negative stories rather than positive ones.

Care Circle’s homes are located in Belfast, Bangor, Newtownabbey,

Ballymena, Kells, Derry, Strabane, Cookstown and Armagh....making up a province-wide network. Each home provides a range of nursing, residential and dementia care to residents across the spectrum of care need. Homes at different locations offer a range of very innovative services – several have day spa facilities where residents can choose from a selection of therapies and treatments.

Care Circle Group’s Kingsway Private Nursing Home at Dunmurry is an example of how the company operates its homes by putting the needs of residents first. Over many years, the Kingsway home has led the market in its pursuit to set new standards in care.

Almost 10 years ago it was the first nursing home to engage with a top chef (Paul Rankin) to provide a whole new standard of food and it introduced its own day spa

Eye on Healthcare

several years ago. Residents at Kingsway can enjoy a glass of wine with their lunch, or choose from a menu of daily therapies such aromatherapy, reflexology as well as hair and beauty treatments.

“It’s all part of the service” says Nuala. “We treat residents as paying guests and we aspire to provide the kind of environment and services you would expect to receive in a good hotel”.

Earlier this year, Kingsway Private Nursing Home, became the first nursing home in the UK to offer specialist Niagara Therapy. Although not claiming to cure specific elements, Niagara’s Cyclo-Therapy Massage system is clinically proven to reduce pain and help relieve the symptoms of a variety of medical conditions including Arthritic and Rheumatic pain, lack of mobility, poor circulation, back pain, respiratory problems, secondary symptoms of diabetes and stress and tension.

“It’s all part of moving our

business forward, exploring new options that will improve the quality of lives and comfort of residents. We try to be innovative, seeking feedback from families and thinking about how we can provide services people would not typically expect to find in a nursing home yet are part of our everyday lives for most of us”, added Ciaran Sheehan.

“We live in a connected world, with the explosion of the internet, social media but the elderly in our society have largely been excluded from that entire revolution. To combat this at Care Circle, we are just about to roll out an innovative technology across several sites that will allow residents direct access to an easy-to-use touchscreen computer systems that will allow all residents to get the benefits of everything the internet has to offer. The innovative technology will allow residents to easily access a wealth of resources and communication

tools at the touch of a button, including interactive brain training exercises, games, a range of entertainment and educational options as well as personal skype and email accounts”.

Martin highlights the importance of running a business with strong core values. “Our responsibility is to Care for Life, and we fully understand the significance of that responsibility. It is vital that our people live our values and are committed to ensuring that they offer the best care possible within attractive and homely environments, care that you would be happy to receive for your own mother or father.

For Care Circle Group, the Business Eye Healthcare Award was the latest in a series of awards over recent years, which have included a Business in the Community Employer of Choice Award for Northern Ireland.

“You can’t provide good care without employing great people”, said Ciaran. “For us, having a team that brings a diverse range of skills, abilities, interests, ages and cultures into the mix is vital. We are immensely proud of the efforts our carers go to, to make a positive difference to the lives of residents.

It’s the small things that often matter most, those little details or personal touches that show the resident that staff are genuinely interested in them. Even just taking the important time to get to know about what that resident is all about, their likes and dislikes, their contribution to society, their hobbies and interests. For others it can be as simple as just taking the time to sit and listen, or provide that important reassurance if a

“To be honest there is no place like home, but I guess this place is as close as it gets.” resident is worried or concerned”.

By getting to know the “whole person”, you can often rekindle interests in old hobbies or pastimes. As part of the wide ranging activities’ programme, one resident recently revived her interests in ceramics. The quality of her work was so good, that she managed – at the tender age of 104 – to have her first ever art exhibition, with her works being exhibited at Crescent Arts Centre. This was possibly a historic moment for the Crescent Arts Centre to have its oldest ever exhibitor. Needless to say everyone around the home was very proud of the resident in question. Family and friends shared in her success and the works remain on public display within the Home for residents, families and visitors to enjoy.

Ciaran said “This is a great example that shows within a good nursing home you can be supported and encouraged to live life to the full, to try new things, and develop new skills, regardless of your age!”

For more information on Care Circle Group and learn about life in a Care Circle home visit www.carecircle.co.uk

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Eye on Banking

Open for Business Aaron Ennis, Head of Corporate Acquisition Team, Danske Bank, explains why the bank’s share in the market has experienced high growth over the last year.

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n recent years we have been proud to play our part in some excellent business success stories, not only from our existing corporate clients, but from a wide range of new customers that have moved to Danske Bank from another financial institution.

2014 has been a busy year for the team. We have seen a marked increase in the number of large businesses moving their banking to Danske Bank.

Returning business confidence is encouraging local firms to make important decisions that will support their future growth, including the financial institution with which they choose to bank.

We are a well-capitalised bank with a strong appetite to lend to good trading businesses, reflected in the switching

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activity we have experienced, resulting in Danske now looking after the banking of almost half of the Top 100 companies in Northern Ireland. Our success in attracting new customers is driven by three key factors: market-leading technology solutions; local expertise and, importantly; a strong focus on relationship management. Our corporate clients want close relationships and they want a trustworthy partner with strong business acumen.

Moving to Danske Bank The re-banking process can seem daunting and complicated, but we have the systems and processes in place to ensure that this not the case. We provide a designated re-banking coordinator to make the moving process as smooth as possible.

Budget Energy is one company that re-banked with us in March of this year. They were aiming for rapid expansion in the domestic electricity market and required a banking partner with the technology solutions

and local expertise to support further growth. Our locally-based trade finance specialists and full systems integration played a key role in their decision to move.

More recently, commercial electrical fit out firm, Premier Electrics, joined Danske Bank at the end of August.

They required a banking partner who not only understood their business and shared their vision but also had the capital base to support their growth plans with blue-chip customers. Again we have provided full systems integration covering markets, trade finance, cash management and more.

Team Over the past couple of years we have concentrated on developing a strong corporate acquisition team, which now comprises two experienced acquisition managers – Ciaran McLaughlin and Jonathan Elder.

Ciaran has six years’ corporate banking experience, including a track record of funding corporate clients across a broad range of sectors to include growth and acquisition finance, and

most recently included the re-bank of Premier Electrics.

Jonathan has 13 years banking experience covering Portfolio Management, Cash Management and Business Credit. Over the past three years, he has been focused on Business Development and has successfully re-banked a number of high profile businesses.

This team is closely aligned with the bank’s wider Corporate team and has immediate access to local specialists providing a service that we are confident our clients won’t find elsewhere.

We are always keen to hear from good trading businesses across the full range of sectors in Northern Ireland. Now that Northern Ireland is in a modest economic recovery, we are committed to doing absolutely everything we can to help new and existing customers achieve their full growth potential.

You can contact Aaron Ennis at aaron.ennis@danskebank.co.uk

CALLING NORTHERN IRELAND’S BRIGHTEST MANAGERS Enter the CMI National Management & Leadership Awards

Eye on Digital

Why We’re Unfriending Facebook, Part 2: Last month I wrote about the traumatic experience that was deleting my Facebook account and why so many people around the world are losing interest in the platform to the point of ‘unfriending’ it - just like me. There were a number of reasons discussed as to why Facebook is becoming less popular from a personal and consumer perspective, namely: concerns about data privacy, the problems with Facebook Timeline and finally, the potential negative psychological effects of using the platform on the individuals mental wellbeing. This month I would like to discuss the issues with Facebook from the perspective of brands and businesses.

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irst of all, I would start by saying we don’t believe that Facebook has reached it’s demise, just yet. It is still an important part of many marketing plans and, unfortunately, still one of the more favourable option when it comes to seeking out certain target audiences (i.e. housekeepers with kids). But it is in decline just the same… and there are plenty of signs this is set to continue for the foreseeable future. To some people this may people seem baffling because, in many ways, Facebook has reshaped our modern relationship with the internet but I would ask those people to consider four overall points: Too Big to Fail?

Remember Bebo? MySpace? MSN? Nothing is ever too big too fail.

And that is probably more true in the fast paced world of digital, than anywhere else. Google understands that. That’s why (despite its size) it buys every innovative new startup that could be a future threat. Facebook’s numbers have flatlined, and in some cases, decreased. So no, it’s not the social equivalent of ‘nobody got fired for buying IBM’.

We’ve Been Here Before…

Secondly, this cycle is by no means new. It is just the natural course of a new media platform.

When TV or Newspapers began for example, on a local level there were a finite number of

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options available to consumers.

Not so today - where content and consumer are king and that consumer can choose when, where, how and in what format they access that content. It is no different for social media today.

To put it simply, we are seeing the dilution of audiences across numerous social platforms - that are more niche and suited to consumers specific needs at a certain time. LinkedIn is one such excellent example, as is Instagram and Whatsapp (both Facebook owned, as Zuckerberg sets about readying his lifeboats well in advance) and Pinterest, Reddit, SnapChat, Umano, Whisper, Tumblr, Vine, Ask, MeetUp… well, you get the idea.

And this dilution of consumers across niche social and digital platforms, makes it all the more important for your brand to gain a strong grasp on social - if you want to see the highest return on investment possible. Long term, this is a good thing for brands. It also gives you a second chance to ‘win’ on a platform that fits your business really well, if you were late to the Facebook party.

The Mammy Effect Facebook is no longer popular with under 25s. Even Zuckerberg himself has admitted that in terms of hitting that younger demographic, ‘coolness is done’ for Facebook.

Many articles will report that this is due to the ‘mammy effect’

(i.e. your mother being on there and it hence no longer being a utility with ‘cool factor’). They will also report that Facebook has lost out to Twitter this year in terms of importance for 16-24s. However, the reality is a little more complex. Again, it is down to the diversification of platforms. SnapChat, for example, is used by 80% of 15-24 year olds here. It depends on your audience - their age with this group, where they live, what they’re into, and what they’re interested in doing online, that determines this ‘most important’ platform for them. So any agency that just tells you ‘it’s all about Twitter now’ are just fad chasers who don’t really understand the complexities of digital, your audience or probably, your brand.

Outside of targeting implications in terms getting those audience percentages, we must also consider the context.

Just as you place a print ad with consideration of the sort of readership a magazine may have and the frame of mind readers are in when reading it, we must also make these contextual considerations on social platforms. If Facebook’s timeline is becoming an uncool irritant of randomness, what does it say about your brand sitting in the middle of all that?

Are people really as susceptible to your message as they could be on other smaller, but more specific platforms?

by Rachel Ray (Strategic Planner) of digital agency Simply Zesty Double Entry Fee Finally, the most important reason to consider other social media - unfair costs. Imagine you paid into a concert, went up the stairs, only to be met by another ticket booth to get in at the door? Well, that’s essentially what Facebook asks marketers to do now. First, you paid to get the fans - and many thousands of brands will have put a lot of effort in gathering over the last decade. Now, they want you to pay to reach those same fans, every time you put content out there. Unfair? Yes. Facebook may still be a favourite for the wolves of Wall Street but Madison Avenue have had just about enough.

“To put it simply, we are seeing the dilution of audiences across numerous social platforms - that are more niche and suited to consumers specific needs at a certain time.”

Knowing what makes your clients tick is only half of the story.

For investment expertise that completes the picture, talk to us.

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Healthcare Champions Take Centre Stage

Winner of the GP Practice of the Year, Rowan Tree Family Practice. Collecting the award are Dawn Murray, Dr Naoimh White and Dr Paul Leggett.

The first ever Business Eye Healthcare Awards took place in early October at Belfast’s Europa Hotel with the top organisations and individuals right across the healthcare spectrum in Northern Ireland being recognised.

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he event, in association with leading private health providers 3fivetwo Group, the operators of Belfast’s Kingsbridge Private Hospital, saw more than 300 guests in attendance for the awards ceremony, hosted by UTV’s Marc Mallett.

Among the winners on the night were Professor Max Watson, a

leading consultant in palliative care and director of the Northern Ireland Hospice, who was recognised as Consultant of the Year for his work with terminally ill patients here and overseas.

Named as Community Nurse of the Year was Paula Heneghan of the Marie Curie Centre in Belfast.

Dunmurry Dental Practice was

awarded the Dental Practice of the Year title, while Jonathan Hall Opticians, based in East Belfast, took the top award for Optometry Practice of the Year.

In the pharmacy category, national chain Lloyds Pharmacy came out on top, while the locally-owned Care Circle Group was recognised as the Care Home Operator of the Year.

Full List of Winners – Business Eye Healthcare Awards 2014 Care Home of the Year

Community Nurse of the Year

Optometry Practice of the Year

GP Practice of the Year

Sponsored by Medicare

Sponsored by H3 Medical Insurance

Sponsored by James McMahon & Co

Sponsored by Finlay Wealth Management

Care Circle Group

Paula Heneghan, Marie Curie

Jonathan Hall Opticians

Rowan Tree Family Practice

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Beverly Craig

HIGHLY COMMENDED:Mackey Opticians

Sponsored by Reserve Forces & Cadets

Dental Practice of the Year

Pharmacy of the Year

Sponsored by Templeton Robinson

Homecare Independent Living

Sponsored by GSK

Sponsored by Baker Tilly Mooney Moore

Professor Max Watson

Dunmurry Dental Practice

Lloyds Pharmacy

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Castlebawn Dental Practice

Clinical Excellence Award

Training In Healthcare Award

Innovation Award Sponsored by Innov8 E.A.R. Splints Ltd HIGHLY COMMENDED: Sam Baird

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Sponsored by MDI Medical Phyl Gargan, Research Midwife

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PARTNERS IN MANAGING YOUR WEALTH

The Partner Practice represents 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 www.sjp.co.uk/products.

The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

Brenda Buckley, Richard Buckley and Ciara Donnelly of Business Eye.

Winner of the Consultant of the Year Award, Professor Max Watson. He is joined on stage by Beth Robinson.

Jeremy McCartney, Louise Tiffany and Raymond Tiffany.

Mark Regan of 3fivetwo Group addresses the audience

Jen Kelly and Jacklyn Roberts.

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Richard Buckley of Business Eye addresses the audience

Claire Dickson, Graeme Neil, Ciara Donnelly and Patrick Palmer.

Oonagh McCloskey, Liam Diamond, Mark Lenny, Jennifer Leacock and Lesley Talbot.

Jessica and Matthew Sampson.

Winner of Care Home of the Year, Care Circle Group. Collecting the award are Nuala Green and Ciaran Sheehan.

Guests from Danske Bank.

Winner of the Training and Healthcare Award, Homecare Independent Living. Collecting the award is Mairead Mackle and Joan Boylan.

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Caroline Beattie, Angela Parke, Lisa Pearson and Jonathan McBride.

FINLAY WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLP

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Deborah Gilmore, Margaret McVeigh, Julie Magowan and Martina Cassidy.

Collecting the Highly Commended Award for Innovation, Sam Baird.

Clio Mulhern and Donna Hosking.

Tommy Carmichael, Anja Otto, Elaine Devlin and Dermot Hughes.

Colin Deehan, Catherine Guerin and Michael Guerin.

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Winner of the Innovation Award, E.A.R. Splints Ltd. Collecting the award are David Thompson and Brian Bigmore.

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Clio Mulhern, Kerry Turner and Roisin Jackson.

Collcting the Highly Commended Award for Community Nurse of the Year, Beverly Craig of the Northern Ireland Hospice.

Guests from MDI Medical.

Caroline Hicks and Gary Nelson.

Neil Hunter, Julie Hunter, Andrea Finlay and Jonathan Finlay.

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Winner of Community Nurse of the Year, Paula Heneghan of Marie Curie.

FINLAY WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLP

Niki Chambers, Carrie Johnston, Elsie McLoughlin, Christine Conway and Erika Reitter.

Stephen Cairns and Ashley Mullan.

Collecting the Highly Commended Award for Dental Practice of the Year, are Julie Robinson and Stuart Robinson of Castlebawn Dental Practice.

Louise Lowry, Dorothy Brodison, Jason Corry and Caroline Hill.

Winner of Dental Practice of the Year, Dunmurry Dental Practice.

Collecting the Award are Debbie & Philip McLorinan.

Cindy Anderson, Hilary Maguire, Beverley Craig and Karen O’Hare.

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Suresh Tharma and Mark Thompson.

Andrew Spratt, Sarah Sistern, Mark Thompson, Rachel Crossey, Aisling Owens and Patrick O’Hanlon.

Collecting the Highly Commended Award for Optometry Practice of the Year are Richard Mackey, Mark Mackey of Mackey Opticians.

Jonathan Henderson, Joanne Colvin, Leona Hamilton, Julie Mitchell and Martin Holley

Winner of Optometry Practice of the Year, Jonathan Hall Opticians. Collecting the award are Jonathan Hall, Carole Higgins and Neil Robinson.

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Chris Walsh, Nuala Green and Ciaran Sheehan.

FINLAY WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLP

Aisling Byers, Debby McLorinan, Philip McLorinan and Edel McGarvey.

Winner of Pharmacy of the Year, Lloyds Pharmacy. Collecting the award are Nicola Pinkerton and Nevin Mullan.

Lynn Robinson, Neil Robinson, Carole Higgins, Jordana Hall and Helen Mason.

Entertainment from Abandoman.

Johnny Rollins and Athene Jordon.

Winner of the Clinical Excellence Award, Phyl Gargan.

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Eye on Giving

CHANGE MEANS DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY Grainne Walsh, Head of Consultancy at Stratagem 1. What are your thoughts, in general, on charitable giving?

I come from a background where charitable giving was valued, it’s something that we as a family did. While we were not wealthy at all- far from it, my parents gave both their money and, importantly their time and support to organisations and our community.

Whether it was fundraising for the mental health charity, Aware, or acting as Treasurer for the local basketball club, both my parents were very active and that has most definitely been passed on to the next generation.

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issues and successfully prevented 1700 individuals and families from becoming homeless. While I don’t have a housing background, I bring my business and public affairs experience to a team of highly skilled specialists, working in an increasingly challenging housing and economic environment.

2. Is your giving personal or corporate or a combination of both?

Both. I am very luck to work in an organisation that advocates giving. Not only have we a comprehensive CSR programme that incorporates charitable giving, we actively encourage our team to get involved – either through sitting on boards or volunteering.

Importantly, we recognise that board membership might not be for everyone, so we match individual charitable donations.

4. What types of causes do you favour and why?

Fundamentally, women’s participation in civic and political life, mental health and the arts are my three main areas of interest. Given my interests and professional background, I am a huge advocate of civic engagement and participatory democracy and firmly believe that a healthy flourishing society and state is built on the contribution of the many rather than a few. My interest in mental health is a long standing one very much shaped by personal family experience and it is great that more people and organisations are talking about positive mental health. I haven’t an artistic bone in my body but value those that can raise our spirit and horizons though music, art or drama.

3. How do you give to charity: monetarily, your own time as a volunteer or your specialist skills?

All three. There are times, when I am happy to donate money – that could be in response to a particular event or for a particular cause. I seem to know a lot of marathon runners and am more than happy to support them in their exertions! Currently, I am Chair of the Housing Rights Service, an organisation that has been working to improve lives by tackling homelessness and housing problems locally for 50 years now. Last year the team there dealt with nearly 41,000 housing

5. Are there specific charities or causes that you give to regularly? How do you choose which to support?

While there are a couple of charities that are particularly close to my heart, I recently joined a giving circle, Give Inc and that whilst it has a focus on women & young people as well as education, it is fundamentally very flexible in who and what it supports.

Over the years Stratagem has supported a range of arts organisations engage with a range of groups - from young people to some more socially isolated in through projects that are political in nature. From our support of

Tinderbox Theatre Company’s ground-breaking production “Vote Vote Vote” to Wheelwork’s work with young people in Lurgan and Portadown about social and political issues affecting them, the causes Stratagem supports reflect our business interest in making the connection between people, politics and politicians.

Do you believe that companies and individuals have a duty to help others? If yes, why?

It’s been said that CSR is as much about how you make money as how you choose to spend it. Stratagem has a strong philanthropic track record, we are interested in pushing beyond traditional notions of duty and charity. I am not particularly comfortable with the word ‘duty’ when it comes to talking about helping others, because I know the personal satisfaction and experiences I have gained over the years from helping others. I have also seen colleagues flourish personally and professionally from participating in programmes such as Arts & Business NI’s Young Professionals on Arts Boards.

7. What is your message to business people who may be thinking about becoming more involved in strategic philanthropy?

Do it. Push yourself and your colleagues beyond your comfort zones and you will see the personal and business benefits.

8. 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?

It is important that both businesses and individuals who have an interest in change get the support and space required to ensure that their charitable activities make the impact they envisage. Making change requires us to do things differently. Critically it requires us to act strategically – that’s where Giving Northern Ireland can and does make a real difference.

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Eye on Travel

MIKE RUTTER...

CALLING THE REVENUE SHOTS AT AER LINGUS Mike Rutter’s title is one that says it all. The affable Geordie who used to be part of the top team at Flybe is now settled in Dublin as Chief Revenue Officer for Aer Lingus. It’s a job which brings him regularly to a place he seems to like... Belfast and Northern Ireland.

“I

do like it here, and I’ve always enjoyed coming here,” he says. “Now it’s just up the road from where my office is.”

Rutter is in charge of keeping the Aer Lingus balance sheet healthy by increasing what it makes not just from bums and seats but also from sales of food, drink and gifts on board.

Aer Lingus, he says with a degree of bullishness, is coming off four very sold years of profitability and adds that €1.1 billion worth of cash means that it has a strong balance sheet. He talks about the airline’s three operating strands – Transatlantic, European Cities and UK. All, he says, have seen growth in recent years with the transatlantic routes doing particularly well and recording a 25% increase in passenger numbers.

Meanwhile, the opening of a new Aer Lingus base – including a smart new business lounge – at London Heathrow’s redeveloped Terminal 2 has provided a boost for the flights which feed into it from Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

“We will continue to look at new routes as our growth continues,” he says without giving away any detail of how Aer Lingus might be thinking.

“My job is to continually improve the customer experience – from first contact with Aer Lingus through to airport handling, lounges, the on board experience itself and after care. We’re very well aware that passengers have choices and we know that we’ve got to be on top of our game.

Rutter was in Belfast recently to talk to frequent flyers about the airline’s new Business Class offering across the Atlantic from Dublin....which now includes state of the art lie flat beds as part of a package of improvements.

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More and more Northern Ireland-based passengers, he says, are now using Aer Lingus to reach North America, many of them seeing the logic in not having to make connections at Heathrow.

On the local front, Mike Rutter says that Aer Lingus is well pleased with the performance of its routes out of Belfast City Airport. “It is a profitable and successful base for us,” he says. “The two London routes (Aer Lingus flies to both Heathrow and Gatwick) are well established and mean that we are the dominant airline when it comes to the London market from Belfast City.

“But we’ll continue to look at how we might develop our sunshine and leisure routes (it flies to the likes of Palma, Malaga & Faro) and we wouldn’t rule out considering some other key UK routes from Belfast City.”

That’s a course of action which would put Aer Lingus head to head with Rutter’s previous company, Flybe, which runs an extensive domestic network out of Belfast City Airport.

“We’ve no doubt that passengers are moving to Aer Lingus and our Heathrow and Gatwick routes for a variety of reasons, and we think more will continue to do so.

But we’d also like to build our network from Belfast City, both to other UK destinations as well as new leisure routes.”

And, while the two Belfast airport bemoan the loss of passengers to Dublin Airport – thanks to the dual facts that it’s much more accessible by road these days and it’s lack of air passenger tax – that’s not a problem for Aer Lingus.

“We’re more than happy to see an increase in Northern Ireland-based passengers using our transatlantic services and our routes into Europe,” Rutter smiles.

Away from seats, he’s been driving a programme of improvement for on-board catering, a development which passengers on the Heathrow/Gatwick runs as well as European flights out of Belfast will already have noticed.

“We’ve no doubt that passengers are moving to Aer Lingus and our Heathrow and Gatwick routes for a variety of reasons, and we think more will continue to do so.

But we’d also like to build our network from Belfast City, both to other UK destinations as well as new leisure routes.”

And he’s more than aware that business passengers form an important backbone at Belfast City, particularly on the Aer Lingus routes to the two biggest London airports. Aer Lingus goes head to head with British Airways on the Belfast-Heathrow route but has no direct competition on the Gatwick run (although easyJet flies to Gatwick from Belfast International). Flybe no longer serves Gatwick but is just about to launch a new service to London City Airport.

“Business passengers want punctuality, reliability, the right kind of on board product and value,” he says. “And that’s what Aer Lingus is providing for them.”

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Eye on Interiors

Innovation Through Collaboration The appearance of office space has changed drastically over the past 20 years. We have seen a major move towards open plan space that emphasises communication and teamwork. The reality is, however, with all of our new ways of working together, we still like to be on our own.

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e are now starting to see a slightly different trend. Many employers are moving towards creating spaces in an office for people to get away from their desk and work

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either alone or as a small team. These “collaboration areas� are just one way employers can engage with their staff and actively improve their productivity.

Pioneers like Google and Facebook take this to the next level and use their office design to improve staff happiness; a happy employee is an effective employee. There are various means to making your office space a place that people can enjoy as well as work in.

Below are a few suggestions of simple ways to move towards a more collaborative office environment.

t $SFBUF BO PQFO QMBO PS BEE PUIFS EFTJHO features (e.g., high-traffic staircases) that encourage accidental interactions. t &TUBCMJTI NPSF DPNNPO BSFBT UIBO BSF strictly necessary—multiple cafeterias, other places to read and work that encourage workers to leave confined offices. t 1MBDF FNQIBTJT PO BSFBT UIBU IPME two or more people, rather than single-occupancy offices. t 'PSN QVSQPTF GSFF HFOFSJD iUIJOLJOHw BSFBT in open-plan spaces, which encourage workers to do their thinking in the presence of other people, rather than alone.

Innovation Through Collaboration For years people have strived to achieve the open plan office, removing divides and promoting team communication. Recently, however, we have seen a new trend emerge.

In todays office environment, we are seeing a real value on staff happiness; a happy employee is an effective employee. The Google’s and Facebook’s realised this early on. But the reality is that we still need our own space, and a time that we can break away and concentrate in a more relaxed and personal way.

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

Eye on Agri Food

Healthy Growth For Porridge Leader It’s prime porridge season! Sam Butler talked to James Mathers, general manager of White’s Oats, Northern Ireland’s oat miller, about the future plans to grow the innovation-led business.

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ames Mathers could scarcely have realised that when he was picking and selling potatoes with his father as a boy he was laying the foundation for an agri-food career.

“Although I didn’t realise it, I was learning all the critical points in the agri-food supply chain -growing, agronomy and harvest to production, quality control, marketing and retail sales,” he says.

Leap forward 20 years and James is in charge of White’s Oats in Tandragee, the local market leader which is experiencing a renaissance under his leadership.

White’s has been manufacturing porridge oats since 1841 and has continually invested and improved its products. Today, it is processing 25,000 tonnes of oats a year – enough for almost half a billion bowls of porridge.

“The mill runs 24/7 and processes over 12 million portions of porridge every day for all major retailers in Ireland, the UK and increasingly in export markets.”

A native of Banbridge, he holds a Queen’s University Bachelor of Agriculture degree and a Glasgow University Post Graduate degree in Business and Entrepreneurial

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Studies. He worked in New Zealand before returning home for a Department of Agriculture and Rural Development supply chain role.

He brought his supply chain experience to the private sector, working with Downpatrick’s Finnebrogue for four years. In 2008, he joined White’s in a production procurement role and moved up to his current post in 2013, after a restructuring of the business.

“Managing one of the bestknown brands which plays such an important role in the local economy and community is both exciting and challenging,” he says.

“A key output has been to lead the development of a new and ambitious business plan and the new management team to implement it. Initiatives to drive growth targets that we all believe are realistic are underway.

“The plan has been endorsed by the Fane Valley, our parent company, and aims to accelerate growth in volume, sales and profitability over the next four years.

“Investment in the mill to increase productivity and competitiveness includes the most advanced photo scanning

technology, two new packing lines and lean manufacturing systems. We can now produce multiple pack formats, and output in certain parts of the process has increased by 20 per cent. The workforce has doubled to 51, all good news for the community.”

The plan also focuses on the company’s people and its wider community role. “We are investing in managers and employees, making White’s a great place to work while building a performance culture, a key goal for us. We are creating a work environment that is challenging, yet rewarding and fun.

“We take our community role very seriously and are actively involved in fund raising for charities such as breast cancer awareness.

White’s has invested along the supply chain, including R&D in oat quality at farm level, and is working more closely with growers to develop strong longer-term relationships and improve the final product.

Markets are now moving in its favour. “The food landscape is evolving and consumers are conscious of obesity and the benefits of a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Two of the trends we are responding to are health and convenience.

“White’s is well-placed to meet the health trend because the benefits of regularly eating porridge oats are now accepted by consumers

and health professionals alike. Oats are inherently healthy and so our focus is on healthy, convenient and natural products, making our porridge easier for time pressed consumers. For instance, we’ve commissioned an ‘eat on the go porridge pot’ line, a format which grew by 60 per cent last year.”

As a result, sales of porridge have doubled in the past four years in both domestic and export markets. Wellcome and Park’n’Shop in Hong Kong, SuperCor in Spain, and the Al Maya group in the United Arab Emirates as well as in the US, and more recently China now stock its oats.

“As part of our plan we are developing our brand positioning and identity, carrying forward the longstanding natural and authentic values of our products,” he says.

It’s a business being reinvigorated through investment in its brand and innovative marketing. On going investment in innovative processes, new products and in people will strengthen further its market share here and abroad.

White’s is an established business with a great past that’s now focusing confidently on an even more exciting future.

Pictured: James Mathers, General Manager of White’s Oats in Tandragee, Northern Ireland’s market leading porridge producer.

Eye on Agri Food

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Eye on News

BDO Prepares For Future Growth In Its 25th Year BDO continues its expansion hiring 12 new trainees and 2 apprentices in its silver year

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ocal professional services and advisory firm, BDO Northern Ireland have continued its growth with the hire of twelve new graduates and two apprentices this October.

The new recruits have been brought into the firm following the last round of recruitment and the search has begun again for 2015’s recruits. This year’s graduates will take up positions across all sectors of the business.

BDO’s Managing Partner, Peter Burnside, welcomed the introduction of the new graduate recruits and said that continuing investment in talented people is key to the continuing success of the company in Northern Ireland.

“Our graduate recruitment

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programme has been very successful in recent years. The combination we offer of on-the job training, access to senior management and exposure to a wide variety of clients and sectors from an early stage is well regarded by graduates. I am delighted to say that the vast majority of our recruits remain with BDO on completion of their training contract and indeed 6 of our 10 current Partners joined BDO as graduate trainees.”

The search for next year’s new recruits launches with a BDO presentation evening on the 12th November for all those who have applied to begin their trainee contracts with BDO next year.

Hosted in the Merchant Hotel,

BDO Senior HR Manager, Richard Cromie and Peter Burnside, BDO Managing Partner with BDO’s 12 new graduate trainees and 2 apprentices.

the evening will allow graduates a chance to get to know BDO and find out what a career at the firm looks like for them.

Throughout the evening graduates will have a chance to meet the BDO Partners and Directors to discuss and learn

about their careers with BDO. The evening will also include two guest speakers, Gary McCausland, CEO and Founder of the Richland Group and Eleanor McEvoy, CEO of Budget Energy who will also discuss their experiences with BDO.

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

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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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Eye on News

ARTHUR COX HAS DESIGNS ON FASHION SUCCESS

Leading Northern Ireland law firm, Arthur Cox, has held its annual Fashion Showcase at the Titanic Building in Belfast.

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osted by renowned Irish stylist Cathy O’Connor, the show has rapidly established itself as a stand-out event on the Northern Ireland social calendar.

This year saw the grand staircase of the Titanic Suite temporarily transformed into a sumptuous catwalk, as 12 leading designers from across the island of Ireland showed their collections.

Clients and guests of Arthur Cox were treated to a breathtaking show of fashion and entertainment, with some of the evening’s highest praise going to couture pieces from Belfast and Derry designers. Many guests took the opportunity to invest in key pieces from the latest collections at designers’ pop-up stores.

This is the second time the showcase has been held in Belfast. It is part of a wider series of fashion events organised by

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Arthur Cox in Dublin, London and New York, which were devised to support Irish designers by connecting them with the business communities in those cities.

Moving to Titanic Quarter for this year’s Belfast event was a natural progression for the firm, which has major clients across the shipping and maritime, film and media, and education sectors based there.

For Belfast-based designer Una Rodden, the evening offered a platform to showcase her AW14 collection to local businesswomen.

Una said: “It was great to be part of the Arthur Cox Fashion Showcase again this year. It gave me the chance to network and get my latest designs in front of a very discerning audience.

“Northern Ireland’s fashion scene is ever-evolving and these types of events are so

important in supporting future growth of the industry.”

Catriona Gibson, Partner at Arthur Cox, said: “Northern Ireland produces some of the brightest and most innovative design talent and we are very proud to be able to support our local cultural industries.

“It is wonderful to be able to bring leading businesswomen together at these events. Northern Ireland has a very strong sense of style so we

are delighted to support our local designers, who really are on a par with anything shown internationally.

“We are thrilled that the annual Arthur Cox Fashion Showcase is such a big event here and it has also become a major fixture among our international events – allowing local, Northern Irish designers to show their collections for brand new audiences in Dublin, London and New York.”

Eye on News

DANSKE’S BUSINESS CHIEF RAISES £113,000 FOR CANCER CHARITY When Danske Bank’s Ivan McMinn was diagnised with pancreatic cancer back in November 2011, he was in the midst of training for the 2012 London Marathon.

F

ive months after the diagnosis, not only was Ivan back at his desk in Donegall Square West, but he had been promoted to Head of Corporate Banking at Danske.

The following year, 2013, he successfully completed the London Marathon and he did it again this year. For 2014, he chose to raise money for two charities close to his heart …..Cancer Focus NI and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. And he exceeded his target of £100,000 by quite some distance.

“The amount of money raised is a tribute to all the many friends,

relatives, colleagues and Northern Ireland businesses who bought in to the two great causes I was running for,” says Ivan.....glossing over his remarkable personal achievements.

“I did the easy bit in training over a period of four months to get myself prepared for the London Marathon - the hard bit was for all those folks I’ve mentioned who ‘dug deep’ to contribute so generously to the massive total raised.

“Standing on the start line of the London Marathon, knowing that every meter I ran was contributing almost £113,000 to Cancer Focus NI

Emma McArdle, from Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, and Susan Cooke, from Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, with Ivan McMinn.

and Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund NI made the run so much easier and every stride so worthwhile. Thank you so much for your immense support.”

Ivan continues to be an amazing advocate for the work of Cancer Focus NI and Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund and with his help the charities will continue to be able to provide

their services to cancer patients and their families in the local community.

For more information on the work of Cancer Focus NI visit www.cancerfocusni.org and for Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund please visit www.pcrf.org.uk follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Aer Lingus Scoops Coveted ‘Best Domestic Airline’ Award Aer Lingus was picked up Northern Ireland’s Best Domestic Airline award at the annual NI Travel and Tourism awards... beating off competition from BA, Flybe, easyJet and Jet2.

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he travel trade event was attended by 440 VIPs and decision-makers from the province, the Republic and from all parts of the industry in the UK, and was hosted by broadcast personality Gerry Kelly.

Business Development Manager for Aer Lingus Northern Ireland,

Andrea Hunter, who collected the award on behalf of the airline said; “I am thrilled that Aer Lingus has won the ‘Best Domestic Airline’ award. It’s a tremendous accolade and to win is testament that our winning formula of great customer care and our quality of product and

service, is the best of the best.

“It is coming up to our second anniversary since we moved our operations to George Best Belfast City Airport and it is reassuring that the travelling public, at all levels recognise that Aer Lingus is delivering the best possible experience.

“Our customers inform us that our seat allocation, advanced seat selection, delicious pre-booked meals, top class entertainment and flying into centrally located airports make a real difference to their Aer Lingus flight experience.”

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Eye on Business Personality

YOUNG BUSINESS PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH Sam McPeak, Cabin Crew Performance Manager, Flybe

Sam McPeak Flybe, Tony Dunlea Electric Ireland and Claire Dickson Business Eye

HIGH FLYING SAM Sam McPeake is in job heaven. From the age of 12 she dreamt about being a cabin crew member but it wasn’t until she reached the magical age of 20 that she finally realised her goal.

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oday Sam McPeake is Flybe’s Cabin Crew Performance Manager based at George Best Belfast City Airport. In charge of over 100 cabin crew, Sam manages every aspect of their performance and development, from daily attendance to personal achievement.

It’s a job that she simply adores.

“Customer service is a big part of my focus, ensuring that our cabin crew give passengers the very best experience possible. I learnt a great deal about the importance of looking after customers in my very first Saturday job in a local petrol station and retail centre at the age of 13. Even after I left Ballyclare High School my mum encouraged me to stay at that retail complex working

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in sales and management until finally I reached the magical age of 20 when I could apply for a job as an air hostess, as the job was then called. Indeed it was one of my customers who brought me in the Air Tours newspaper advertisement cut out of the Daily Mail!”

At that time 20 was the minimum age for cabin crew and there was also a maximum age of 29. Sam’s first flight was to Lanzarote and she spent several years flying sunshine routes including long haul to Florida.

“I loved flying but before long I was keen to develop my career.

Performance management was an attractive role and I have been working in that area now for almost 6 years.”

Corporate changes at Air Tours in 2010 meant that to stay in her job Sam would have to move to England.

Keen to stay in Northern Ireland Sam began to look for another aviation home and soon found it at Flybe.

“I’ve been with Flybe now for four years and it has been the most exciting period of my career so far. This year in particular has been hectic with the brand

change and all that has gone with it. Our Flybe world has turned purple and the logistics of ensuring that every crew member has the right uniform items, in the right size and in the right number has been a real challenge but great fun.”

“I am responsible for ensuring that the appearance and turn out of every cabin crew member is in keeping with company rules. My job has been made easier with the new uniform as everyone loves it.

The female members of staff especially like the vastly increased range of nail colours they’re now allowed to wear and the new hats have seen more interesting hair styles such as side chignons.”

Staff attendance, punctuality, absence and on-board sales also all come under Sam’s remit. Should a staff member ever become ill either at work, or is signed off for a longer period of time, Sam is also responsible for their welfare. All the cabin crew are given annual targets to meet and Sam is there to praise and recognise a job well done or equally to encourage and help towards improvement if necessary.

“One of the aspects I enjoy most

about this job is doing line checks. This involves me travelling with the cabin crew, observing them at work and then providing feedback. It’s great to get back into uniform and get airborne although there are occasional times when I have to resume my cabin crew at the last minute due to unexpected circumstances in order to keep the operation running to schedule.”

No two days are the same and whilst Sam is primarily based in Belfast she could be at any of Flybe’s bases throughout the UK to interview new recruits or sit on promotion panels.

So what of her own future?

“Medium term I would love to be a Regional Manager with responsibility for Belfast City and a couple of other Flybe bases. Ultimately my goal is Cabin Crew General Manager for the UK. In the meantime however I’m looking forward to getting married to my fiancé Neville in a few months time!”

Whilst Sam’s feet will be firmly on the aisle next March, with her high flying ambitions, she certainly won’t be grounded for too long.

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Eye on News

LIKE FATHER...

LIKE DAUGHTER!

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lora Delargy, a former pupil of Victoria College and Methodist College Belfast has won the Citi Group Award for being the Highest Performing Student on Placement as part of her MSC in Financial Services at the Ulster University Business School. It was a proud moment for Flora’s father, UTV’s Business Correspondent Jamie Delargy, as he had completed the same course at the School ten years previously. The Award was presented at the annual Ulster University Business School’s Student Awards event organised by the Department of Accounting,

Finance and Economics. Also in the picture is Professor Marie McHugh, Dean of the Ulster University Business School.

Speaking at the Awards ceremony Professor Gillian Armstrong, Head of the Department, said, “These Awards recognise the top performers across the range of Accounting, Finance and Economics related programmes, which provide increasing opportunities for students and graduates at this time. It is of no surprise that global financial and professional services firms are choosing Northern Ireland

as a key inward investment location. These future graduates have the academic potential and business-ready mindset, through an experiential learning approach, to enter a professional work place anywhere and progress quickly. The fact that so many of our leading

accountancy, consultancy and financial services firms are engaged with both the Awards and the learning experience at the Ulster Business School is testament to the importance of employer engagement in preparing students for careers across the business sector.”

NI TOPS KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY TABLE The 2014 Knowledge Economy Index, commissioned by NISP CONNECT and sponsored by Bank of Ireland UK, has revealed that the North East of England and Northern Ireland are the fastest growing regions in the UK, while London and the South East continue to be the largest overall.

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roduced by the Northern Ireland Centre for Economic Policy at the University of Ulster in conjunction with Oxford Economics, the report analyses the published data on 21 indicators including employment, salaries, venture capital investment, research and development; start-ups, PHDs and patent registrations that shows the growth in the North East and Northern Ireland significantly ahead of the next two regions, the West Midlands and Scotland.

The NI Knowledge Economy has grown by more than 33% in the last five years with performance driven in particular by Research and Development, Investment and Innovation at a time when economic conditions have been the most challenging.

At the publication of the KEI

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Report today Steve Orr, Director of NISP CONNECT proposed that in support of the recently published DETI Innovation Strategy an ‘Innovation into Action’ business group be established to work in collaboration with Invest NI and DETI on tangible actions that will support the competitive development of the Knowledge Economy in Northern Ireland.

“The best option for global export growth is in knowledge economy based companies”, explained Steve Orr but he went on to caution that while the Report will naturally give an enormous confidence boost to the two fastest growing regions we cannot afford to be complacent.

“It is critical that the knowledge economy business sector throughout Northern Ireland supports the Innovation Strategy

Steve Orr of NISP Connect with Bank of Ireland’s Ian Sheppard.

and feeds back to our political representatives the kinds of policies and actions they can take to support Northern Ireland innovation on a global scale.

We cannot afford to be inward looking if we want to grow more world class companies and build for the future with the amazing talent we have in this country.”

Ian Sheppard, Bank of Ireland UK’s Head of Business & Corporate Banking NI emphasised that support for innovation that is world leading and will drive exports, is essential to growing the Northern Ireland economy.

“Northern Ireland may be a small region in a massive global marketplace but we do punch above our weight with indigenous companies such as Almac, Randox,

Andor Technologies, Schrader Electronics and Wrightbus.

The challenge is that we need more companies like these.

“Bank of Ireland UK welcomes the Knowledge Economy Report as providing data to inform and identify those areas where further support could deliver significant incremental growth. It is encouraging to see that we are one of the fastest growing regions but there is a long way to go if we are to achieve our 2030 targets.

By informing the key stakeholders in the economy the report, alongside recent publications such as the Innovate Strategy from DETI, will help build upon the growing collaborative approach to this sector. Bank of Ireland UK is committed to playing its part.”

Medicine.

MDI Medical (NI) Ltd.

Eye on News

FIRST TRUST BANK APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AND BUSINESS BANKING First Trust Bank has announced the appointment of Richard Ennis as Director of Corporate and Business Banking to drive its growth plans within the Northern Ireland business sector.

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aving previously held a number of senior roles in Ulster Bank including Director and Head of Corporate NI, Richard will now head up First Trust Bank’s Corporate and Business Banking team across Northern Ireland.

Speaking about the appointment Des Moore, Head of First Trust Bank said, “We have ambitious plans to grow our market share as a serious challenger Bank here in Northern Ireland. In recent years we have been steadily building our business offering through active engagement with customers and their advisors, delivering products and services which bring something fresh and innovative to the market. Meanwhile we

continue to invest in our people to ensure we can continue to provide ‘added value’ to our customers.

“Richard’s appointment is further evidence of our ambitions to build on that already strong performance– and in particular to bring an additional focus on the larger SME/Corporate sector.”

Commenting on his new role, Richard Ennis said; “I am very pleased to be joining First Trust Bank at this time and I am excited about the Bank’s potential to seriously challenge the status quo within the business banking market in Northern Ireland. Already I have been impressed by the great work delivered in the last year and in particular the focus placed on superior customer service

and the development of sectoral knowledge and expertise. We know from the strong pipeline of new customers that this approach is proving attractive and is critical to us winning that business. I look forward to working with the Business team to drive this agenda forward and to take it to businesses of all

sizes across Northern Ireland.”

Prior to his banking career, Richard also worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a Senior Associate in a local corporate finance practice.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and holds a BSc from Queens University Belfast.

BELFAST LAW FIRM CELEBRATES DOUBLE SUCCESS Local law firm Carson McDowell has been named Northern Irish Law Firm of the Year 2014 by The Legal 500 UK

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s one of the leading independent guides to law firms in the UK, The Legal 500 rewards law firms based on the independent opinions of clients and in-depth research; and has highly recommended the Belfast firm after they achieved top tier recommendations across nine practice areas including Dispute Resolution, Banking and Finance, Commercial Property, Construction, Employment Law and Planning Law. The award will be formally presented at an exclusive industry dinner in London later this month.

It has been a winning streak for the local firm. Straight off the back of its Legal 500 success, Carson McDowell also emerged as the most highly ranked Northern Irish firm in the 2015 edition of Chambers

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UK, the other major independent guide to law firms and lawyers.

Chambers have ranked Carson McDowell in twenty three different practice areas, fifteen of which have been given the highest band one ranking. In total, twenty nine of the firm’s lawyers have been individually recommended in the guide putting them head and shoulders above other law firms in Northern Ireland.

Speaking about the firms fantastic achievements, managing partner Michael Johnston said, “We are so proud of our recent success in both the Legal 500 UK and The Chambers Guide.

“To have been named Northern Irish Law Firm of the Year 2014 by the Legal 500 UK is a testament to our commitment to building

long term relationships with our clients and delivering the highest standards of service.

“We are really grateful to all our clients and other contacts that took the time to speak to The Legal 500 and help to get us to the coveted top spot.

“To have this success followed

so closely by the large number of recommendations we received in The Chambers UK 2015 Guide is the icing on the cake.

“With twenty nine lawyers ranked as leaders in their fields, it is evident that our teams are made up of the best legal talent not only in Northern Ireland but across the UK. ‘

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Eye on Internet

Is The Death Of The Home Page A Key Difference Between Online And Offline Thinking?

By Gareth Dunlop, Fathom.

For some time now Google has been working hard to add meaning to its users’ search terms. Ask Google “who is the President of the United States” and unsurprisingly it will tell you “Barack Obama”, ask it “who is his wife” and it will respond “Michelle Obama”. This may not appear particularly striking; however note that without the first question, the second question is meaningless. This straightforward example illustrates that Google is increasingly responding not just to an explicit search term but also to an implicit search context.

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oogle will use any contextual information it can get its hands on to provide increasingly nuanced responses, using sources such as geographical information, cues from social networks, and previous user behaviour. Search for “the tube” in London and Google won’t take you to the Transport for London website, rather it will display the tube station nearest to you, ask it for the “best” hotel in a city and it won’t show you the hotel with the word “best” most in its keywords, rather it will search hotels. com, Google reviews and other trusted third parties to actually seek the best hotel.

The Germans swept all before them at this year’s World Cup and throughout the competition Google demonstrated an efficiency even they would have been proud of, answering the laziest of questions and accurately understanding the context implicit in each search. Each day throughout the tournament one only needed to ask “what time is the match on at” it would display the time of the next match or matches.

However its SERPS included much more than just the time and location of the fixture. Predicting follow-up user needs it displayed kick off time (local and BST), team lists, TV schedules and other key match details. Many Google users throughout the World Cup, looking for tournament information, never made it near the home page of any site because Google provided all of the information that was required.

On the flip side of the coin, a Google search for a specific product (e.g. an electronic good,

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or a piece of clothing) will frequently, and quite rightly, provide SERPS pointing the user straight to that product or a product category page on the appropriate e-commerce websites.

What the various examples have in common is that at no stage does Google steer anyone towards a home page.

This behaviour isn’t unique to Google.

All major search engines are similarly working hard to get users to relevant authoritative content more quickly. The vast majority of social network links are to specific types of content, or particular articles, or blog posts, not to home pages.

This dynamic was at the heart of the leaked New York Times innovation report, which was described by Nieman Lab as “one of the key documents of the media age”.

The newspaper was shocked to learn that whilst overall traffic to its site has increased year on year since the late 1990s, home page traffic dropped by 50% between 2011 and 2013. This was a shock to a newspaper organisation which for over a century saw the front page as its most valuable property.

Journalists aspired to get their story on the front page, editors poured over the stories of the day to see who would make the cut and the front page impact was recognised as a massive driver of brand, perception and ultimately sales.

As the organisation reoriented its processes around digital publishing it accepted slowly that it needed to fall out of love with the home page. Rather it needed to appreciate that every day the online version of the newspaper had hundreds of front pages, as its millions of

online visitors visited hundreds of different pages as their entry point to the site.

And so each of those entry points had to have the same impact and relevance as the printed front page.

This understanding is at the heart of interactive content design and its implications are clear. Your home page is not the entry point for every visitor and many visitors may never see it, so design your information architecture accordingly. Many users will want to access your information without ever visiting your site, so let Google understand you better by using the Webmaster tools. But most of all don’t design your website like a brochure, obsessing about the home page and signing it off from a flat printout. Accept that many pages on your site are of critical importance and you are likely to have tens if not hundreds of pages which give your customers a first impression.

And you only get one chance to make one of those.

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, 3 Mobile, Ordnance Survey Ireland, and Independent News and Media. Visit Fathom online at fathom.pro

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Eye on News

First Trust Bank Agri Food Fund Already £16 Million Committed Business Support Programme Proves Popular with Progressive Farmers and Agri-businesses

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irst Trust Bank’s recently launched £50 million Agri Food Fund has been in much demand with £16 million already committed to a range of investment projects across Northern Ireland.

It is part of an overall support package launched by the Bank in July which is designed to assist progressive farmers and agri-businesses across Northern Ireland to expand and modernise their operations. Details of some of the funded projects were revealed at a stakeholder event held in the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Hillsborough.

The Agri Food Fund is specifically designed to support investment in farm/agri-business growth, diversification, modernisation or refurbishment, with the competitive package offering no arrangement fees, an attractive level of margin discount and flexible repayment structures. The Bank also launched a new Agri Food Energy Efficiency Loan – specifically targeting farms and agri-businesses who introduce energy efficiency measures such as lighting, solar/PV, wind, biomass and hydro projects into their overall operations.

The benefits of the technologies were showcased at the event with a tour of AFBI’s facilities which are themselves primarily powered by a range of renewable energy facilities.

At the event, First Trust Bank took the opportunity to introduce its new team of 16 Agri Food specialists based throughout the Bank’s branch network across Northern Ireland, each of whom has been chosen because of their close working knowledge and appreciation of the unique needs of agricultural and Agri Food customers.

Speaking at the event, Agriculture and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Noel Lavery, said; “It is clear that First Trust Bank has placed significant importance on the value of the Agri-Food sector to our overall economy and I am delighted that it wants to play its part in supporting the Agri-Food Strategy Board’s ‘Going for Growth’ strategy . This represents a significant opportunity to secure and enhance the food supply chain here in the north to take full advantage of increasing global opportunities in food markets.

“I am sure that the range of funding initiatives on offer will assist farmers

L-R: Pictured at First Trust Bank’s AgriFood Fund Briefing are; Agriculture and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Noel Lavery, Des Moore Head of First Trust Bank, Russell Bailie founder Bailies Coffee Company.

and agri-businesses across the north to expand and modernise their operations.”

Speaking about the success of the Agri-Food support programme to date, Des Moore, Head of First Trust Bank said; “The importance of the Agri Food sector to our overall economy is at last fully recognised. Full marks must go to the Agri Food Strategy Board, both the DARD and DETI Ministers, as well as the industry players for revealing its individual and collective potential and in setting out a road map for how it can be achieved.

“We recognise that Banks need to play their part in supporting that drive and can assure all concerned of our commitment to do just that.

“We want to support those progressive farmers and agribusinesses who wish to develop and modernise their operations to take advantage of this massive opportunity.

We appreciate the important interplay between primary producers and other agri-businesses and have ensured our loan products and services are available to the wider Agri Food market so that all parts of that important equation can benefit. We are also very proud that, having listened to our Agri Food customers, we are able to deliver a specific energy efficiency loan product with them in mind.

Already we are seeing some customers reap the benefits of this type of investment which in turn makes their operations much more efficient.

“When taken together, we believe we have put together a range of competitive, innovative and attractive products and services which should aid those more progressive farmers and other Agri Food businesses to realise their individual growth ambitions, contributing to the collective ambition for the industry.”

BT CREATES NEW JOBS IN NORTHERN IRELAND BT has created twenty new graduate jobs in Northern Ireland as part of a major nationwide recruitment drive announced earlier this year.

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he latest intake of graduates, who begin their careers with BT, will be working in roles right across Northern Ireland in the areas of IT, finance, technology, research and engineering.

A number of the new entrants will be based in BT Technology, Service & Operations at the Belfast Global Development centre, working

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on a wide variety of cutting edge projects, including the future of broadcasting and wireless technology, coding, billing applications, security projects, and helping pioneer new developments in high speed fibre communication networks.

Over 260 graduates will be joining BT Group this year, one of the highest annual recruitment entry levels to date.

Joining BT... Graduates Alan Carson, Paula Dunlop, Natalie Carr, BT Ireland Chief Executive Colm O’Neill, Lynsey Boyce, Mark McAllister, Rebecca Dalzell and Sean Donnelly.

Eye on News

CHARLES HURST LAUNCHES NEW ‘B2B’ CAR DIVISION Charles Hurst, Northern Ireland’s largest car retailer, today (Monday 3rd November) officially launched a new ‘B2B’ vehicle division which is directly geared to support local businesses from sole traders through to PLC’s.

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orking in partnership with its corporate division, Fleet Financial, the leading, award-winning local contract hire and fleet company which became part of the Charles Hurst Group in 2012, the new ‘B2B’ division promises business owners and managers the best help, advice, choice and value with regards to acquiring their business vehicles.

The move consolidates the combined strength, expertise and experience of two of the biggest players in Northern Ireland’s business motoring market, which has seen strong and steady growth in recent years.

Driven by Fleet Financial, the new division means that business owners, managers or fleet managers can now access the widest choice of vehicles, finance, service and value available from two of the market’s largest players.

Businesses can now access a wide

panel of finance lenders to locate the best deal that meets their particular requirements and includes all makes and models within the Charles Hurst Group – from a Toyota Aygo, a brand new Renault Trafic van, or even a Ferrari.

Charles Hurst said the dedicated new service completely removes the hassle associated with acquiring new vehicles for business and covers everything from initial enquiry to vehicle delivery.

Colin McNab, Operations Director, Charles Hurst Group, said: “Charles Hurst has always been successful in the delivery of fleet and contract hire services to our growing business community.

“However, this important venture with our corporate division, Fleet Financial, means that we can enhance and improve our offering for the benefit of all our loyal business customers and for those who are seeking the best value, choice

and service available in Northern Ireland.

“Any local business can now log on to the Charles Hurst website, simply click on the B2B brand, which will provide them instant access to a wide range of vehicles and finance offers as well as comprehensive advice on taxation and carbon emissions.”

Fleet Financial, which employs 30 people locally, currently manages more than 3,750 vehicles in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Republic of Ireland and has contracts with many of Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful businesses.

Philip Miley, Sales and Marketing Director, Fleet Financial, said: “With almost two decades of trading success behind us, Fleet Financial has already built up an unrivalled reputation

among the local business community.

“The launch of ‘B2B’ is an exciting milestone in our company’s development - using the choice, access and economies of scale of Charles Hurst and our own specialist knowledge and expertise within the business sector, we can make sure that our combined offer is the best available to local businesses. “‘B2B’ takes out all the legwork usually involved for any business when they are seeking the best-value package on offer with one simple call to us.

“Under the B2B brand, our two companies can offer even greater choice, more value, finance opportunities and service than ever before and all under the reassuringly powerful partnership of Charles Hurst and its corporate division, Fleet Financial.”

Managing Director Paul Eakin said: “This is a hugely important strategic acquisition for the Eakin Group. In Northern Ireland, Respond Plus provides us with a unique opportunity to extend our relationship with the stoma community. We know this community very well but we now have

the opportunity to expand our level of service, including nursing care support.

Eakin has a huge international following around the world yet we are relatively unknown to the public in Northern Ireland so this is the perfect opportunity for us to make that connection.”

EAKIN GROUP ON GROWTH TRAIL Comber-based healthcare specialist Eakin Group, one of the world’s leading medical device manufacturing and distributors of stoma and wound care products has just concluded a major deal to purchase Cliffe Medical.

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liffe Medical owns Respond Plus based in Larne, the licensed dispensing appliance contractor (DAC) for Northern Ireland employing 11 staff who dispense stoma products directly to patients as well as providing a nurse advisory service.

Cliffe Medical also owns OstoMART, which provides a similar service from its three centres in England. The deal will increase Eakin’s UK workforce by an additional 55 people to 280.

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The family owned Eakin Group is one of Northern Ireland’s most successful healthcare businesses with its products being sold in 40 countries around the world providing annual revenues in excess of £75m. In 2007, Eakin Group acquired Pelican Healthcare in Cardiff and earlier this year the company invested £12m extending its Comber manufacturing facility to over 100, 000 sq ft.

Speaking at the announcement of the Cliffe Medical purchase, Eakin Group UK

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Eye on Moving On 1 Stephen Matchett has joined Danske Bank as Chief Financial Officer. Stephen was previously Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Ireland’s UK division and an Executive Director of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc. Earlier in his career Stephen also worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte.

2 Also at Danske Bank, Garth Maxwell has been appointed as Head of Private Banking. Garth has held a number of senior positions in the Bank in a career spanning over 30 years. He will be responsible for a large private banking team that base themselves throughout Northern Ireland at key offices in Belfast, Ballymena, Derry, Newry, Portadown, Coleraine and Omagh.

1 Stephen Matchett

4 Paul Wright

7 Martin McGreevy

2 Garth Maxwell

5 Mark Carron

8 Damian Conwell

3 Andrew Brammer

6 Gareth Howell

9 Jonathan Guest

3 Andrew Brammer, Head of Allen & Overy’s Support Services Centre in Belfast has been promoted to Global IT and Shared Services Director. Andrew will hold overall responsibility for the continued delivery of a high quality service from both the global IT function and the Support Services Centre.

4 BT has announced that Paul Wright has been appointed to the new role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for its all-island operation. Paul, originally from Dublin, joins BT from NYSE Technologies where he was Global Head of Technology Engineering and site head for the NYSE Centre of Excellence in Northern Ireland.

Following the acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange by the InterContinental Exchange, Paul was a member of the executive leadership team that spearheaded the divestiture and separation of the NYSE Technologies portfolio.

Property specialists Osborne King has 5 announced a series of appointments. Mark Carron is appointed as Director of Auction & Licensed Premises having been with the 6 firm since 2003; Gareth Howell is promoted to Retail Director and has also been with 7 the firm for 11 years; Martin McGreevy takes on the role of Associate Director in the 8 firm’s Advisory Division; Damian Conwell is also promoted to Associate Director within Property & Asset Management.

9 Jonathan Guest has been appointed to the Board of Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Limited as Director of Fabrication. He joined Harland and Wolff as a Graduate Trainee Manager in 1995 becoming Manufacturing Manager in 2001 before leaving to develop his career with Crane Stockham Valve, McMullen Architectural and MJM Marine Limited.

10 Moy Park has appointed Brian Acheson to the role of Director of Information Systems and Business Solutions. Brian will lead Moy Park’s multi-site based team of IS professionals across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Europe to deliver a best in class information services and business systems strategy and service.

11 Mervyn Perry has been appointed as Business Development Manager for the Cleaning Division at The Mount Charles Group. He brings to the role extensive experience in the cleaning industry and joins the company from Zenith Hygiene Group, where he held the position of Regional Sales Manager. Prior to this, Mervyn was a Partner at M P Chemical Products.

10 Brian Acheson

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11 Mervyn Perry

12 Stephen Smyth

The Belfast-based packaging machinery manufacturer, Sepha Ltd, has appointed 12 Stephen Smyth as Operations Manager.

Stephen will be responsible for managing production and operations and promoting an efficient delivery on-time culture. He previously worked at FG Wilson before joining Sepha as Production Manager in 2011.

Eye on News

£30M Contract Award To Create Up To 50 New Jobs UP to 50 new jobs are to be created in Northern Ireland as a result of a Belfast-based company being awarded one of the province’s biggest ever housing association maintenance contracts.

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nstallation and maintenance company Contract Services, which operates out of headquarters in Kennedy Way Industrial Estate, secured the £30 MILLION contract after a rigorous tendering process carried out by the Abacus Housing Consortium, a co-operative body which acts as a central purchasing unit for five housing associations including OakleeTrinity, South Ulster, Open Door, Ark and Ulidia.

The biggest ‘all trades’ measured term contract of its kind in Northern Ireland, worth up to £6m per annum over five years, will see Contract Services deliver a full range of maintenance services – including mechanical, electrical and general building services - across two regions, covering approximately

6,000 properties initially in the North East and South East of the province including Belfast. This number is expected to increase to 10,000 homes.

In order to fulfil the contract’s huge requirement, Contract Services, which also has offices in Derry~Londonderry and Dublin, is creating 36 new jobs initially, which is expected to rise to up to 50, and investing in a fleet of 50 new vehicles.

Contract Services founder and managing director Rory McNaughton claims that his company’s ability to service such an extensive contract ‘in-house’ was key to winning the business.

“This is a hugely important contract and a very exciting time for Contract Services,” said Mr McNaughton. “From our humble

Rory McNaughton (centre), Danny McLean (left) and Paul Kane of Belfast-based installation and maintenance company Contract Services

beginnings in 2005 with a single engineer on the road, we have developed and grown year on year to get to the point where we can win and deliver a huge contract like this by providing a team of dedicated and skilled in-house tradesmen to provide all the required services.

“We offer customers the opportunity to make one phone call and all their needs will be taken care of - underpinned by the highest standards of delivery and value for money. No other company supplying installation and maintenance

services has the in-house capability that we have and I believe that being a ‘one-stop shop’ for housing associations was a key factor in securing us this prestigious contract,” continued Rory.

“Winning the Abacus contract is not just beneficial to Contract Services but also to the local economy as we are investing heavily in new jobs and vehicles to help deliver the huge job at hand.

35 Jobs Created In New Belfast Restaurant Venture The company behind Northern Ireland’s award-winning Galgorm Resort and Spa and the £12 million Scottish Mutual hotel development in Belfast city centre has unveiled details of a major new investment in the city’s growing hospitality sector.

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ullymore House Limited, which this year received planning permission to transform the iconic Scottish Mutual building opposite Belfast City Hall into a modern, luxury boutique hotel, has confirmed plans to bring its award-winning ‘Fratelli’ Italian restaurant and bar concept and brand to one of the city’s largest and most prominent commercial sites.

The site which formerly housed the Malt Room Bar & Restaurant is undergoing a major refurbishment programme ahead of the restaurant opening week commencing 17th November 2014. The restaurant will be set over two floors, the ground floor with restaurant seating for 100

covers and an open style kitchen and the first floor with one large function room/restaurant for seating 100 covers; with plans to extend outside with a terraced area opening Spring 2015 to seat approximately 40 covers.

The opening of Fratelli Belfast and creation of 35 new full and part-time jobs represents a total investment in Belfast’s hospitality sector of more than £500,000.

The new Fratelli restaurant and bar will serve a range of traditional quality, affordable Italian dishes in a modern family-friendly setting under the guidance of new Head Chef Johnny Glass.

Glass hails from The Old

Schoolhouse Inn in Comber, which earlier this year was one of three Northern Ireland restaurants to receive a Bib Gourmand award in the coveted 2015 Michelin guide.

Project Manager, Colin Johnston, who is overseeing the launch of the new restaurant, said:

“We’re delighted to announce this significant investment in Belfast, which we believe will go some way to support the growing demand for quality food, drink and entertainment in a city which is making a big name for itself in terms of tourism and hospitality.

We’re proud to be involved.”

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Eye on News

North West’s ‘Acorn Angels’ Pledge £1m to Fund New Start Ups A group of business leaders from Derry has pledged to invest over £1 million into Northern Ireland companies - with a major focus on the North West.

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his angel group has come together under the umbrella of Halo, the NI business angel network based at the Northern Ireland Science Park, and each “angel” has committed up to £100,000 for investment into startup or high growth companies.

They have chosen the name Acorn Angels reflecting their Derry~Londonderry heritage and the old adage ‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow’ - the unambiguous ambition for their high growth companies.

The formation of the new Derrybased angel group coincides with the recent opening of the North West Regional Science Park, which is already home to more than 20 technology companies and early stage businesses.

The investment group includes, amongst others, George Fleming (Fleming Agri-Products Ltd), Patrick McGonagle (Pakflatt), John McMonagle (Omega Mechanical Services), AnnMarie Slavin (Opt2Vote), Paul McElvaney (Learning Pool), Philip O’Doherty (E&I Engineering), Padraig Canavan (founder of Singularity), Richard Sterling

(former MD of Coolkeeragh Power Limited) and Eamonn Gee, who all attended the group’s inaugural meeting during the CultureTECH festival.

Alan Watts, Director of Halo at the NI Science Park, says the major focus on the North West will be significant: “Halo is a key part of the Science Park’s programmes to support entrepreneurship and boost growing companies in many different sectors, not just technology.

“With two Halo groups already successfully operating in the Belfast area we are delighted that this new group in Derry will have a focus on stimulating fast growth startups in the North West.

“The Halo programme provides

pitch training, mentorship and advice to companies seeking private sector investment. Not only can angels invest substantial capital, notably over £1 million available in this instance, but they come with vast amounts of knowledge, experience and key business contacts - vital ingredients for any high growth potential companies here.

“All our Derry angels will work together to share the work and decisions, benefiting both from the increased brainpower available and the trust that comes from working together in a familiar and focused team. They also have the experience and additional ‘pockets’ of the entire NI Halo network to call on, as needed.”

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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dfcbelfast.co.uk Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

HYBRID OR DIESEL THE AURIS MAKES IT A CLOSE CALL! Now here is a hybrid that looks like a ‘proper’ car, a rakish estate that really catches the eye. Keenly priced from under 22K, the Auris Touring Sports can make a strong case on running costs.

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ut what is it like to drive?

Rather impressive provided you don’t take that ‘Sports’ tag too seriously. Acceleration to 62mph in 10.5 seconds is not exactly sizzling but sufficient for everyday driving. Speed is not the name of the hybrid game, it is more about propelling us into the future at a reasonable pace!

Toyota has honed its hybrid power train - a 1.8 litre petrol engine in tandem with an electric motor, together producing 136bhp

to a high degree of refinement.

The automatic gearbox, with its tiny selector knob, works with a flick of the finger. It keeps the engine at its most efficient speed and masks the transition from electric to petrol power.

On a drive around London, mostly on motorways, I averaged 55mpg. Admittedly that is a bit down on the 76mpg combined official figure but I thought it was good given the high speed drive.

It compares quite favourably with

some similar sized diesel - these hybrids really are coming on!

Emissions are rated at just 85g/km and this is rewarded by a very lowly company car tax band of 11%. Compare that with the diesels and the progress is tangible. Add the aggressive pricing and it is clear that Toyota

is aiming to put this hybrid firmly on the company car shortlist.

The cheapest Auris Touring in Icon trim is listed at £21,745 and includes air con, electric windows, DAB radio, touchscreen multi media and a reversing camera. Top models run to keyless entry, auto lights and wipers and cruise control.

SEVEN SEATER ZAFIRA GETS BETTER POWER TRAIN The Zafira has proved popular here but the competition has got stronger in recent years. So what has Vauxhall done to its compact MPV to bring it up to the plate?

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s the Tourer tag suggests, this is bigger and better looking than the normal Zafira model. This is the seven seater version though the rear two are slightly compromised as is often the case. A flexible mix of people and load carrying space is made easier by sliding rear sets.

The interior trim is smarter than before, especially in the higher trims. Instruments are clear, switches work precisely although there are almost too many buttons. You get a colour screen and the option of sat nav.

I drove the Zafira fitted with the latest 1.6 CDTi turbo diesel engine, a big improvement on the rattling old 1.7 which has served well for years if not decades. The engine sounds more subdued and the six-speed gearbox seems slicker than before.

The figures stack up well from a business point of view.

Acceleration to 62mph takes just over 10 seconds, more

than enough to keep pace with traffic. The official mpg figure is impressive at 68mpg though you may not reach that giddy height in realtime driving. I was pleased with returns around 55mpg.

Even better is the emission figure of 109g/km of carbon dioxide, putting this Zafira Touring into the lowish 17% company car tax band. That will also improve residual values and

keep down the car tax charges.

It all makes sterling sense.

There are ES, Tech Line, Sri and SE trim levels taking the Zafira up into executive levels of equipment. The ES ‘fleet’ model still has air conditioning, DAB radio and cruise control.

The 1.6 CDTi comes in Tech Line trim from just over £23K (before discount!) and features alloy wheels, sat nave and Bluetooth.

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Free Winter Safety Check From DFC NI Ltd

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f all the seasons, winter requires the most care and preparation to ensure you and your family stay safe on the roads. Breakdowns are more common and potentially more dangerous during the winter months than at any other time of the year. So it is particularly important to be prepared for the cold spells and difficult road conditions that can arise, especially when snow and ice are about.

Included within our free winter safety check t 5ZSFT 8F XJMM DIFDL UIF PWFSBMM condition of your tyres including the tread depth and pressure t #BUUFSZ o 8F XJMM UFTU UIF batteries charge to ensure you keep moving this winter t $PPMBOU "OUJ GSFF[F o 8F XJMM check the strength and levels

t 8JQFS CMBEFT GPS TQMJUT PS EBNBHF t 0QFSBUJPO PG UIF XJOETDSFFO XBTI system and the level of screen wash and top this up if necessary t -JHIU CVMCT o GBVMUZ PS broken bulbs are illegal Once your check has been completed by trained technicians we will discuss the report with you and provide help and guidance if any elements do not meet the safety requirements.

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Eye on Motoring

DFC Congratulates Decora

U

el Butler Director of DFC caught up with Russell Dickson Sales Director of Decora when they won the UTV Business Eye Company of the Year

award. “Having supplied vehicles to Decora Blinds for many years it was great to see a local company win such a prestigious award.� “Their investment in people,

technology and commitment to customer service has now been recognised by the Northern Ireland business community. Congratulations to Russell and the whole team�.

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Motoring with Derek Black dbmotoring@btinternet.com

CITROEN’S COMPACT AND CHIC CITY CAR CUTS DOWN ON COSTS If you need a company runabout, the Citroen C1 has to be a leading contender as do siblings, the Toyota Aygo and the Peugeot 108.

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ll three city cars have just been relaunched with differing styling treatments of what is essentially the same car. The one significant difference is that the French companies offer a larger, 1.2 litre version of the three cylinder petrol engine.

If you go for the 1.2 litre C2 you get acceleration to 62mph in 11 seconds and longer legs for outof-town driving. But if your work is inside the city limits then the 1.0 option’s slower 14 seconds to 62mph may not be an issue.

Both engines emit less than 100g/

km meaning that road tax is zero and company car tax is minimal.

The C1 VTi 68, with the 1.0 litre donkey and start-stop does up to 74mpg and emits just 88g/ km, amongst the lowest of any car on the market. The 1.2 is good for 65mpg combined and emits 99g/km. This is a cheap car to run by any measure.

There is a choice of five speed manual or automated gearboxes and the interior is more modern with a fashionable, and useful, touch screen to control several functions.

Driving the C1 is a fun experience,

the engine is just so eager to rev right up to 6,000rpm. There is an agile feel to its behaviour on the road, a bit like a go-kart. Springing is firm and steering reaction is sharp. This is a buzzing little car that seems young at heart.

My car was in the Airscape trim with a contrasting full length red

fabric room and white bodywork - good potential for drawing attention to your business? The availability of five doors and folding rear seats gives the C1 a degree of practicality, though there are bigger city cars out there.

Prices range from £8,245 to £10,935.

NEW DIESEL GIVES VOLVO MINOR VROOM AND ECONOMY Volvo is rolling out its remarkable new Drive E turbo diesel engine across its range. Now it is available in the compact V40 range with which it makes a potent combination.

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an it replace the iconic D5, diesel with its barnstorming performance?

Actually, it makes a pretty good fist of it whilst using less fuel.

An output of 190bhp from a 2.0 litre turbo diesel is impressive and so, too, is the 0-62mph time of just 8.2 seconds.

There is enough power to turn this stylish semi estate into

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something of a hot hatch. To keep you on the safe side, there are a barrage of typical Volvo safety features. A red warning shines on the windscreen if you get too close to the car in front and it is good to be kept informed of the local speed limits when you are on unfamiliar terrain.

The V40 safety shield includes a world first, an air bag at the front to protect pedestrians, as standard. Added is a driver support

pack and you get of high tech items like collision warning and full auto braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection, line keeping aid, driver alert, blind spot warning and road sign display.

The Drive E engines will be available in both diesel and petrol form with varying power outputs. Meanwhile, this potent diesel unit makes Volvo a must entry in any short list for a business car purchase. Why?

Just check out these figures.

The D4, as it is known, is rated at 74mpg combined and has emissions of just 99g/km! Talk about having your cake and eating it! That is music to the ears of the company driver as it puts the car in the 15% company car tax bracket.

The new V40 flagship is priced from £24,570, putting it to the premium brands with its efficiency, comfort and technology.

Vorsprung durch Volvo!

LAND IN LONDON. ACTUAL LONDON. We fly from Belfast City Airport to London City Airport.

Not to Gatwick or Heathrow.

On sale now from ÂŁ39.99 one way.

Available for travel from 27.10.14 to 28.03.15. 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. Information correct at time of going to print.