One of Northern Ireland’s most historic hotels is set to open a new £2.5 million spa, the latest investment in the North Down property since it was acquired by The Galgorm Collection.
Northern Ireland’s leading private medical group hasn’t just helped to revolutionise private healthcare here, it’s also introduced medical tourism to this part of the world. Kingsbridge Private Hospital recently welcomed its 100th coachload of cataract surgery patients from County Cork.
Johnny Hanna has been busy since taking over as Partner in Charge of KPMG in Northern Ireland three years ago. During that time the firm has grown across all divisions in direct response to increasing and changing demand from clients, while also adding new skillsets in cyber security, applied intelligence, strategy and sustainability.
When Mancunian Karen Yates first arrived in Northern Ireland to work for Desmonds back in 1988, little did she know that she’d still be here more than 30 years later or that she’d be running a family-owned luxury fashion business from the beautiful Causeway Coast.
Law Society President Brigid Napier has made an impact during her term as the latest female to lead the solicitor body. She talks to Business Eye about the changing face of the industry and the challenges that lie ahead.
Mark Campbell of Randox talks about the company’s Covid response and how it is developing new ranges of products, all based around its core testing expertise, and engaging with new customers as it moves towards the future.
Auveen Sands takes over the autumn from Richard Wigley as CEO at the Ulster Orchestra. Now on a firmer financial footing, and with live performances back, the future is looking bright for an orchestra whose musical stock is also rising.
Belfast’s Waterfront Hall was the venue for the launch of the 2022 AIB Business Eye Awards, Northern Ireland’s longest running and most popular business awards. With a total of 19 categories spanning every sector, the awards take place on 17th November at ICC Belfast.
One of Northern Ireland’s most progressive local councils, Antrim & Newtownabbey, has set itself some ambitious economic targets, aiming to generate £1 billion in investment and 2,000 new jobs.
Local entrepreneur June Burgess, a TEDx speaker and member of many high-profile boards and committees over the years, has combined two of her greatest passions, horses and business, in a pioneering venture she runs from her home in the stunning hills of Co Down.
Since Covid first hove into view, the UK as a whole has lurched from one crisis to another with monotonous regularity. From the pandemic’s latter days, we had to watch as President Putin invaded Ukraine and we’ve gone from that to an energy price crisis, a cost of living crisis and now what appears to be a self-inflicted financial markets and mortgage crisis.
Liz Truss’s supposed honeymoon period as Prime Minister has been interesting at best, horrific at worst. It depends on your perspective. What seems clear was that she went into a huddle with her choice of economists and advisers, came up with what seemed like a jolly capitalist wheeze and promptly unleashed it on an unsuspecting nation.
It wasn’t without its good points, to be fair to all concerned. Businesses, as a general rule, don’t mind corporation tax rises being cancelled. Employees don’t mind tax cuts and effective cuts in stamp duty.
And the much-maligned higher rate taxpayers certainly didn’t mind. But any money they spent on champagne to celebrate was wasted after the Truss government, and the ill-fated Mr. Kwarteng, was forced into a fairly humiliating u-turn.
Whilst the Tory Party might wish they had never binned Boris Johnson, thoughts turn to what happens next. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng look very much like a failed partnership. Also, it’s hard to watch the Prime Minister being interviewed. Impressive, she most certainly isn’t.
They’ll try to tough it out and hope for some more economic indicators to start going their way. But they’ll also have to polish up their act.
Here in Northern Ireland, though, it all helps to re-emphasise the simple and inescapable fact that we really could do with having our own Executive and working devolved government in place.
It’s important to remind ourselves that we won’t be seeing that happen because of the actions of one political party, a political party that he gone remarkably quiet over recent weeks on the back of the dramatic NI Census results and the disappearance of the NI Protocol issue from just about anyone’s priorty list, apart from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s.
Does anyone seriously think that the Prime Minister is going to be fretting about Northern Ireland, or its protocol, just at the moment?
While all hell breaks loose, we’re left with no local devolved government when it would have been quite useful to have one. There’s little our MLA’s could have done in the face of Russia/Ukraine wars and a global cost crisis, but there’s something steadying about having an administration in place.
As things stand, and as we head further into the autumn and winter, it seems pretty unlikely that we’ll be seeing any movement on that front. Our election fever back in the brighter days of May was all in vain.
How wonderful would it be to have an effective, working devolved government with imagination and creativity combined with the unique position at the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to deliver for us?
We can but dream.
“Whilst the Tory Party might wish they had never binned Boris Johnson, thoughts turn to what happens next. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng look very much like a failed partnership. Also, it’s hard to watch the Prime Minister being interviewed. Impressive, she most certainly isn’t.”
Can anyone remember a time when we weren’t squaring up to a crisis? It certainly seems like a very long time ago.
Henderson Foodservice, the leading supplier to the foodservice industry in Ireland, has been announced as a winner at the Irish eCommerce Awards for the innovation and growth of its online retail proposition.
The company, based in Mallusk won the Business Growth award and picked up highly commended for Food and Drink eCommerce Website of the Year.
The Irish eCommerce Awards were held at the weekend in Dublin, and are the only dedicated celebration of Irish e-tailers, software providers, agencies and entrepreneurs which recognises and rewards the organisations, teams and individuals who
are helping shape the thriving internet retail industry across the island of Ireland.
In recent years, Henderson Foodservice has invested heavily in its digital transformation throughout 2020, working with specialist partners to develop a platform to meet the needs of the company’s broad spectrum of customers across Ireland. Henderson-foodservice. com is now one of the fastest, most intuitive and progressive
websites in the foodservice industry, which the company will continue to develop throughout its 2023/24 strategy.
The company has experienced a growth of online sales by 99% so far for 2022 compared to 2021, with the new strategy allowing sales to expand threefold compared to the previous platform. The company has also grown their customer base by 87% in the past year, with 75% of those customers putting their orders through online.
Henderson Foodservice Director, Cathal Geoghegan commented; “Our team has worked tirelessly to overcome huge challenges in the past couple of years to bring our eCommerce proposition to life for our customers.
“We have used a multichannel approach to acquire new customers as well as communicate more effectively with existing customers, and skilled up our sales reps to become web advocates to show how our efficient, user-friendly platform can create a more cohesive and efficient ordering platform for our customers and our internal teams.
“We are thrilled to pick up these awards against some stiff competition from online retail giants, and I’m incredibly proud of our team who have embraced the developments our company needs to bring solid growth and customer expansion, pivoting to meet an ever-changing marketplace.”
The President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland is challenging the profession to redefine its future by embracing diversity, opening access, and tackling inequality.
Speaking before an audience of 350 solicitors at its ‘Shaping our Future Together’ conference, celebrating 100 years of the Society, Brigid Napier lauded the progress made by the profession over the last century and called for a pioneering approach to ensure it continues to evolve.
To mark its centenary, the Society commissioned two major reports to help it better understand how the profession is addressing issues such as Diversity & Equality, and to establish its impact at an economic level.
Directly supporting over 6000 jobs, and worth £460m to the local economy, the solicitor profession is now firmly established as a key driver of growth for the region.
Belfast is now an internationally renowned centre for legal technology and is host to more top international law firms than any other UK city outside of London. In Belfast and beyond, the network of solicitors, serving local communities remains a vital component to life in NI.
The profession is now majority female and almost three quarters of the 2022 intake of trainee solicitors are women. But there remains a profound gender gap when it comes to leadership with of the majority of partners in private practice being male.
The gap between genders is also significant in terms of salary – with the survey suggesting male solicitors are paid more than
their female counterparts.
The research examined wider issues affecting the profession including LGBTQ+ representation, social mobility and ethnic minority participation.
Launching the Society’s first Diversity & Equality Action Plan, Brigid Napier said:
“Our centenary milestone gives us the opportunity to celebrate all that the solicitor profession contributes to Northern Ireland society and our economy, but also to ensure we are putting down solid foundations for the next hundred years.”
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offers diners a brand new menu that marries homely classics with modern dining, featuring Frenchinspired dishes, seafood and salads.
Galgorm Collection is also upgrading all 32 guestrooms as part of plans to revitalise and upgrade the historic destination, in line with other Collection properties.
Individually styled and luxuriously appointed, The Old Inn offers five room types - petite, carriage, highway, junior suite and suite – with some of its premier room offerings already refreshed.
The Old Inn Suite now boasts its own private balcony complete with outdoor hot tub overlooking the Treetop Spa whilst the first of its Junior Suites also completed a makeover to include bespoke finishing touches including a free-standing copper bath to complement the chic French-inspired furniture.
Luxury historic hotel The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn, has confirmed it will open a new outdoor spa offering exclusively for residents from 1 December following a £2.5 million investment to bring Galgorm’s renowned world-class hospitality and spa offering to the historic property.
Perched above Crawfordsburn Country Park, the new Treetop Spa at The Old Inn offers guests unrivalled forest views stretching out to the North Down coastline and will see the addition of a range of new experiences including a hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, hot tubs and relax space set within its tranquil grounds, offering residents an enhanced hospitality experience.
Occupying a prominent 1.5-acre site in the heart of Crawfordsburn village - just 20 minutes from Belfast – the iconic thatched-roof property
is one of the UK and Ireland’s top hotels. With a rich history dating back to 1614 The Old Inn is primed for a new chapter of growth with Galgorm Collection at its helm.
Since acquiring the property in April last year, Galgorm Collection, which owns the world-renowned Galgorm and a number of other properties across Belfast and Antrim, has already invested more than £1 million in refurbishing the property to its exacting, first-class standards.
This has included revamping its cosy 1614 bar and refurbishing its 120-seater Old Inn restaurant which
The property’s premier cottage accommodation set within the hotel’s grounds – and famed for being the honeymoon spot of world-famous local author C.S. Lewis – now comes complete with its own secluded outdoor hot tub for the ultimate tranquil forest bathing experience.
Plans to reimagine the hotel’s private dining space are also in progress, with refurbishment expected to be complete by early 2023.
Colin Johnston, Galgorm Collection Managing Director, said:
“The Old Inn is one of Northern Ireland’s most historic hotels and we have carefully considered our refurbishment works to ensure we remain sympathetic to the property’s history and retain its much-loved charm whilst also giving it the ‘Galgorm’ treatment, bringing this in line with our other award-winning properties.
After centuries of providing warm hospitality to guests and travellers, the time is right to further invest in this iconic property to expand its offering and widen its appeal
to attract more local, national and international visitors.
Galgorm Collection is focused on investing in the region to support tourism, jobs and the wider economy. We’re confident that The Old Inn’s new-look offering will deliver a new chapter of growth for us and for Northern Ireland.”
Since opening its doors last year under the guardianship of Galgorm Collection, The Old Inn has already received accreditations for excellence and was ranked #11 in the prestigious Irish Independent’s ‘Fab 50 Best Places to Stay’ in the island of Ireland.
Charlotte McClean, Manager at The Old Inn, commented:
“As we continue to progress our planned redevelopment works, I’m delighted to confirm that the new Treetop Spa will open to residents from 1 December. This has been a long-awaited project and we’re already experiencing strong demand for bookings with guests eager to enjoy an exciting new outdoor spa offering within a stunning landscape.
Located next to a breathtaking country park and picturesque coastline, The Old Inn is the perfect rural retreat for guests keen to relax and connect with nature. We’re also excited to welcome our wonderful neighbours, who are the lifeblood of the property, to enjoy a new-look offering, with new seasonal menus available in our restaurant and our cosy 1614 bar undergoing a refresh to also welcome dogs for the first time.
Galgorm is renowned for creating world-class hospitality experiences throughout its award-winning properties in Northern Ireland.
Most recently, Galgorm was named Ireland’s Best 4* Spa Experience at the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards 2022 in recognition for its excellence in hospitality and also picked up a silver award for Ireland’s Best Four-Star Resort. The property also picked up two gongs for its hospitality offering at the 2022 Bar of the Year Awards.
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Titanic Hotel Belfast, named Northern Ireland’s Leading Hotel at the World Travel Awards every year since opening its doors in 2017, is celebrating its fifth birthday this month, and the longest serving staff member General Manager, Adrian McNally, is proud to have retained a quarter of the hotel’s original staff since day one.
Speaking about the multiaward winning hotel’s milestone birthday, Adrian said: “We have achieved incredible success despite the challenges the hospitality industry has faced in recent years. I am extremely proud of the team in delivering outstanding customer service and for working tirelessly to live up to Titanic Hotel Belfast’s leading hotel status every day. The fact that we have managed to retain 25% of the original workforce during some of the most challenging times for our industry in our lifetime is testament to the privilege of being part of the team at Titanic Hotel Belfast.
“I would also like to thank Harcourt Developments for their unwavering commitment to Titanic Hotel Belfast and for continuing to invest in our
accommodation and public spaces, enabling us to provide visitors with a truly unique experience when visiting Titanic Quarter.”
There have been more than 174,000 guests waking up to a Titanic breakfast in the past five years and over 3,200 weddings and events hosted in the unique private heritage spaces including the surroundings of the Drawing Office where many of the world’s most famous ocean liners including RMS Titanic were designed.
Over 82,000 guests have attended events and weddings, while thousands more have enjoyed the hotel’s award-winning food and beverage outlets every month.
The concierge team has hosted more than 3,500 Heritage Tours giving visitors a flavour
of the history of this unique hotel which includes Thomas Andrews original private office, the decadent Presentation Room, where Lord Pirrie showcased Harland & Wolff’s latest designs for transatlantic passenger liners, and Charles Payne’s office, Managing Director of Harland & Wolff during Titanic’s launch.
Even with three lockdowns during the first five years of trading, revenue at the hotel has increased significantly year on year, and the hotel is now operating with revenue 19% above pre-pandemic levels for overseas visitors, business events, meetings, weddings, dining and overnight accommodation.
Adrian added: “We are all too aware that a hotel stay can be viewed as an indulgence and we are putting measures in place to save on energy consumption and food waste to keep costs down. This will enable us to continue to compete in the marketplace with a focus and commitment to offer our guests an unforgettable experience at Titanic Hotel Belfast.”
John Paul Doherty, Creative Director at Harcourt Developments,
said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the fifth birthday of Titanic Hotel Belfast, the jewel of the Maritime Mile. This historic and architecturally unique building was once the nerve centre of the largest shipyard in the world; a location steeped in history. The combined efforts of Harcourt Developments and the team at Titanic Hotel Belfast have created a unique hospitality experience – giving guests the chance to stay in one of the most historically important buildings in Northern Ireland; the very building where Titanic was designed and constructed just a few yards away. We feel we offer an emotionally rich and historically authentic experience unlike anything else in the world. The success of Titanic Hotel Belfast is due in multiple parts, not least from the wonderful service guests enjoy but also due to the curation of artworks and artefacts which are exhibited throughout the hotel. This includes the most recent addition in the Drawing Office Bar, of an original clock from SS Carpathia, the first ship to reach Titanic.”
Mac Zero Modular Buildings is a dynamic modular building manufacturer specialising in delivering sustainable, healthy buildings within a modular design framework.
Órla McAvoy-Corr and Conor McAvoy have a long history in modular construction, with both siblings previously Directors in their family business, the McAvoy Group. Since June 2021, Órla and Conor have been building a new breed of modular construction company with the establishment of Mac Zero Modular Buildings. Following a successful first year in business, Business Eye sat down with Órla and Conor to hear more about Mac Zero and the benefits of modular construction.
Congratulations on the new business Órla and Conor.
How are things going?
Conor: We prepared ourselves to grow Mac Zero at a slow and steady pace as this was a new business that required a new base, new machinery and a new team. But our plans were soon side-tracked with orders coming in almost as soon as
we opened for business, and we had to fast-track our growth plans quickly. In just 15 months, we’re now at 16 people, and have invested £500,000 into the refurbishment and extension of our manufacturing site, purchasing of new machinery, acquiring new vehicles, creating and developing the Mac Zero brand and the installing of a new IT system to support the growing business.
Órla: In addition to the goodwill and referrals from our associates in the industry, we have also secured several signi cant contracts within the education sector in Ireland which generate a solid pipeline of projects over the next few years. This has catapulted our growth, and we’re now set to double our growth projections in 2023.
You’ve been in the industry for a long time. What makes Mac Zero Modular Buildings di erent?
Órla: We’re building a business that’s agile, exible in its approach and one that’s renowned for being close to the client, understanding their needs and delivering exceptional service.
Conor: When my father rst set up McAvoy, outside Dungannon 50 years ago, the business was special. The enormous potential for modular construction was still relatively unknown, but as awareness grew and the bene ts and adaptability of modular buildings became clear, our family business grew exponentially. We’ve returned to our roots on the Derryvale Road, Coalisland, and our team has been carefully assembled with some of the most skilled workers in modular construction joining Mac Zero. We’re a business that’s committed to delivering innovation, value and exibility, especially in the provision of NZEB (nearly zero) buildings through solutioncentric modular construction.
Our goal is to become active in all aspects of construction where modular buildings are the solution, o ering modular buildings for both sale and hire.
Órla: Both Conor and I have worked in modular construction for the majority of our careers and we’re passionate about the industry and continuing to promote it as a credible alternative to traditional construction. We feel a responsibility to take a leadership role on this and be actively involved, therefore, as Mac Zero, we have just became a founding partner of MMC Ireland (Modern Methods of Construction in Ireland) - an organisation which is committed to developing and promoting Ireland’s MMC sector, nationally and internationally. In conjunction with designers, installers and other manufacturers from the MMC sector, we have joined the representative body to lend our voice to promoting and educating stakeholders on the sustainable and e cient bene ts of modular construction.
Tell us about some of our recent projects.
Conor: We deliver modular building solutions, including design, manufacturing, groundworks and installation, which is often why our o ering is well matched to the education sector, health sector, and commercial and industrial businesses’ requirements. We manufacture o site so the potential for disruption is reduced and we can reach NZEB requirements for new buildings.
Two of our most recent projects have been in Cavan and Monaghan for colleges. Inver College in Carrickmacross is a mixed vocational post primary school that we built and installed an 825sqm, two storey, low carbon building expansion. Designed with a blend of cedar-clad alongside an aluminium façade, the extension blends seamless into the existing site and has achieved EPC ratings of A for energy usage.
In Curragho, Co. Cavan, Breifne College is our latest school to embark on a Move to Zero. Almost completed, we have just delivered this 1,400sqm, two storey building from our production facilities to site this month for the nal stages of the construction programme. When completed, the nZEB (nearly Zero Energy Building) building, which will house multiple classrooms, will deliver an EPC rating of A for energy usage.
Closer to home, we have also delivered modular, high spec o ces for local companies and we’ve recently installed a new o ce building at Air Ambulance NI’s base outside Lisburn.
Orla: Modular buildings are made up of separate sections, constructed o site and then delivered to site for assembly. They o er exibility, minimal disruption and can often be a quick and more cost e cient that traditional building methods.
As technology has progressed and awareness of the immense capabilities of modular construction has been explored, the focus has shifted to the role that modular construction is playing in delivering Net Zero Buildings. A building’s performance starts in the planning, with good design critical.
Sustainability is at the core of design for manufacture of Modular Buildings. The materials that are used in modular structures are often created from recycled materials, and in turn can be recycled after use. Modular buildings go a long way to minimising the carbon footprint too with 67% less energy used in creating a modular build versus its equivalent traditional build.
In addition to the bene ts of less disruption on-site, increased safety and turnaround times, the con dence of high-grade, factory-controlled production and installation provides a greater degree of certainty with regards to the unit’s thermal performance.
This is helping modular buildings to be at the forefront of new developments as we’re providing timely and exceptional nearly zero (nZEB) buildings.
Mac Zero’s name is re ective of the business’s values - striving for zero accidents, zero defects, zero delays, zero carbon footprint and zero waste.
• £1.72M grant from the UK Government Advanced Propulsion Centre (“APC”) to develop a demonstration scale magnet recycling plant
• New Belfast facility will house magnet recycling technology at demonstration scale to secure critical rare earth metals for renewable energy applications and reduce sovereign risk.
Seren Technologies, (SerenTech) has won a £1.72m grant from the UK Government Advanced Propulsion Centre in order to build a cutting-edge recycling facility in Northern Ireland and create jobs.
Founded in 2015, as a spinout from Queens University Belfast (QUB), SerenTech has developed new techniques to recycle magnets using a revolutionary process for the separation and recovery of rare earth elements from mining ore concentrates and waste magnets.
SerenTech now has 11 full time employees based in Belfast,
with another 25 positions to be created in 2023, and further expansion planned thereafter.
Speaking after the announcement of the award, QUB Professor Peter Nockemann said:
“Given the ubiquity of magnets in almost every type of electronic equipment, from mobile phones to electric cars to MRI machines, and the rising cost of mining rare earth elements which make magnets, the development of a scaled-up magnet recycling process is seen as a major area of economic growth. Our team at Queens are proud of the
world leading research which has led us to this point. SerenTech has developed a toolkit of separation techniques and solvent systems which present a potential opportunity to provide a world leading recycling process in the industrial elemental extraction from spent magnets and waste, to satisfy growing demand and lagging new global supply chains, right here in Belfast.”
He added,
“The technology developed by SerenTech provides considerable benefits over alternative magnet recycling technology presently being marketed and operated. We now look forward to the next stage of the company’s journey where we take what we have learned at a research scale and expand it to demonstration scale.”
Commenting on the successful application and award, Mr Andrew Holmes, Director of SerenTech said,
“This is a tremendous endorsement from the UK Government and the APC on the potential for scaling our technology offering from SerenTech. This grant validates the significance of magnet recycling in a tight supply market.
“The team has been busy setting a platform to accelerate from the pilot scale studies at Queens University Belfast, and now relocation to a new commercial facility in Belfast, where a demonstration scale 30 tonne per annum magnet recycling circuit can be housed. The scale of the proposed demonstration plant will prepare the ground for further product development with industry partners.
“We expect that the importance of recycling will increase dramatically over the next few years as the energy transition away from carbon gathers more momentum, and the desire from governments to develop alternative secure supply chains amplifies.”
Pictured (L-R) is Lynsey Gordon, General Manager of The Rabbit Hotel and Shannon Hegarty, Power NI Marketing Executive, marking the successful installation of Intelligent Heating Systems in the hotel supported by NISEP grant funding.
Branded the sassy little sister of the Galgorm Resort & Spa, Templepatrick’s chic boutique hotel is setting the standard for sustainability and energy savings in hospitality with the installation of Intelligent Heating Controls by Heatboss and help from Power NI, part of Energia Group.
Following its acquisition by the Galgorm Collection in 2018, the newly named Rabbit Hotel underwent major renovations to become a stylish 33-bedroom boutique hotel with outdoor spa, bar and restaurant and wedding event space. As part of the renovation process, the Galgorm Collection was keen to include sustainable practices to reduce their energy usage.
Offering heat usage savings of up to 30% on average, the Intelligent Heating Control System provided by Heatboss was part-funded by the NISEP (Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme) grant, available to apply for through Power NI, Northern Ireland’s leading energy provider.
The installation of this intelligent
heating system provides The Rabbit with ability to heat each individual room as and when needed, not only reducing energy consumption and wastage but giving guests the comfort to adjust the room to their desired temperature, offering a win-win for sustainability and overall experience.
Discussing the partnership between Heatboss, The Rabbit and Power NI, the Managing Director and Co-founder of Heatboss, Janette O’Hagan said “The Power NI team is professional and passionate about sustainability and provides a shining example to our public sector of the kind of help that our SMEs are in urgent and great need of and I hope that the team there will continue to support our clients for years to come.”
Heatboss had previously worked with the Galgorm Group on their new build and renovated cottages projects at Galgorm Resort & Spa in 2019, and the Rabbit were keen to implement the same ease of control and efficiency with their heating.
The Galgorm Collection have been on a sustainability journey for quite some time, having previously availed of the NISEP grant to install Intelligent Heating Systems in some of their other sites.
General Manager of The Rabbit, Lysney Gordon said, “thanks to the help from Power NI during the application process for the NISEP grant, we’ve been able to make significant investments in Intelligent Heating Systems. Not only does this provide energy savings and benefit sustainable practices, but actually offers a more comfortable stay for our guests too!”
Power NI has helped to facilitate the NISEP grants for several years, and the energy supplier is proud to support businesses in the migration towards more sustainable energy practices.
Janine O’Donnell, Energy Services Programme Manager at Power NI said: “Sustainability is a hot topic at the moment and for good reason, we need to work hard to reduce our carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. We’re proud to see and facilitate the investments that are being made across Northern Ireland making energy efficient practices not only accessible, but sensible for businesses. Funding through the NISEP grant presents an opportunity to invest in technologies that are financially viable, especially for smaller businesses.”
The NISEP scheme allows up to 20% funding towards the installation of energy saving technologies such as LED lighting, Variable Speed Drives and Intelligent Heating Controls.
For more information visit www.powerni.co.uk/ businessgrants
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Supporting the Ulster Orchestra is an investment in the cultural vibrancy and quality of life in Northern Ireland.
As a charity, support from the business community is vital in continuing the work of the Orchestra both on and o the stage. Corporate partners can enjoy a close and mutually beneficial relationship with the Orchestra, finely tailored to meet ever-changing needs on both sides, be it a focus on community engagement, talent development, branding or prestigious client entertainment.
Johnny Hanna has been busy since taking over as Partner in Charge of KPMG in Northern Ireland three years ago. During that time the firm has grown across all divisions in direct response to increasing and changing demand from clients, while also adding new skillsets in cyber security, applied intelligence, strategy and sustainability.
The evolution has been in step with the changing business environment in recent years, an ability to flex which the firm prides itself on.
The KPMG in Northern Ireland tax team offers a good example of how it adapts to client needs.
Led by Johnny, the team, based in the Soloist building at Lanyon Place, has grown steadily in recent years to nearly 100 and is an integral part of KPMG’s market-leading allisland tax practice of professionals advising businesses and individuals on UK and Irish tax issues across a wide range of industry sectors.
“Given our technical strengthin-depth and the international expertise within our team, we work on many of the largest, the most complex and often the most interesting transactions involving our Northern Ireland and our Republic of Ireland-headquartered client base. That strength is
supported by the exceptionally high pass rate of our staff in their Chartered Accountancy and Chartered Institute of Taxation exams, and a strong pipeline of talent coming up through the ranks.
“Much of that success is down to our continuing ability to recruit, develop and retain the best people within a very tight-knit and collegiate team”.
Helping provide leadership for the highly capable KPMG tax team are an experienced group of Belfastbased tax partners including Paddy Doherty and Sara Hamill. Paddy has been a partner since 2019 while Sara, one of a growing number of female leaders within the firm, was appointed partner in September this year. It’s a role she relishes and one which allows her to ensure clients get exceptional service.
“When we partner with clients, we rarely focus on just one piece of work,” she said. “We tend to work across a spectrum of projects, very much acting as their trusted advisor. When it calls for it, we roll
up our sleeves and get down in the trenches with them, working on any problems which come up.”
The tax team’s success has been replicated across the firm, with all divisions experiencing strong growth, and new services finding a willing client base. In line with the upward trajectory, KPMG has made a number of recent promotions such as Sara’s, as well as new audit partner Phillip Marshall.
“Our Audit practice, led by John Poole, has a fantastic mix of experience advising large public and private businesses in Northern Ireland across a range of sectors,” Johnny said. “But we’re expanding across all areas and, of course, we’re continuing to focus on building up our new Belfast Centre of Excellence, offering advice and guidance on cyber security and applied intelligence”
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a good example of how the local firm is adapting to changing client needs, offering a range of technology services to a growing roster of clients across the UK and Ireland. First announced by Johnny in early 2021, the CoE is ahead of plan on meeting its target of hiring 200 additional people.
Meanwhile, KPMG’s Sustainable Futures arm, led by partner Russell Smyth, has tapped into the increasingly important subject of ESG (environmental, social and governance). Their cross functional team of experts helps companies and public sector clients plan and
Lauren Kinghan, pictured right, exemplifies the exceptional performance of KPMG’s tax team in professional exams. The Tax Manager achieved the highest marks in the Chartered Institute of Taxation of all Northern Ireland candidates, picking up the KPMG Pat Cullinan Memorial Medal in the process. She is pictured receiving her award from Aidan Cullinan, left, and KPMG Partner in Charge Johnny Hanna, centre.
execute programmes addressing ESG topics, decarbonisation and long-term value creation.
“From a standing start in late 2019, the team has grown into the largest ESG advisory practice on the island of Ireland. They have incredible depth of knowledge and have responded to the unprecedented demand from our clients on what is a priority issue across all sectors and jurisdictions.”
Such growth across the firm has meant that total headcount for the Belfast office has climbed to nearly 440 and counting. In the coming weeks it will welcome another intake of 30 new graduates to start their careers.
“This time each year we take in a group of new graduates from the universities, but the nature of our growth means we are almost constantly on-boarding new people, whether experienced hires or graduates from a broad range of academic disciplines” he said.
“This week we welcomed 11 new joiners into the Cyber team from one of our Assured Skills Academies in conjunction with Belfast Met.
We also launched our first Get Set Degree apprenticeship offering a small number of high performing students employment after their A-levels as an alternative to the traditional university route”.
Certainly, the firm has built a reputation as an employer of choice, with some of the best talent arriving in recent years to bolster an already top team. They are working on a hybrid basis, one which has helped galvanise the workforce, although Johnny feels the team are aware of the importance of getting the right balance between remote and in-office working.
“Like many others we offer hybrid working and plenty of flexibility for all of our people and that’s the way it will stay,” he said, “But there’s no doubt that it is increasingly important to see people back in the office, particularly as we head into the autumn period and with so many new graduates joining the firm”.
“Amongst the many things the pandemic taught us was that learning on the job and spending time in the office is the best way to develop our teams, particularly for our graduate trainees during the early stages of their career. Hybrid working does have some challenges but we are looking to technology and innovative ideas and suggestions, many coming from our staff, to help make the experience as optimal as possible for our people.”
While Johnny admits the challenges of inflation and increasing interest rates will dent broader economic growth in the coming months, he is generally optimistic for the future of business in Northern Ireland.
The ability to trade with both the UK and European Union under the Northern Ireland Protocol is a unique situation which he believes can offer a significant boost for businesses here, if the current issues can be ironed out.
Additional benefits will be found, Johnny said, from the devolution of corporation tax-setting powers to Stormont, one which would allow Northern Ireland to compete on an even footing with peers in the Republic where the business tax is just 12.5%.
“I spoke at the ‘Empowering Newry, Mourne and Down’ event in the Slieve Donard in early summer and made the point that it is ludicrous to have a company in Newry paying substantially more corporation tax than a competitor based only a couple of miles away in Dundalk.”
Adding further support for the economy will be the basket of city deals currently being rolled out across Northern Ireland.
Drawing on both public and private sector funding, they are designed to support businesses by tackling everything from infrastructure to skills and will provide a long-term boost.
Other initiatives, such as the collaboration on the BelfastDublin corridor should help bolster that optimism further.
“In the right scenario, there are lots of opportunities here which will not only help businesses weather the coming challenges, but will help them thrive in the future.”
With such opportunity, both for the Northern Ireland economy and for the fast-growing team at KPMG, it is clear that the next few months and years are going to be exciting. Key to success, says Johnny Hanna, is grasping those opportunities and ensuring your business, like KPMG’s, is flexible enough to make the most of them.
The prestigious Bangor Business Awards are back for 2022 to recognise the resilience, innovation and commitment to growth companies of all sizes have made over the last three years.
Organised by Bangor Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event promises to be the city and borough’s largest business awards event to date, with a record number of entries expected across a range of 16 categories.
Aimed at local businesses of every size, the awards, which are principally sponsored by Ards and North Down Borough Council, will officially celebrate achievement, innovation and the perseverance for growth which the people behind them have shown
Mayor of Ards and North Down, Karen Douglas, launching the 2022 Bangor Business Awards with members of Bangor Chamber of Commerce, Adam McDowell an award category sponsor from Hamilton Morris Wall, Geoff Thompson, Bangor Chamber of Commerce president and Jamie Bill, representing Bloomfield Traders Association, an award category sponsor.
during a particularly challenging period.
“Despite a variety of challenges over the last three years, Bangor’s business community has shown steadfast determination, resilience and tenacity to bounce back, to reinvent, innovate and grow in an increasingly competitive local and global marketplace and their efforts deserve to be recognised and celebrated,” Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, Councillor Karen Douglas, said.
Entries are open now and will close on Friday 14 October before the shortlist is announced on Wednesday 19 October. The official awards ceremony takes place at the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel, Bangor, on Thursday 3 November.
“I’m delighted to see the Bangor Business Awards return to our annual calendar of events, and I look forward to celebrating the outstanding work of our local enterprises while showcasing their achievements.
Local businesses are the lifeblood of our community, and I would encourage every business owner or manager to get their entries in early,” the Mayor said.
The Bangor Business Awards
2022 categories are:
Hospitality & Tourism Business of the Year
Independent Retailer of the Year
Professional Business Services Company of the Year
Customer Service Excellence, Multiple Retailer
Emerging Business of the Year
Family Business of the Year
Best Business Development
Employer of the Year
Best Marketing Initiative
Innovation Through Covid Company of the Year
Employer of the Year
Creative Business of the Year
Technology Business of the Year
Sustainable & Environmentally
Friendly Business of the Year
Retail Person of the Year
Commitment to Bangor Business Community
Lurgan’s Spadetown Brewing Co. has commissioned three new fermenters and installed a new in-house canning line at its Silverwood Road production facility following an £800,000 investment.
It comes as the microbrewery welcomes two new members to its team and prepares to launch three new beers.
Dave Graham, Spadetown’s new Brew Guru, is overseeing the development of the brewery’s three new product launches; a Raging Red Ale and Dark Cloud Stout, both of which will launch in the autumn, and a zero alcohol IPA due to be launched early next year.
He joins the Spadetown team alongside its new commercial director Annie David, who is tasked with developing the Spadetown brand proposition in the local market through
new product launches, securing retail listings and increasing its availability on draught in watering holes across Northern Ireland.
Launched in 2021 following a major investment by owners Martin Dummigan and Patrick McAliskey, Spadetown established a dedicated 5000 sq ft production facility in its hometown of Lurgan.
The latest phase of a long-term investment programme sees three new 2,400 litre fermenters integrate into an existing state-of-the-art automated brewing system to expand the brewery’s production capacity to 2,300,000 litres per annum.
Upgrading its packaging facilities, Spadetown has also installed a new canning line. When fully operational, the equipment will fill up to 2,200 cans per hour.
Spadetown co-founder Patrick McAliskey says: “With additional capacity offered by our new fermenters and production efficiency improved by our new canning line, we’re equipped with the technology to capitalise on the significant opportunity Spadetown has in the market.
“The investment also solidifies our commitment to re-establishing and reinventing Lurgan’s rich brewing legacy; to preserve tradition, to create new employment opportunities and fertile ground for future investment in the local area, and to produce a premium export product that is unique to this place and its communities.”
Commercial director Annie David
says: “This latest investment sees the launch of three new limited edition brews which will double our product range, building upon the early success of our core IPA, pilsner and lager to offer an assorted drinks selection, including a non-alcoholic option, to every consumer.
“The new products also reflect the personality of Spadetown, which is unlike anything else available in the local market. It has an entirely unique, but also typically Northern Irish sensibility, which we believe is a huge selling point for the brand and will sustain its upward trajectory as we expand our presence and grow sales volumes through new listings in on- and off-trade establishments over the coming months.”
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When Mancunian Karen Yates touched down in Northern Ireland for the first time back in 1988, little did she know that she’d still be here more than 30 years later, or that she’d be running a family-owned luxury brand fashion business based on the scenic Causeway Coast.
came over here to work for Desmonds in Derry on their graduate scheme,” she says. “and moved over permanently in the early 90’s. Back then, Desmonds was a huge business, producing a range of menswear, children’s clothes and ladies’ fashion for big retailer Marks & Spencer.”
During her career with Desmonds, Karen helped to grow the ladies wear side of the business to a £37 million turnover.
“But I’d managed to acquire a husband and three kids a few years later,” she smiles. “So I decided on a change of career and went to work alongside my husband, Russell, in his print and design business based in Coleraine.”
Seven years ago, with daughter Ellen in her final years at school and preparing to head for university in Karen’s native Manchester, the pair looked at ways of setting up their own handbag business, a fashion business with nearshore manufacturing, sustainability and ethics built into its model.
“We started with £10k of working capital, not a lot for a fashion business,” says Karen. “So we couldn’t move into clothing ranges, much as we’d like to have done that.”
From its outset, Taylor Yates has targeted the lucrative higher end of the handbag marketplace, fashion items that its buyers and owners aspire to buy and want to be seen with. All well and good, but it’s a market sector traditionally dominated by some very big fashion names indeed.
“The look and feel of our bags was important right from the start,” says Ellen Yates, now out the other end of a fashion management degree in Manchester and working alongside her mother. “But so was the manufacturing process. A lot of high-end handbags are made in North Africa or the Far East. We looked at China, quickly decided against it, then considered Italy.”
A chance encounter at a business dinner with former Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, provided a lightbulb moment. “Owen
knew a lot about the leather industry in England and put us in touch with the UK Leather Consortium,” adds Karen.
“To cut a long story short, we talked to a number of leather manufacturers over in England and found an ideal partner with a factory in Somerset.
“We launched our first collection of handbags made in Somerset in November, 2016, and within 18 months of our launch, we had a waiting list of customers wanting to buy one of our bags.”
In those days, Taylor Yates was an online business, selling to customers all over the UK primarily but also further afield.
Then, in 2018, having returned from a trip to London Fashion Week, Karen & Ellen Yates decided on a bold move into bricks and mortar retailing. But, true to form for a mother and daughter who like to think outside the box, they didn’t venture into London, Dublin or even the affluent suburbs of Belfast.
Having worked on a new workspace hub development in Bushmills alongside economic development agency Enterprise Causeway, the pair agreed to take a retail unit and set up shop for the first time.
“We honestly didn’t know what to expect,” says Ellen “but we opened
for the first time in early August of 2018 and sold eight handbags in one day. We really didn’t expect that.”
It’s worth remembering, with that in mind, that these are handbags ranging in price from £145 up to £595, with an average price around the £400 mark.
“So, I think it’s fair to say that we knew then that we had products that customers wanted,” smiles Karen Yates.
The team at Taylor Yates has worked hard through the years to build added value around its bags, to add a sense of ownership and to create a strong brand personality. Each of the Taylor Yates bags has a woman’s name – Agnes, Tilly, Elsie, Mavis, etc.
“We haven’t just come up with the names at random,” she adds. “These are the names of women I’ve known over the years right back to when I was growing up in the North West of England.”
Six years on, Karen & Ellen have built a luxury leather fashion brand and managed to retain the strong sustainability and ethical themes.
The company plants a tree for every bag sold and works alongside a number of local charities. At the manufacturing level, each bag is created using surplus leather sourced as a by-product of food production.
Just this year, the pair achieved their dream of expanding into clothing for the first time, launching a knitwear
line with the same circularity and responsible sourcing at its heart.
“We design and create products that we feel people need, not just want. Taylor Yates bags and knitwear transcend the seasons, they are designed to be worn all year round and our customers love this about the brand,” says Ellen.
Taylor Yates’s core values are ‘people, planet, purpose’ and the company has been awarded the Butterfly Mark, a third-party accreditation that identifies the luxury brands that meet the highest standards of transparency and environmental performance. The team recently completed The Carbon Literacy training and as a result they now have targets to achieve in their drive to be a net zero business.
What’s next for the business? In her academic dissertation, Ellen outlined plans for three services – re:serve, re:fresh and re:deem. In short, they’re a handbag rental service, a handbag refurbishment service and a buyback programme.
“We think that these are innovative ways of extending the reach of our brand and our products, and they’re also the kind of additional services that our customers will welcome.”
In addition, the company has secured additional growth funding through Whiterock Capital to help fund its development plans.
Taylor Yates is holding an exclusive, one night only event focused around beauty, fashion and homeware, giving people the chance to see many of their favourite brands in person, all under the one roof.
Tickets are on sale for the event happening at Banana Block on Belfast’s Newtownards Road on Thursday 13th October, with proceeds going to Glow NI, a local charity focusing on empowering women and girls with life skills to increase confidence and self-esteem.
Northern Ireland’s Law Society, which represents and regulates the solicitor profession, holds a unique distinction amongst its counterpart Law societies in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Its current President, Brigid Napier, is the tenth woman to hold the office since solicitor Thomasina McKinney was elected president back in 1978.
The other Societies can only point to six women presidents over the same period at best.
Brigid Napier, an insolvency, and commercial litigation specialist at her own firm Napier Solicitors in Belfast, has made a significant impact since taking on the chain of office last November.
She is a third-generation lawyer whose grandfather served in the same role back in 1959.
“In my Presidential year I’ve focused on a number of key priorities,” she says. “One of my priorities has been to positively build on how the Law Society is viewed both by our members and wider audiences.
The Society must be relevant to today’s legal and business landscape and that means spotlighting how important the legal profession is to the Northern Ireland economy.”
“To further this work we commissioned a major report on the sector’s economic impact which we published to coincide with its recent one-day conference entitled Shaping Our Future Together held at Belfast Hilton on 23rd September 2022”.
“We’ve also been working hard to grow our engagement with our members, and the findings from the survey will be of great interest to them.,” she says.
“The survey is timely and necessary, and this is reflected in the 43% ofour members who responded which is remarkably high for a survey.
“I have also been focusing on addressing the issue of those women solicitors particularly those in their 30’s who are leaving the profession.
Our survey has highlighted the continuing loss of some women members from the solicitor profession even though, in overall terms, 53% of the Law Society’s members here are women. That is a long way from how things used to be only a couple of decades ago. “When the Society was formed, the profession was entirely male,” she smiles.
“Since the start of the year, I have made it a priority to reach out to members in person through a series of ‘Road Show’ events to allow me to hear first-hand the issues facing our members and their clients.
This has been a particularly useful exercise allowing me to speak directly to members from across Northern Ireland.”
One of the emerging findings from the survey is that the solicitor profession in Northern Ireland is now much more inclusive and diverse than it was one hundred years ago.
The Society is now more proactive in its engagement with members from diverse backgrounds as evidenced by its recent involvement in Belfast Pride.
“We have to be more open, we have to be more transparent, and we have to make sure that we represent everyone,” she adds. “And we must engage with a wider audience and make our views known on wider issues when it’s important and relevant for us to do so.” As with previous years the Law Society has been supportive of local charities and this year, under Brigid Napier’s leadership, and through events including the Society’s ‘Legal Walk’ they have managed to raise £18,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI.
Brigid Napier has served as Law Society President at a critical time for women in the legal sphere.
Northern Ireland has a female Lord Chief Justice in Dame Siobhan Keegan, a female Attorney General in Dame Brenda King and a female Justice Minister in Naomi Long.
“The legal sector in Northern Ireland is very significant,” says Brigid Napier.
“Outside of the range of firms and solicitors we represent, the region has become a major centre for legal services work, a sector that provides employment for thousands of people.”
Northern Ireland is home to major back-office operations run by leading international firms like Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, Axiom and Shoosmiths.
This year marks the Law Society’s Centenary, and many events are taking place. In June, the Society launched a new book looking back at its 100 years from the establishment of the Society to the present day. The book was launched during the Summer at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, at a ceremony attended by over 120 members of the legal profession and senior members of the Judiciary.
Among those attending was solicitor James Russell, who celebrates his own centenary in November, and James Doran (94), the Society’s senior Past President.
A popular President amongst the Society’s members, Brigid Napier will continue to serve until November 2022 when elections to the Law Society’s Council are due to take place.
Brigid remains part of the Presidential team supported by the Society’s
Chief Executive David A. Lavery CB and Senior Management Team.
In its Centenary year, Brigid says that the Society continues to punch way above its weight on the international stage.
“We continue to grow our international outreach and maintain close contacts with other Societies, representative bodies, and Governments across different countries. For a country of our size this is impressive and if you consider the work of local solicitors like Brian Speers the current President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and others, we maintain our importance on an international stage.”
Back at home, the Society is continuing to meet the demands of an ever-evolving solicitor profession. Brigid says “As a representative body we must meet and support the needs of our members and that is why we have significantly invested in redesigning Law Society House as a second office in Belfast’s Legal Quarter for our members to meet clients and attend court. Last year we opened ‘The Meeting Space’ at Law Society House, a high specification suite of meeting rooms at the Society’s Victoria Street headquarters. It is open to any business
user, not just Law Society members.
We have also invested in developing a new lecture hall, a new ‘Law Club’ cafe and informal work area for our members.
We understand that solicitors often need privacy away from prying eyes and listening ears. So, our facilities offer them the chance to meet somewhere private.
These new facilities are for all members to use as they see fit.” says Brigid Napier.
As her Presidency enters its final few months, Brigid recognises that much work has been done to date, but much is still left to do.
“There are other issues of importance which need to be addressed including supporting access to justice and ensuring an appropriate justice budget in Northern Ireland.
We recognise that we are all living in difficult and demanding times, but we remain resolute in ensuring that the Law Society continues to represent our members and act in the best interests of their clients.
After 100 years the solicitor profession remains of great importance to our community, and I remain very optimistic that our best years are ahead of us”.
“Our survey highlights the major contribution the Solicitor profession makes to the Northern Ireland economycontributing £460m GVA and creating more than 6,300 high value jobs.”
Based in Drains Bay along the scenic Antrim Coast, Hillmount House, the privately-owned Georgian manor set amongst a 10-acre estate that sweeps down towards the shoreline, has completed a six-figure investment in the development of a new, purpose-built wedding and conference centre with funding support from Ulster Bank.
With the capacity to seat up to 200 guests, it’s anticipated the latest addition to the Hillmount estate will double turnover from its events business.
Where previously the business was facilitating approximately 30 weddings per year, the new multi-functional space will provide Hillmount House with the capacity to accommodate up to 100 weddings per year.
Designed for flexibility, it represents a new direction for the business, as Hillmount House also aims to grow its presence in the corporate events space. As part of this, the business is in the process of acquiring an alcohol licence for its new art deco-inspired cocktail bar, a central feature of the conference centre, which will open
up an entirely new revenue stream.
Events manager Sabrina JametHarper said: “Set in the magnificent grounds of Hillmount House, our new wedding and conference centre offers a stunning and spacious setting with an attractive terraced area for guests and delegates to take in the surroundings of the estate.
Alongside the original property, which offers excellent meeting and breakout facilities for groups of various sizes, Hillmount House is equipped for all types of events, from conferences, corporate events and launch parties to that special day.”
Ulster Bank business development manager Conor McNeill said: “We’re very pleased to support the team at Hillmount House with the development of its new wedding and conference centre, which adds a premium asset to the hospitality offering in the local market unlike anything currently available. Backed up by a dedicated team, we’re confident it will act as a catalyst for growth, generating additional revenue and supporting job creation right down the supply chain as it
attracts more business to the area for the benefit of other third-party suppliers and service providers operating in the events sector.”
Throughout the pandemic, the intimate Hillmount House was uniquely positioned to continue operating as wedding venue, playing host to memorable receptions and functions for the many smaller gatherings of family and friends less suited to hotels and larger spaces.
Owner Andrew Brennan said this sustained the business during the challenging period and strengthened its reputation as a flexible and highly sought-after venue.
“We initially downscaled our operation, comfortably accommodating bookings of up to 50 guests. These types of bookings were unsuitable for larger spaces and so we picked that business up. It kept us going and positioned us well to bounce back once the events industry reopened.”
He said demand is strong and now is the right time to invest and expand the offering at Hillmount House.
“Throughout that time, we
helped many wedding parties create lasting memories and we built a solid reputation for the professional and personal service we pride ourselves on. Word quickly spread and as more and more enquiries started coming we found ourselves turning business away.
“We’ve banked with Ulster Bank since taking ownership of the premises and its team has always been supportive of our vision for Hillmount, so we decided now was the right time to expand to meet the demand.”
Built in 1728, the Georgian manor house was awarded Grade II listed status in the late 1970s. Over the past four years, Hillmount has been painstakingly refurbished, renovated and replanted to create the exclusive country house and estate it is today. Promising sophistication and comfort, its policy of only hosting one event per day guarantees exclusive access to the estate for event hosts and wedding parties.
Hillmount House was recently named as one of the top 100 best wedding venues in Ireland 2022/23 by One Fab Day.
The company was at the very forefront of the UK’s response to Covid, and it took some ill-tempered flak for its trouble, largely as a result of political in-fighting at Westminster and from competitors who hadn’t been quite so quick on their feet.
“In total, we’ve processed well over 25m million Covid test and detected more than 1.1 million actual cases of the virus since March 2020,” says Mark Campbell of Randox. “But the bare facts don’t tell the story of how we got there and how a dedicated team of people worked tirelessly in the dark days of the pandemic to help get us all through it.
“Don’t forget that, before the vaccines were developed and rolled out, effecting testing and lockdown were the only two weapons in the government’s Covid armoury,” he says.
The company’s 2021 financials show that it reported a £275 million pre-tax profit to the end of June, from all its business activities, putting ahead of any other private sector organisation in Northern Ireland. But it had to be prepared and in the right place at the right time to achieve what it has achieved.
Randox has remained a familyowned concern. Founded by Dr. Peter FitzGerald 40 years ago in a former chicken shed at his family’s lough shore farm outside Crumlin, the company expanded to produce tests for everything from diabetes to infectious diseases.
“We’ve always believed that testing lies at the very core of healthcare. Most healthcare systems today are largely reactive, in that patients get sick and they’re treated. Our philosophy is that we should be doing much more in preventative healthcare, identifying illness and potential illness before they become apparent. Overall, early identification and treatment produces better healthcare outcomes at less cost.
“So well before 2020, by example, we had already developed an end-to-end testing solution for some specific tests whereby
patients were sent a sample collection kit by post, collected samples themselves, sent the sample back and got a result.”
Even before Covid, Randox was on a rapid growth trajectory. It had bought the former Massereene Army Barracks in Antrim to create the impressive Randox Science Park. It’s just as well it did. When Covid came along, the company had to capacity to set up largescale testing laboratories.
Mark Campbell confirms the story of how Peter FitzGerald moved quickly at the first inklings of the coming pandemic.
It was Saturday January 25 2020, when FitzGerald’s son showed him a news report of the Chinese government stepping up its response to the novel coronavirus. The following day, a Sunday, FitzGerald sent his scientists into the lab to start developing a test.
“We had experience of developing tests for previous coronaviruses so within two weeks we were in a position to present our new PCR Covid diagnostic to Public Health England,” says Mark Campbell.
“At that stage, it was unclear whether the government would do all the testing itself or enlist the help of private providers.
“When we signed our first contract at the end of March 2020, we had a capacity of about 150 tests a day. By January of 2021, we were handling 120,000. For us, it was all about being really quick on our feet. Right at the outset, for instance, we were ordering volumes of PCR consumables that were unheard of before the pandemic. We were told by one supplier that an early order we placed for pipette tips, which are crucial for PCR testing, was the equivalent of the world’s supply of pipette tip in a normal year.
“We also built 80,000 sq.ft of additional laboratory space in very quick time and grew from 1,400 to 3,300 people. In one month alone, we took on 439 new employees,” he says. “Someone described what we did as building a ship and launching it at the same time.”
Mark Campbell also underlines
the human side of the company’s response. “While most people were at home and only venturing out once a day, our people were travelling to Antrim and working long shifts around the clock handling many thousands of Covid tests,” he says.
As mass Covid testing slowly began to be rolled out to other laboratories, Randox kept up the pace. “Travel testing started to become even more important as people were allowed to travel once again, and it still forms part of what we do today.
“In total we have processed well over 8 million test to support the private sector and international travel, on top of the more than 17 million tests we processed for the Government testing programme. We know we have made a real impact on both the economy and in people’s lives.
Peter FitzGerald and his senior team say that re-investing profits has always been the Randox way of doing things and the additional profits made during Covid are being ploughed back into a major expansion in the company’s range of testing packages as well as a fast-growing network of high street clinics across the UK.
“People know a lot more about testing and diagnosis in the wake of Covid,” says Mark Campbell. “And they’re also comfortable with the concept of testing and self-testing. Few of us would have been too keen on sticking a swab into our nose or throat before 2020.”
The company aims to have 20 clinics open by the end of the calendar year, including four now open here in Northern Ireland (in Foyle, Holywood, South Belfast and Crumlin). It has also invested in a number of clinics
across London, a big market for Randox going forward.
The company’s consumer advertising is visible around London’s transport network and, of course, Randox is the main sponsor of the Grand National at Aintree.
It’s also keen to work with corporates here in Northern Ireland as well as elsewhere, and offers a Randox Every Business package for employers here to provide as a benefit to their employees.
“Testing is all about early diagnosis, and it’s also about a better outcome at less cost for all concerned,” Mark adds.
Randox, through its clinics or directly, offers its comprehensive EveryMan and EveryWoman packages, each of which comprise some 150 different clinical tests and costs £295, with the initial results within days and a six-month follow-up when all the tests are repeated to assess progress.
“The tests look at just about every aspect of the patient’s health. They can certainly help prevent people from becoming ill, and they can provide guidance for patients what they need to change to avoid trouble ahead.
“We all understand that our Health Service is under considerable pressure and the work that we do aims to reduce that pressure and to help people keep healthier for longer. It’s a sobering fact that 22% of UK deaths are classed as avoidable. That’s one in every five funerals.
“So this is an ongoing commitment for us as well as a major investment. We’re committed to a future that places testing at the centre of healthcare and promotes prevention as a key tool to improve the health of the nation.”
If any business organisation based here in Northern Ireland could claim to have been fully committed during the pandemic, Randox would be the first to put up its corporate hand.
Lisburn – based business growth specialist, Pinnacle Growth Group, has announced that it helped clients to secure a collective £200k grant funding in August. The amount was obtained under the consultancy’s guidance by clients across multiple funding awards, including five rural awards, from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA,) Invest Northern Ireland and Innovate UK.
The news comes as the firm reveals ambitious plans for further expansion. The organisation, which advises public and private sector clients across the UK and Ireland, has confirmed that it invested £400k into the business in 2022, with a view to increasing its employee base
and expanding its capabilities.
It also aims to enhance on-site engagement and collaboration by improving its facilities.
The Group has confirmed that its turnover has been increasing year on year and that it secured more than 13 new contract wins and clients in 2022. These include funding awards, multi-millionpound funding applications, business improvement and export programmes, and new clients, ranging from SMEs to large corporations.
The consultancy provides expert, bespoke support to clients in three areas - finance for growth, business improvement, and sales and export growth. To date, it has supported over 500 organisations with bespoke Brexit
advice and has secured over £15M in funding for clients. It has also supported over 500 companies across the UK and Ireland to grow, develop and expand, leading to the creation of hundreds of jobs in different sectors.
Judith Neill, General Manager at Pinnacle Growth Group, says “We are delighted to have helped secure a collective £200k funding for clients across multiple sectors in August alone.
“We are also excited to announce our growth plans for 2022/23. Over the past two years, we have invested over £800k to fuel the growth of our business and are actively recruiting to expand our team.
“We have a strong footprint across the UK and Ireland and aim to go above and beyond to add value to our clients in both geographies. Our business model and approach are based upon knowledge gathered across multiple business sectors
within the global economy and we are continually expanding our knowledge and capabilities to ensure that we provide clients with the very best bespoke advice.
“We are also expanding our workforce, to ensure that we continue to deliver an excellent client service by adding to our team’s breadth and depth of experience. I look forward to the development of our new premises to accommodate additional employees this year.”
Martin Agnew, Henderson Group Joint Managing Director will be the keynote speaker at the 26th Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) annual dinner, the largest annual gathering of the Northern Ireland food processing industry.
Held in partnership with HSBC UK, the event will be held on Thursday 20 October in the Hilton Hotel, Belfast.
With over 250 people expected to attend the event, the NIFDA annual dinner is recognised as an opportunity for food and drink leaders to come together to discuss how the industry and its customers can address present challenges and how to grow even further.
Speaking ahead of the dinner, NIFDA Executive Director Michael Bell said:
“These are challenging times for the food and drink industry and the wider ‘eating ecosystem’ of sectors we operate within.
The war in Ukraine has had a ripple effect on the food and drink supply chain globally, with producers, processors and retailers all grappling with high inflation, and NIFDA has called on the government to support the industry as energy costs continue to rise.
“While we cannot ignore the challenges the industry is facing, the focus of our members remains on producing high quality, sustainable food and drink for our customers. Food and drink is the largest manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland, generating billions in value added to the local economy. Supporting some 113,000 jobs, our industry is embedded in
local communities across Northern Ireland, and it is fitting that this year’s NIFDA annual dinner will be addressed by Martin Agnew, Joint MD at Henderson Group. Henderson Group has a strong reputation as a leader in the convenience retail sector here, supplying over 500 stores across Northern Ireland with fresh, locally sourced products daily. We are delighted to have Martin with us as keynote speaker.”
Scott Wilson, Head of Corporate Banking NI, HSBC UK said:
“We are delighted to support the NIFDA annual dinner as headline sponsor for the third consecutive year. Food and drink remains a key sector for the local economy, supporting jobs in every corner of Northern Ireland. At HSBC UK we are committed to supporting firms across the agri-food sector from farm to fork, and we have a long history of supporting new and established food
and drink brands, helping businesses adapt to changing consumer habits and customer requirements.”
Martin Agnew, Joint Managing Director, Henderson Group said:
“We have a thriving, innovative and dynamic food and drink sector here in Northern Ireland, and we need to continue to advocate for our local producers, farmers and growers to keep it that way.
“I’m honoured to be speaking at the annual NIFDA Dinner and look forward to being in the room with like minded individuals and organisations who care about the safeguarding of our local food industry. As one of the biggest grocers in Northern Ireland, we continue to make local sourcing our top priority, working with suppliers big and small, to put their food products on the shelves of our locally run stores. Local is in our DNA and I look forward to sharing more about our practices on the night.”
Leading business hub, Townsend Enterprise Park, has officially welcomed radio broadcaster and award-winning food producer, Carolyn Stewart’s burgeoning business ‘Turn Up the Flavour’ to the site.
Carolyn’s new business unit houses a bespoke 800 square foot industrial kitchen unit which allows her to produce her artisan Jamaican Patty range on a large-scale. Carolyn, a favourite on U105’s afternoon Bistro show, set-up Turn up the Flavour in 2016 following a life-long love of cooking and Caribbean flavours.
The brand, which started with a Caribbean Pickle product, has grown steadily year-on-year and four of her products were recognised at both the Irish Food Awards winning Gold and Bronze and the Great Taste Awards gaining stars, meaning they were graded as ‘outstanding’ against 14,000 products from 108 countries. She has since diversified into hand-producing delicious Jamaican Patties which are now sold in delicatessen’s across Northern Ireland.
The move to Townsend Enterprise Park - a charitable organisation whose aim it is to stimulate social and economic regeneration - has allowed Carolyn to up-scale the production of the Patty product allowing her to make up to 300 products per day to meet growing demand. Carolyn says that the new product was inspired following many trips to Jamaica where she fell in love with the street food. She said: “I have been to Jamaica many times and always absolutely loved their Patty Shacks across the Island, all selling the most delicious, flavorsome and unique patties. I have been on a mission to develop my own take on these for the past few years and am absolutely delighted with our finished product.
“We spent many months developing the recipes and have honed ours down to four combinations; Beef, Chicken, Veggie and Vegan, all home-made using the freshest local Northern Ireland ingredients. Our new premises at Townsend, which is located just off the Westlink in Belfast, is the perfect location for both production and indeed delivery to our various outlets across Northern Ireland.”
Margaret Patterson McMahon, CEO of TownsendEnterprise Park continued: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Carolyn to our thriving and diverse business community at Townsend Enterprise Park.
“Carolyn epitomizes what Townsend Enterprise Park is all about. Innovation, combined with a determination to succeed, alongside hard-work and a fantastic community-based attitude. Carolyn has a wonderful outgoing & giving nature and is already working in partnership with some of our other businesses on-site. I have no doubt that her business will grow from strength-tostrength, and we look forward to supporting Carolyn on that journey in any way that we can.”
Townsend Enterprise Park, is home to 46 small-to-medium sized businesses, employing over 300 people from across the city and beyond, providing flexible workspaces, meeting, and training and conference rooms. Other businesses housed there include a professional laundry servicing the hospitality and sports industry, a reflexologist training service, a florist, marble specialists, artists and makers, glazier and a series of other charitable organisations including a homeless and fresh food bank charity.
SPAR and EUROSPAR retailers from Northern Ireland took home 16 wins at the highly prestigious and celebrated Retail Industry Awards in London earlier this week.
Henderson Retail picked up seven awards including Forecourt Retailer of the Year, Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year and Best Use of Technology in the Multiple, Symbol/Franchise categories. Their company owned stores also picked up Forecourt Retailer of the Year for EUROSPAR Doagh, Post Office Retailer of the Year for EUROSPAR Rossdowney, and Store Team of the Year for SPAR Malone Road, while Samuel McCann from the Malone Road store took home Store Manager of the Year. Lynch’s Skeoge and Greysteel EUROSPAR supermarkets in
Derry/Londonderry were the big independent winners on the night, picking up four wins and a highly commended.
Michelle Finch from SPAR A29 in Cookstown also won Trailblazer of the Year, while Mulkerns EUROSPAR in Newry won two plus a highly commended, and McCullagh’s SPAR, Omagh and JD Hunter & Co in Markethill rounded up the 16 top awards with a trophy each.
Northern Ireland’s independent retailers were also named as highly commended in a further five categories.
Paddy Doody, Sales and Marketing
Director at Henderson Group says this is the biggest collective win for retailers at the Retail Industry Awards so far; “To be able to go to London and see our stores being recognised on a national platform for the excellence they bring to their communities, day in, day out, is fantastic.
“We are incredibly proud of our stores and their teams who are the ultimate competition, not only in their local markets but on a national and international retailing platform. They are consistent in their innovation and service and we send them huge congratulations for bringing home some of the top awards.”
Mark McCammond, Retail Director at Henderson Group added; “Henderson Retail has been continuing to invest across
communities in Northern Ireland, bringing unrivalled additional services within new and renovated stores, designed with their local communities at the heart. We are incredibly proud to have picked up seven top awards for our company and our stores, alongside a further seven highly commended including Multiple Community Retailer of the Year.”
The Retail Industry Award winners were selected by a panel of esteemed and experienced names in the industry. The Awards are a celebration of all that is great about the UK grocery retail sector.
Belfast’s Odyssey complex has announced the signing of three high profile restaurant brands, as part of the waterfront venue’s £15million winter 22/23 relaunch.
Zizzi’s, Nando’s, and Five Guys will all take prominent units within the revitalised riverside food and leisure mall, formerly known as the Odyssey Pavilion. The new restaurants will occupy just under 11,000sq ft of prime space combined (3,400, 4,000 and 3,300 sq ft respectively), creating over 75 new jobs.
The deals will give both Zizzi’s and Five Guys their second city centre locations, following the success of their Victoria Square stores, whilst the Odyssey location will be Nando’s 9th restaurant in Northern Ireland.
It is anticipated that all three restaurants will open in time for February’s half-term holiday. Agents representing the scheme
have confirmed that six more tenants are currently under offer to further bolster the offering, which also includes Cineworld and Hollywood Bowl.
Leaseholders, Matagorda2, are behind the large-scale relaunch of the former Pavilion, working in partnership with The Odyssey Trust, who have driven the development of the landmark leisure and entertainment destination over the last two decades.
The arrival of this new tranche of family-friendly restaurants and leisure operators signals a new era for the Odyssey. Transitioning into a complete day-to-night destination for family entertainment, this new
chapter will bolster the worldclass events and experiences offered by The SSE Arena Belfast, the Belfast Giants, and science and discovery centre, W5.
Guy Hollis, Matagorda2, commented: “We’re really encouraged by the interest in this new era of the Odyssey. Being part of Northern Ireland’s landmark leisure and entertainment destination, situated at the gateway to the world-famous Titanic Quarter, is an exciting proposition for food and leisure brands.
“We’re excited to reveal some of the new names that who will be joining Cineworld and Hollywood Bowl. We look forward to welcoming Zizzi’s, Nando’s, and Five Guys to the scheme and expect to announce a further half a dozen tenants over the coming months. Work is currently under way to accommodate the fitout of units, with our new tenants expected to open their doors early next year.”
Matagorda2 is backed by Alanis Capital Ltd and was advised on the lettings by Finch and McMullen Real Estate. Finch co-founder Nicky Finnieston said:
“We’re seeing high levels of interest, not only in the Odyssey, but Belfast in general, from big names in the restaurant and leisure sectors, which is extremely promising as these sectors bounce back after the pandemic and look to drive regional growth and increase their reach in key cities.
“The Odyssey is a standout venue on Belfast’s famous waterfront and brands are keen to secure space. These familyfriendly brands will complement the unique mix currently on offer from current tenants, Cineworld and Hollywood Bowl, alongside the high-profile events and experiences provided by The SSE Arena, the Belfast Giants and W5, fitting with the future vision of the complex.”
Leading Northern Ireland telecoms and IT specialist, Radius Connect Solutions, has joined forces with Macmillan Cancer Support to help raise vital funds to support its work across the region.
Teeing off at Royal Belfast, Radius Connect gathered more than 50 staff, customers, sponsors and suppliers to take part in this special event which included a fundraising raffle to drive up funds for this worthy cause.
Staff at Radius Connect also took part in Macmillan Cancer Support’s World Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 30th September in a further effort to raise additional funds for people living with cancer in Northern Ireland.
Stephen McQuoid, Director – Ireland, Radius Connect Solutions, said: “We are so pleased to have been
able to host this special event and are grateful for the tremendous support we had from colleagues, partners and friends from right across Northern Ireland. I’d also like to
thank our suppliers who sponsored the day, ensuring we could raise as much as we could for Macmillan.
“Macmillan Cancer Support’s team of supporters, professionals, volunteers and campaigners work incredibly hard to provide a range of support and care options to people living with cancer here and rely heavily on everyone’s support to help make sure they can continue this important work. We’re delighted to help.”
Macmillan Cancer Support has been working hard to support people with cancer at a time when disruption caused by Covid-19 means demand for the charity’s services is so high.
Joanne Young from Macmillan Cancer Support said:
“Around 30 people are diagnosed with cancer every day in Northern Ireland, we welcome the support of Radius Connect and everyone who was involved on the day in raising money to help us do what we can to provide physical, financial and emotional support to those patients and families who need us most.”
Based in Belfast, Radius is a global company which is not just strong in telecoms, but also fuel cards, vehicle
tracking, business insurance and electric vehicle charging. Its fuel card business DCI Fuels, which is the largest business of its kind on the Island of Ireland, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Sponsors of the golf day included Vodafone, NFON and Gamma.
Due to take over in November as the new Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra, Auveen Sands’ career has been on of very distinct contrasts.
She spent 15 years as a corporate banker before making the move across to the charity sector to join the Orchestra in 2014 as Head of Finance & Operations and by 2020 was Chief Operating Officer. It’s a bit hard to imagine two more contrasting parts of the same career.
Auveen takes over from the departing Richard Wigley. A New Zealander who spent a number of years as a professional musician and in management roles with orchestras in England before touching down in Belfast, Wigley intends to divide his time between his home in New Zealand and various leadership projects in the UK.
“I started off in Dublin as an investment banker, working in project finance and then the very specialised field of aviation finance,” Auveen explains. “Moving after 15 years in banking to an orchestra was a bit of a shock to the system, as you might imagine.”
To make things even more challenging, she joined the orchestra’s administrative staff when the organisation was facing possible closure. Public funding, delivered through the Arts Council, was being cut back and the Ulster Orchestra re-shaped its board and prepared to fight for its very survival.
“We took a fresh look at how we do everything. We examined possible revenue streams, and we even focused on how we could expand the breadth of performances by the orchestra itself.”
With a new board in place and emergency funding secured, Richard Wigley was recruited from a previous role in England to take over as Chief Executive and to lead the fight for survival and the orchestra’s growth since then, right through the unique challenges of the Covid era.
The Orchestra today, even in the wake of Covid, is in a much better place. “We’ve managed to increase our recording income, thanks to the hard work of the orchestra itself, and we’ve seen a jump in our commercial revenue all around. That includes revenue from performances since live music was allowed to resume post-Covid as well as sponsorships and income from trusts and foundations,” says Auveen.
“We’re a much more commercially aware organisation than we used to be, and that’s been an essential change for us.”
At the same time, access to live classical music must be kept affordable to maintain the size of audiences, especially with household incomes coming under pressure. But Auveen Sands reckons that a night
of Brahms or Bach at the Ulster Hall still comes in at much better value than any comparable alternatives.
On the musical front, the orchestra under Musical Director Daniele Rustioni has steadily improved its professional reputation and standing in the classical music world. It’s 2022-2023 season, starting with an Ulster Hall concert on 23rd September, includes an eclectic mix of performance with a range of guest conductors and soloists.
“It’s the most diverse programme that we’ve produced as an orchestra. It’s a cliché to say that there is something for everyone but, in this case, I think it’s true.”
Individual highlights include the phenomenal young cellist Abel Selaocoe playing in Belfast in March of next year and Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon collaborating with the orchestra for the world premiere of a new work in May.
Whilst the Ulster Hall is its performance home, the organisation has moved from its former city centre offices in Gloucester Street to a new base at Townsend Street Church which, once its acoustics have been assessed, could also act as a venue for rehearsals as well as a permanent home for the administrative staff.
In addition to the orchestra of 63 players, the organisation has an administrative staff of 24. But that makes it roughly half the size of most GB-based symphony orchestras. So this is an orchestra that clearly punches above its weight.
During the pandemic, the orchestra quickly pivoted to online performances and it’s a move which seems to have attracted new audiences to Northern Ireland’s very own symphony orchestra.
“Since live performances have resumed, we’ve noticed some new audience members coming to listen to the orchestra, and that’s very encouraging. But our core classical audience has been slower to return to pre-Covid levels.” says Auveen. “What’s more, Covid has helped to advance us in a digital world.”
The orchestra has also stepped up its regular engagement with schools around Northern Ireland with the active encouragement of the education authorities.
“We’re also very keen to talk to businesses in Northern Ireland. We have plenty of sponsorship opportunities and we can build corporate entertainment packages around our concerts for our corporate partners,” she says. “But we can also work with companies in different ways. We’ve worked on team building activities, for example.”
An Ulster University Postgraduate student has been awarded the prestigious Allen & Overy (A&O) trophy that recognises
excellence in the field of librarianship and information management.
Oisin Cleere, a Senior Library Assistant with Kildare Library Service is the 10th
recipient of the trophy since the awards commenced in 2013. He received top marks in the Library and Information Management postgraduate diploma, a twoyear part-time programme that enhances the skills of information professionals.
This postgraduate diploma is supported by global law firm Allen & Overy, delivered by Ulster University in association with the Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) who accredit the course. The postgraduate diploma is also growing in popularity each year due to its online delivery and flexible nature, attracting students from across Ireland and beyond.
Sarah Fahy, Global Head of A&O Research and Library said: “As a leading law firm, we are privileged to continue this association with Ulster University. Since 2013, we have invested in professional training in this area as we recognise the role and value that library and information managers
bring to an organisation. Now, more than ever a flexible approach is key to attract and retain talent within the workplace and this diploma offers a strong work/ life balance for every student. Congratulations to Oisin and all this year’s graduates.”
The online delivery programme develops strong library, research and information skills techniques that are all designed to increase career prospects in this specialist sector.
Professor David Barr, Head of the School of Education at Ulster University adds: “The Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Management at Ulster University continues to go from strength to strength. It is the only course of its kind in Ireland as it offers professionally accredited study to individuals working within the library and information sector regardless of their geographic location through an innovative e-learning environment.
Liberty IT has been named as one of the ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ for the fourth consecutive year and its parent company, Liberty Mutual has been ranked amongst the top 25 ‘Best Workplaces in Europe’ by the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work.
The industry leader in digital innovation has been placed number 19 in a list of 24 Large Organisations (251 – 1,000 employees) being recognised in the Best Workplaces in Tech. The prestigious accolade recognises businesses that have put practices in place that promote employee wellbeing, prioritise enjoyment at work and create a positive culture of recognition and appreciation.
For Liberty IT, this includes an extensive number of initiatives across the business, including the introduction of a new Learning and Development Portal which offers over 300 learning resources and has led to a 20 per cent increase in training hours across the company and a new Consultancy Programme aimed at fostering new ways
of thinking and unleashing the potential of its people and teams.
Liberty IT is the key driver behind the global digital enablement journey for parent company, Liberty Mutual Insurance, which has been ranked amongst the top 25 best workplaces in Europe 2022, by the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work.
Jonathan White, Liberty IT’s Senior Director of Engineering said: “It is fantastic to be named as one of the ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ for the fourth consecutive year. At Liberty IT, we view every aspect of our business through the lens of innovation. We use new technologies and open frameworks to innovate and inspire. Every day brings new challenges and perspectives, and our teams embrace these opportunities to make things better. This recognition is for everyone at Liberty IT as we all play an important role in building a great place to work.”
Emma Mullan, Senior Director of Talent added: “We are thrilled that Liberty Mutual has been named as one of the ‘Best Workplaces in Europe’
and this is thanks to the success of its operations across western Europe, including the work we do here at Liberty IT. It is reflected in how we respect and develop our people and the work we carry out
which has led us to being recognised as a Best Workplace for Women for two consecutive years and awarded a Silver Diversity Mark for our commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”
WineFlair, the Northern Ireland off-licence chain, has raised £18,737.58 for the Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust (NICLT).
WineFlair combined charity collection buckets and staff initiatives across their 58 stores during the Covid-19 pandemic to raise the impressive funds, adding to the tens of thousands of pounds the company has contributed to the charity since it became NICLT’s first ever Corporate Partner in 2008. WineFlair have continued to be an advocate of the charity’s work by raising funds and supporting events.
Northern Ireland’s Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust fundraises to fulfil the dreams of terminally ill, life limited and deserving children by taking them to visit Santa at his home in Lapland, Finland to create magical memories that their families can treasure forever.
The work of the charity has been impacted by the restrictions of the Covid pandemic, but through the continued support of its charity partners, NICLT was still able to impact the lives of those it serves. This included door-step Christmas gift deliveries and the donation of sensory equipment to hospital units.
WineFlair Retail Operations Manager, Lynda Mullan, joined the fundraising committee in late 2019 with an aim to continue the legacy of the charity’s late founder, Carrick man, Jack Rodgers MBE. She said:
‘We are delighted to have been able to continue our support this amazing charity throughout the past few difficult years. So many families across Northern Ireland will benefit from the
support that Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust have provided to the paediatric units.”
At any given time in Northern Ireland there are approximately 1500 children suffering from a terminal or life limiting illness. Nominated by their health workers, over 100 children make NICLT’s journey to Lapland annually, accompanied by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who volunteer to ensure the children can have these incredible memories. To date NICLT has given 1100 very special local children that experience.
Colin Barkley, Chair, NICLT said:
“We cannot express our gratitude enough for the huge amount of money WineFlair has raised over the past two years. It’s an immense figure that adds to years of support from the company and means so much to us during what has been a particularly challenging time.
“When the charity was set up over 14 years ago our then Chair, Jack Rodgers sent thousands of appeal letters to businesses across Northern Ireland. Lynda contacted us straight away and contributed to
Wineflair becoming our first Corporate Partner and continues to be a huge support and figure in the charity.
We also want to thank WineFlair customers for taking our charity into their hearts and donating funds in store and supporting the staff on their own charitable pursuits at a time when everyone faced challenges. We are delighted to have team WineFlair on our side.”
Andrea Carson, WineFlair Managing Director, was delighted to present the £18,737.58 on behalf of the company. She said:
“We are so proud of our staff and customers who gave generously during this time. It is a testament to the great work of this charity how they have adapted and continued to provide support for children and their families, despite being unable to undertake the normal trip to Lapland.”
The Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust does not receive any government or national funding. It is totally reliant on donations.
Open to young people aged between 14 to 18, the inaugural Bradley Art Prize, which is backed by leading local business solutions company, Radius Connect Solutions, will run across the current academic year with a deadline for submissions by the end of April 2023.
The overall winner chosen by Terry Bradley and a team of experienced judges will have their work framed and proudly displayed in the esteemed Bradley Gallery in Victoria Square and as part of a major initiative designed to encourage more young people to consider turning their love of art into a long-term career.
In addition to three cash prices, the winner will also have their artwork showcased at the Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels’ European Quarter.
Terry Bradley will also host an
exclusive launch night exhibition for the family and friends of the top three chosen winners and the chance to sell their artwork in store, with all proceeds going directly to each of the artists.
Participating schools will also have the chance to receive all the art materials they need to the value of £1,000.
Terry Bradley, who began his stellar, self-taught art career at the age of 14, said:
“Learning through the arts is an enriching experience that inspires creativity, self-expression, thought and conversation and I’m delighted to be able to support our next generation of talent with a range of compelling reasons to elevate and promote their work locally and internationally.
“Our inaugural Terry Bradley Art Prize has been carefully designed to show more young people what it’s
like to be a professional artist and to how build long lasting career in an area that needs confidence and passion to succeed and I encourage everyone to get involved.”
Bradley’s outstanding artistic endeavours have taken him around the world in a 40 year-long career which includes a series of exhibitions in Dublin, Belfast, London, Spain and New York.
“My work as an artist is an incredible joy and a privilege, and I’m delighted to share my experience with the next generation of talented artists. I’m also grateful to Radius Connect for their support,” Terry said.
Up to four high-resolution images of the art work (images must be no larger than 2mb files) are required from across a range of artistic disciplines as part of the submission and this should include a personal statement. Students submitting artwork for
GCSE examinations in 2023 are particularly encouraged to participate.
Stephen McQuoid, Director, Ireland at Radius Connect Solutions, said: “Radius has a longstanding commitment to supporting young people, innovation, ambition and success and we are proud to be joining with one of Northern Ireland’s best-known and talented artists to lead an initiative that confidently delivers on this ambition.
“The inaugural Terry Bradley Art Prize represents an exceptional opportunity for our aspiring artists and our future-focused school leaders to get directly involved in a ground-breaking initiative designed to inspire, promote artistic success and kick-start careers.”
For more information and to find out how to submit an entry visit www.terrybradley.com
Renowned artist Terry Bradley is launching a new art initiative to drive fresh talent and creativity among teens in Northern Ireland.Renowned artist Terry Bradley, in partnership with leading local business solutions company Radius Connect Solutions, is launching the inaugural Bradley Art Prize, which gives young people aged 14-18 the opportunity to win a major cash prize and have their own artwork showcased at Terry Bradley’s prestigious gallery in Victoria Square and at Northern Ireland Executive Office in Brussels’ European Quarter. Participating schools will also have the chance to receive all the art materials they need to the value of £1,000.
EasyJet
Flights will launch from 31 October 2022 with departures on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays throughout the winter season until 24 March 2023, providing easyJet customers in Northern Ireland with more convenient domestic connections this winter.
The new route to Glasgow marks further expansion of easyJet services from Belfast City with the last year seeing the launch of new routes to London Gatwick, Bristol and Liverpool, which have proven popular with leisure and business travellers alike.
A cultural hub, Glasgow is home to the Scottish Opera, Ballet and National Theatre of Scotland, whilst also being the gateway to one of the world’s great
rail journeys; a scenic route through the heart of the Scottish Highlands from Glasgow to Fort William, and for those looking to book a Christmas break this winter, the city is brimming with festive markets throughout the season.
Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK Country Manager said:
“We are delighted to be launching another new service from Belfast City which will offer our customers more choice when travelling between Belfast and Glasgow. This new route further strengthens our network in Belfast,
having recently added services to London Gatwick, Liverpool and Bristol from Belfast City. Adding such choice has proved hugely popular with our customers and we are pleased to be offering further connectivity for those looking to explore and enjoy all the UK has to offer this winter.
“We are proud to be the largest airline in Belfast and Northern Ireland and remain committed to offering customers great value fares and more choice when they fly with us.”
Ellie McGimpsey, Aviation Manager at Belfast City Airport, commented:
“Following the success of easyJet’s flights from Belfast City Airport to London Gatwick and Liverpool, and with flights to Bristol taking off in September, we are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with the addition of a service to Glasgow.
“With flights up to three days a week, we are confident this route will be popular for both inbound and outbound travellers.
“Coupled with an average security processing time of only six minutes, passengers travelling to Glasgow will be able to benefit from a wealth of choice and flexibility at Belfast City Airport.”
SuperValu and Centra were honoured this week at the 2022 Retail Industry Awards with three stores taking home top titles and a further five being highly commended.
McGleenan’s Centra in Keady was awarded the sought-after Independent Retailer of the Year title (in the over 6,000sq ft group) while Lusty’s Centra in Larne won the coveted Drinks Retailer of the Year award.
Peter Wilson from Wilson’s SuperValu in Portadown was crowned Newcomer of the Year.
Commenting on the awards, Musgrave NI Retail Sales Director Paddy Murney said:
“I would like to congratulate our retail partners the McGleenan family, Raymond and Richard Lusty, and Peter Wilson who along with their teams competed against some of
the best stores in the UK, to achieve these awards. Their commitment and dedication to serving their local communities with the best in modern convenience retailing is unwavering and these awards are testament to that.
“Our SuperValu and Centra stores operate in the heart of communities across Northern Ireland, and we are committed to offering our customers value, choice and high-quality convenience. I am delighted these stores have been recognised for the service they provide. I would also like to congratulate all our stores which were highly commended at the awards.”
Widely regarded as ‘The Oscars’ of the grocery sector, the Retail Industry Awards reward excellence and outstanding achievement across a broad range of categories, recognising independent retailers alongside the large supermarket groups.
Northern Ireland’s leading business awards, the annual AIB Business Eye Awards, have been launched for their 16th year at a networking event in Belfast.
Richard Buckley, Editor of Business Eye and Brian Gillan, Head of Retail & NI at AIB, hosted the launch event at the Belfast Waterfront Hall which was attended by category sponsors and business guests. Lidl Northern Ireland
Regional Director Conor Boyle, winner of last year’s ‘Retail Company of the Year’ award, also addressed the event.
Three new categories have been added to this year’s awards line-up, recognising the evolving attributes of successful businesses in Northern Ireland. New titles include the ‘Green/ Sustainable Company of the Year’, the ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ award and ‘Homegrown Business of the Year’.
Headline awards include the coveted ‘Company of the Year’, ‘Business Personality of the Year’ and Lifetime Achievement’ awards. With 19 trophies up for grabs, the AIB Business Eye Awards recognise qualities and success across different specialist categories and sectors.
“We work very hard each year to fine tune and improve these awards and to maintain their reputation as the very
best awards of their kind in Northern Ireland,” says Brenda Buckley of Business Eye. “2021 produced a record number of entries, and really high-quality entries. Despite all of the challenges facing business here, we’re confident that the bar can be raised once again this year.”
AIB, a key supporter of the Northern Ireland business community, is a longstanding partner of Business Eye and its award programmes. Speaking at the launch, Brian Gillan, Head of Retail & NI at AIB says its more important than ever to celebrate success. “The AIB Business Eye Awards are an incredible showcase of resilience, leadership and innovation and given the challenges facing our business community, it’s important that we take a step back and shine a light on the qualities that make our local business community so successful. We’re particularly proud to reveal a number of new categories this year including the ‘Green/Sustainable Company of the Year’ award which, given rising energy costs and our collective net zero ambitions, is a vital area to recognise.”
Last year’s awards showcased an impressive array of winners at a memorable awards night held at ICC Belfast venue in front of a 650-strong audience. Belfast & Derry/Londonderry based FinTrU, one of the leaders in the dynamic fintech sector in Northern Ireland, lifted the coveted ‘Company of the Year’ award, while Sam Anderson, the NI-born US-based founder of IceMos Technologies, was named ‘Business Personality of the Year’.
Other key winners included AES Global as ‘Manufacturer of the Year’, telecomms firm Barclay Communications in the ‘Family Business’ category and top law firm A&L Goodbody as the ‘Professional Services Firm of the Year’.
The closing date for entries to the 2022 AIB Business Eye Awards applications is Friday 21st October 2022, with the judging panel due to meet shortly afterwards. Companies and individuals will be able to enter no less than 19 different categories covering most aspects of the local economy and business life. The gala awards night will be hold at the ICC Belfast on Thursday 17th November 2022.
Northern Ireland’s overall company of the year in the opinion of the judging panel. Companies can be of any size/ scale, number of employees, and must be able to exhibit exceptional performance, especially but not exclusively during the 12 month period to 28th February 2021.
Sponsored by AIB
The category is open to senior managers and leaders in businesses and organisations across the private, public and voluntary sectors, whose leadership and achievement can be clearly demonstrated.
Sponsored by Ulster University Business SchoolThis category sets out to recognise those local organisations exhibiting best practice in terms of people management. The judging panel will look for clear evidence of class-leading initiatives designed to make the organisation a better and more caring employer.
Sponsored by Labour Relations Agency
The Research & Development (Innovation) project which, in the opinion of the judges, is the best example of how companies can harness research, development and innovation to further their business aims and objectives.
Sponsored by Queen’s UniversityThis category will recognise a leading player in the 50-250 employee sector of the Northern Ireland economy, a key sector which includes a number of our leading private sector companies. As with Company of the Year, entrants must demonstrate exceptional performance across the board.
Sponsored by TLT Solicitors
The company or organisation making the most valuable contribution to the continued development of tourism & hospitality here in Northern Ireland. Possible entrants might include hotels/hotel groups, other forms of accommodation, tourism development organisations, restaurants, travel facilities, etc.
Sponsored by Visit Belfast
Open to any Northern Irelandbased company of any size able to demonstrate evidence of significant innovation in products, services or processes resulting in demonstrable gains for the business as a whole.
Sponsored by NIE Networks
Once again open to a Northern Irelandbased organisation of any size, this award will recognise an organisation which has made significant and demonstrable progress towards becoming more sustainable and contributing to the wider environmental goal.
Sponsored by Strategic Power Connect
The keynote award will honour Northern Ireland’s outstanding business personality over the past 12 months, an individual whose leadership achievements have contributed to business success and to the wider local economy.
Sponsored by Ardmore
The organisation with 50 employees or less which, in the opinion of the judges, exemplifies best practice and achievement across the board. Evidence of growth and development, clear vision and strategy to deliver growth, commitment to superior customer service, demonstration of innovation across the business.
Sponsored by U105
This category sets out to honour Northern Ireland’s leading accountancy, legal or other professional services firm working with and providing key advice to clients in the local business community.
Sponsored by LocktonCorporate social responsibility plays an important role for NI companies and this specialist category sets out to recognise an organisation from the private, public or voluntary sectors making a clear and impactful contribution to its local community as a whole.
This award will honour one of the ‘unsung heroes’ of the business world here, Northern Ireland’s leading Executive Support Professional, a key member of staff in any organisation providing exemplary support services to management within the organisation.
Sponsored by Honeycomb
With diversity and inclusion firmly on the corporate agenda today, this new award will identify a local company which has diversity and inclusion at the heart of its recruitment and human resource management policies.
A premier award on the night, this special award will be presented to an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution not just to their own business or sector, but also to the Northern Ireland business community and economy as a whole.
This award will be presented to the local company able to demonstrate significant growth – in terms of turnover and/or employment – over the last 12 to 18 months dating back from the closing date for entries.
Sponsored by Upstream
Open to the local heroes of Northern Ireland business, businesses in any sector founded and still headquarters here in Northern Ireland with up to 250 employees and a turnover of up to £50 million.
Sponsored by Harbinson MulhollandA very important category, this one is open to all manufacturing organisations, of any size and scale, operating in Northern Ireland. The judging panel will look for evidence of innovation, attention to detail, state of the art engineering and product market success.
Sponsored by RSMThis award is aimed at individuals in senior management and leadership positions who have achieved significant results for their organisation as a result of their leadcership.
details
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is capitalising on its position as the number one planning authority in Northern Ireland to attract major investment and create jobs throughout the Borough.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the high-quality portfolio of advanced manufacturing projects being lined up at Global Point Business Park, Newtownabbey.
This exceptional site is fast becoming a highly desirable and sought after location for advanced manufacturing
companies, both big and small.
In August, one of the biggest advanced manufacturing investments in Northern Ireland’s history was approved by the Council - a new £150m facility by Ardagh Metal Packaging.
Ardagh chose Global Point as the location for their Northern Ireland base
and will build a state-of-the-art 42,585sq m facility, creating around 200 jobs.
Another major project set to make Global Point a centre of advanced manufacturing excellence is the planned ‘Factory of the Future’, which will be the main facility of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), a Belfast Region City Deal project.
Led by Queen’s University with industry partners, AMIC will be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, offering advanced manufacturing and engineering businesses access to the very latest technology, specialist equipment and expertise.
Professor Paul Maropoulos, Director of AMIC, explained the importance of AMIC to the future of Advanced Manufacturing in Northern Ireland.
“AMIC and the new £98 million Factory of the Future facility at Global Point will have the capacity and scale to define and deliver high quality, industry-focused research and development projects that can meet the demands of our Advanced Manufacturing sectors for business growth in a sustainable and zero carbon economy, and will be central to driving innovation across industry, within Northern Ireland and the UK.
“Working in close partnership with
industry we will develop a range of core capabilities, delivered by a team of professional engineers and experts with access to advanced digital technologies and specialist equipment and we will be paying special attention to skills development. AMIC will be underpinned by experts from Universities and will develop links with the UK Catapults and other international centres of excellence.
“Our ambition is for AMIC to become a beacon of manufacturing excellence with national and global visibility, advancing manufacturing technology, skills and supply chain capability, and attracting inward investment and talent to Northern Ireland and the UK.
“Personally, I am delighted with the strategic relationship we have developed with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and the strong support we received from the wider stakeholders in Northern Ireland. Everyone in the AMIC team is excited to be working closely with industry partners and stakeholders to deliver this groundbreaking centre that will have a lasting, positive economic and growth impact on the City Deal’s six Council areas and Northern Ireland as a whole.”
As plans for this ambitious project continue to take shape, the Council has been looking towards the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) for inspiration and insight.
Located on the site of a former coalfield in South Yorkshire, the AMRC is now a thriving centre of innovation that is home to industry heavyweights such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.
The facility has been truly transformative for the surrounding area, drawing in a wave of investment and job creation. The Council hopes to emulate that success with the AMIC project.
Other standout investments at Global Point Business Park include:
• Sensata’s new £16.5m research and development centre
• A £4m investment by Steel Mac Distribution Ltd, who plan to move from their current site at Titanic Quarter in Belfast
These strategic investments will sit alongside the existing multi-million pound, world-class manufacturing facility developed by RLC Engineering, which has been based at Global Point for several years.
Such headline grabbing investments are just one link in the chain of the
Council’s strategy to cement the Borough’s reputation as Northern Ireland’s economic powerhouse.
The Council has been involved in a host of other major investments across the length and breadth of the Borough. The following projects represent an overall investment of more than £33m and will see the creation of around 320 new jobs:
• Mining equipment firm Tribe Tech setting up a new state of the art manufacturing facility in Mallusk;
• Leading fitness equipment manufacturer BLKBOX relocating from Belfast to a new facility at Monkstown;
• Continued expansion of Jans Group site in Antrim and plans to significantly grow its existing workforce;
• Dobbie’s Garden Centre flagship store at The Junction retail park, Antrim;
• The hospitality industry has also reaped the benefits of strategic investments, with continued redevelopment and expansion of the Kingfisher Country Estate (previously Hilton Hotel) and the Rabbit Hotel, both in Templepatrick.
A key driver in attracting major investment into the Borough is the reputation of the Council’s efficient planning process for major applications - we are the only local authority in Northern Ireland to meet the major planning application target of 30 weeks, progressing applications through the system at an average of just 25.1 weeks.
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Alderman Stephen Ross said:
“The ever-growing raft of major investments throughout the Borough demonstrates the confidence investors have in the area.
“Our reputation as an economic stronghold is well-earned. The Council’s complete package of support, coupled with our best in class planning performance, means we are well on track to attract over £1bn of investment and create 2000 jobs by 2025.”
Alderman Mark Cosgrove, Chair of the Council’s ‘Our Prosperity Outcome Delivery Group’ added:
“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic it is more vital than ever for the Council to use the full force of its economic development and planning powers to support entrepreneurs, businesses and investors to create jobs and support economic growth.
“Creating jobs is a central focus for the Council and that can be seen in our plan to transform Global Point into a world-class hub of advanced manufacturing, with AMIC at its heart.
“The benefits that AMIC can bring to the Borough and Northern Ireland as a whole are clear to see - just look at the scale of what has been achieved at the AMRC in Sheffield. What was a barren, brownfield site just 20 years ago is now teeming with advanced manufacturing giants and is home to a first-class apprenticeship programme for the budding engineers of tomorrow. That is the vision this Council has for Global Point.”
The growing success of the advanced manufacturing sector stretches right across the Borough with significant expansion planned by the Jans Group based in Antrim. This business has experienced rapid growth over the last two years and continues to go from strength to strength, with ambitious plans for growth and job creation.
Ronan Hamill, Chief Executive of Jans Group, speaks about why he chose to invest in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area.
“We chose to invest in the Borough of Antrim and Newtownabbey for a number of reasons, which include the infrastructural benefits of the location and its proximity to various transportation links; Belfast International Airport, the local motorway – which gives us direct access to all the regional ports.
“Coming from the local area, it was also important to the put the community at the heart of what we do. In addition to being able to recruit from the strong local talent pool, we wanted to ensure that any economic benefits were shared by the local area.
“The Council has also been instrumental and very supportive of the Jans Group and manufacturing in the area. Their plans to support an advanced manufacturing hub in the Borough is a very strong and welcome idea, which will allow us to develop our existing product range, which in turn, will help support the local supply chain.
“The Borough of Antrim and Newtownabbey is an excellent location to invest in, with good infrastructure, excellent access to local universities and schools and seriously good talent. We’ve been assured of further support of our growth plans by the Council in whatever way is possible. Overall, we’ve found it a great place to do business and that the Council is a very willing and supportive organisation.”
Leading digital transformation company Fujitsu has secured an initial seven-year strategic partnership with Libraries NI to deliver the next phase of innovative IT services to the organisation and its network of 98 libraries across Northern Ireland.
The partnership is key to the success of Libraries NI’s mission critical e3 programme to ensure Libraries NI has the necessary ICT infrastructure and services to support the delivery of a diverse range of library services to stakeholders, including corporate and public users. As well as managed IT services, Fujitsu will bring extensive technological and industry knowledge to align with the Authority’s in-depth understanding of their business.
The new agreement builds on Fujitsu and Libraries NI long standing relationship which saw
the organisations successfully replace and manage the entire ICT infrastructure in every public library across Northern Ireland. This included introducing selfservice and printing solutions, delivering business intelligence systems to inform decision making and creating an effective platform for modern ‘virtual library’ services.
Fujitsu will also deliver digital skills volunteer support sessions and career development workshops to local community groups as part of the contract.
This forms part of Fujitsu’s commitment to promoting equality and tackling poverty
and social exclusion as a responsible business.
Welcoming the new strategic partnership, Fujitsu’s Delivery Executive, Moira Barratt, said:
“Libraries are important social, educational and wellbeing spaces in our community, helping people connect with information, connect with others, learn, and relax. We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with Libraries NI and will help to strengthen their impact even further.
“The demands on library services have grown considerably as libraries adapt to support the communities they serve, and with that comes the need for new approaches and solutions. We are proud to help deliver these solutions through a close working collaborative relationship which will help the Authority innovate its business, further develop its digital
credentials and ultimately ensure the robustness of the underlying technological platforms vital for the services that Libraries NI provide.”
Jim O’Hagan, Chief Executive of Libraries NI said:
“Libraries are a valued and trusted resource at the heart of communities, and we’re pleased to award this new contract to Fujitsu which as well as enhancing IT infrastructure, our partnership with Fujitsu will deliver a range of social inclusion initiatives including digital skills and career development workshops. We will continue to advance our technology platforms which help us remain at the cutting edge of library services, providing opportunities for people to learn and to connect.”
The contact is initially worth £27million over a seven-year period, with the option to extend for a further three periods of up to 12 months each.
Leading law firm Arthur Cox is currently seeking applications for its expanded trainee programme offering.
Successful applicants will work with numerous high-profile, ‘blue-chip’ clients across Arthur Cox’s four main practice areas, Corporate, Finance, Litigation and Property.
Arthur Cox trainees learn directly from some of Northern Ireland’s most prominent and successful legal professionals, equipping them with the skills necessary to excel within the corporate law sector.
Catriona Gibson, Managing Partner, Arthur Cox commented:
“As one of Northern Ireland’s best-known and respected law firms, we seek out dynamic, adaptable and forward-thinking trainees that will make a real and positive contribution to life at Arthur Cox and our continued success.
“Our trainee programme aims to provide unrivalled insight into a career in corporate law and focuses on developing both professional competency and personal skillset.
“Arthur Cox is a global firm, but we are firmly committed to developing local talent. We continually invest in our trainees throughout their time with us, dedicating significant time and resources to provide them with a solid foundation
for a career in the legal sector.
“Our decision to expand our trainee intake forms part of Arthur Cox’s long-term strategy for growth. We look forward to welcoming many new trainees to our Belfast office and helping them to realise their true potential.”
Arthur Cox advises leading corporate clients, government and the SME sector. In addition to Belfast, the firm has offices in Dublin, London, New York, and San Francisco.
Richard Armstrong, Partner, Arthur Cox added:
“Having started my career as an Arthur Cox trainee I have witnessed first-hand just how dedicated the firm is to supporting trainees in their
ongoing career development.
“Throughout my career I have worked across a wide range of clients and cases, gaining the breadth of experience necessary to progress to Partner level.
“Working at Arthur Cox has driven my professional and personal development forward and I would recommend the firm’s programme to anyone seeking to kickstart their legal career.”
For more information, visit www.arthurcox.com/careers/ trainees-and-interns/belfast/ trainee-programme/ or contact: traineerecruitmentni@ arthurcox.com
She earned a reputation as one of Northern Ireland’s biggest names in business after a long list of achievements, including the development of Belfast’s iconic Fitzwilliam Hotel.
Businesswoman June Burgess of Horses for People with her horse Vinnie. Photo courtesy of Elaine Hill Photography.
Now entrepreneur June Burgess, a TEDx speaker and member of many high-profile boards and committees over the years, has combined two of her greatest passions, horses and business, in a pioneering venture she runs from her home in the stunning hills of Co Down.
“I’ve managed to pull together the two things that have helped me thrive throughout my life,” says June, a consummate horsewoman with more than 20 years’ experience as an International Equestrian. “For me, one complemented the other. Working with horses helped hone skills that transferred directly across to my professional life, attributes like confidence and resilience, the ability to remain calm under pressure.
“All those things, skills I associate intrinsically with my equestrian background, have proved vital to my success in the world of business, and they’re skills I’m passionate about sharing with others.”
Horses for People, June’s specialist equine-assisted coaching service, has two main strands, on the one hand teaching vital skills to people facing significant challenges in their lives and on the other offering valuable teambuilding and resilience workshops to corporate groups.
“Both strands of the business are incredibly rewarding and important to me,” says June, who delivered a TED talk on ’Learning How To Let Go’ in 2017. “And while both sets of people come to Horses for People from very different backgrounds and with different intentions, the interesting thing is that the lessons I teach overlap in many ways for both groups.
“Through their interaction with the animals, people learn crucial skills for life and work – key among them, the ability to deal with their feelings constructively. In a work environment, that’s hugely important.
“They acquire techniques to de-stress and communicate effectively. They learn self-awareness, methods of boosting their resilience and they discover ways to dial their assertiveness up and down without resorting to aggression.”
June’s own experience with horses began in childhood.
“We didn’t have horses ourselves, but a family in the farm across from us in Whitehead, Co Antrim, did and I was good friends with the children,” she recalls. “I remember we’d all go down to the end of their lane and coax the horses over with carrots before we’d hop the fence and jump on their backs. I was only seven or
eight, but I was never nervous of them, even though I was always a small child.”
Before long, June started lessons in Islandmagee. “I never looked back,” she says. “I went from strength to strength, and right from the beginning I learned so much. Very quickly I understood that I was too small to overpower a horse, so I had to use other techniques. I understood the careful balance it took between authority and respect to get the horse to do what I wanted it to do.
“I learned that if I was too aggressive or bossy, they’d ignore me. I realised if my approach was too weak, the horse would take over. Those were big lessons I learned early in life – and ones I think made a huge impact on my approach to business later on.”
June, who was included among a list of ‘Country Champions’ this summer by the Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Consort, in an edition of Country Life magazine, launched Horses for People around 10 years ago after more than three decades in business. For many years she’d worked in property alongside her husband, Jim, with her best-known development, Belfast’s Fitzwilliam Hotel, opening in 2008.
“I had a wonderful time doing that work,” says June. “I’m still closely involved in business. I am a director of a property company and trustee of a pension fund. I also sit on one board and work in an advisory role with a number of other organisations, large and small. So, I know first-hand that business can be a high-pressure environment. But the good news is that more and more organisations are aware of the effects of that pressure on people’s health and wellbeing, and how that pressure impacts on their performance professionally.
“The higher you go in business, the more problems are behavioural and responding calmly in difficult situations doesn’t come naturally to everyone.
There are skills to be developed and clear, practical techniques to be acquired that can help people cope and even excel in those difficult moments. That’s what the corporate courses at Horses for People are all about.”
June’s coaching service, based at Ballygraffan Stables outside Comber, Co Down, has worked with a number of high-profile businesses including Energia, Northern Ireland’s Institute of Directors, Women in Business, Inspire Wellbeing and Co-operation Ireland.
Catering for up to eight people per session, June explains while participants engage in lots of practical work with the horses, there’s no horseriding involved.
“If people are a bit nervous of horses, it’s nothing to worry about,” she says.
“In fact, it’s often those people with very little experience who leave at the end of the course with an even bigger boost in confidence, and more insights into what working with horses can teach us.” So how does it all work? “First and foremost, working with horses is a huge de-stresser,” says June. “We hear so much about mindfulness in the context of mental health and wellbeing, and there’s no better opportunity for that than when you’re working with a horse. You don’t have time to mull over your problems when you’ve got to control a huge animal who is relying on you.
“There are practical learnings in management skills, too. A horse will not respond to a domineering leader. They won’t be pushed around and bullied. They won’t be micromanaged either, and they won’t do much for someone patting them on the head and saying they’re lovely.
“So, it becomes apparent very quickly for participants that there’s an important balance to be had.
Be clear and straightforward. Don’t overcomplicate things. Horses, like people, tend to listen best when they’re on a long-lead rope. Instruct them sufficiently to get what you need, and then trust them to be able to do what you’ve asked.”
And finally explains June, every horse, like every person, is different, so every experience at Horses for People will be unique.
“It sounds a very basic thing to say, but as professionals we encounter different people, situations and challenges every day,” she says.
“We need to adapt and change accordingly, particularly in leadership roles. When you’re working with a horse, you want the horse to remain calm and to choose to follow you. It’s up to you to help them do that.”
For more information about June’s corporate workshops at Horses for People or to book, visit www.horsesforpeople.co.uk
“Through their interaction with the animals, people learn crucial skills for life and work – key among them, the ability to deal with their feelings constructively. In a work environment, that’s hugely important.”June Burgess with Camilla, Queen Consort, during a visit to Ballygraffan Stables when the royal was Duchess of Cornwall. Photograph courtesy of PRESSEYE.
Kingsbridge Healthcare Group (KHG), Northern Ireland’s leading independent healthcare company has just welcomed the 100th bus carrying cataract patients from West Cork to be treated for cross border surgery at their hospital in Belfast.
This latest contingent represents a total of 1800 people treated so far from this area through an initiative started five years ago by Michael Collins, Independent TD who has been transporting patients and their chaperones from his constituency where many are on the waiting lists for cataract and orthopaedic procedures.
Mark Regan, Chief Executive with KHG said the availability of this service is lifechanging for many people in the south of Ireland.
“We are delighted that Michael’s constituents have made Kingsbridge their hospital of choice, many of whom have been waiting a considerable period for treatment for cataracts and knee and hip surgery. With so much pressure on surgery delivery throughout the north and south of Ireland we welcome this alliance with Michael and all those who choose Kingsbridge for their cross-border healthcare treatment and surgery requirements. “
The ‘Cross Border EU Healthcare Directive’ has now been replaced with the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS) allowing anyone entitled to
public health services in Ireland to access those service in NI and be reimbursed by the HSE for the cost of the medical treatment.
“It was a great honour to welcome the 100th Bus this weekend to Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast and it truly is a privilege to help these patients get a new lease of life, especially those having cataract surgery, as the results are instant in most cases when they remove the bandages the day after their procedure.”
An additional benefit of the NIPHS is the positive impact on the hospitality sector that benefits from overnight stays by patients and those accompanying friends and relatives for their operations.
“Medical tourism is potentially a huge growth area in Northern Ireland, and I feel it is a sector we are making a positive contribution to. Over the last 5 years procedures
undertaken at Kingsbridge both those coming up on the buses and those patients travelling independently, have contributed over 5,000 reservations at hotels, securing jobs and contributing to the local economy. We hope this increase will build as the demand continues for 5-star healthcare in both our hospitals in Belfast and Ballykelly,” says Mark Regan.
Those wishing to find out more about the NI Planned Healthcare Scheme can go to kingsbridgeprivatehospital.com/belfast/ cross-border-patients/cross-border-healthcare/ for more information, videos, patient testimonials and FAQ’s.
Locally based mechanical and electrical engineering business, G.S Stothers shares a major secret that it feels has helped differentiate its services in a highly competitive industry.
Operating for over 35 years and specialising in smoke ventilation, G.S. Stothers is well-known for working in both the North and South of Ireland, they assist in the design, supply, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of all types of smoke and heat ventilation systems.
The business is seen as the “go-to” for works required on historic buildings, having worked on jobs involving The Europa Hotel, Titanic Museum and New Children’s Hospital Dublin.
Offering 24/7 call-out services, G.S. Stothers employs over 20 field engineers across the business who work in the North and South of Ireland as well as the UK mainland. As the business grew, it identified an area where it could excel and differentiate itself from the competition. Logistics and engineer management is
often an area of concern for companies offering field services. Managing Director of G.S Stothers, Jonney Stothers shares, “We know that word of mouth spreads fast on the island of Ireland and by offering an exceptional customer experience, we could secure repeat business and high-quality referrals.”
6 years ago, the business was introduced to WorkPal, a field service management software, which provides an end-to-end platform to manage field engineers, documentation and provides reporting at the click of a button.
“At the time, we were operating on a mobile solution, however, we were beginning to out-grow this and needed something a bit more reliable and robust.
After a demonstration of the WorkPal software, we quickly realised the benefits and found that it was a more streamlined
way for our staff to operate,” highlights Jonney. “It gave us a more professional look and feel and helped us to offer customers a service that exceeded expectations.”
WorkPal’s Sales Director, Ian Megahey, says, “WorkPal is designed with the user in mind. We wanted to make everything as straightforward as possible while providing software that is dependable for everyone in the business. G.S. Stothers is a great example of how companies can use software to gain an advantage over their competitors.
“Every contract counts and WorkPal is there to help you not only manage your operations more effectively but win more business along the way.”
Jonney describes the transition to WorkPal as “seamless, with no downtime at all.”
“Initially we decided to run our existing mobile app alongside WorkPal, however after a month, we scrapped the mobile app as WorkPal was much simpler to use and looked more professional. We made the switch with no issues due to the training and prep work provided before going live.”
Having seen the benefit of WorkPal, G.S. Stothers introduced the software to its sister company SR Fire & Security. Both businesses now operate the software across all their operations and have seen the positive impact it has had on customer experience and business growth.
Managing Director of SR Fire, Connor Rodgers, highlights, “The support we receive from WorkPal is excellent. We have always found that any queries or requests are handled promptly and in a professional manner.”
“We would without a doubt recommend WorkPal to other businesses, “ says Jonney. “It has helped to streamline our entire business and provide us with a competitive edge which has helped win new contracts.”
Ian adds, “It’s great to see the WorkPal software helping businesses operate more effectively and grow their client base. We make it a priority to build relationships with our customers and ensure they are getting the very most out of the system.”
To see how WorkPal can help your business
HMRC has published the R&D tax credit statistics for the first full tax year under pandemic conditions which provide interesting reading for Northern Ireland plc.
According to R&D tax credits specialist The Momentum Group, analysis of the latest HMRC figures shows Northern Ireland businesses accounted for £130 million of all R&D tax credits claimed across the UK for 20202021. However, this accounts for just 2.6% of the total number of claims on a national level and only 1.97% of the total monetary benefit claimed. On a percentage basis, this represents no change in comparison to last year.
R&D tax credits support companies undertaking innovative activities and can be claimed by firms operating in any sector if they are seeking to overcome technological or scientific challenges.
Potentially qualifying activities may include designing new or enhanced products or processes; or seeking to use existing processes or materials in an innovative way.
The statistics come as the UK government continued recent efforts to counteract perceived abuse of the schemes in the 2022 Spring
Statement. The proposed new measures are being introduced to focus R&D tax credits to companies undertaking activities in UK and tighten administrative requirements.
Of the 2,355 Northern Ireland claims, 2,025 were claimed by SMEs with the remainder claimed under the scheme for large companies. Of those SME claims – an increase of 6.6% from the previous year – 1,795 were under the SME scheme whilst 230 were undertaken by SMEs under the large company scheme.
The average amount claimed by companies in Northern Ireland was £55,202, with the average for SMEs being £41,975. For SMEs, this represents a significant change in the monetary value of claims from last year, where the average amount claimed was £47,368, a decrease of 11.4%.
Additionally, there has been a serious shift in how Northern Ireland’s larger companies are benefitting from the scheme.
Statistics illustrate a 4.7% decrease in the number of claims, yet the
monetary value of these have significantly increased by 14.3%.
Tom Verner, Managing Director of The Momentum Group, commented: “Despite the severe financial and operational challenges faced over the last few years with the pandemic and Brexit, UK businesses have displayed resilience together with innovative spirit. These properties will be tested again as we now face the global cost of living crisis.
“In our experience, companies often take a medium to longer-term view on the economic cycle but even as budgets tighten, it is important to make use of the available tax incentives including R&D tax credits and plan appropriately.
“As the statistics show however, many companies across Northern Ireland are not aware or fully optimising the financial benefits available from R&D tax credits.
“The latest figures from HMRC show that, on a directly comparative level, Northern Ireland firms hold their own against the rest of the UK. With wider economic headwinds and uncertainty afoot, it is important that innovative firms do not pass this generous initiative by.
“Doing so is, effectively,
leaving money on the table.”
Andrew Cowan, Technical Director at Momentum, noted that this year’s stats are the first reporting period which would accurately reflect the impact of the pandemic.
“Economic statistics from the pandemic period are met with a mixture of curious intrigue and intense difficulty for statisticians as we seek to interpret data into useful information. There was a 10% decrease in the average value of claims nationwide, therefore it is important to remember that whilst many businesses closed temporarily or permanently during the pandemic, many more continued with R&D programmes with reduced workforces that were often constrained with social distancing measures.
“Factors such as these may have prevented some companies from carrying out their normal levels of R&D activity. Additionally, many of the support schemes that were available, such as furlough and CBILs, could have affected claim entitlements, meaning claim amounts could actually be reduced from what a normal year would entail.”
Entertainment giant Netflix is making another concerted move into the gaming arena. The US company has already purchased a couple of small gaming companies, but it’s now going a step further and creating a studio froms scratch. Based in Finland, it will be led by Finn Marko Lastikka, a former Zynga and Electronic Arts executive.
Lastikka is an established figure in gaming, having co-founded Zynga studioalso in Helsinki - which worked on FarmVille 3 under his leadership.
Amir Rahimi, Netflix VP of Game Studios, announced the “vision to build a world-class games studio. It will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games, with no ads and no in-app purchases.” Delightful seems like an odd adjective to use...but there you have it.
Back in the early summer, Netflix announced a loss of 200,000
subscribers, it first quarterly loss since 2011. Its share price dropped by 35%, wiping more than $50bn (£46.5bn) off the firm’s market value.
Netflix then lost almost a million subscribers between April and July 2022, the biggest in its history, though it still has more than 220m subscribers worldwide.
Netflix purchased Helsinki-based Next Games in March 2022. It already had a working relationship with the game developer, which made a mobile game based on the Netflix
At the time, Next Games was described as “a core studio in a strategic region and key talent market”, by Netflix VP of Games Michael Verdu.
Netflix has had a growing interest in the gaming industry in recent years.
It has released several series based on games, such as Arcane (based on League of Legends) and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (based on Cyberpunk: 2077).
Netflix is also working closely with Ubisoft, which will see both a live-action Assassin’s Creed television series developed, and a Netflix-exclusive mobile game.
It is unclear whether the Netflix studio intends to develop games exclusively for mobile, or if it will also
target the home console market.
Eric Seufert, an independent industry analyst, said he thought Netflix is making “pretty substantial investments” into the gaming industry.
“If they want to utilise a lot of the IP that they have, they probably have to build a lot of those games themselves,” he said, “because working with external publishers on IP licencing deals becomes very tedious and complex.
“They have so much data on customer preferences on the video-streaming content side, my sense is they can probably bring some of that to bear.
“I think ultimately what they want to do is utilise these games as part of the product content package, and then funnel into the Netflix universe.”
There aren’t too many downsides to a cruise holiday, unless you’re a poor sailor or allergic to other people. But one can be the lack of a decent internet service out on the ocean waves.
But the next time you go on a cruise, providing its with Royal Caribbean, you could be enjoying high-speed Wi-Fi provided by Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk and SpaceX.
Cruise line Royal Caribbean has submitted a filing to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting that Starlink be approved for use on moving vehicles. It describes it as a true next-generatin solution for its vessels.
Currently, Starlink is available in over 20 countries, including parts of the US, UK, and Australia. Most recently the service added Ukraine to the regions it supports in an effort to keep citizens in the war-torn country online.
The service has its opponents, of course, from astronomers concerned about the disruption it could bring to the night sky to those who just aren’t fans of the company’s controversial CEO.
But chief among the issues users have is that the service’s signal is very easy to block – so easy in fact, that some have reported that a single tree is all that’s stood between them and access to Musk’s satellite Wi-Fi.
Out on the open sea, though, trees and other potential signal-blockers wouldn’t be
a problem – and Starlink could enable Royal Caribbean to offer a significantly improved internet service to its passengers.
Currently, Royal Caribbean uses an internet service called Voom, offering download speeds of around 5Mbps.
By comparison, while Starlink’s Residential service promises to deliver speeds of up to 150Mbps, Royal Caribbean would likely use Starlink Business, the company’s commercial arm, which promises speeds of between 150Mbps and 500Mbps; and considering that this connection would have to be shared across an entire ship it may be looking for speeds towards the higher end of that range, or even faster.
That’s pretty impressive by any standards and would rank as a major revolution in on-board internet usage. And, of course, it would become a major selling point for Royal Caribbean in the ultra-competitive cruise marketplace.
If the FFC approves Royal Caribbean’s request, and the rollout of Starlink’s service to its ships proves a success, such collaborations might not stop at cruise ships – we could see Starlink being used on trains and even airplanes.
Northern Ireland Railways and the Glider... who knows?
From reminding pottytraining toddlers to go to the loo to telling bedtime stories and being used as a “conversation partner”, voice-activated smart devices are apparently being used (by increasingly lazy parents?) to help rear children almost from the day they are born.
But the rapid rise in voice assistants, including Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri could, new research suggests, have a long-term impact on children’s social and cognitive development, specifically their empathy, compassion and critical thinking skills.
“The multiple impacts on children include inappropriate responses, impeding social development and hindering learning opportunities,” said Anmol Arora, co-author of research published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
A key concern is that children attribute human characteristics and behaviour to devices that are, said Arora, “essentially a list of trained words and sounds mashed together to make a sentence.”
The children anthropomorphise and then emulate the devices, copying their failure to alter their tone, volume, emphasis or intonation. Another issue is the machines’ lack of automatic expectation for children to say please or thank you.
Devices are also limited in the types of questions they can respond to. “As a result,” Arora said. “Children are going to be learning very narrow forms of questioning and always in the form of a demand.”
There are also problems with recognising different accents. “If a child is particularly young, they might well not be able to pronounce particular words properly and then there’s a risk their words might be misinterpreted and they’re exposed to something inappropriate,” he said, citing an example where a 10-year-old girl was exposed to an online challenge where she was told to touch a live electric plug with a coin.
“These devices don’t understand what they’re saying,” he said. “All they’re doing is regurgitating
some information in response to a narrow query, which it might have misunderstood anyway, without any real understanding of safety or who’s listening to it.”
Dr Ádám Miklósi, who recently published a study showing that use of smartphones and tablets are ‘rewiring’ children’s brains with long-term effects, called the research “important” and said more needed to be done to get companies to take the issue seriously.
“At the moment, these devices are very primitive because the people who develop them don’t care about human interaction or their impact on children’s development,” he said.
“They know how adults use these devices but the way children use them, and the impact they have on children, is very different,” he added.
“We need a lot more research, as well as ethical guidelines for their use by children”
But Dr Caroline Fitzpatrick, the Canada Research Chair in Digital Media Use by Children and Its Implications for Promoting Togetherness: An Ecosystemic
Approach, said she thought there was little cause for concern.
“It’s true that children need rich context and cues to learn and develop vocabulary which at present, they can’t get through interactions with technology because it only provides very minimal information and tools and context,” she said.
“A child who was already timid or who spent too much time on their device might develop lower quality social skills and social competence than their peers, as well as difficulty using basic politeness formulations and poor non-verbal communication skills – such as interrupting and not making eye contact,” she said. “Those children would have lower quality relationships with their peers, teachers and family members and increased social isolation.
“But as long as parents keep to the recommended limits for children, and they’re getting a healthy amount of interaction from their caregivers and peers, then I don’t think there should be cause for alarm,” she added.
New research suggests that devices such as Alexa can have a longterm impact on empathy, compassion and critical thinking skills.
Ever bought a piece of kit on Amazon, whether its a toastie maker for the house or a set of headphones, only to find that it’s not quite as it was described by reviewers online.
Amazon, it seems, is suing groups and people around the world for orchestrating the posting of fake reviews on a wide range of different products.
The legal action takes aim at social media groups that have allegedly accepted cash or other favors in exchange for posting a load of made-up reviews for products sold on Amazon in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan. This isn’t the first time Amazon has taken such
measures against fake reviews on its services. It’s actually been suing people for bogus reviews since at least 2015.
Beyond legal action, Amazon also tries to deploy a few other tactics to stop fake reviews.
The company says that more than 12,000 Amazon employees around the world” work to keep its stores
free from fraud. AI and investigators use various tools and identifiers to analyze and either verify or discard the over 30 million reviews that it receives each week. As a result, as an Amazon blog post from 2021 explained, over 200 million fake reviews were blocked in 2020 before they were even seen by a customer.
We all know our data rights in this day and age, but not every organisation is playing the game by its rules, it seems.
The Ministry of Defence and series of other government organisations are being hauled over the coals for failing to handle requests as they should.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says it is “calling them out” for ignoring the public when asked questions about the data they hold.
For those unaware of the rules, a Subject Access Request (SAR) must be responded to within three months. But the government departments concerned repeatedly missed that deadline.
Calling them out is the ICO, an independent watchdog whose aim is to promote openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
Other organisations that did not respond to requests were an English police force, Virgin Media and three different London boroughs. This resulted
in regulatory action including reprimands as well as practice recommendations issued under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Information Commissioner John Edwards says that naming and shaming organisations that fail to comply is a new proactive way for the ICO to work.
“It’s going to become more common - it’s really important that people can have confidence in the administration of their information rights,” he said.
“That’s why we are publicly notifying these organisations that they have to bring themselves into compliance.
“Being able to ask an organisation ‘what information do you hold on me’ and ‘how it is being used’ provides transparency and accountability.
“These are fundamental rights - these are not optional.”
The seven organisations were identified following a series
of complaints related to their failure to respond within set timeframes, or failing to respond at all, as well as information being withheld, in breach of the UKGDPR and Data Protection Act.
The figures are stark:-
• Ministry of Defence - 9,000 requests yet to be responded to. People were typically waiting over 12 months for their information.
• Home Office - just under 21,000 requests not being responded to. Complaints to the ICO showed complainants suffered significant distress as a result.
• Virgin Media - over a sixmonth period in 2021, 9,500 requests were made and 19% were not responded to.
The organisations have between three and six months to make improvements or further enforcement action could be taken.
Apple Music
Earlier this year, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill unexpectedly became the most popular song in the world. After it was used on the soundtrack of the Netflix scifi series Stranger Things, the streaming figures for Bush’s 1985 single rocketed by 9,900% in the US alone. Something similar was happening wherever Stranger Things was available: by 18 June, three weeks after season four of Stranger Things premiered, Running Up That Hill was No 1 on Billboard’s Global 200 chart, which, as its name suggests, collects sales and streaming data from 200-plus countries. It became a big news story, big enough that the notoriously media-shy Bush had to issue a couple of statements and give a rare interview. That was partly because it was an extraordinary state of affairs: the upper reaches of the Global 200 are usually the sole province of what you might call the usual suspects – BTS, Bad Bunny, Adele, Drake et al – and not a world that plays host to tracks from critically acclaimed 37-yearold art-rock concept albums. And it was partly because the unexpected success of Running Up That Hill seemed to say something about how we discover and consume music in 2022.
We live in a world where music has never been more abundant, or available. As has frequently been pointed out, the rise of streaming in its multifarious forms essentially means the entire history of popular music is available, free,
at the touch of a button. We have more-or-less eradicated obscurity: even if something is too recherché for Spotify or Apple Music, the likelihood is that someone will have ripped it from somewhere –radio, tape, vinyl – and uploaded it to YouTube. One theory that’s gained traction recently is that music is now so abundant as to be completely overwhelming in its availability, and that listeners, faced with everything at once, are increasingly playing it safe and sticking with the tried-and-tested.
That theory would explain both the tiny handful of current artists who seem to have a stranglehold on the album charts – despite the statistic that says 60,000 new tracks a day are uploaded to one streaming service alone, only one or two new artists a year join the stranglehold ranks – and the fact that around half of said album chart is invariably made up of greatest hits collections by a small clique of “heritage” acts:
Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Abba, Oasis, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Eminem. Presenting the public with infinite options hasn’t broadened tastes, goes said argument – it’s actively narrowed them.
At the same time, the longstanding gatekeepers of pop music have seen their power wane greatly. BBC Radio One’s listenership has long been in decline – 4.85m people listened to its flagship breakfast show in 2021 as opposed to 7.5m in 1996 – an indication of a broader shift away from radio among younger audiences.
Music television barely exists beyond a scattering of historical documentaries; there’s Later … With Jools Holland and that’s pretty much that. An attempt in 2017 to reboot the weekly Top of the Pops format, titled Sounds Like Friday Night, was cancelled after two series due to low viewing figures.
In Britain, the music press is a ghost of its former self.
Beyond coverage in broadsheet newspapers, there’s Mojo and Uncut and Classic Rock, a scattering of indie magazines and a few successful specialist magazines with highly targeted audiences –prog rock fans, 80s pop enthusiasts – but the overall picture is one of a shrinking market catering exclusively to readers old enough to remember when the music press mattered. The British press certainly doesn’t wield the power it was once reputed to – the ability to make or break artists – and nor does American music website Pitchfork, by far the highest-profile and most influential of the online music titles. Even some of the internet innovations that were supposed to replace the tired old music media appear to have gone the same way. Whatever happened to MP3 blogs? They’re presumably still out there – the Hype Machine aggregator certainly is – but it’s a long time since an artist claimed they were pivotal in their rise.
A £4.5M renewables project, part-funded by UKRI (£2.2M grant) with £2.3M matchfunded, has saved a combined £27,000 in energy costs for 60 properties concentrated around the Ballysally area of Coleraine in just one year. This represents an average saving of 55% per property across the Project.
Northern Ireland’s first smart electricity grid, ‘Project Girona’, was designed by The Electric Storage Company to demonstrate the potential benefits of a SLES (Smart Local Energy System).
Bringing cheaper, smarter, greener electricity to homes and communities in Coleraine, The Electric Storage Company has just announced the findings of the 12-month study.
Combining solar panels and battery storage technology, Project Girona has successfully saved businesses, homeowners, tenants, and local community groups an average of 55% in electricity costs.
Further to the significant cost savings - which will become even greater as energy prices continue to soar - Project Girona saved 40 tonnes of CO2 – which equates to the same amount of C02 used by 19 family cars in a year.
The project generated 171MWh of renewable electricity and exported 30MWh of green energy to the grid. The exported electricity generated a further income for the properties and enabled other properties to benefit from clean energy.
Commenting on the results of Project Girona and the technology behind its success, Eddie McGoldrick, Co-Founder of The Electric Storage Company said: “We’re living through
a cost-of-living crisis with energy costs spiraling, and this makes the results of Project Girona even more relevant in today’s environment.
“We have been working on bringing this technology to market for seven years, and it’s now available to customers across Northern Ireland, who can benefit from reduced electricity costs, whilst reducing their carbon footprint. Combining battery storage with renewable technology is the way forward in future-proofing homes from the escalating energy costs that we’re seeing today.”
Following the initial pilot project, the homeowners and tenants participating in the project have been gifted the pilot technology, worth £840,000, and will continue to benefit from the savings that it generates for years to come.
Co-Founder and Operations Director of The Electric Storage Company, Anne Marie McGoldrick,
continues: “Project Girona successfully demonstrated average savings of 55% on electricity bills using this solution. With the addition of our smart management platform, PARIS - which extracts the full economic value of every unit of energy - we are predicting further savings of up to 20% for customers.
“PARIS uses smart technology and data to make the complex simple so that the customer doesn’t have to do a thing.”
Project Girona involved just 60 properties, which in turn saved almost £27,000 in energy costs. As a pilot project, this indicates that if the same solar panel and battery storage smart solution provided by The Electric Storage Company was applied to 1000 new homes that it would generate 2.8GWh of green energy, worth £625,000 and importantly reduce carbon emissions by 667 tonnes in one year.
Action Cancer is calling on businesses across Northern Ireland to ‘Paint the Town Pink’ this October and raise money for its life-saving breast screening service.
Action Cancer will provide all businesses taking part in the campaign with a fundraising pack that includes pink pin badges, bunting, collection boxes, balloons, a packet of filter coffee provided by Johnsons Coffee and lots of great ideas on how to fundraise. The charity is asking each business to try to raise a minimum of £120this the cost to the charity to provide one breast screening appointment. So, every business that raises this amount could potentially save a life.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among females in Northern Ireland accounting for 30% of all cancer diagnoses among women. The latest statistics state that 1,468 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 307 die from the disease every year.
Breast screening is for well women who have no signs or symptoms and is the most effective tool for picking up cancers at an early and treatable stage. Action Cancer encourages women aged 50-70 to attend for routine screening when called by the NHS. The charity, however, offers screening to women aged 40-49 and over 70.
Screening takes place at Action Cancer House in Belfast and on board the charity’s Big Bus, supported by SuperValu and Centra. This free service is not available anywhere else in the UK or Ireland.
Paint the Town Pink was created by the Action Cancer Banbridge Fundraising Group in October 2015 as part of the charity’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign. The idea was conceived by former Group Chair, Anne Hulme, who drew inspiration from the Giro D’italia that had taken place throughout N.Ireland in 2014. At that time, towns across NI literally turned pink along the Giro cycling route. Anne believed that this idea could be adapted in support of breast cancer awareness and ‘Paint the Town Pink’ was born.
The inaugural Paint the Town Pink campaign in Banbridge was a massive success. The whole town got behind Action Cancer, with shop windows decorated in pink, street performers, pop up shops, coffee mornings, a sponsored pink walk and a motorbike ride out taking place. An amazing £15,000 was raised for Action Cancer in year one, and the group more than doubled this in year two with a
phenomenal £35,000 being raised.
Following on from the astounding success of this initiative, Action Cancer rolled this campaign out across Northern Ireland, with villages, towns and cities across the country getting involved. Endorsed by Action Cancer Patron Gloria Hunniford OBE, Paint the Town Pink has raised £315K to date.
This October Action Cancer aims to see hundreds of businesses organising fundraising events and decorating their shop windows and staff rooms, Painting the Town Pink to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Johnsons Coffee has been a longterm supporter of the campaign, in addition to providing free coffee sachets, the business hosts its own annual pink fundraiser with staff.
Tim Smith, Brand Manager and Barista Training Officer at Johnsons Brothers said, “Johnsons Coffee is
really excited to once again lend our support to Action Cancer’s Paint the Town Pink campaign.
Having supported this campaign since 2015 we know just how much of a difference the charity’s services make to people’s lives. Plans are underway for our pink coffee morning and its great way to bring staff from different departments together and have fun. We therefore encourage retailers and businesses across Northern Ireland to join us and get on board with a Paint the Town Pink fundraiser and help make a positive difference.”
Action Cancer Community Group Executive Mark Irwin – Watson added: “We hope to raise £30,000 from our Paint the Town Pink campaign this year. This will enable Action Cancer to provide 250 free breast screenings for local ladies aged 40-49 and 70+.
Fundraising took a massive hit during the pandemic, but now that staff have returned to their workplaces, coming together again in person and high street businesses are operating without Covid-19 restrictions, the stage is set for ‘Paint the Town Pink 2022’ to be a tremendous success.
I appeal to all types of businesses across Northern Ireland to get on board. In the past we have had accountancy firms, beauty salons, transport companies and nursing homes all take part so it really is something that all businesses can get behind. Every business that raises £120 will potentially save a life. Early detection does save lives so make it your business to raise some much-needed funds for Action Cancer and let’s Paint the Town Pink together this October.”
The screening service that Action Cancer provides is unique and free to the user but the charity does not receive regular government funding so it heavily relies on public fundraising in order to operate.
To find out how your company could sign up to Action Cancer’s Paint the Town Pink campaign this October, contact Mark Irwin-Watson, Community Groups Executive on mirwin-watson@actioncancer.org or call 07580 133752.
NI-based Atlas Communications is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The company, founded in 1982, has evolved over the years from a small business selling telephone systems to become one of Northern Ireland’s most trusted telecommunications partners with offices across Belfast and Derry City.
Today Atlas is an end-toend service company encompassing telephony, data networks, internet services and data hosting with a reputation for worldclass, industry leading solutions that enables it to service some of the UK’s top Tier 1 telecoms companies.
Atlas is a trusted partner to a wide range of organisations, from two person businesses to organisations with thousands of users such as the health trusts, local authorities and global technology businesses that require highly bespoke telecommunication solutions. Atlas
has supported over 30 television and film productions across the province, actively helping Northern Ireland to develop itself as a leading hub for the creative industries.
One highlight from Atlas’ rich history is its partnership with Catalyst, now in its 20th year. Catalyst, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park, is an independent, notfor-profit organisation that runs an entrepreneurial ecosystem that has become a key driver of the knowledge economy in Northern Ireland.
Catalyst, headquartered in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, has become a leader providing worldclass facilities to businesses ranging from local start-ups to large international organisations. Catalyst currently operate eight buildings covering 210,000 square feet of workspace across their Belfast & Derry City campuses.
Catalyst’s entrepreneurial eco-system is powered by Atlas’ fibre network, and through the partnership over 2700 innovators and entrepreneurs are supported in running and growing their businesses every day through Atlas’ broadband and connectivity infrastructure. Innovation in Belfast really is #poweredbyatlas.
Sean Mahon, Chief Executive of Atlas Communications said “Atlas’ track record proves that a small local firm can compete with the telecom giants and provide a service that has a reputation for
quality, trust and innovation. Our partnership with Catalyst places Atlas at the centre of innovation in Northern Ireland and we are proud to provide connectivity to support the community of local entrepreneurs building world class businesses right here in Belfast”.
Commenting on the partnership, Catalyst Director of Real Estate & Community Mervyn Watley said “Catalyst enables a connected community of like-minded innovators in an entrepreneurial eco-system that is the key driver of the knowledge economy in Northern Ireland. Our partnership with Atlas Communications over the last 20 years has ensured that our community of entrepreneurs has access to first class connectivity infrastructure, this has been core to the development of our workspace environments – ensuring our tenants have access to the best connectivity to help their companies thrive”.
The social enterprise behind Belfast’s Better leisure centres has created over 70 jobs in the city through the establishment of a UK wide Customer Service Centre in Belfast.
GLL, which operates 16 leisure centres in Belfast and over 250 centres and gyms across the UK, opened its state-of-the-art customer service hub at Lanyon View in Belfast in September 2021, creating an initial 55 roles for the city.
Now one year after completion, the Better UK Customer Service Centre has handled over 400,000 (417,996) customer queries, over 93% of which were solved at the time of initial customer contact.
The centre currently employs 53 Customer Service Advisors, six Team Leaders and one Customer Service Centre Manager. Alongside these roles, all of which are new for Northern Ireland, recruitment for an additional 15 Customer Service Advisors is underway.
In total, the roles are delivering over £1.9 million in annual salaries to the economy.
GLL, which employs over 600 people locally, attributes this additional investment in Belfast to Northern Ireland’s rich talent pool and strong performance in the call centre industry.
The new venture complements the ongoing Leisure Transformation Programme in Belfast, a £105 million investment by Belfast City Council to get more people, more active, more often. This programme has delivered five new state-of-the-art centres to date and will see doors open at the redeveloped Templemore Baths next year.
A social enterprise that reinvests all profits in the communities it operates, GLL has delivered over 17 Leisure Employment Academies in partnership with Belfast City Council since its establishment here in 2015, giving 200 individuals in the city access to fully funded training programmes and job opportunities in the leisure sector.
At the Customer Service Centre, the growing team has collectively talked on the phone with customers for over 19,000 hours and resolved over 65,000 email enquiries.
More information on the career opportunities currently available with GLL in Belfast can be found here: LINK.
Gareth Kirk, Regional Director at GLL, said:
“It is fantastic to be celebrating oneyear of our Customer Service Centre with such good news for Belfast. We know that our leisure centres and services can only be as good as the people we employ, and we are immensely proud of what the new Customer Service Centre team has achieved in their first year. This success is testament to the skilled workforce we have in Northern Ireland, and we are thrilled to be offering 26 more job opportunities as the centre expands. This is an exciting time for GLL in Belfast and marks a significant step forward in our ambitions to deliver first-class leisure services for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Martine Gibson, Customer Service Centre Manager at GLL, said:
“The establishment and delivery of our busy Customer Service Centre operation has been an exciting journey for us. Our Customer Service Advisors are required to deliver an excellent level of service to every customer and have dealt with hundreds of thousands of queries from across the UK. This includes supporting our customers from the initial membership stage through to helping them with bookings for lessons and courses. We work closely with
GLL centre teams locally and across England and Wales. Every day, we receive positive feedback from our internal and external customers, and I am proud of each and every member of our team.”
Councillor Gareth Spratt, Deputy Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said:
“Belfast is a talented, competitive and connected city, so the original decision by GLL to base its UK customer service centre here reflects our growing reputation as an attractive place to locate. I’m delighted to hear that the centre is going from strength-tostrength, with its first anniversary being marked by the creation of a further 15 jobs, adding to the 60 jobs already filled since the centre first opened.”
“Creating jobs and growing the economy are two of the main priorities within the Belfast Agenda, the city’s community plan and key strategic document, so this investment will contribute to our wider ambitions for the city. I would like to congratulate the GLL team on their achievements to-date and wish them every success in the future.”
Chloe Gill becomes Brand Marketing Manager at Moy Park. Chloe has over eight years’ experience within Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry.
Having previously worked for brands including Dale Farm, Glastry Farm Ice Cream, Galberts Foods and Mash Direct. Also at Moy Park, Elizabeth Adair is appointed as Commercial Manager Ireland. A graduate in Business Management, Elizabeth joined Moy Park in 2019 on the Commercial Graduate Management Trainee Scheme and has since progressed to the role of Commercial Manager Ireland.
Graeme Davies has been appointed to the position of Associate Director within the tax department at Grant Thornton in Belfast. Utilising his extensive experience working with owner managed businesses across areas including exit and succession planning, creative and innovation tax and corporation tax planning, Graeme will provide bespoke, commercially focused tax advice to Grant Thornton’s portfolio of clients.
Grant Thornton has also appointed Paul Prenter to the position of Corporate Finance Advisory Director. Having spent over 15 years in private practice and industry, Paul has significant M&A lead advisory experience, advising on and executing business acquisition and sale transactions across multiple sectors, as well as successfully raising finance and funding for growth, acquisition and other purposes.
Leading Belfast accountancy and advisory practice Baker Tilly Mooney Moore has welcomed two new tax professionals to its growing team. Julie Hamilton joins the firm as Tax Manager, while Lauren Patience takes on the role of Tax Technician. With over 15 years’ experience, Julie joins with a background in mid-tier and Big 4 practices. Julie specialises in personal tax and will develop the company’s service in this area, particularly tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, sole traders, partnerships, and shareholders. Lauren is a qualified Accounts and Tax Technician with experience in personal tax, corporate tax, and VAT compliance. Also a tax planning adviser for individuals and business, she joins the firm from a mid-tier practice.
FSCom Limited, a leading specialist consulting firm providing governance, risk and compliance solutions to financial services institutions in the UK and Ireland, has announced the appointment of Jill Michael as HR Director. Jill will take on the responsibility for the strategic leadership of People and Talent at the award-winning consultancy, further building on its reputation as the leading subject matter experts in their field.
The Washington Ireland Program (WIP) has appointed Nicola Skelly as its new Executive Director. Ms Skelly, who takes up the post with the Washington Ireland Program in November, has twenty years’ senior experience in higher level education, heading up the Vice-Chancellor’s office at Queen’s University Belfast, and holding a previous position as Head of the University’s Research Policy and Postgraduate Office.
Tourism Ireland has launched an extensive and targeted multi-media autumn campaign, to boost late-season travel to Northern Ireland from around the world. The September to December period usually yields as much as 30% of our annual overseas tourism business.
One of the highlights of Tourism Ireland’s autumn programme of activity is a new £500,000 campaign to promote Londonderry and Donegal in the all-important GB market. The nine-week campaign will reach at least 6.8 million people and includes eye-catching digital ads in London’s Waterloo station, as well as at busy roadside locations in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh – with the slogan “two unique places, one amazing holiday”.
The autumn campaign will also highlight the many reasons to come here over the coming months – including festivals and events like the Belfast International Arts Festival (which will celebrate its 60th anniversary) and Derry Halloween.
Minister for the Economy, Gordon Lyons MLA, said: “I am very pleased to welcome this Tourism Ireland campaign to promote Northern Ireland in Great Britain. Tourism has an important role to play in our economy and we have recently enjoyed an increase in the number
of tourists visiting from our closer to home markets. The historic city of Londonderry and the surrounding area provides a wealth of top class accommodation, wonderful outdoor activities with stunning scenery, superb local produce and the assurance of the warmest of welcomes. The GB market has demonstrated in the past couple of years that it remains a key target for us and I am confident that this campaign will deliver for our industry and show the best of what the Londonderry area and Northern Ireland as a whole has to offer as a destination.”
Shane Clarke, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Corporate Services, Policy & Northern Ireland, said: “Our autumn campaign aims to take advantage of late booking trends around the world, as there is still plenty of business to play for this year. Many people are opting for shorter holiday breaks and
we know that autumn is a really good opportunity, with several world-class festivals and events happening here.
“We are rolling out a new campaign – developed in partnership with Tourism NI, Fáilte Ireland, Visit Derry, Donegal County Council and Derry and Strabane District Council – to promote Derry-Londonderry and Donegal in the all-important GB market. It will run for nine weeks and will reach around 6.8 million people, or potential visitors.
“Tourism Ireland’s publicity drive continues this autumn – targeting print, broadcast and online media around the world with lots of positive stories about Northern Ireland. In addition, Tourism Ireland will engage with top overseas tour operators and travel agents this autumn, providing an opportunity for our local tourism businesses to negotiate inclusion in their 2023 brochures and programmes.”
All-electric SUVs will be a massive growth market in the coming years with this new Nissan Ariya the latest to launch, writes James Stinson.
Given Nissan’s prowess in making SUVs and electric cars, namely the Leaf, it’s surprising it wasn’t out of the blocks quicker with an all-electric SUV. Rivals already on the road include the VW ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and others.
Whatever the reason, the time taken has obviously been well spent. The impressive Ariya range kicks off with a 63kWh battery model that can manage around 250 miles on a single charge. This should be fine for the majority of users. However, there is a larger 87kWh unit that stretches this figure to 310 miles.
Drivers can charge the Ariya at speeds of up-to 130kW; this allows drivers to top up their Ariya from 20-80% in around 30 minutes. Whereas on some rivals such as the Skoda Enyaq iV you have to upgrade to top-spec models to get these faster charging speeds, this comes as standard on the Ariya, meaning you’ll be charged up and back on the road in no time at all.
There are three electric motor options to choose from: a 215bhp or 239bhp single motor and a dual-motor, all-
wheel-drive setup with 302bhp – the two more potent versions are only available with the larger 87kWh battery.
The entry level model does 0-62mph in a respectable 7.5 seconds; the dual-motor model cuts this time down to just 5.7 seconds.
The Ariya is also Nissan’s most premium looking and feeling car yet, a trend signalled in the most recent iteration of the big-selling Qashqai. The infotainment system, which comprises two generous 12.3-inch screens and comes as standard with sat-nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.
As for other standard equipment, even entry-level Ariya Advance cars come well-equipped, with 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, dualzone climate control, heated seats, a powered tailgate and a full suite of safety and driver assistance features.
There’s plenty of interior space, thanks to a compact battery pack, which is some 33% slimmer than the one in the Leaf, which means there’s a deeper footwell than you’d find in most electric cars. Boot space
is an ample 466 litres, which can be expanded by folding the rear seats down if you need to carry larger loads.
The extensive list of technical and safety features come as standard on all grades. The ‘Advance’ grade includes ProPILOT with Navi-Link, Intelligent Driver Alertness and Lane Keep Assist, Traffic Jam Pilot, Blind Spot Intervention, Intelligent Cruise Control, Full Auto Park, Apple Car Play and 360 degree Around View Monitor. There are also plenty of options to enhance the Advance, including the Bose Tech Pack or the Sky Pack.
The higher spec ‘Evolve’ grade adds innovative features such as Pro-Pilot Park, Windscreen Heads-up Display, a 10 Bose speaker system, Electric Panoramic
Sunroof, power moving centre console, and black upholstery with synthetic leather seats and Ultrasuede inserts.
Pricing for the 63kWh battery version with 160kW of power and an onboard 7.4kW AC Charger starts at £43,845 for the Advance and £47,840 for the Evolve.
For the larger 87kW battery with up to 329 miles of range, 178Kw of power and a more powerful onboard 22kW AC charger, the Advance is priced at £49,595 with Evolve at £53,590.
For the customer looking for allwheel drive and greater performance, then the e-4ORCE version has a 47kW increase in power to 225kW and doubles the amount of torque to 600Nm. It is priced from £52,295 for the Advance grade or £56,290 for the Evolve.
Odd but brilliant best describes this new Citroen Ami city car, which is set to hit UK roads soon.
The tiny all-electric Ami falls somewhere between a scooter and a small car with prices starting at £8,095 and monthly finance deals available from just £19.99 a month. And it’s already a sales success, with more than 2,000 pre-orders taken in the UK.
It has a 5.5kWh battery which can be fully charged in three hours. The battery powers a 6kW electric motor, allowing for a modest top speed of 28mph and a range of up to 46 miles. That doesn’t sound like much, but Citroen reckons that’s double the required mileage for most urban motorists. Because the battery is so small, it can be completely recharged from
a three-pin socket in around three hours. If you’re out and about, the Ami can also be connected to a wallbox charger or a public charge point using a Type 2 cable, although that won’t make the battery charge any faster.
The two-seater Ami is a mere 2.41 metres long. It also has a London taxilike 7.2-metre turning circle, meaning it should be a doddle to park. More than 50% of its upper body it glazed, too, which makes for good all-round visibility.
Citroen says the Ami was designed as a safer urban transport solution than a scooter or a bicycle, and that it was priced to compete with public transport.
To hit that low price-point, Citroen made
the car as symmetrical as possible to save money on making lots of moulds.
So, the production car’s driver and passenger doors are identical – the driver’s one is hinged on the rear edge, while the passenger’s one is hinged at the front – which means Citroen only had to design and manufacture one panel. The left and right-side windows, front and rear bumpers and front and rear underbody panels are all symmetrical for the same reason.
There won’t be a right-hand drive version in the UK, though Citroen don’t think this will be much of a problem as you’re not that far away from the right side anyway.
The lead-in Ami trim offers the most affordable point of entry to the Ami 100% electric line-up, priced at only £8,095. Standard specification includes a digital speedometer, LED front and rear lights, a panoramic glass sunroof and a USB charging port.
Customers can enhance their ‘Ami’ by adding one of three Colour Packs: Orange, Blue or Grey. These are priced at £400 and are specifically designed to be fitted at home. Adding a splash of colour to the Ami’s quirky styling, each pack comes with colour-coded wheel trims, colourcoded rear pillar decals, three colourcoded dashboard storage boxes, a colourcoded dashboard bag hook, exterior door capsules, two door storage nets with a
colour-coded horizontal band and two black floor mats with colour-coded trim.
In addition, all Colour Packs add a separation net between the driver and passenger footwells, a smartphone cradle for the dashboard and the DAT@AMI connection box that allows customers to consult their Ami’s charge status, and more, from the MyCitroën mobile app.
Ami customers can also choose from two higher trim levels offering even greater levels of customisation: ‘Ami Pop’ and ‘Ami Tonic’.
For businesses carrying out short distance or last-mile deliveries, the all-electric – My Ami Cargo – is offered in a single specification, priced at £7,995. In place of the passenger seat, My Ami Cargo features a modular storage area that can be configured for a range of business needs.
This consists of a modular upper surface (featuring a unique ‘mobile office’ layout), a divider between the driver and cargo areas, a modular cargo floor with two positions, and a lidded box in the rear creating 260-litres of storage space. Coupled with the interior storage already present on-board, My Ami Cargo offers a total load capacity of 400-litres.
Ami and My Ami Cargo vehicles are sold exclusively online, with customers placing their orders through a dedicated Citroen Ami digital platform.
