Ulster Business - January 2016

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JANUARY 2016 £2.30 (€3.75)

The Leaders Issue How Northern Ireland’s 2016 Leaders in Business stand out from the crowd

Sponsored by:

Business in the Community Annual Review

ISSN 1363-2507

9 771363 250005

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Contents 8 News

66 Need a NED?

106 Appointments

The pick of the month’s news from across the region

Why your company should be thinking of hiring a non-executive director

Have you moved jobs? If you haven’t and you’re in here then we’ve news for you

16 Viscount Awards

69 Ones to Watch

108 Photocall

The Aer Lingus Viscount Awards, in association Profiles of the most exciting entrepreneurs to with Ulster Business kick off in style emerge over the last few months

The best of the month’s pictures collated here for your viewing pleasure

23 Outlook 2016

88 Venture Capital

114 Events

Experts from across the business world take a look into the crystal ball for the year ahead

A look into the growing alternatives to bank finance by economist John Simpson

Were you out with a drink in your hand over the last few weeks? You could be here

41 Leaders in Business

99 Motoring

122 My Day

We profile ten Leaders in Business to find out what makes them tick

Top tips from our own tame racing driver, Pat “Heated Seat” Burns

The concierge service which could transform your home and work life in 2016

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106

73 122

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

The inspiration edition

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elcome to this very special January edition of Ulster Business. In this magazine we profile the people who are making a difference in the Northern Ireland business, looking at ten Leaders in Business who are at the top of their game and ten Ones to Watch who are making their own mark in the business world.

Each of them can offer something, be it inspiration, experience or merely a big injection of energy to help the rest of us in our daily grind.

This year’s bunch are particularly inspiring, with leaders who can lay claim to helping entice HBO to set up a base here, those who have founded, built and sold their businesses many times over and those who help others buy and sell businesses every day.

What was most apparent when interviewing them was a huge passion for what they do, a passion which can’t be faked and which would appear to be crucial to making an impact.

From surfboard manufacturers to juice extractors, from craft beer brewers to high tech whizz kids – each and every one of the entrepreneurs – and they are entrepreneurs – are an inspiration to anyone interested in business.

It’s always a pleasure to compile this issue and we hope you get as much out of it as we did.

The new year has started in Northern Ireland with a more settled political situation and the upcoming promise of a cut in corporation tax.

Those factors, combined with the great examples of talent highlighted in these pages, make the coming months and years some of the most exciting ever for the Northern Ireland business world.

David Elliott

Publisher Greer Publications 5b Edgewater Business Park Belfast Harbour Estate, Belfast BT3 9JQ www.ulsterbusiness.com Tel: 028 9078 3200

Editor David Elliott

Art Editor Stuart Gray

Manager Sonia Armstrong

Production Manager Stuart Gray

Printer W&G Baird Greystone Press, Caulside Drive, Antrim BT41 2RS www.wgbaird.com

Deputy Manager Sylvie Brando

Cover Design Stuart Gray

Greer Publications © 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Greer Publications.

JANUARY 2016

Happily, that passion was also apparent in spades amongst the brilliant Ones to Watch which we also profile.

Sales Executive Susan Simpson

Free to download. Free to read. ulsterbusiness/app 7

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NEWS

The Big Numbers 165 The number of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Northern Ireland in 2015, up nearly 60% on last year, according to Experian.

Cayan takes up residence in City Quays The City Quays building

6,532 The number of M&A deals throughout the UK in 2015, up 10% on 2014.

£1.9bn The value of M&A deals in Northern Ireland in 2015, up nearly 10% on the same time last year.

£433bn The value of M&A deals throughout the UK in 2015, up 56% on 2014.

£400m The value of commercial property deals transacted in 2015, according to CBRE. That’s slightly down on the £500m which had been expected with a number of deals said to be still going through legals.

£200m The amount the Department of Health spend on infrastructure projects each year.

£5bn The amount the Department of Health spend in the economy.

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S payment technology firm Cayan is moving in to one of the biggest Grade A office developments to have been built in Northern Ireland in the last few years.

Cayan is moving into two floors in the 84,000 square foot City Quays 1 building which was completed by Belfast Harbour in 2015, occupying around one third of the total space.

They’ll join fellow US company and the world’s biggest law firm Baker & McKenzie once fit out has been complete in the spring.

Cayan, which was formerly known as Merchant Warehouse, has had an office in in the nearby Clarendon Buildings since 2013 when it first arrived in Northern Ireland.

Since starting out with 15 employees, it has grown to a headcount of 130 and is taking advantage of a deal struck with the harbour which allows it to move to bigger offices within the estate, according to Belfast Harbour’s Property Director, Graeme Johnston.

“When we refurbished the former Clarendon Building office space it was to provide incubator space for start-up operations which had the potential for strong growth.

“As part of the package we offer it was agreed that if companies outgrew

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their initial space they could relocate to another Belfast Harbour property at any stage without incurring a penalty.

“It’s an innovative strategy devised following feedback from Invest NI and overseas occupiers. Cayan has grown exponentially since arriving and we are thrilled that their expanding team of software developers and engineers will be based at City Quays 1.”

The harbour said it is finalising the tenancies for the remaining space in the building and hopes to have neighbouring development City Quays 2 open for business in 2017.

Henry Helgeson, Cayan’s CEO said Belfast is important to the growth of the company.

“Our Belfast office is one of the major reasons we’re able to sustain our current pace and will be able to support future growth.”

Established in 1998, Cayan was the first company of its kind, specializing in making the process of accepting credit card payments simple and affordable for small businesses.

The company also played a critical role in developing point-to-point encrypted card readers and its new product Genius®, a payment system integrated into pointof-sale systems, enables businesses to add new payment, gift card programmes and loyalty solutions at any time.

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NEWS

40 companies count the calories

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ver 40 Northern Ireland companies have signed up for Business in the Community’s £ for lb 12-week challenge, committing to help their employees lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

From left: Dr Eddie Rooney, Public Health Agency; Amy Kieran, Business in the Community and Lorraine Milne, Westfield Health enrol 40 businesses to help their employees to lose weight through a ‘£ for lb 12-week weight loss challenge’.

Last year, the number of lbs lost by participants’ equalled the weight of a large male hippo!

JANUARY 2016

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No limits.

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NEWS

Quotes of the month “A key determinant in the success of the economy over next year, and beyond, will be the new Programme for Government. The last Executive declared that the economy was at the heart of the Programme for Government but it was an aspiration which was too often bogged down by political disagreement. All parties and the incoming Minister for the Economy must use this new Assembly mandate to make this pledge a reality.”

Stephen McCully, President of NI Chamber, said.

“The Executive has just agreed a Budget for 2016-17 without any of the drama and crisis which characterised the financial process at the end of 2014. The big challenge now is to begin work to prepare for a Budget covering the three years after that. Unless the Executive creates such a Budget and sticks to it the Treasury is may not be convinced that the Executive’s finances are on a long-term sustainable basis – a prerequisite for the ‘switching-on’ of the Corporation Tax Act.” Dr Esmond Birnie, PwC chief economist in Northern Ireland

“While there are public concerns around immigration, with pressures on some public services, 2016 must be the year we reform the UK’s wrongheaded visa policies that are keeping global talent from our growing firms and global students from our world-class universities. The risk is that the situation could get worse, not better. We stand ready to help the Government shape a modern, fit-for-purpose immigration system.”

CBI Director General Carolyn Fairburn

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New Reading office for Willis IRM opens

Willis IRM managing director Richard Willis and London Irish rugby player Tom Court.

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Belfast insurance firm has opened a new office in the south east of England as part of an expansion into Great Britain.

Willis Insurance and Risk Management’s new base in Reading is the company’s third office and will work alongside the Belfast headquarter and the recently opened Coleraine base.

Managing Director Richard Willis said the move was a natural progression.

It is a natural progression for us as part of our plans to grow the business further. The office in Reading will act as a hub for activity in the South East of England providing all insurance, claims management, HR, health & safety and financial planning needs”.

“Reading and the Thames Valley area are very similar to Belfast and Northern Ireland when it comes to population and target markets. We already have a number of London-based clients who look to us for a better standard of

personal attentive service and bespoke risk management, so the move is a good fit”.

To coincide with the new office, Willis IRM have signed a sponsorship deal with former Ulster Rugby player Tom Court. Tom now plies his trade with Premiership rugby club London Irish, who play their home games in Reading.

Willis IRM, which primarily focuses on insurances for commercial and corporate clients, was originally set-up in Bangor in 1978 by acting Chairman Robert Willis.

The firm currently has premises in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and Coleraine with over 60 staff specialising in Construction, Transportation, Hospitality & Leisure, Retail and Property Management.

“Reading and the Thames Valley area are very similar to Belfast and Northern Ireland when it comes to population and target markets,” Mr Willis said. “We already have a number of London-based clients who look to us for a better standard of personal attentive service and bespoke risk management, so the move is a good fit.”

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NEWS

Rainbow Communications sign new contract with Express Distribution Services

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tuart Carson, Director of Sales and Marketing at Rainbow Communications is pictured with David Neill, Managing Director at Express Distribution Services (EDS).

Rainbow Communications has signed a new ÂŁ250,000 contract to provide EDS with all of its telecoms requirements including online tracking of all EDS vehicles, live tachograph, monitoring of driver behaviour and the provision of over 50 sim-cards to enable EDS to maximise on their existing telecoms hardware investment.

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NEWS

Hutchinson Engineering creates 80 jobs targeting export markets Pictured are Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland at the the launch of Tourism Ireland’s 2016 marketing plans.

Tourism Ireland predicts ramp up in overseas visits this year

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he body charged with driving overseas tourism to Northern Ireland has set itself ambitious targets for this year.

Tourism Ireland’s new marketing plan expects to increase the number of overseas visitors to these shores by 4% in 2016 and to drive revenue from those tourists up by 5% to £476m.

Its bullish outlook follows a successful period for 2015 with 1.9m people expected to have visited, itself a 5% hike on last year. International visitors are expected to have spent £454m in 2015 year, up 2% on the year.

Tourism minister Jonathan Bell said the strong performance was a result of new flights to Northern Ireland and stronger economies at some of the key source markets.

“While I believe we should celebrate this success we must now set our sights higher on even bigger targets to ensure our tourist industry reaches its full potential,” he said.

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Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell is pictured with Mark Hutchinson.

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Country Antrim company plans to target global markets after investing over £4m and creating 80 new jobs.

Hutchinson Engineering is spending the money on new equipment at both its Kilrea and Antrim sites and is hoping to expand its presence in the automotive, aerospace and materials handling sectors.

The new jobs will command annual salaries of £1.85m in total, a figure which works out at an average salary for each job at just over £23,000.

The roles consist of mix of advanced manufacturing roles, business development and sales and marketing across the Group and the company said 40 jobs have already been filled.

Mark Hutchinson, Managing Director of Hutchinson Engineering, is bullish about the company’s growth plans.

“Our objective is to double business revenue over the next three years,” he said.

“We aim to achieve this by growing our

customer base and differentiating ourselves in competitive global markets by providing value added products and services.

“Investing in state of the art technology, additional skilled staff and further expanding our manufacturing capabilities at Kilrea will help us to achieve this goal.”

Invest NI offered Hutchinson £500,000 to support the creation of the new jobs and Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell was on hand to announce the news.

“The engineering sector accounts for a large proportion of manufactured exports from Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Hutchinson’s investment sends a clear signal to the advanced engineering sector across Great Britain and internationally that Northern Ireland has the skills and expertise to be a market leader.”

Formed in 1971, Hutchinson Engineering is a leading sub contract laser and metal fabrication firm with a sister specialist aerospace arm, AeroTech, based in Antrim and a design company, H360, co-located with Hutchinson Engineering in Kilrea.

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NEWS

Centre for Competitiveness Awards launched

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ome of the largest organisations in Northern Ireland are on board to back one of the first major business events of 2016.

The Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP), Capita and NIE Networks are sponsoring this year’s Centre for Competitiveness (CforC) Excellence Awards process, which will culminate with a gala awards ceremony on Thursday January 28 at the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel in Bangor.

Pictured, Nicholas Tarrant, MD at NIE Networks, George Wilson, CforC, Catherine McKeever, Director of Quality at Bombardier, and David Sterling, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance and Personnel, who were all judging assessors, look forward to the event, which will see representatives from organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors come together to recognise excellence.

Northern Ireland’s most competitive organisations will receive accolades at the event, including the Excellence Award, the pinnacle of the highly-regarded recognition scheme. The Awards process, organised by the Centre for Competitiveness, is based on the internationally renowned EFQM Excellence Model and recognises

organisations that have demonstrated excellence in their overall performance.

This years’ recipients will represent a range of industries and sectors who all have a commitment to ensure excellence is an integral part of what they do.

Visit www.cforc.org for more details.

Captain Container Storage and Handling Services In late 2013, Quay Cargo Services established a joint venture with Belfast-based Stevedoring Company William Reid Ltd to provide modern container handling and storage facilities for customers in a secure location at York Dock, Belfast Port. Captain Container draws on the skills, experience and expertise of both companies who identified an opportunity to provide customised husbandry services for both empty and laden containers.

The firm offers eight pieces of ground-based handling equipment with a lift capacity of 12–48 tonnes. Utilising ground-based equipment with a large lifting capacity means that the handling of cargoes for customers is less restricted by adverse weather conditions in the Port.

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NEWS

To infinity, and beyond...

Castlereagh growth and this can only be achieved by building on the strengths and capabilities of our companies,” he said.

Those companies include Aeroject Rocketdyne which is part of European Space Propulsion (ESP) which has a Belfast base in Castlereagh.

“The arrival of Aerojet and their UK Company here has brought significant benefits to Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Both I and ESP believe there is a real opportunity to make Northern Ireland the focal point for space propulsion in Europe through participation in the European Space Agency Service Module programme.”

Jim Simpson, Senior Vice President for Strategy & Business Development at Aerojet Rocketdyne, is pictured with Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell and other representatives from the company.

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orthern Ireland has the potential to become the space propulsion capital of Europe, Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell has said.

He said Invest NI is committed to securing state-of-the-art facilities and top class skills for the space sector here to grow what has up to now been a fledgling industry.

Mr Bell pointed to the collective UK target to increase revenue generation from the industry to £40bn by 2030 from £10bn currently and said he wanted to secure a significant proportion space business for Northern Ireland.

“I want to ensure that Northern Ireland secures a significant proportion of this

“The Northern Ireland Partnering for Growth Strategy, launched in 2014, has set the direction for our space sector to ensure we stay ahead of the competition in this high-value sector. Having previously met with Aerojet Rocketdyne in Belfast and at the Paris Air show in July 2015, I welcome the opportunity to discuss further how we can support and grow the ESP operations as a key component of the emerging Northern Ireland Space Sector.”

CBI: focus on education and infrastructure to maximise tax cut impact

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he Executive needs to focus on bettering Northern Ireland’s education and training systems as well as boosting the region’s infrastructure if the benefits of a reduced corporation tax rate are to be realised.

That is the opinion of business body the CBI which has been warning that devolving the power to set the tax businesses pay to Stormont can’t be relied upon on its own to boost the economy here. Speaking at an event to celebrate the organisation’s 50th anniversary celebrations, outgoing chair of the CBI Colin Walsh called for more.

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“The commitment to a ‘date and rate’ for a reduced Corporation tax rate may well be seen by many as a key highlight of the year, but it is vital that we secure a more strategic focus by the Northern Ireland Executive and invest and align our education and training, as well as develop a world class infrastructure to maximise the impact,” he said.

“Our evidential base and extensive engagements with political representatives has been influential in these key debates, and notable progress has been secured across a range of key policy issues during 2015 in creating a better business environment.”

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NEWS

NIParcels.com adds two extra staff

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ourier company NIParcels. com has added two extra staff to its full time workforce at its offices in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

Set up three years ago by East Belfast businessman Paul Stewart, NI Parcels has customers from across the UK and Ireland. He’s pictured, centre, with the NIParcels team which has just finished a busy festive period when it sent items all over the world.

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The 2016 Viscount Awards have landed: entries open!

Call for entries opens for Northern Ireland’s most prestigious business awards

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he search is on for Northern Ireland’s high-flying companies and business people with the launch of the 2016 Aer Lingus Viscount Awards, in association with Ulster Business.

The awards, now in their eighth year, attract entries from the most dynamic, innovative businesses in the country and will this year see a shake-up in the categories which will allow a wider spectrum of businesses to enter.

in, if you’ve achieved something you’re proud of then we’d love to hear from you.

“We’ve deliberately widened the scope of the categories this year to encourage a really varied pool of entrants. They must have just one thing in common and that’s a clear demonstration that they excel at what they do.

The revised categories for 2016 are: Innovator of the Year, Exporter of the Year, Best SME Award, Best Business Start-Up Award, Employee Champion Award, Business Person of the Year and the Award for Overall Excellence.

“So if your business has had a great year, whether that be through innovation, export success, employee engagement, outstanding leadership or a start-up that’s really going places, then there’s at least one category for you to enter. We’re looking for companies that showcase the very best that Northern Ireland has to offer and we expect the standard to be incredibly high,” she added.

Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager at Aer Lingus in NI said: “No matter the size or sector your business operates

The 2016 Viscount Awards luncheon will be held on Tuesday 24th May at the IoD, 116 Pall Mall, London. Every shortlisted company will

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be offered one complimentary ticket to the event, which includes a three course meal and return flights with Aer Lingus from George Best Belfast City Airport to London Heathrow.

Guests will also be given access to the state-of-the-art Aer Lingus Business Lounge at London Heathrow.

“For us, the Viscount Awards present a fantastic opportunity not only to engage with business across Northern Ireland,” said Andrea Hunter, “but also to showcase our product and the quality of what we’re offering the smart business traveller here.

“It’s our way of demonstrating our commitment to this marketplace. We recently announced our decision to increase capacity on our Belfast - London Heathrow route by 21% for Summer 2016. We are confident demand for the service will continue to grow,” she concluded.

Ulster Business editor David Elliott and Business Development Manager for Aer Lingus, Andrea Hunter launch the 2016 Aer Lingus Viscount Awards in association with Ulster Business.

Categories Innovator of the Year Award This award honours the company that can demonstrate the successful development of an innovative product, process or service, or a new way of working.

The Viscount Awards are unique, not just in Northern Ireland, but worldwide, Editor of Ulster Business David Elliott said.

“The awards have a habit of uncovering some of the best and most innovative companies and individuals operating in Northern Ireland. Each year the judging process gets harder and the standard gets higher but we can’t wait to see what the best of the best have been up to over the last year.

And as an event, few can come close to the emulating the excitement which builds when you take the best business brains in Northern Ireland on a day trip to such a prestigious venue in London.

It’s going to be brilliant.”

More details on each category can be found at viscountawards/ulsterbusiness.com and all entries must be received no later

Exporter of the Year Award The Exporter of the Year Award is given to the company that best demonstrates how, in the last 12 months, it has increased export sales, with a clear commitment to expanding their business outside of Northern Ireland.

Best SME Award We will recognise the SME that is deemed to have excelled in all functions of their business during in the last year.

Best Business Start-Up Award The Best Business Start-Up Award recognises the company that has displayed a strategic approach to business, who can demonstrate the successful implementation of that strategy and that has good prospects for the future.

Employee Champion Award The Employee Champion Award will be given to the company that can best demonstrate how it supports its employees, making it a better place to work.

Business Person of the Year Award This award will acknowledge the person who has achieved significant business success in the past 12 months, showing strong leadership skills and business acumen.

Aer Lingus Viscount Award for Overall Excellence The award for Overall Excellence will honour the company that the judges feel have achieved outstanding success throughout all parts of their business in the last 12 months.

than Monday 21st March 2016 at 5pm.

JANUARY 2016

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ENERGY

CBI Energy Users Forum in the SONI Control Centre.

North South interconnector key focus of CBI visit to SONI

By Robin McCormick, General Manager SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland)

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he cost of energy, particularly for large businesses and employers, has been under the spotlight in recent weeks. Lowering electricity prices and achieving security of supply was a key theme at the CBI’s Energy Users’ Forum which was held at SONI’s headquarters, in Castlereagh during December.

“SONI works every day to ensure that consumers get a reliable electricity supply at the best possible cost; a key aspect of this is progressing the North South Interconnector project, which will help us reduce those costs and ensure security of supply”, said Robin McCormick, General Manager at SONI. The proposed North South Interconnector, a planning application for which was submitted in 2009, will connect the high voltage electricity systems between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

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“Without the interconnector, we have had to take steps to ensure that Northern Ireland has enough back up generation to meet future demand.” McCormick explained to the forum, “To do this, we have had to put temporary agreements in place with power stations, at a direct cost to the Northern Ireland consumer of circa £8m per year.

If the interconnector was in place – these millions would not have to be paid!”

It is expected that the interconnector will be in place by the end of 2019 and McCormick believes it will result in additional savings to the consumer: “Initially we are talking of approximately £14m per year in savings to consumers across the Island by 2020; rising to between £30m-£45m from 2030. However, the fact that it will ensure we have a secure electricity supply to meet the demands of our growing economy is absolutely crucial to businesses throughout Northern Ireland.

“Northern Ireland is getting its house in order, the reduction in corporation tax will make us more attractive to investors, but the second question they will ask is ‘how secure is your electricity supply?’ and what can we say? That we are approaching a cliff edge and that by 2021 we will actually be in deficit! If we want Northern Ireland to thrive, secure electricity supply is essential and the North South interconnector will deliver this.”

Summarising to the forum, McCormick called for businesses to support the project: “Tough decisions are needed to ensure the lights stay on, we need business and industry to get behind the North South Interconnector.”

The event was attended by Utility Regulator Jenny Pyper, CBI NI Director Nigel Smyth and around 20 CBI members representing some of Northern Ireland’s biggest companies.

Accelerating Northern Ireland’s competitive SMEs – creating or scaling-up?

Paul Terrington, Regional Chairman of PwC in Northern Ireland, says a concerted effort is needed to scale up Northern Ireland’s SME base

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ne of the recurring requests I get every New Year is to provide one or other media outlet with a forecast for the year ahead, a critique of the local economy and an assessment of how to close the prosperity gap with the rest of the UK. Hot on the heels of that comes the annual assessment of the Top 50 or Top 100 Northern Ireland businesses and the media attention that attends even a modest move in the league table.

We have something of a fixation with size and, as regional chairman of PwC, I’m regularly asked to comment on our growth plans, our job targets and how we plan to continually compete successfully in global export markets. The same goes for the chairs and CEOs of Northern Ireland’s biggest companies. Yet, as big employers, we are a significant minority.

A mere 65 companies based in Northern Ireland have more than 250 employees; only two percent are exporters and 10 firms deliver 53% of total regional exports.

What I’m rarely asked is how PwC manages to remain a market leader in our core domestic market in Northern Ireland and how important our local clients are to the regional economy. Big we might be and a major exporter we are, but what a lot of people don’t know is that we also have more family-owned and ownermanaged clients based in Northern Ireland than any other professional advisor in the region. Maintaining that relationship is important, but helping to sustain and grow a dynamic small business sector is vital – both to us and to the local economy.

Northern Ireland’s small firms – those employing between one and 249 people – account for over 75% of private sector turnover, 76% of all private sector employment and should deliver around 89% of all new private sector jobs created by 2018.

That compares with the entire UK, where SMEs contribute only 50% of private sector turnover and 60% of all private sector employment. According to the Ulster University report, The Contribution of Small Businesses to Northern Ireland, our 118,000 SMEs contribute over 80% of non-financial gross value added (GVA) and nearly half of Northern Ireland’s total GVA. But the Ulster University research, undertaken for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) also says that total turnover in the SME sector is declining and there has been a sharp drop in survival rates, with around 70% of undertakings established in Belfast and Castlereagh during 2008 not surviving beyond 2013. In short, the local economy is over-reliant (relative to the UK as a whole and other UK regions) on an SME sector which faces serious growth constraints and emerging new challenges, both of which it is struggling to overcome.

By way of contrast, the Belfast Telegraph’s Top 10 Northern Ireland business news stories of 2015, ranged from the problems of Michelin, Bombardier and Volkswagen to the triumphs of the Chinese market opening to Northern Ireland pork and the passing of the Corporation Tax Act. There’s no doubt that the potential fallout from global market pressures on Michelin

and Bombardier are probably of greater interest to the Belfast Telegraph’s readership than the collapse of a small retailer in west Belfast or a micro manufacturing business in Castlereagh. But, if Belfast created over 1,000 new SMEs in 2013 (which it did) and 700 of those fail by 2018 (the same proportion that collapsed between 20082013) that’s a lot of investment lost, a lot of jobs gone and a bad news story on a par with some of the worst large company closures we’ve experienced in recent years.

Given the importance of Northern Ireland’s SME sector and its contribution to employment and GVA, it probably gets less attention than it deserves. Possibly that has something to do with scale. Around 73% of all local SMEs are sole traders and have no employees and that same percentage applies even to manufacturing SMEs, even though total regional employment in manufacturing is around 45,000. And while many of these sole traders either won’t grow, or won’t grow rapidly, PwC’s experience is that there are real opportunities to scale-up businesses that have already demonstrated even modest growth potential.

These scale-up undertakings have now even been defined nationally as businesses with 10 or more staff that are experiencing average annualised growth in employees or turnover greater than 20% per annum over a three-year period. Translated into Northern Ireland numbers, around 5,000 undertakings in total have between 10-49 employees (4% of total SME numbers). In sectoral terms that’s around 630 in manufacturing, 470 in construction and 390 in professional, scientific and technical services.

Paul Terrington

Just 12 months ago an independent report into the potential of scale-up businesses concluded that a UK-wide boost of just 1% to the scale-up population would create an additional 238,000 jobs and £38bn to gross value added within three years.

Again, the PwC client experience amongst local small firms is that undertakings that have already experienced growth first-hand are more ready, willing and able to take the next steps in scalingup. According to Sherry Coutu CBE, one of the contributors to the national scale-up report, “competitive advantage doesn’t go to the nations that focus on creating companies; it goes to nations that focus on scaling companies.”

Successive reports into the Northern Ireland economy over the past halfcentury have identified a direct correlation between innovation, exports and skills and productivity, growth and sustainable job creation. Unfortunately the theory has not been put to the test sufficiently frequently. That’s why we launched the PwC Ignite accelerator programme last

year – to identify some of Northern Ireland’s most dynamic, technology companies and make them internationally competitive. We wanted to demonstrate that it is possible to develop an accelerator programme that breaks the cycle of sluggish growth amongst technology companies and, through mentoring, sharing advice and accessing PwC’s global networks, to help them grow faster, sell further and perform better.

So far, so good, as our four Ignite companies: Ardbrin Ltd., Datactics Ltd., DisplayNote Technologies Ltd., and Flowlens Ltd, are well advanced on a year of PwC support, mentoring and advice that will culminate in a visit to Silicon Valley to experience the US technology market and build technology and export contacts.

But growing the SME sector, even where scale-up companies are identified and mentored, is challenging. That Ulster University research identified barriers to growth that ranged from political and economic uncertainty to skills shortages, access to finance and marketing.

These too, are issues we have identified amongst those clients and contacts we are helping to scale-up and, despite the potential of lower corporation tax to attract new foreign direct investment, it won’t significantly benefit SMEs if they can’t attract skills, don’t have high-speed broadband and lack online marketing skills.

But with Northern Ireland’s growth currently overly reliant on SMEs, we need to maintain a focus on researching, understanding and mentoring the sector. Scaling-up those companies that have already demonstrated growth potential offers a real growth accelerator, but it needs as much political, media and business investment to make that work as is already being invested in the 0.1% of the business community that has already broken the 250 employee barrier.

Paul is regional chairman of PwC in Northern Ireland; he is also chair of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland.

Contact Paul on +44 (0)28 9041 5717 or at paul.a.terrington@uk.pwc.com

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NEWS

Registrations for new cars dip in 2015

T

he number of new cars leaving Northern Ireland’s forecourts dipped slightly in 2015, according to new figures released by the industry.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 57,097 new cars were registered here for the year as a whole, 0.18% down on 2014.

That reverses an early ramp up in new car sales in early 2015 and dashes hope of a strong recovery.

Economists have put the weak finish to the year down to a mixture of public sector austerity and political instability.

When it comes to the most popular make of car, the Ford Fiesta is far and away the biggest seller in Northern Ireland with 2,407 new keys handed over.

For the UK as a whole, new car registrations were mixed.

In Scotland, they fell by 0.46% while in Scotland new car registrations climbed by 2.53% and in England up 7.39%.

New car sales are often seen as a good indicator of consumer confidence and the latest figures from Northern Ireland offer an insight into financial mood.

Richard Ramsey, chief economist at Ulster Bank, said the forecourts have missed out with on the boost to spending elsewhere.

“2015 was a good year for household finances, with falling food and energy prices, coupled with a return of pay rises, boosting disposable incomes.

This has led to Northern Ireland experiencing a retail mini-boom of sorts during recent months.”

“However, local car showrooms appear to have been left out of the party. The latest SMMT figures show that whilst the UK as a whole saw new car sales hit a record high in 2015, Northern Ireland new car sales remain in the slow lane, recording the first annual fall – albeit a very small one – since 2011.”

22

Expansion and job creation on the agenda for 2016

By John Moore, Regional Managing Director of Hays Northern Ireland

I

ncreasing confidence in the economy is seeing organisations predict a busy 2016, with job creation high on the agenda for the majority of Northern Ireland’s businesses.

According to the Hays annual UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2016 report, business leaders in Northern Ireland are feeling more confident about the how their organisations will perform and consequently are looking forward to expanding headcount.

Our survey gathered together insights from 700 employers and employees from across Northern Ireland, ranging from accountancy and construction, through to IT and legal.

Over two-thirds of employers surveyed (67%) believe that their business activity will likely increase over the next 12 months. Almost four out of five businesses surveyed (79%) intend to recruit this year, filling roles from across permanent, temporary and part-time staff.

However organisations in recruitment mode should be aware that candidates we surveyed view flexitime and remote working as the two big selling points in terms of a job package.

A lack of sufficiently skilled and experienced applicants remains a concern.

More than three-quarters of employers surveyed stated that a shortage of suitable candidates remains the central challenge in their recruitment plans. But encouragingly a significant proportion of recent applicants – notably in the construction and IT sectors – are professionals seeking to relocate. Jobseekers based outside of Northern Ireland now consider relocation an attractive option, given the improving job opportunities.

In addition, a more fluid jobs market and heightened demand for skills could put further pressure on employers to pay even more for the talent they need. This reflects trends at the UK level, as our survey indicates 2016 is set to create something of a pay ‘pressure cooker’ for employers.

Overall, it will be those employers who can offer competitive remuneration packages, clear career development paths and relevant training programmes that will be best placed to attract and retain the talent required to succeed next year.

For further information about Hays in Northern Ireland log on to http://www.hays.co.uk/northern-ireland

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Flags, firebombs & flashbacks

Outlook for 2016

No preconceptions.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

Don’t underestimate the power of aviation Graham Keddie, chief executive of Belfast International Airport, wants the aviation sector placed higher on the Executive’s to-do list

D

ouble-digit passenger growth, private investments and more routes are all achievable in 2016. While they look and sound impressive, the truth is they are but a fraction of what my sector could achieve if we didn’t have taxation barriers and a certain lack of vision.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying the political agreement labelled ‘Fresh Start’ wasn’t a welcome development.

What I am saying is that any fresh start has to put the economy front and centre with meaningful measures to generate growth. In short, we’ve done the talking, and now it’s time to walk the walk.

Graham Keddie

What’s urgently required is a new plan, not one that merely ticks boxes and chalks up easy wins, but one that stretches and challenges.

Both have grasped the significance and game-changing capability of airports.

That’s where Belfast International Airport, indeed, the entire aviation sector, comes in.

Both cities have prospered, involving the creation of thousands of new jobs, because politically, leaders have seen the potential of what airports have to offer.

For too long, there’s been a bit of lip service paid to my industry.

Sadly, in Northern Ireland, an epiphany seems some way off.

That’s simply because people didn’t fully grasp just how transformative it can be, and how it can help to achieve cherished economic goals.

Yes, a handful of politicians get it, but we need many more of them alongside senior civil servants to go to the next stage.

If you want to see how airports lead to inbound tourism, passenger growth, route and airline expansion and economic hubs, look no further than Dublin or Manchester.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) costs a family of four an additional £104 on short-haul when in Dublin, the tax is zero-rated. That places us at an enormous disadvantage.

24

For all of that, the Assembly and the Executive are reluctant to campaign to get the tax devolved so that locally, we can reduce it or consign it to the bin.

For as long as APD remains, Northern Ireland will play second-fiddle to the Republic of Ireland, and we will have to work ten times as hard as Dublin to develop new routes and attract new airlines. Dublin is to be applauded, but instead of Belfast committing to do something to create a level playing-field, we get doubters saying we couldn’t afford the ‘hit’ on the block grant.

What these critics don’t see are the benefits that would flow from increased passenger growth generated by more extensive direct access to and from mainland European and North American destinations.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

If tourists can get here without having to go through Dublin, or anywhere else, then we all benefit.

every one million additional passengers who would come here directly, we would see the creation of almost 1,000 new jobs.

Need I say any more?

“For all of that, Belfast International has had a year of solid growth with over four million passengers, and we expect to see an additional 5/600,000 passengers through our doors as our efforts bear fruit.”

The hospitality and catering sector would get a massive boost as would the good folk who are trying to bring lucrative international conference business to our shores. For

JANUARY 2016

Investment in infrastructure – witness the M50 in Dublin – is also badly needed.

When you’re rebuilding an economy, the right infrastructure cannot be overstated. For too long, the A57 from the M2, through Templepatrick and on to the airport, has been the poor relation.

The A26 is better, but only just.

For us, there’s deep frustration over the failure to do anything about surface access or to give it the priority it deserves.

For all of that, Belfast International has had a year of solid growth with over four million passengers, and we expect to see an additional 5/600,000 passengers through our doors as our efforts bear fruit.

Thankfully, away from the public sector, the private investment continues apace.

We recently announced a £2.5m forecourt and retail development on Airport Road which will lead to 35 permanent jobs.

Within airside, a home-grown success story, Woodgate Aviation, completed a £3.5m hangar for its private charter and aircraft maintenance business.

Woodgate has an enviable reputation internationally, and just before Christmas, it announced Phase Two at its hangar involving a further investment of £1.5m.

From our perspective, we will invest £4.2m in 2016 in the Terminal building.

Good things will happen in 2016.

A little more industrious can-do attitude, and our achievements as a region could be even greater.

25

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

It’s a deal: M&A activity soars

T

he number of company mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Northern Ireland has soared in the last year as economic health improved, according to a new report.

Credit experts Experian said there was a massive 165 transactions in the last 12 months, up an impressive 60% on 2014 and a sign of a more confident outlook for the economy.

The total value of all the deals carried out here also jumped, up by nearly 10% to £1.88bn.The standout deal of the year was undoubtedly the sale of Northern Ireland’s biggest company Moy Park by parent Marfrig to fellow Brazilian meat processor JBS, the world’s biggest meat packer.

That deal alone was worth £946m and eclipsed the rest of the league table by some margin.

The next biggest deal was the sale of the Drug Supply Chain business of UDG Healthcare, formerly United Drug, to US firm McKesson Corp for £298m, followed by the purchase of UTV Media’s television stations by ITV for £100m.

Patrick Brown

active law firm, advising on the highest number of significant deals of any firm in Northern Ireland,” Patrick Brown said.

“That is testament to the quality of our lawyers and ambition of our clients both locally and internationally, and with the continued recovery in the Northern Ireland economy 2016 is also looking positive.

And he said more deals are in the works.

Tughans Managing Partner Patrick Brown said the transaction market has been hotting up for some time.

The law firm took the top spot in the league table of most active legal advisor over the course of the year with 37 deals under its belt, while A&L Goodbody came in second with 27, and Mills Selig in third with 25.

“Despite a challenging 12 months for Tughans we have been the most

26

“We are working on a number of major transactions due to complete in the first quarter of 2016, and with a strong pipeline of instructions we are looking forward to another year of growth.”

The firm’s most significant deals in 2015 included Totalmobile Holdings Limited, Sawyers Transport Group, Lough Erne Resort, Lisnagelvin Retail Park, the Showgrounds Retail Park in Omagh and the south-east

Belfast scheme occupied by Homebase. It has also been involved in a multi-million pound acquisition in the UK motor retail sector; Manchester-headquartered Lookers plc, one of the UK’s principal automotive retail and distribution groups, acquired Benfield Motor Group in Newcastle for £87.5m.

When it comes to financial advisors, four took the most active top spot including Goodbody, PwC, HNH Partners and BDO, all advising on five deals each.

Manufacturing was the most active sector with 30% of the recorded deals involving companies in the sector, a total of 49.

However, the wholesale and retail industry saw the most money changing hands with total transaction value worth £1.4bn, 75% of the total despite having only 16% of the deals.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

Business at the heart of a prosperous society

By David Gavaghan, Chair, CBI Northern Ireland

C

BI’s primary role is to influence government to create the conditions for companies to grow and prosper. It does this for the benefit of all – not just business, but for society as a whole. There is an added dimension in Northern Ireland: the urgent need to transform the economy into a thriving enterprise economy. The public purse has underpinned society for too long and will now diminish.

It is a privilege to take over as Chair from Colin Walsh who, for the past two decades has been at the forefront of creating an entrepreneurial culture in Northern Ireland. In these past two years, the economic backdrop has improved significantly – and the prospects for the next five years are very exciting. His focus on medium-sized businesses, delivering a lower corporation tax (CT), seeking a way to address the parlous state of the region’s energy issues and, of course, fanning further the entrepreneurial flames, are all central to creating a thriving economy.

And what a high note on which to end 2015! Apart from the promise arising from the UN Climate Change Summit in Paris, the Stormont Agreement in November is another vital watershed. After a protracted period of stop/start government, 2016 offers “A Fresh Start”. The commitment by the NI Executive to reduce CT to 12.5% from April 2018 is a game changer, potentially generating an additional 30,000 jobs over the next 15 years. Private sector jobs are the lifeblood of future economic success and will underpin a new vitality emerging in Belfast. A thriving regional capital lays the foundations for an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future.

28

David Gavaghan

I greatly look forward to being the new Chair; the opportunities for the economy and our society are unprecedented, not only in Northern Ireland but across the island.

So what are the key priorities on the CBI agenda as we seek to deliver our collective goals? Splitting these into short, medium and long-term goals:

SHORT TERM • The principal CBI focus in the next six months will be influencing the shape of the next Programme for Government (PfG), which will be agreed after the elections in May. CBI’s ‘Punching above our weight – 12 steps to create a more prosperous Northern Ireland’ provides a framework which will allow us to judge our success in influencing the political parties. A more strategic, ambitious and outcome-focused PfG is needed where citizens can feel tangible improvements in their daily lives.

• The debate around the EU referendum, likely to be held in 2016, will be a major issue for every citizen on these two islands.

The majority of CBI members want to stay in the EU. The EU is not perfect BUT the alternatives do not stack up. Membership of a reformed EU is an essential requirement if we are to maximise the impact of a lower CT rate, providing a market place of over £520m. Being part of this major trading bloc is critical to our future participation in global trade – it allows us to compete effectively against other trading blocs as we open ourselves to global markets.

MEDIUM TERM • A lower CT is only a catalyst to attract and encourage more investment – both from local and international companies. With Invest NI, the business community must raise awareness of our attractiveness as an investment location and, in particular, Belfast as the engine of growth for the region.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

Already there are a number of potentially exciting projects but maximising the carrot of CT will depend on a joined-up strategic plan.

• We must align our education and skills with the economy – the need for stakeholders to agree both the purpose of education and a broader dashboard of measures (moving from a narrow focus on GCSEs) is paramount. It is equally important that young people are equipped with determination, resilience and creativity to do well in life. CBI surveys consistently highlight the importance of positive attitudes and character when businesses are recruiting.

Our universities and colleges must establish a more sustainable funding platform – an urgent need to consider the alternatives, learning from the experience across these two islands, should inform an Executive decision in 2016 so that we can deliver the requisite quantity and quality of students locally. The global importance of Queen’s University to the future of the region cannot be overexaggerated – other countries and cities

JANUARY 2016

would yearn to have such a powerhouse.

We need to nurture this prized asset!

if we are to close the gap with other regions and nations against whom we compete.

LONGER TERM

Business faces a real challenge to convince the public of its importance. Although people understand that business creates new products and services; and it creates jobs and invests in developing staff; there is insufficient awareness that business pays taxes and rates that are critical to our futures.

UK business tax contributes nearly 30% of all tax paid in the UK – in 2014–15 it was enough to pay for all government spending on hospitals and schools combined!

• We need an ambitious plan to ramp up investing in our infrastructure from its current levels of around £1bn per annum.

We need a serious debate around the need and benefits of investing in our infrastructure and how this can be best funded, looking at a range of potential revenue-raising measures. Given the increasing constraints on public expenditure, we need to attract private capital to address both the consistent underinvestment in our creaking infrastructure but also to start planning for an island with a population of 8 million by 2030 and potentially 10 million people by 2050.

We need to deliver priority projects with clear timescales; we need to improve our connectivity along our key transport corridors and deliver the second northsouth electricity interconnector. Pursuit of these projects is critical to our future competitiveness. Determination is required

Highlighting the value and contribution of business will remain a key priority as we enter 2016. CBI will no doubt be drawn into other major debates during 2016. I look forward to working with our members to create a better place for business and a more balanced economy that will create sustainable prosperity.

There are no quick remedies. Equally, there are no other lasting solutions that I know of that will offer a better future for all of us who are so lucky to inhabit these two beautiful islands.

29

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

IT: booting up for the future

By Clair Gheel, Director, IT3Sixty

2

015 ended much as it began, with jobs and investment announcements by IT businesses in Northern Ireland. These included Kainos’s commitment in February to create over 400 jobs, and the setting up of a Belfast office by Simulity, announced in December.

Growth looks set to continue in 2016, with a clear buoyancy about the sector. Northern Ireland-based IT companies have strong demand for their services and expanding customer bases here, in GB, in the Republic of Ireland, and further afield. However, there is one very common challenge: skills. And IT3Sixty has been set up to provide a solution.

Inward investment has continued to be a real feature of the sector, with companies like Liberty IT, Allstate and Citi continuing to grow their presence here. Indeed, according to Invest NI, with more than 100 international investors, Northern Ireland is now the leading foreign direct investment region in Europe for software development centres and IT technical support centres.

To provide some context, IT has the highest rate of job vacancies of all sectors in Northern Ireland. Innovative companies that want to grow quickly are having real difficulty finding the experienced, skilled professionals to enable them to do so. This is creating churn in the industry’s workforce, and is pushing up salaries to potentially uncompetitive levels. This needs addressed.

Northern Ireland also has a rich indigenous IT sector, with firms such as TotalMobile, Novosco, and Kainos. These local businesses have also been witnessing rapid expansion. TotalMobile announced in September a major investment by Lyceum Capital to fuel its ongoing development.

Kainos revealed in July that it planned to raise over £52m in in a public listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Longer-term, the picture is more encouraging, as Northern Ireland has seen a 90 percent increase in applications for IT university courses since 2009. But there is still much work to be done to build on that.

Deloitte, EY and PWC have also been recruiting to fill posts announced towards the end of last year.

30

So where do we come in?

IT3Sixty is a government-backed community of leading companies working to ensure Northern Ireland has the IT skills it needs now and into the future.

IT3Sixty will be spearheading in 2016 and beyond to help deal with the challenge: • Attracting Europe’s best IT professionals to Northern Ireland.

• Supporting apprenticeships, which includes providing opportunities for learners and giving companies access to a pool of emerging talent.

• Supporting talented professionals from other sectors to transfer their skills and retrain for careers in IT. • Working to build the pipeline of IT skills for the future.

• Upskilling the existing IT sector workforce.

By bringing in skilled, experienced professionals from other markets, this will help alleviate the skills shortage in the immediate term. Before we’ve even really begun, we already have the CVs of over 100 quality skilled European IT professionals who are interested in relocating to Northern Ireland.

So as we look to 2016, growth will remain firmly on the agenda for the IT sector in Northern Ireland, but skills will be the foundation on which that will be built in the shorter-term and into the future.

You can find out more about IT3Sixty

There are five key areas to the work that

at: www.IT3sixty.com or @IT3SixtyNI

No preconceptions.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

The economic crystal ball Danske Bank chief economist Angela McGowan takes a look at what is likely to shape the economy in the next 12 months

W

e expect global growth to recover in early 2016 to 3.6 per cent as manufacturing output is expected to shift higher.

This upturn in global manufacturing should be driven by robust growth in private demand in both the US and Europe. At Danske Bank we see the US recovery continuing at cruising speed – by around 2.5 per cent growth in 2016 and 2017. In the euro area we expect growth to move marginally higher to just below two per cent. In fact, the euro area could surprise on the upside during 2016. Investments in particular are set to have a larger positive contribution to economic activity as they are supported by the lagged impact from higher consumption and cheaper and more accessible bank lending. A longer period of uncertainty could also imply that pent-up demand for investments is unleashed.

The UK picture will be similar to that in the US, with growth of 2.5 per cent forecast for the next two years.

Data from China at the end of 2015 generally supported a picture of moderate recovery in the industrial sector fuelled by higher credit growth and a slight improvement in exports. Chinese growth is projected to hover just above 6.5 per cent during 2016. The modest recovery in Chinese manufacturing should also underpin our forecast for higher global manufacturing activity. However, this forecast for China assumes that we will see more monetary easing coming from the Peoples Bank of China in an effort to ease the burden from high debt levels.

Where are interest rates going in 2016?

2016 will be an interesting year for economists as we expect to see divergent monetary policy across the globe. With strong growth in the US the Fed could well surprise markets and raise rates three times over the next 12 months – but the movements will be very modest. In Europe, the monetary easing cycle looks to be over for now; while in China, there are more rate cuts to come. The UK economy has been growing strongly, unemployment has fallen and wages are rising; essentially everything is falling into place, except inflation. The lower oil price is now the main reason that the MPC might delay their interest rate hike until mid 2016.

Commodities There is a risk that we could see a further slide in oil prices

32

Angela McGowan

in the short term. However, at Danske Bank we continue to expect a gradual return to equilibrium prices over the coming year as production moves down in non-OPEC countries in response to a sharp decline in investment activity.

Risk to forecasts The main risk impacting on our growth forecasts is a further decline in oil prices. This could trigger a new round of Emerging Market turmoil and potentially tip these economies into a full-blown crisis due to high corporate debt levels and bankruptcies in the commodity sector. A further decline in oil prices could derail both growth and inflation forecasts.

While lower oil prices are normally a positive thing for global growth, this is no longer the case. Rather, lower oil prices increase tail risks for the global economy as they make a bad situation even worse for countries such as Russia and Brazil. The decline in oil is accompanied by a drop in industrial metal prices as well, adding to the pain for commodity exporters. The drop also increases the risk of big commodity companies having problems, as was the case with Glencore earlier this year. The stress from lower oil prices is clearly visible in US high yields spreads where the energy sector constitutes just below 20 per cent of the market.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

The internet of everything Dr Danny McConnell, technology partner at Deloitte in Belfast, identifies one of the key tech trends to look out for in 2016 and explains why it matters in Northern Ireland

A

nalysts have been talking about the Internet of Things (IoT) for a number of years, but 2016 will be the year it starts to mean something to people beyond the tech community.

and computing power increases, it said everything will go online, from the clothes we wear to the streets we walk on.

Internet of Things is really just a catch all term to describe the estimated millions of wireless devices embedded with electronics, software and sensors that are connected to the internet and able to collect and exchange data remotely.

That report forecasts that by 2022, 10% of people will be wearing clothing with an embedded chip that connects to the internet. With many of us already wearing smart watches and fitness bands and the connected eye ware like the Google Glass already launched, that estimate could be conservative.

It’s cutting edge technology that often has very practical, almost mundane applications.

For the consumer it could mean switching on your heating using your mobile phone while you’re on the way home, but on a larger scale, commercial buildings and even whole cities can be controlled in the same way.

At the moment most of the internet traffic in homes is for personal consumption such as communication or entertainment, but in a decade’s time some analysts believe about half of the internet use in the home will be for home automation uses – from smart heating to smart fridges.

Deloitte’s research suggest 60 percent of all wireless IoT devices are bought, paid for and used by enterprises and industries, and 90 percent of the services revenue is likewise enterprise-driven. Commercial buildings like offices, shopping centres and airports can all use IoT to reduce the cost of energy and maintenance through information management systems, webcams and intelligent lighting.

But connected devices, sensors and controllers are not expensive to the point where the consumer is priced out of the market. Companies are buying and using tens or even hundreds of millions of IoT devices. We all expect a more joined up society and the conversation has already moved from hyper connected Smart Cities to smart homes. When you give your details to retailers or allow them to track your

34

Dr Danny McConnell

preferences, we expect the retailers will use this information to make their service better.

The explosion of IoT will mean more and more data is produced that companies have to assimilate and make sense of if they are to understand their customers, understand how their products are being used and talked about, and get a better handle on what services they should be providing and not providing.

Deloitte predicted that in 2015 one billion wireless Internet of Things devices would be shipped, up 60 percent from 2014, and leading to an installed base of 2.8 billion devices. That number is set to increase exponentially in 2016.

A recent report from The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software & Society predicted that as early as 2022 some 1 trillion sensors will be connected. As cost declines

As we join up more and more devices to the internet through digital channels we need to ensure that cyber security strategies are adapted accordingly. There have been disputes about the values some companies have put on their data, but for many it is the lifeblood of their business and to have access to it restricted by blackmailers, or worst still have the data destroyed altogether by criminals, could prove catastrophic.

What’s clear is that the internet of things is driving an alignment between digital technology, data analytics and the cyber security agendas.

If Belfast can position itself at the forefront of the advances in the analytics field and make the Internet of Things a key focus for our talent, we would indeed have a smart city on our hands.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

D Making economic waves

ETI’s recently released Northern Ireland Business Inquiry for 2014 has some pleasant reading from the manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland is powering ahead, says Stephen Kelly from industry body Manufacturing NI 36

Manufacturing’s contribution to the Non-Financial Business Economy in 2014 grew to 24% of GVA contributing some £4,742m after the fourth year of increased turnover and is almost on par with the traditionally larger wholesale and retail sector.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2016

Great products, made by great people in great companies.

But we mustn’t rely on home-grown loyalty. We owe it them to create the best environment to do business.

If we have the right conditions for them, then we have the right conditions for multinational and potential FDI investors too.

There are issues out of our local control.

A slowing of global demand, problems with the pound’s strength particularly against the Euro and the collapse in commodity prices which is admittedly good news for domestic consumers, but a real concern for those in the oil, gas and quarrying equipment industries.

Our Executive and its agencies do however have the levers which can create those conditions for manufacturers to thrive.

It must begin with a greater emphasis in the new Programme for Government.

A cross-cutting departmental industrial strategy with actions to help raise the manufacturing contribution to the EUs 20% target and secure the ambitions of DELs recently published skills barometer which signalled the prospect of 14,000 vacancies out to 2025.

The strategy should promote opportunities with R&D, skills, infrastructure, enterprise and capital support, public procurement and maximising the impact of a local corporation tax rate. But is must also challenge the costs of doing business – rates, energy, transportation cost and the cumulative impact of the Living Wage, Apprenticeship Levy and other taxes.

Jobs numbers are also up. A rise of 4.1% to just over 82,000 jobs.

And reports earlier in the year showed that, on average, manufacturing wages had risen to an average of £508.40 per week before overtime.

Manufacturing is providing wealth and work right across Northern Ireland. These jobs and the contribution to GVA is largely from home-grown businesses.

JANUARY 2016

It is encouraging that the then Finance Minster Arlene Foster has committed to securing Industrial Derating and we hope any new Executive in May will confirm their commitment.

However little has been done to deal with the perpetual problem of power prices.

“Our energy bill in Northern Ireland last year was £9m – it has been an Achilles heel for us”. These words from Wayne

Culbertson, CEO Michelin UK should be final warning shot for policymakers, regulators and indeed the energy industry itself.

The most recent price comparison report from the Utility Regulator was depressing reading. Almost all categories of business consumers are now enduring the 2nd or 3rd most expensive power bills in Europe. 24,000 businesses, clearly not all manufacturers, including the critical SME sector should not be asked to suffer these prices whilst the energy industry is guaranteed huge profit.

A commitment that ALL consumers, domestic through to large energy users, should enjoy prices competitive within Europe will direct policy, the Regulator and how the redesigned all-island generation market will work. All the levers needed to ensure competitive prices are within the gift of the Department (policy costs and levies) and the Regulator (Price Controls, market design and operation).

Finally, our employment laws are out of step resulting in uncertainty and a reluctance to take on permanent employees. The Living Wage, pensions and the new Apprenticeship Levy are increasing costs, but unlike GB, balance is not being provided through a contemporary and relevant employment law regime.

In a study released in December, when asked “If given the opportunity to create 1,000 new jobs in their community in any industry, which industry would they select?” Americans ranked manufacturing first. The people and the policymakers are on the same page. It would be great to have similar support here, in a community of huge industrial heritage and continued international significance.

Manufacturing is big and important but particularly sensitive to costs. We can’t do anything about currencies, commodity prices nor global demand but it is within our gift to deal with rates, energy and the labour environment. MNI members will not be found wanting in creating wealth and work, filling the 14,000 spaces forecasted. They just need the Executive and its agencies to create the conditions that allow them to thrive.

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THE GAVEL DRIVE Osborne King have been responsible for revitalising the popularity of property auctions in Northern Ireland in the last few years. They give us an insight into the organisation behind one of their events

9.30am Lisa Anderson and her team are busy setting up the registration area for Osborne King’s final property auction of the year. Today is the culmination of two months’ work putting together a catalogue of 55 lots, and with an average success rate of 93% over 13 auctions within the past four years, the team is feeling the pressure.

10.30am Prospective bidders must go through the registration process which entails presenting proof of their identity and current address (driver’s licence, passport, utility bill, bank statement) in compliance with money laundering legislation. The team end up issuing 200 bidding cards by the time registration closes.

10.45am Inside the auction room and Mark Carron, who heads up the auction team, and his assistant auctioneer, Thomas Osborne, along with other colleagues are making a final sweep to avoid last-minute glitches. AV system working properly, laptop loaded, corporate branding in place, late changes to the auction catalogue duly recorded and the all-important gavel to hand, the countdown begins…

11.00am Anticipation builds as the room fills to capacity. It is standing room only at the back as Mark takes to the podium. Within five minutes, he has sold the first lot, a house in Stranmillis for £120,000, substantially above its maximum reserve of £50,000. Things are off to a flying start!

11.30am There is a palpable buzz in the room with properties selling above their reserve prices. By now, Mark has sold a diverse range of properties that include houses, commercial units, development land, and now it’s the turn of The Horseshoe Bar in Newtownhamilton, Co. Armagh to go under the hammer for £55,000, (reserve of £35,000) and still a bargain! The Osborne King “spotters” are kept busy, some bidders keen to brandish their bidding card, others much more reticent.

12.00pm It’s mid-way through the auction and the room is still full, people flicking through their catalogues, while Osborne King staff escort successful bidders to an adjoining room where solicitors are waiting to guide them through the next stage of process, which will lead to completion within a mere four weeks.

12.30pm Mark hands over to Thomas, and while some people have left, the room remains full. First up for Thomas is another Stranmillis property, which he swiftly sells for its maximum reserve of £120,000. A few more sales under his belt and he brings the gavel down on a Newtownards retail unit with a reserve of £140,000-£160,000 that has sold for £202,000.

With only a few lots to go, two properties in Loy Street, Cookstown come on the market at £95,000 and £100,000 respectively and something akin to a rally ensues as bids lob back and forth across the room, breaking through the £200,000 barrier and finishing up at £260,000 for each lot.

SUCCESS RATE SEPTEMBER 2011 - JUNE 2015

93%

SOLD

7%

UNSOLD

1.00pm All too soon, it’s the last lot and within five minutes, Thomas sells the former Desmond’s factory outside Enniskillen for £460,000. Having achieved a 98% success rate and over £6 million worth of sales in just under two hours, Mark, Thomas, Lisa and the rest of the team can give themselves a quick pat on the back and reflect on a job well done – until the next time!

Source: OK Oct 2015

Osborne King’s next auction takes place on Wednesday 23 March 2016, Clayton Hotel, Belfast.

Closing date for catalogue entries is 19 February 2016. www.osborneking.com/auction

LAW

Stephen Kelly of Manufacturing NI and Emma-Jane Flannery of Arthur Cox at the recent seminar.

Arthur Cox highlights sector-specific legal pitfalls to NI manufacturing firms

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rthur Cox has highlighted the potential dangers to manufacturing firms of holding off-the-record discussions with staff, ahead of an anticipated ruling on the issue in Northern Ireland.

The leading law firm stressed that companies in the sector need to be fully aware of when it is safe to use the ‘without prejudice’ rule with regards to off-the-record conversations.

The message was delivered on 10th December 2015, by Emma-Jane Flannery, Employment Law Associate at Arthur Cox’s Belfast office, at a breakfast seminar hosted by Arthur Cox in partnership with Manufacturing NI. The event offered an in-depth briefing to manufacturing companies on how best to navigate sector-specific legal pitfalls. Also covered were topical issues presenting major challenges across a wide range of industries – these included the National Living Wage, calculation of holiday pay and the use of zero-hours workers.

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Speaking at last month’s event, Emma-Jane commented: “Employers often see ‘without prejudice’ or off-the-record conversations as a convenient way to try to resolve difficult workplace problems, such as tricky redundancy issues, but there are significant risks associated with this approach.

about these issues now and have a clear plan in place for the future.”

“This issue has attracted much attention as a result of a recent high-profile case in Northern Ireland and we are awaiting a final decision on the matter, which will create important learning points for employers about how best to conduct such conversations.

Stephen Kelly, CEO of Manufacturing NI, said: “These issues are very topical and relevant to the manufacturing sector in particular. I’m sure everyone in the audience took some key learnings from the event and will hopefully have been inspired to think more carefully around the topics. I’d like to thank Arthur Cox and Emma-Jane in particular for her insightful commentary.”

“It’s the same with regards to holiday pay and travel time. Recent cases have caused much confusion amongst employers on how to deal with calculating holiday pay and assessing travel time and, whilst legal guidance is not yet definitive, this doesn’t mean that employers can ignore the potential legal consequences.

“It’s vital that companies think carefully

The seminar took place in the Seagoe Hotel in Portadown, with representatives from companies such as McCloskey International and Heron Bros Ltd in attendance.

Arthur Cox is ranked as one of the leading law firms in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by both Chambers and Legal 500 and currently advises Government, corporates and the SME sector. The firm employs over 90 people in Belfast with additional offices in Dublin, London, New York and Silicon Valley.

No limits.

Leaders in Business

4cexecutive.com

Only genuine search. Only 4c.

4cexecutive.com

FOREWORD

Leading from the front

By Gary Irvine, Managing Director & Principal Search Consultant, 4c Executive Search

large corporate organisation, it is exceptional leadership that will drive a business to success.

This need for excellent leaders has played a key role in driving such a high demand for 4c’s professional search services in Northern Ireland since we were established in 2013 – helping us to grow to a team of eight people and successfully deliver over 70 seniorlevel assignments in just over two years.

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ach of the companies and individuals in this year’s Ulster Business ‘Leaders in Business’ should be celebrated for their success in the past year. In different ways, and across different sectors, they’ve demonstrated remarkable leadership in what continues to be a challenging – albeit improving – business environment in Northern Ireland.

This special edition of the magazine profiles some of our best known and up-and-coming business leaders and entrepreneurs, and it is clear for all to see why they are listed.

Some are ‘first movers’ or innovators and have been at the forefront of the latest developments in technology, engineering and manufacturing. Some have dominated in their markets, both at home and abroad.

Others are perhaps only at the start of a

JANUARY 2016

business growth journey but have already demonstrated exceptional potential and promise to be the leaders of the future.

We specialise in recruiting people at a senior level to fill business-critical roles within an organisation, so we inevitably spend a lot of time with our clients thinking about what makes a good leader. The reality is that this differs somewhat in every case, depending on the client organisation’s culture. In all cases, however, the candidate appointed to a leadership role will be an adventurous, courageous professional who is hungry for success and possesses a very tangible sense of vision and confidence.

Regardless of their story, all of those listed have led their organisations to growth and success through investment in new thinking, new processes, new product lines or services, or new markets. Each of their successes as leaders have been underpinned by solid business decisions; by careful strategic planning and brave risk taking; by tireless energy and enthusiasm; unfaltering hard work, determination and commitment.

We place a strong emphasis on solid leadership within our organisation, too: not only in terms of the people we employ – all of whom are clear leaders in their field – but also in terms of our ambition to do things differently and lead the way in true executive search in Northern Ireland. In other words, we don’t make use of a little black book or an old boys’ network, nor do we work off an outdated database as can often be the case. At 4c we simply focus on genuine search and, as a result, we find great leaders for our clients.

These people are the living proof of the world-class talent that we boast here in Northern Ireland at leadership level, and the need for such excellent leadership in business has never been more important. Whether an ambitious start-up, an indigenous SME or a

From all at 4c Executive Search, congratulations to all those featured in the Ulster Business 2016 ‘Leaders in Business’ listings. We look forward to following their progress and hearing many more great things from them in the year to come.

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Mike Irvine founder of Arkios Cordovan

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ike Irvine has been at the heart of the corporate finance world for most of two decades.

An alumni of PwC in London, the chartered accountant returned to Northern Ireland to join KPMG in Belfast 14 years ago and soon became a director in the mergers and acquisition department.

In 2007 he set up the Northern Ireland operations of Davy Stockbrokers, successfully establishing the Davy brand in Northern Ireland and growing the client base from a standing start.

Since 2011 he has been at the helm of his new venture Cordovan Capital which has been focused on raising equity for early stage and fast-growing businesses, advising on debt restructuring and refinancing mandates, as well as advising shareholders on business acquisition and disposal mandates.

He, along with fellow director Brian Loughran, have had a busy few years since the company’s inception, quietly closing a number of exciting mid-tier deals.

In that time they have raised nearly £18m in equity for private companies based on these shores including financing the likes of mycarneedsa.com – a comparison website for car servicing and repairs – and have advised on a number of acquisition and disposal mandates, most recently advising on the takeover of Connect Telecom by investor Scott Ritchie late last year.

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Then there has been a wealth of debt restructuring and refinancing for major and not-so-major names, business which might not make as many headlines but which is at the heart of any corporate financing business.

And as the Cordovan business has grown, it has identified a need for additional services in both insolvency and commercial property, and that has prompted the latest additions to the busy practice which mark the next chapter in its legacy.

Firstly, it has become a member of the Arkios Corporate Finance network, one which gives the firm international reach across the UK, Italy, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates and access to a team of highly experienced corporate finance professionals.

Secondly, Neil Adair has joined the company as a director and shareholder to focus on the insolvency and commercial property side of the business.

He has 32 years of senior experience, including setting up the former Anglo Irish Bank in Northern Ireland, where he was was responsible for Commercial Lending and Treasury between 1996 and 2004, and as Group Managing Director of a £400m private property and trading group which incorporated the manufacturing business MJM Group.

Thirdly, Arkios Cordovan also has access to its own investment funds through Cordovan Capital Partners, as well as mezzanine debt funds for trading business opportunities.

“We’ve put together a private equity syndicate to undertake deals in the £500k to £5m range,” Mike told Ulster Business.

“We’re looking at targeting established businesses, whether for growth, change of ownership or for restructuring.

“The kind of deals we are targeting are those which tend to be below the radar of the big UK-wide private equity houses but outside the sights of local investor funds.”

Such a wide offering demonstrates how far Arkios Cordovan has come in a short space of time, and with such experience at the helm the future looks bright.

“We would like to be recognised as the leading corporate finance house in Northern Ireland,” Mike said. “With the quality of transactions we’ve already carried out and the quality of advice we can offer, we’re already well on the way to achieving that goal.

“On the investment side of things, our short term focus is to complete eightto-12 deals in the next 30 months and I’m confident that we’ll easily achieve that.”

It’s going to be a busy few months for Arkios Cordovan, but with strong momentum, key personnel and a strategy of targeting an underserviced area of the corporate finance world, those goals might be achieved sooner, rather than later.

The future for Arkios Cordovan, it seems, is bright.

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Simon Hunter Managing Director of Hunter Apparel Solutions

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amily businesses the world over have a habit of being resistant to change, a characteristic which can be their undoing in the ever-changing world of business.

Not so Hunter Apparel Solutions, the Londonderry-based company headed by third generation managing director Simon Hunter.

His grandfather Frank set the business up in 1936 as a shirt manufacturer, a business it was involved successfully in for many years.

It’s still involved in the clothing industry but has morphed into a “global sourcing organisation” supplying head-to-toe professional apparel.

The reason for the change was simple.

“When my grandfather started the business there were 54 shirt manufacturing companies in Derry; by the time my dad started there were 46 and by the time I started there were four,” Simon told Ulster Business. “It was clear the strategy of staying with a single product was not going to work.”

Simon started in the business almost 20 years ago, initially as a sales executive, then a sales manager, sales director and eventually managing director.

An Ulster University accountancy graduate, he started off his working career with IT giant Seagate so it won’t be a surprise to hear that technology has been a central plank in his strategy to drive Hunter Apparel Solutions forward over the last few years.

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“We have created technological platforms to allow us to run our business in an efficient manner from an internal perspective and to save cost and time for customers from an external perspective.”

The theory sounds great but how does that work in a practical sense?

clothing each of their employees are using, it’s no wonder the organisation of “big data” has become a focus for Simon.

Simon uses the example of one of the company’s main customers, the UK Border Force.

“Product-wise, we’ve positioned ourselves to enter the increasingly complex world of technical apparel, helping to mitigate against risks associated with certain types of jobs such as that for electricity linesmen.”

Hunter Apparel supplies uniforms for 12,500 of its staff and has managed to save the organisation 25% per wearer using its new technology which comes under the banner HunterPAC. It is an IT system which allows workers to individually order their own workwear under the company’s set limits, thereby vastly reducing administration costs.

Meanwhile, another customer, the Dublin Fire Brigade, uses another platform HunterCARE, one which means Hunter Apparel care for the personal protection equipment it has supplied.

“We actually set up a laundry and wash, dry, inspect and repair all of the kit in a very specialist way, recording all of the data. The reason we do that is because it is personal protection equipment and employers have a duty of care to make sure its fit for purpose throughout its life time, not just when it is new.”

Given the number of customers the company is dealing with and the number of items of

And he expects that to increase in the future as the company continues to focus on technology.

He said the company is looking into franchising its technology to companies from across the globe and has already struck up an alliance with a Kuwati firm in which it plans to bid on multiple projects.

In order to further its reach, it has brought entrepreneur Padraig Cavanan – the founder of Singularity, an IT firm which was sold to a Californian company in 2011 – on board as non-executive director.

It’s been a busy few years for Hunter Apparel Solutions and looks likely to be increasingly busy in the future, as the transformation continues.

“Whereas once upon a time we were manufacturers of shirts, we’re now essentially managers and technical developers.”

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Neil Walker General Manager of the SSE Arena

F

or someone interested in music and sport who also happens to have an organisational and managerial bent, there could be no better job than being the boss of the biggest indoor arena in Northern Ireland.

Luckily for the SSE Arena, General Manager Neil Walker falls neatly into that category.

A trained accountant, he worked in England for an engineering company after university, followed by a spell with a leisure firm which ran nightclubs and snooker clubs before – 20 years ago – moving back to Northern Ireland just as the first ceasefire had been announced.

Five years followed at a consultancy based in IDB House in Belfast – now Victoria Square: “I can still pinpoint my old desk” – followed where Neil worked closely with eastern European countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, preparing them for succession to the European Union.

During that time the regeneration of Belfast brought about the first rumblings of a 10,000 capacity music and sport venue and it wasn’t long before the Odyssey dream became a reality.

Neil took up the position of Finance Director for the Odyssey Arena – one part of the Odyssey Trust site which also houses science centre W5 and the Odyssey pavilion – and there began his journey within a venue which has hosted everyone from Springsteen to Premier League Darts.

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It wasn’t long before Neil became General Manger of the Arena, a role which he cherishes, even if it does bring its own peculiar stresses.

“It’s a job with a high profile but one which comes with huge responsibility to manage incidents which drop out of the blue, like the One Direction cancellation.”

For anyone reading this who was living under a rock, One Direction pulled out of their SSE Arena concert in October only minutes before going on stage, and it was Neil who called to the boy band’s dressing room to be told of the cancellation and Neil who had to initiate an action plan to deal with the aftermath.

“We were fortunate the Belfast Giants were accommodating and that abled us to rearrange the concert and keep the fans happy,” he said.

While the Giants don’t fall under Neil’s management, they are part of the Odyssey Trust.

“In that sort of situation you see how the team work together for the best for the business and site as a whole.”

And he recognises how the ice hockey team is a vital cog in the arena’s machine.

“They are our bread and butter,” he said. “They have 30-plus ice hockey matches a year and bring fans here

week in week out so we do our best to make sure they feel appreciated.

“The more fans the giants can attract the better for them and for the arena. It enables us to plough profits back in to invest in the future of the building.”

Anyone who has been to the arena recently will realise that it’s been substantially refurbished and changed its name.

The latter follows a naming sponsorship deal with SSE Airtricity which sees the venue adopt the moniker The SSE Arena and the former follows a £3m investment.

“SSE are very much a partner in what we’re doing. It has launched a rewards programme for its customers as a key part of its selling proposition and that’s helping sell tickets to the venue.”

Meanwhile, the area has invested in free wifi, 200 digital screens to advertise shows and direct customers, a new app which allows customers to order food and drink on their mobile devices well as the replacement of the venues seats.

“It helps the look and feel for the venue and keeps facilities up to scratch. We’re trying to look after our customers as best we can and that will continue.”

With the pre order app, the arena is already ahead of rivals across Europe

LEADERS IN BUSINESS

and has had interest from other venues who want to copy the technology.

And the venue has also made the venue more flexible, installing the means to turn the arena into theatre style with a capacity as small as 1,500.

That enables it to host more varied artists such as the Motown Show and others and adds another notch to the SSE Arena’s capability.

It’s this variety which Neil said makes him appreciate the job, amidst the madness on stage.

“We’ve had the busiest month since opening with Mrs Brown’s Boys, then Def Leppard, back to the Giants at the weekend then followed by the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. It’s a bit surreal when you have Def Leppard’s team rolling out at the end of the show and Mrs Brown’s Boy’s team is waiting to get in.”

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Tracy Hamilton Mash Direct What was the catalyst which spawned Mash Direct?

Mash Direct was created out of necessity.

Martin and I had been growing vegetables for the wholesale market and as the returns for the vegetables had declined so significantly we had to look at other options.

How do you go about adding value to such generic products as vegetables?

Eleven years ago convenience food was not the market behemoth that it is today and at that point the concept of healthy convenience food was non-existent. We spotted a gap in the market to produce convenient vegetable accompaniments with the taste and texture of homemade food.

We grow and select heritage varieties of vegetables on the family farm, grown specifically for flavour rather than appearance. This ensures that every product is bursting with flavour and is in line with the family’s mantra of ‘taste not waste’.

We are committed to delivering premium quality and great tasting products. Mash Direct has built a successful enterprise harnessed by six generations of skillful farming knowledge and expertise. We use gentle steam cookers to retain the natural nutritional benefits of the vegetables. The whole range is gluten-free, has no artificial flavourings, preservatives or colourings, and is low in salt. This has seen the brand secure an array of industry accolades, including 16 Great Taste Awards. We are the only company to achieve a Great Taste Award for our Mashed Potato.

Mash Direct’s success has not led to any compromises in quality and gained the highest possible accreditation for food safety, provenance and hygiene in late 2015: AA+ Grade from the British Retail Consortium.

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We are one of only a handful of Food Manufacturers to have continually attained the top A+ certification since 2009.

Mash Direct has witnessed some phenomenal growth over the last few years. How do you manage the continual expansion?

We are focussed on driving the brand and the quality of our products by setting ourselves apart in the market place. We are the market leader in the vegetable accompaniments sector and number one brand throughout the UK and Ireland for chilled potato products.

The company has managed to stay ahead of the game by continuously innovating new products and processes to adapt to consumer tastes. By being out in front at consumer shows and trade shows, we have our finger constantly on the pulse and understand what the next innovation should be.

As the company has continued to grow, we have invested in research and development, new technology and a specialist team who are continuously developing new ideas for both products and production processes, which is fundamental in our success and the brand.

Export has been a central plank to your strategy. How difficult is it to break into new markets and, as importantly, continue to sell in new markets?

When we first launched the business, little did we know the international appetite such a simple concept would create.

Just under a decade later, we now have customers as far afield as Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi – who knew mashed potato would prove so popular in the desert!

The turning point for the international side of our business arrived in Paris, at the

2012 SIAL Food Exhibition when we were approached by a distributor from Dubai.

It wasn’t long before our products were appearing on the shelves of Spinneys, the UAE’s equivalent of Waitrose.

Research is key when selling to a new audience in any industry, you’ve got to understand exactly what the customer wants and how your product can meet their needs, both commercially and culturally.

Over the past few years, we have learnt a lot more about the market in the UAE and where our products sit within it. The food-retail market over there is far less developed than in Britain; healthy, convenient, ready-made food is a completely new phenomenon so there have been some really fruitful opportunities that we took advantage of.

This launch represents an exciting dimension in Mash Direct’s growth, with the brand significantly expanding its international distribution channels by gaining a substantial foothold in the Middle Eastern market.

Building a Brand and gaining recognition of it and its USPs (Unique Selling Points) in foreign markets, particularly nonEnglish speaking markets, is no easy task but a carefully targeted marketing strategy, packaging design and constant presence at export events such as Gulfood (UAE), Anuga (Germany) and SIAL (France) have all contributed to Mash Direct’s continuing export success.

What are your plans for Mash Direct in the years ahead?

Mash Direct is determined to become a household brand throughout the UK within the next five years and will continue to develop International markets.

LEADERS IN BUSINESS

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Ian Wilson Managing Director Wilsons Auctions

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an Wilson may have sold you a house, he may have sold you a car or he may have sold you a bar of gold bullion.

The man behind Northern Ireland’s biggest auction house Wilson’s Auctions has brought his gavel down on some odd items over the years, but variety, he insists, makes his job interesting.

“We have sold everything from a needle to an anchor,” he told Ulster Business, although that statement, somewhat ironically, undersells the items behind both those transactions, something the auctioneer hasn’t been known to do in front of a crowded auction room.

The needle actually referred to a company which manufactured clothes and the anchor to a boat – yacht would probably be a more accurate – which is moored in Tunisia and which was recently auctioned at the company’s Mallusk base.

Meanwhile, the world’s go-to safe haven investment has also passed through the sales ring in recent months.

Gold bars – the likes of which Michael Caine balanced at the far end of a bus in the iconic film The Italian Job – reached over £300,000, while a couple of Ferraris and Rolls Royce – neither of which are at the disposal of a business magazine editor – have also roared/cruised through the ring.

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Of course, these are just some of the more high end items which Wilsons Auctions deal with but the bulk of the business comes from more workaday cars, property and a myriad of other items of value.

The first was held was on a site behind one of the butchers shops on the Shore Road in Belfast and initially the firm held just one auction a month, then it became fortnightly and slowly built up in frequency over the years.

As well as the Mallusk base, it has sites in Portadown, in Scotland, Dublin and across England and Wales.

A move to the purpose-built site at Mallusk allowed for further expansion and, as the business took off, the Portadown site was added.

The business has come a long way since 1936 when Ian’s father William J Wilson began selling agricultural machinery at his own auctions.

“My father started selling tractors to men who had horse and carts and the business took off from there,” Ian said.

As well as the auction side of the business, William also ran a number of butchers shops but, rather than go straight into the family business, Ian first went to work at a rival butchers in Glengormley to get some experience of working outside the family company.

Shortly after a manager left one of his father’s shops and he started a long career in the firm, running a butcher shop at the tender age of 16.

It was in the meat business where he said he learned the art of selling and customer relations, skills which would stand him in good stead when he moved into the auction business.

It was then to Scotland, with Ian taking advantage of the fact son Gareth was at university in Edinburgh to help start the auction site in Dalry, followed by Dublin, where Gareth’s brother Ricky took over a small auction house before expanding it with the help of sister Rebbeca.

Other additions include Queensferry in Wales, Telford in England and a number of other regions throughout the UK and Ireland.

Total full time employment has grown to 400, not including the “Dad’s army” troop of drivers which help drive cars from dealers to the sites and also through the ring on auction night, an essential part of the process.

Despite the growing scale of the business, Ian said he hasn’t lost his enjoyment for the day-to-day operation.

“I love it,” he said. “I do find I can’t go into every site as much as I’d like to because I have to let them get on with it. That’s hard but it’s a sign of progress.”

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Les McCracken Managing Director McCue Fitout

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f export is the key to growing the Northern Ireland economy in the years ahead, Les McCracken is in the engine room of the business world on these shores.

“It was a new building fitted with new equipment and was the trigger to start a more formal course of growth through strategic planning.”

He is the boss of McCue Fitout, a Carrickfergus company which counts 80% of its turnover as export to the rest of the UK and across Europe.

That meant building on relationships with firms such as Abbey National and Bradford and Bingley, companies which it had been working for initially in Northern Ireland which had proffered work at other branches across the UK.

That figure didn’t come about by accident, but through a concerted strategy to target external markets, partly as a natural course of growth and partly as a way of insulating itself against the worst of the post-2007 recession.

The consolidation of building societies and other financial institutions that followed was a boost for McCue with the company carrying out at least 30 refits for Santander.

In his 28 years at the top of the company, he has been at the helm through considerable change, taking a traditional joinery firm and turning it into a specialist shop and restaurant fit out company.

It’s a far cry from when James F McCue started the business in east Belfast in 1954 manufacturing packing cases for the linen industry.

But even then progress was in the air, with the company quickly answering the growing demand for shop fitting services for both banks and retail.

When Les took over at the age of 25, it had a staff of 20 and was trading entirely in Northern Ireland.

“I had youth and drive and very little experience, but quickly gained the latter in a very hands-on manner,” he told Ulster Business. “We grew the company organically and by the late 90s realised we’d outgrown our premises.”

The purchase of a new site in Carrick followed where the business constructed a 60,000 square foot building which it moved into in 2002.

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At the same time it was working extensively in the Republic but with the onset of the credit crunch there was cause for a rethink, particularly as the fallout was felt hardest in Dublin where most of the work was centred.

“The recession caught everyone out and, after our busiest year on record in 2008, turnover dropped by third in 2009 and we had to start the process of growing the business again,” Les said. “We had to look at geographical reach and shift a large part of our business which was in the Republic in 2008 to Great Britain.”

What followed was a move to increase McCue’s involvement in the hospitality and leisure market, one which has proved increasingly successful.

It has completed fitout contracts in hotels, restaurants and shops across Europe and has a client list to envy.

Take the hotel sector as an example.

That quality point is one which is particularly important in its recently completed refurbishment of the suites in the Shangri La in London, rooms which will cost you or I between £15,000 to £20,000 a night.

Meanwhile, it is responsible for the majority of the internal fitting in trendy clothing retailer Urban Outfitters across the UK and beyond.

That business was won after McCue impressed with its work on the Belfast store (a contract won after a cold call before the retailer arrived here), a familiar story throughout the company’s portfolio.

“They brought something new and refreshing to the retail market which has been adopted by others, and which includes a rugged approach with a stripped-backed building.”

Other names it works with include posh soap manufacturer Lush (McCue worked on the new flagship store on London’s Oxford Street), The Merchant Hotel, Starbucks, Whitestuff, Malmaison, Gant, Hugo Boss and Hamleys, to name but a few.

It’s all work the firm carries out from its Carrickfergus base, using a tried and tested group of sub-contractors across different geographies who are registered to the highest standards.

And with the formula working, Les is keen to keep driving the business forward.

“Our long-term aspirations are to grow further. We’ve no intention of taking over the world but we want to continue on this trajectory by using the skills and experience we’ve learnt over the years.”

The Savoy, Claridges and The Berkeley are just some of the prestigious hostelries it has carried out work on, work which needs to be of the highest possible standards.

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Stuart Harvey business angel and CEO of Datactics

S

tuart Harvey would have you believe he hasn’t achieved much in business but the reality is he has done much more in his career than many more well publicised entrepreneurs.

That he has spent time and money investing and leading early stage startups here in Northern Ireland rather than heading off into the sunset after selling his first business says a lot about his commitment to these shores and to the entrepreneurial community here.

Of course, as Stuart freely admits, he loves the buzz which comes from getting his sleeves rolled up and working alongside startups, not being one well suited to the big company corporate environment.

He’s certainly dipped his toe into the big corporate world, spending 10 years working for Reuters in London, New York and Berlin after kicking off his working life as a software developer at a then embryonic Kainos, the Belfast IT firm which is now listed on the London Stock Exchange.

At Reuters he became involved in the world of data analysis and, along with colleague Steve Cowler, co-founded

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Harco Technologies in 1996, a firm which was able to analyse financial data usage rates by banks and brokerages.

That sounds complicated but in essence it helped those institutions save money by highlighting which data services they many have been paying for but not using.

Setting up a development centre in Belfast, Stuart was able to move back to Belfast from where the Harco business grew and grew.

If you haven’t heard of Harco, you’ll probably know of Wombat Technologies, the firm which eventually bought over Stuart’s company in 2007, and if you haven’t heard of Wombat, you’ll most definitely have heard of the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE Technologies, the firm which took over Wombat.

At the time the Wombat deal was one of the largest inbound investments in Northern Ireland, but would certainly not be the last.

A growing ecosystem had evolved around the financial services technology sector, and since then companies such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Citi have set up base here and added hugely to the economy.

After the buyout, Stuart left Harco and faced with a two-year non-compete clause, decided that investing in start-up companies was a good way of keeping himself busy.

His first investment was in PathXL, a Queens University spinout which focused on digital pathology software products and he has since moved on to Axial 3D, a 3D printing company focused on medical orthopaedics and is chief executive of Datactics, a Belfast-based data analytics company.

While most of Stuart’s investments have, naturally, been with companies involved in the software business, he’s also backed a Newtownards company which, on first impressions, is far removed from the IT world.

LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Schnuggle makes modern high-end moses baskets for children, which it exports all over the world (a characteristics of all the companies Stuart invests in) but even with this company, Stuart’s able to bring some of his software skills to great effect.

Given all this involvement, it’s no wonder Stuart has been named Business Angel of the Year as part of the Northern Ireland Science Park’s Halo organisation.

And rather than finding such a busy schedule hard work, he seems to be enjoying it.

“I think I had underestimated how much passion and energy you get back from investing in businesses like these,” he said. “There’s something great about being involved in the early stages of a business that can’t be replicated.”

That’s great news for everyone in Northern Ireland because the energy, expertise and commitment Stuart can bring to start-ups, the coal face of the economy is second to none and shouldn’t be underestimated.

JANUARY 2016

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Brian McGrath Chief Executive, Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners

I

t is fair to say that a lot has changed in the 12 years since Brian McGrath joined the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners as its Chief Executive. Back in 1993 the Commissioners had the vision to move from the city to a new deep water facility at Lisahally. But by the end of 2002 the port needed a new strategic direction.

“When I came here, the port really needed to do more to attract new business and to market themselves. Many of the assets needed replaced and the land bank needed to expand if we were to develop in any significant way. But between 2003 and 2008 we doubled turnover and profit. That put the port on a firm footing,” says Brian.

Today, £1bn worth of commodities come through the port every year, from huge warehouses full of Chinese plywood to oil from Norway, coal from South Africa and Columbia and animal feed and fertiliser which supports 20,000 regional farms.

Plain speaking, direct and strategic in his thinking, McGrath is a former shipbuilder and naval architect. He went through the ranks from a drawing office apprentice to become a Director of Harland and Wolff, where he gained extensive experience in ship design, project management and maritime economics. He has also served as a council member of the British Ports’ Association and CBI, is a chartered director, currently sits on the board of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and has recently joined the Council of The Prince’s Trust in

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Northern Ireland. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

In 2003 he led the Harbour Commissioners to make the key decision to sell the former Fort George site in Derry to the Department for Social Development, which allowed for an investment of about £12m in new sheds and machinery that kick-started the first strategic plan driven by McGrath and his senior team. The Commissioners have invested over £30m in the port asset base and net assets of the organisation have more than doubled since 2003.

A deliberate response to the financial crash saw the second five-year plan which centred on rebranding and a diversification programme which sold excess capacity in marine services and engineering consultancy providing additional revenue streams at a time when the whole of the Ports sector was under pressure from the economic downturn.

The port is about to embark on the third plan of Brian’s tenure, one that is designed to balance the port’s traditional reliance on commodities like coal with emerging renewable developments. “We are always looking to improve, evolve and grow because if you stand still you decline,” says Brian. “As a small port we have to work harder to be innovative commercially and we have to constantly reinvent ourselves to add value for our customers.”

The CEO has big ambitions for the harbour to further increase its importance as a Regional Gateway by increasing trade and investing in facilities. Around £100m of inward

investment has been attracted to the port in the last ten years – chiefly at the newly commissioned Evermore Renewable Energy Power Station and LCC’s huge oil storage facility – and McGrath sees scope for more.

However, he identifies a number of problems on the horizon, namely the long lamented decline of industry in the North West; the need for better regional infrastructure; and the risk of the UK leaving the Eurozone – the so-called Brexit.

The latter matters to the Port’s business and its employees, many of whom live in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

“The port is a regional gateway with a significant role in the wider Northern Ireland economy. We are working hard to ensure that the work of the Northern Ireland ports forms a key part of any future programme for government. The Northwest is already a regional outpost and a significant element of our trade is cross border into the Republic. In our view more bureaucracy and red tape will only damage the competitiveness of the region,” he says.

“The prospect of Brexit is a massive issue for the North West and Northern Ireland in general. We are right on the European frontier and so we’re encouraging more conversation and debate on the topic, alongside the Londonderry Chamber and the CBI.” McGrath estimates a third of its business has a cross border element to it, not least the haulage used to transport energy and agricultural products. This links to problem number two. The Port has long been lobbying for big investment in the A5

LEADERS IN BUSINESS

“Western Corridor” route and the A6 between Derry and Belfast. The CEO welcomes the recent political announcements to allocate funding but says that shouldn’t be the full extent of the Government’s investment.

“Our future growth will be reliant not only on modern infrastructure such as roads, but also having an electricity network to allow for industrial growth and development. The state of regional infrastructure is leading to potential investors locating industrial projects in the greater Belfast area where there is greater network security,” Brian explains.

These challenges aside, Foyle is the only port in the UK and Ireland to secure a renewable power station within its land bank and it is in the process of securing additional contracts, with 28 acres of land recently agreed to be purchased from NIE for future growth.

While he is happy to acknowledge the first two strategic plans of his tenure were a success, Brian McGrath prefers to keep his eyes focused on the next chapter.

“We have clear vision, values and goals with a hugely supportive Chair and Board. The Executive team and the workforce, in my view, are among the best in the business and are empowered to deliver exceptional results.

Things are moving in the right direction but we can’t afford to sit back. The next year has to always be better than the last” he says.

“We’ve created a platform for investment in the north west region by working with some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies. The Foyle Port team intends to keep punching above our weight.”

JANUARY 2016

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Stephen Felle Chief Executive of Davy Private Clients UK

N

ot long ago, wealth managers were battening down the hatches and waiting for the worst of the financial crisis to pass.

Now, with a fairer financial wind, a more competent banking system and an investor with a slightly less conservative risk profile, the hatches have been thrown open and managers have been able to get back to the business of finding a profitable home for cash.

For Stephen Felle, that has meant a busy couple of years as the firm he heads – Davy Private Clients – reenergised itself in its native Dublin while also embarking on an acquisitive trail to build on its Northern Ireland business.

It dipped its toe in the acquisition bucket here in January 2014, buying Belfast-based Square Seven Financial Planning before welcoming Graham Corry Cheevers to the fold in May 2015 and, most recently, PFC, a rival with 4,000 clients and £600m under management.

The latter deal has made Davy Private Clients, according to the company, the largest wealth manager in Northern

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Ireland with £1.25bn-worth of assets under management and 70 staff.

That’s quite a transformation from where the firm stood in Northern Ireland just three years ago.

Then it had six staff and £120m of assets under management, not bad for a firm which had set up base in Belfast in 2007 just after the Davy business went through a management buyout.

It’s no secret the following few years proved to be some of the most difficult in the history of financial markets and may not have been a surprise if the Davy name disappeared from the wealth management world here but, instead, the Dublin management decided to invest in Northern Ireland.

brand recognition and our involvement in various strands of professional life means the Davy brand is ubiquitous in business. We couldn’t wait 90 years to get to that stage in Northern Ireland.

“In order to achieve scale we had to go down the acquisitive route so we identified firms we liked the look of and, through a process of engagement and elimination, we’ve ended up owning three of them.”

Owning the companies is one thing but persuading clients to follow is another.

However, Stephen said that hasn’t been an issue.

Keen to waste no time, a strategic decision was made to do that by acquisitive, as well as organic, means.

“We need all of those stakeholders to believe that Davy Private Clients will provide them with independent, objective advice and that they are important clients to us. The key to that is being a trusted client advisor by building multi-year relationships.

“If you look at Davy in the south, having been in that market since 1926, the size of our business – €15bn under management, 650 staff and huge infrastructure) – high

“By coming to Davy they’re getting the best service they previously got from the other companies with the added enhancement of the infrastructure and investment expertise

LEADERS IN BUSINESS

“We spent a lot of 2011 on aeroplanes going to see what the best wealth managers were offering their clients in Europe, the UK and the US and adjusted our business to become a benchmark on the island of Ireland.”

And he said there’s no influence from the investment side of the business.

we can offer. I don’t believe we’ve lost a single client since bringing on Square Seven.”

While Davy might now have a sizeable business in Northern Ireland, it’s not the only company offering wealth management services so how does it go about maintaining market share in a crowded market?

“Emerging from the crisis, we knew that things were going to be different. We believed an opportunity existed to combine the best of financial planning with Davy’s long established investment pedigree to provide a holistic client service provided under one roof.

JANUARY 2016

“We have in-house expertise in investment and financial planning side. However, our advice is independent. We don’t offer Davy in-house funds in Northern Ireland and will choose the best investment managers from the best funds across Europe and the world.”

It’s been quite a journey for the Davy business over the last few years, one which Stephen has been involved intimately with, joining the company in 2004. Prior to that he had spells at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin and NCB after starting out working for financier Dermot Desmond.

And, after helping open Davy’s Belfast office back in 2007, the company should now be well placed to deliver on a creditcrunch-delayed growth strategy here.

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

Caroline McComb Director of McComb’s Coach Travel

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aroline McComb brought Game of Thrones to Northern Ireland. That might sound like a grand claim but it was her company, McComb’s Coach Travel, which transported the scouting crew from production company HBO around the country when the region was just one of many on its list of potential locations to base the hit TV show.

And it was McComb’s which provided transport for the initial pilot show filmed in the National Trust’s Strangford property Castleward – the show which then became the first episode.

Since those early days it has provided transport for the myriad of extras for Game of Thrones, a responsibility which sees up to eight of the company’s 10 coaches assigned to the show at any one time.

the town (where Rodney met Caroline, who was marketing manager of the Youth Hostel Association) and noticed an increasing influx of tourists from across the world, many of whom were interested in tours of the city.

After acquiring a people carrier, Rodney started running tours of the city and soon found a growing market, picking up steady work from tourists and the likes of Queen’s University which had international visitors on a regular basis.

The people carriers were replaced with minibuses, then coaches and the business continued to grow but around 2006 Rodney and Caroline reached a crossroads in their business journey and had briefly considered giving it all up and moving to Australia.

The tours of Belfast became Causeway tours, the popularity of Game of Thrones and the company’s intimate knowledge of the show meant it could put on tours for fans of the show and its even launched a shopping tour to Kildare Village from Belfast.

Around 50% of the company’s business remains coach hire – such as the Heart Surgeons’ Conference it was working on at the time of writing – but it’s tour work has helped expand the business considerably over the last few years, helped of course by HBO. “Game of Thrones was a real turning point for us and we can’t be grateful enough for what it has done for us. We worked on the transport from day one but we had no idea it would become so big.

It’s a long way from 20 years ago when Caroline’s husband Rodney started the company.

“We had to decide if we wanted to stay here and focus on the business and work hard or sell up and move to Australia,” Caroline told Ulster Business. “We decided we wanted to get stuck and make it happen.”

“Not only does the production provide work but Game of Thrones is something which is making people come to visit Northern Ireland.”

At the time he was a taxi driver, carrying out airport runs from Belfast hotel The Malone Lodge and from youth hostels in

All the evidence points to the fact that was a good decision. Since then it has expanded the business beyond recognition.

Not only has the coach fleet expanded, McCombs has two brand new vehicles on order with the first due for delivery in March.

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LEADERS IN BUSINESS

They will help create 10 new jobs for drivers, tour guides and admin staff and are part of a continued expansion plan for the business.

“We want to keep expanding the fleet, our workforce and our product offering.

We have new tours starting in February and are very excited about the future.”

Despite such ambition, Caroline said the company will remain a family business which is focused on the detail and providing a professional, friendly service.

“It’s not unheard of me or Rodney to be checking people in on the Causeway tour and people seem to like the personal touch and attention to detail we can offer.

We’re not afraid to say we work for the local primary school down the road and the Northern Ireland football team.

“Come on one of our coaches and you could be sitting on Kyle Lafferty’s seat.”

Such success hasn’t come through luck.

“We’ve got here through hard work and determination. Neither of us have university degrees, or academic backgrounds and we don’t come from high-powered jobs. It’s just down to hard work.”

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Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland 2016

Key sponsor

In partnership with

Media partner

AWARDS

Reward and recognition for responsible business

Launching the 2016 Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland are (from left): Terry Cross, Delta Packaging; Jennifer Fulton, Ulster Wildlife Trust; Catriona Gibson, Arthur Cox; Chris James, Fujitsu; Ian Garner, WRAP; Kieran Harding, Business in the Community; Alex Crossan, BT; Niall Dineen, Electric Ireland; Jenni Barkley, Belfast Harbour; Sonia Armstrong, Ulster Business and Helen Smith, Benenden.

T

he 2016 Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland are now open for entries.

The awards are run by Business in the Community and sponsored since 2010

by Electric Ireland. They are held in association with Ulster Business magazine and open to firms here of all sizes and from all sectors. There are nine categories up for grabs in 2016 (see opposite page).

Chair of Business in the Community NI, Roy Adair, said: “We are proud to recognise and celebrate organisations that do the right thing by their people, the planet and the places where they operate. I would encourage all companies with a commitment to responsible business to review the categories and submit an entry.

Celebrating GOOD business is a win-win for business and for wider society.

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“At Business in the Community we invite other organisations to join our 260 existing members, using the power of business to make a positive impact on society here.

“Our awards celebrate companies who realise just how important their actions are, focusing not on how a company spends its profits, but how it makes them in the first place. I’d encourage all businesses to put themselves forward for recognition and inspire others in the process.”

Niall Dineen, Head of Commercial at long-term Awards sponsor, Electric Ireland commented: “This is the eighth year that Electric Ireland has sponsored these awards. Electric Ireland puts its customers at the heart of everything we do, and this sponsorship provides us with an opportunity to see how businesses across Northern Ireland demonstrate their contribution to enhance

the communities in which they work and operate in, ensuring their actions are reaping societal, business and economic benefits.

“Electric Ireland recently increased its investment in Northern Ireland with our entry to the residential market and we are looking forward to growing both our business and residential sectors by doing business responsibly.”

Applications to the Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland can be made online at www.bitcni.org.uk/awards. Entries close on Friday 25 March 2016.

Companies seeking recognition for their responsible business at a national level may be interested in the UK Responsible Business Awards, also run by Business in the Community.

Visit www.bitc.org.uk/awards. Closing date is 12 February.

Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland 2016

Key sponsor

In partnership with

Media partner

HOW RESPONSIBLE IS YOUR COMPANY? – the 2016 Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland How has your business performed this year? Is corporate responsibility on your boardroom agenda and how are you investing in your PEOPLE, the PLANET and the PLACES where you operate? Inspiring case studies of previous winners are available online at www.bitcni.org.uk/awards

NI RESPONSIBLE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

For the company that best demonstrates its commitment to responsible business practice, with positive impacts across its people, the planet and the places where it operates. *Please note that entry to this category is open only to those companies that have achieved CORE, The Standard for Responsible Business. To find out more, contact Business in the Community or visit our website.

2015 winner: BT

RESOURCE EFFICENCY CHAMPION

In partnership with

For the organisation that best demonstrates significant improvements in resource efficiency through a specific activity/project leading to reduced environmental impact and greater sustainability.

2015 winner: ReCon Waste Management

BUSINESS & BIODIVERSITY

In partnership with

For the organisation that best demonstrates significant commitment and contribution to protecting and enhancing biodiversity in Northern Ireland through an initiative or its activities.

2015 winner: Henry Brothers (Magherafelt) Ltd

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE For the organisation that best demonstrates excellence in motivating and developing employees in a healthy and inclusive workplace which offers opportunities for all.

2015 winner: South West College

EMPLOYABILITY CHAMPION For the organisation that best supports unemployed people by addressing employment across Northern Ireland through a wide range of initiatives.

2015 winner: Loughs Agency

COMMUNITY IMPACT CHAMPION For the organisation that best demonstrates a positive impact on communities through investing its time, resources and expertise in volunteering to tackle disadvantage.

2015 winner: Heron Bros Ltd

EDUCATION PARTNER For the organisation that best demonstrates how its actions have helped raise the aspirations and achievements of young people (aged 4-19) through a solid business education partnership.

2015 winner: George Best Belfast City Airport

MARKETPLACE LEADERSHIP Recognising organisations that are developing innovative products or services that inspire responsible customer behaviour and encourage more sustainable lifestyles.

2015 winner: Fold Housing Association

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND WELLBEING **NEW FOR 2016** Recognising organisations that are developing innovative products or services that inspire responsible customer behaviour and encourage more sustainable lifestyles For more information visit www.bitcni.org.uk/awards or call (028) 9046 0606 Applications to the Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland can be made online at www.bitcni.org.uk/awards. Entries close on Friday 25 March 2016 with the gala awards ceremony taking place in Belfast Waterfront Hall on Thursday 2 June.

JANUARY 2016

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No preconceptions.

4cexecutive.com

LEADERSHIP

Why appoint a non-executive director?

I

t’s a scenario with which the board members of many organisations across Northern Ireland will no doubt be all too familiar. Indeed, research reveals that a lot of senior leaders become so pre-occupied with the daily running of their business that they lose focus on their main strategic role.

This will ultimately have a damaging impact on the overall performance of the organisation and is a problem which is affecting the private sector, as well public bodies and charitable organisations.

As part of its commitment to improving the effectiveness of organisations at board level, the Institute of Directors recently launched its Non-Executive Director Register in Northern Ireland.

Developed following a series of recent media reports of poor corporate governance

at board level, the comprehensive list of appropriately qualified non-executive directors is free to access for any organisation.

The Register is part of the IoD NI’s wider ‘Building Better Boards’ campaign, which aims to provide support to companies seeking a non-executive director as well as to individuals keen to improve their competency as a director or aspiring director.

But, what makes a good non-executive director? And, what value can they add to an organisation?

Jeremy Biggerstaff, the Managing Director of Belfast-based digital solutions company Flint Studios, is perhaps as well positioned as most to answer these questions.

The company has enjoyed significant growth in recent years and Jeremy attributes a major part of that to the

appointment of a non-executive chairman.

Colin Coffey, a Northern Ireland Ambassador for the IoD’s Chartered Director Programme, joined Flint Studios as a non-executive chairman in 2013.

Jeremy explained: “Too often the leadership team in any organisation can become bogged down in the daily grind of running the business effectively, resulting in company strategy playing second fiddle to meeting or excelling clients’ expectations.

“By bringing a non-executive director on to the board, we were able to tap into Colin’s extensive strategic, leadership and commercial skills combined with his determination and capability to deliver results.

“Through Colin’s insights and advice, our board reclaimed the focus on strategy which it had lost. This meant we had our minds fully set on the direction in which the company needed to be heading and weren’t getting tied up with short-term operational issues.

“People were held to account in terms of ensuring the company was moving forward and measures were taken to make sure the company was fully resourced to deal with strategic needs.

“Risk Assessment is another vital area in which a non-executive positively impacted our business, advising on how to safeguard against overstretching the company either in terms of cash or personnel.

Jeremy Biggerstaff

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“Any initiative which the board wants to carry out is fully evaluated, ensuring that the proper delivery plans are in place with ongoing assessment of progress. >

Company of the Year

Campaign laun ched to instal l NI’s la external defib rillator networ rgest k

ity ess in the Commun Awarded the Busin ber of am Ch d lan Ire ern Award by the North Commerce

ity

AR’s char 80,000 for SP Raised over £1 ner NSPCC part

Launched ‘enjoy local’. SPAR’s own bran d range consisting of over 144 products

Awarded Company of the Year

Raised over £500K for Cancer Fund for Children

Henderson Group, owners of the SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO, ViVOXtra and ViVO Essentials franchises in Northern Ireland, have been distributing food and grocery-related products to the convenience retail sector for over 100 years. It is now the largest operator of its kind in the country, supplying over 400 stores.

The company currently employ more 2800 people and opened 13 new stores in the last year alone!

As a local company, we continue to focus on sourcing fresh produce from local suppliers, farmers and growers and over 75% of our fresh products are sourced on the island of Ireland!

2015/16

www.henderson-group.com

No little black book.

4cexecutive.com

LEADERSHIP

effective non-executive director can bring to the board of a growing business.

“This register will be a valuable resource for businesses and is a welcome development for the IoD. The right non-executive director can bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and contacts to a business, as well as objectivity and strategic vision, all of which are vital for growing businesses.”

IoD NED Register

“The third element of our business which has benefitted hugely from the influence of a non-executive chairman is our director and board development – Colin acts as a mentor to the directors when required.

“He has the ability to defuse potentially awkward situations and help strengthen the cohesiveness of the board. The development of a strong relationship between the board and the CEO is vital, as this allows the CEO to use the Chair as a sounding board to make sure he or she is taking the company in the right direction.

“On a personal level, I’ve certainly benefitted from having Colin as a sounding board on how best to keep the company growing.”

Flint Studios’ appointment of Colin Coffey was part-funded by Invest NI – a further endorsement of the value of non-executive directors and of the major role they can play.

Welcoming the launch of the NED Register, Jeremy Fitch, Invest NI’s Executive Director of Business Solutions, said: “Invest Northern Ireland has long recognised the benefits and the added value that an

“Too often the leadership team in any organisation can become bogged down in the daily grind of running the business effectively, resulting in company strategy playing second fiddle to meeting or excelling clients’ expectations.”

Linda Brown, Director of the IoD NI, commented: “A non-executive director can become a huge asset to an organisation, lending an independent insight and providing sound advice which is totally free from the emotion which can easily cloud the judgement of board members exposed to the organisation on a daily basis.

“Ulster University research commissioned recently by the IoD reinforced the need for non-executive directors throughout Northern Ireland and this is an area on which the IoD will continue to remain fully focused.

“We are welcoming applicants for the NED Register from suitably qualified, high calibre directors who are committed to ongoing professional development – and would strongly urge organisations from all sectors to consider availing of this resource.”

To find out more about the IoD NED Register,

Colin Coffey

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email iod.northernireland@iod.com or visit iodni.com.

No old boys’ network.

Ones to Watch

4cexecutive.com

No out-dated database.

4cexecutive.com

ONES TO WATCH

Catherine Cunningham The Present Tree customer service. It’s what we do best.

Each tree comes in an organic pot and with a personal message included – it’s the attention to detail that sets us apart.

What excites you most about what you do?

Everything! It’s wonderful to see our tree gifts heading off, knowing they will bring such joy for years. Every tree has to be stunning and create a ‘wow’ when its received. I personally tend to each and every tree that goes out to our customers.

Catherine, pictured left, with Barry Gray, head of marketing, BOI Payment Acceptance.

C

atherine Cunningham is founder and managing director of The Present Tree, an online shop selling beautifully gift wrapped trees.

She lives on a farm in Co. Antrim surrounded by woodlands, with her husband Andrew, a conservationist, their four free-spirited children and various free-range animals. Catherine combined her passion for trees and our ancient heritage with her love of beautiful design to create a luxury gift brand. Since launching online in 2013, The Present Tree has blossomed into a thriving business with high sales growth and ambitions to be a global brand by 2020.

In one sentence, what do you do?

I work on our business strategies for The

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Present Tree, although I also love being hands-on and still check every tree before it’s wrapped. I also talk to customers and work on exciting, new products.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

Our customers are mainly urban, cool, techsavvy professionals who enjoy the fast-moving world of social media and technology, yet still yearn to find a gift that is authentic, meaningful and connects in real life.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

The Present Tree is all about the story of the tree’s ancient symbolism, which is enclosed with every gift. We offer a personal, luxury gift with integrity and outstanding

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

We try to keep our cool, but our growth this year has been our biggest challenge.

It also means there’s never a dull moment.

Christmas this year has been our biggest yet and we’ve had to employ extra staff to manage the demand, but the fact that customers are coming back to us time and time again and our trees are being enjoyed means it is all worth it.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

Our goal is to launch franchises in 2017, this will really take us to a global market.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

The Present Tree has a clear vision to be the ‘Interflora’ for trees and be recognised as a global, luxury gift brand. And sending hundreds of beautifully gift wrapped trees with their lovely messages every day is an achievement I’ll always enjoy.

Who inspires you in business?

My fantastic team, they bounce in to work every morning and are completely devoted to The Present Tree.

No limits.

4cexecutive.com

ONES TO WATCH

Jack Wallace Travellise

E

ighteen-year-old Jack Wallace from Dungannon was recently named as the winner of the Northern Ireland Science Park’s 2015 Generation Innovation Internship Prize. The prize, finding the best new innovation developed by a 15-18 year old across the province, included a £10,000 grant to develop his startup businessa personalised travel smartphone and tablet app called Travellise. Jack went to Aughnacloy College and South West Regional College and is now studying an MEng in Computer Sciences at Queen’s University, Belfast.

In one sentence, what do you do?

I have developed an app called Travellise which essentially personalises your travel experiences. Based on your likes and interests, the app provides an itinerary without all the hassle of preplanning, or even planning while you are on holiday.

It saves time and helps make distinctive memories.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

Our customers are anyone who travels so its a huge market.

It could be the culturally curious, young adventurers or family holidaymakers. Twenty-somethings who like high octane, high adrenaline activities will not want to go for afternoon tea, or an elderly couple who like museums mightn’t want to find out about places to zipline in Belfast, for example!

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

There are some great books and apps out there that recommend places to visit and places to eat, but they tend to cater for everyone’s needs, not taking in your age, your interests and your tastes. My app is tailored to users’ needs and basically does all the research for you. It saves time and it saves a lot of effort.

What excites you most about what you do?

I’m 18 and I’m only starting out on this amazing journey. A year ago I was washing cars, now I am running a business which has just been given this fantastic honour from the Northern Ireland Science Park. As part of the prize, I have been given a full year of mentoring and it has been brilliant to be able to call on experienced entrepreneurs for help and advice. I’m excited by the fact that I am already talking to some of the biggest travel companies around Northern Ireland and that they are believing in this product.

JANUARY 2016

Finance Minister Arlene Foster with Jack Wallace.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

I started a degree at Queen’s in September so balancing my time between my studies and my business has been difficult. But I’m determined and I’m driven so am making it work.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

For any business to take off, investment is vital. The £10,000 grant has already done so much for the company, but receiving further investment at this stage is primarily what we need to take this to the next level. This will allow us to build our platform out. If you’re interested in investing in the product, please do get in touch!

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

I want Travellise to be the app of choice for travellers – it’s a bold vision but it’s a vision nonetheless. I want to build a platform that is used by a lot of people who recognise the benefits of personalised travel.

Who inspires you in business?

My parents inspire me every day. They are from working class backgrounds and they have instilled in me (from a young age) that you have to work hard to get what you want. I am working hard and will continue to do so.

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Only genuine search. Only 4c.

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ONES TO WATCH

Jason McKeown Neurovalens

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ason McKeown is a medical doctor with a special interest in Neuromodulation. A graduate from Queen’s University Belfast, he is also a visiting scholar at the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego where he carries out research on how the brain regulates how much lean mass and fat we have in our bodies. The manipulation of several key areas of the brain has provided the background to the weight loss technology we are developing through his company Neurovalens.

In one sentence, what do you do?

Neurovalens is a medical device company that makes Stimu Slim®, a non-invasive electronic device that reduces body fat.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

The UK spends £50bn and the USA £190bn annually, on obesity and obesity related diseases. On top of this another £220bn are spend globally on things like diets and fitness products. Yet despite all this, over two billion people across the world are overweight. More alarming however is that this figure is predicted to increase for at least another 40 years.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

There is only one electronic medical device that has been approved for weight loss. Unfortunately, it costs £20,000 and requires surgical implantation into your torso. By comparison Stimu Slim® costs £250 and you only wear it for a few hours each week.

What excites you most about what you do?

Although the company is based in Northern Ireland we actually do most our research in California. The most excitement I get is when we tell the research participants the results of their body scans. Some people get very emotional when we show them how much weight they have lost.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

Unfortunately, the weight loss market is plagued by gimmicks and products offering unrealistic outcomes. Our biggest challenge is convincing people that this isn’t another gimmick and that Stimu Slim® is actually a medical device developed through clinical research carried out at the University of California.

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What would help you kick on to the next level?

Following our success on the Propel programme, we have focused our efforts on obtaining important certifications for our product.

At the moment we are close to completing CE certification as a medical device. Once certified Stimu Slim® will be available to buy within the EU. At this time, we will be starting a marketing campaign to drive awareness and educate people about the benefits of using Stimu Slim® above just diet alone.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

The long term goal is to have FDA approval as a weight loss device. Having FDA approval allows us to sell Stimu Slim® within the USA, and it will also strengthen our position globally within the medical device sector.

Who inspires you in business?

Elon Musk.

No preconceptions.

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ONES TO WATCH

Chris and Ricky Martin SkunkWorks Surfboard Co. surfing for 20 years each, competed as part of the Irish surf team and have always wanted to make our living out of what we love. We love surfing, we love designing, manufacturing and supplying the best foam surfboards and paddle boards in the world. It is very exciting to come up with an idea and through hard work and innovation, turn it into a reality and most excitingly, a tangible, surfable product.

Chris, left, and Ricky Martin

In one sentence, what do you do?

We make the worlds most robust, high performance soft surfboards and paddleboards while causing minimal impact on our environment.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

There isn’t a single soft surfboard produced anywhere in the world that has a life span of more than one year as they are made with cheap, weak materials. They are simply glued together with cheap adhesive that delaminates both in and out of the water.

They are produced in a way that couldn’t be more harmful to the environment. The surf industry needs a board that is made in an eco friendly way that will last and be usable for an end user for a minimum of two years.

Our customers are every surf school, paddle board school, activity center, individual learner

JANUARY 2016

surfer as well as every competent intermediate level and advanced level surfer globally.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

Our boards use higher quality materials that are 80% more eco friendly in the way they are produced as well as being over twice as strong and durable than our competitors. We use our own patent pending heat bonding technology to fuse every part of our boards together using nothing but hot air. This creates a board that is more than twice as durable than our competitors as well as not being adversely affected in any way in extreme temperature or temperature changes. The layers of our boards are bonded at the molecular level giving them a bond that simply won’t come apart.

What excites you most about what you do?

Everything! We are surfers. We have been

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

Again, everything! We had to source brand new materials, never before used in the surf industry then work out a way to use these new materials to make a surfboard that wouldn’t delaminate and break apart that was also eco friendly and the world’s first recyclable surfboard. The entire process has been challenging, especially when you consider we have custom designed and built all of the machinery we need in our production process.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

We need to keep doing what we are doing to kick us on to the next level. We are growing, expanding, we have had large investment and have streamlined and automated our new lean production process.

If we keep doing what we are doing and continue to enter competitions and show the public what we are achieving here in Northern Ireland our PR will continue to boost our profile and help us succeed.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

We want to take over the global soft surfboard market and take a large chunk of the global paddle board market.

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No little black book.

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ONES TO WATCH

Paula Heaney Skinny Malinkys pressure processing (HPP) technology. Cold pressing retains 50% more nutrients then any other juicing process. Then the HPP puts the juice under extremely high pressure which kills off any microbes that could cause spoilage. This means our juice is never heat treated or pasteurised and retains all the high level nutrients from the fresh fruit & veggies, and has a six-week shelf life.

What excites you most about what you do?

Being the first in Northern Ireland to use this new technology is really great as we know we are delivering a really great fresh product that helps people ‘get the goodness in’ and actually feel better fro the inside out.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

It can be challenging educating people on how our product is different as juice in general has gained a bad reputation in recent years as people become more aware of the high sugar content of many fruit juices and the fact that they can be stored for years and reconstituted and sold as fresh. We are on a nutrition mission to help people get healthy and stay healthy.

In one sentence, what do you do?

We produce highly nutritious, coldpressed fruit and veggie juice Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

With obesity, auto immune conditions and highly processed food on the rise, people are crying out of healthy and nutritious food and drinks. Our customers vary from those who want to boost their daily nutrition as

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each of our juices contains two of your five a day and are a minimum of 50% veg. We have clients who want to cleanse a number of times annually and those who just want a quick fix for weight loss. Most people will lose on average 2lbs in three days.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

We are currently the only company in Northern Ireland using cold-press and high

What would help you kick on to the next level?

Well £20,000 invest meant would really help Kick us up a level as wee as a few nice big contracts with some large scale suppliers.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

We want to become the biggest supplier of cold pressed fruit and veggie juices in the UK, Ireland and beyond.

Who inspires you in business?

Richard Branson. Mimi Kirk. Pat Doherty.

Auctioneering isn’t all we do‌ We also provide a fully managed asset realisation service Valuations Recovery Realisation of all types of assets Multi-jurisdiction presence

Wilsons Auctions is the largest independent auction company in the UK & Ireland. With ex law enforcement staff on our team plus representing the majority of law enforcement agencies in the UK & Ireland, we have the expertise and professional capability to manage asset realisation from start to finish.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please contact Aidan Larkin, Asset Recovery Manager on aidanlarkin@wilsonsauctions.com or call 02890 342626 www.wilsonsauctions.com

No old boys’ network.

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ONES TO WATCH

Diane Roberts Xcell Partners

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iane leads the company Xcell Partners which she founded with her husband Mark in 2007 after returning to Northern Ireland after six years working in Silicon Valley and New York. Diane is a central figure in the startup scene both in Belfast and Dublin, with a proven track record in early stage venture development and seed stage investment.

As delivery partner in the Propel Programme and the recently commenced Accelerator ‘StartplanetNI’, her business offers a top drawer team of regional and international mentors and also operates co-working space in Belfast ‘112 Donegal Street’ and ‘The Loft’ her home town of Newry, Co. Down.

In one sentence, what do you do?

In simple terms, we help people create high growth, export focused businesses.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

Understanding how to best develop a young company, whom can often be an individual with just an idea or concept, to get them to a state where they are employing staff and shipping products or services internationally is not an easy task.

Our clients include Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, and we’ve also worked with InterTradeIreland, First Trust Bank, DCU and Queen’s University.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

After entering our chosen market in 2007 we saw a lot of consultants and accountancy practices take a lead in the market, but we just had a hunch that we could have a

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greater impact. My team has a background in working in and with startup companies, and we only engage partners who have started their own companies from scratch.

Working with startup companies we take them on a journey of development, building, testing and creation. We work on market validation, business model development and exploration of funding options. We employ a holistic methodology to the teams’ development which is challenging and robust. Centrally when we work with a client we always take the approach of a partner, not a vendor of services.

What excites you most about what you do?

Working with people who have an idea for a business is fun, or it should be! Over a period to go on to help them build companies that create employment with an export focus, obtaining investment or bank funding along the way. Breeding ambition and drive

in people to go on to build sustainable businesses is personally very fulfilling. We’ve worked with companies who when we met them had just an idea that have gone on to raise investment, crowdfunded their project, attended US-based accelerator programmes, won significant export contracts and critically created long term employment.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

The greatest challenges we have overcome so far has been the ability to deliver continued high quality services, at all times, to all clients.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

Continued success!

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

I guess I want to leave a legacy of positive economic and social impact with the organisations and companies I work with.

No out-dated database.

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ONES TO WATCH

Darren Nugent Pokertree Brewing Co. In one sentence, what do you do?

I am Darren Nugent – founder of Pokertree Brewing Company – and we produce a range of handcrafted artisan beers in our own brewery in Co. Tyrone.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

Our tastes are changing. Right across Ireland people are trying more adventurous styles and questioning why they drink the same thing without giving much thought to the actual flavour. Customers are now drinking beers, not for their effect but for their individual merits and how they partner with food etc.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

Our ales are completely different from the mainstream beers that customers have been used to for generations. Our products are made in small batches with the freshest possible ingredients. That allows us to be adventurous and experiment with different flavours. We can make small batch one off beers and try interesting and unique things.

What excites you most about what you do?

I get excited about the potential growth in the sector. More and more people are turning to craft beer and this is a trend that is replicated right across the world. The global market for craft beer is staggering and we want to be a part of that. The fact that the big brands are reacting to what we are doing also shows that we are starting to make real progress in the market.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

Starting a business in a recession is difficult particularly when accessing finance etc,

JANUARY 2016

however it has meant that the business has had to be sound from the very start.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

2016 is going to be a big year for Pokertree. We have spent the last two years slowly building up our capacity.

We now have our own in house bottling and packaging line and we aim to grow quickly over the next 18 months. We are actively looking for investment partners to help us achieve our aims of selling one million bottles per year by 2018.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

We want to produce a range of beers of the highest quality and share them with the world. We want to grow an international brand that represents the very best quality in the market and to develop a sound and profitable business in doing so.

Who inspires you in business?

There are so many but I think Mark Zuckerberg’s story is quite special.

Particularly with the recent news that he plans to donate 99 per cent of this shares to charitable causes over his lifetime.

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No limits.

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ONES TO WATCH

Joanne Liddle IPC Mouldings

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PC Mouldings is an advanced manufacturing company established in 1994. Its main business focuses on mould tool design and manufacture, injection moulding, CNC machining and assembly of products and components manufactured from advanced engineering thermoplastic materials for the aerospace, medical and telecommunication sectors.

Using advanced engineering polymers and processing techniques IPC is an AS9100 accredited provider of technical solutions for global industries. They also offer a comprehensive range of secondary operations. Direct and indirect exports accounts for around 90% of the company’s product portfolio.

In one sentence, what do you do?

We offer a total manufacturing solution from concept to completion.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

What we manufacture is instrumental to many sectors including the aerospace industry, which is set for exponential growth. Our vision is to develop long term customer relationships built on a supply chain excellence model where we become a key supply partner.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

The business was set up by technical experts and there is a drive within the company to retain those skills, transferring technical knowledge to the next generation of engineers. Our drive and passion is also to deliver quality products to our customers on time every time.

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What excites you most about what you do?

Seeing results. We are performance driven, achieving a consistent 99% on quality and delivery over the past four years and have recently achieved SC21 Bronze Award in recognition of this. The SC21 programme is an aerospace industry led collaborative effort at an international level designed to drive real sustainable improvement in supplier performance.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

It is not new news that there is a skill shortage in the Northern Ireland engineering sector.

It is important to IPC Mouldings that we recruit the right people and then invest in them. In 2014 we engaged with the Queen’s University Knowledge Transfer Partnership in order to enhance existing expertise in high value manufacturing to enable growth in both current and new markets.

We are also planning to re-establish our apprenticeship programme.

Another challenge is the growing expectation from our customer base.

The manufacturing sector is challenged by competition from low cost countries and as a result IPC has realigned its model to identify value add opportunities and create strategic partnerships with both customers and suppliers.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

Following the award of SC21 Bronze and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Ireland 3 star, IPC aspires to attain SC21 Silver in 2016 as a further platform in which we can raise our profile. The principles of supply chain excellence in SC21 aerospace programme are easily transferable to other sectors.

What do you ultimately want to achieve?

A successful, profitable and diverse business competing on a global platform which is sustainable for the next generation of engineers.

New & Exclusive for 2016

‘‘Modern designer of soft seating & breakout furniture with a contemporary twist.’’

Identity Furniture is manufactured in the UK using sustainable materials.

For more information on the Identity Furniture range contact us today on 028 9581 0189.

www.oplanofficefurniture.co.uk

Only genuine search. Only 4c.

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ONES TO WATCH

Connaire McGreevy CTS Projects and Mourne Mountains Brewery

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onnaire McGreevy from Rostrevor, Co. Down is the founder and sole shareholder of two successful businesses; CTS Project Ltd and Mourne Mountains Brewery Ltd. Established in 2006 when he was just 23, CTS Projects Ltd is involved in the construction and heating sector, specialising in high efficiency boilers including renewable technologies and insulation.

Mourne Mountains Brewery is a microbrewery Connaire founded in January 2015. It produces honest, quality local beer that is brewed by hand in the Mournes.

In one sentence, what do you do?

I manage two diverse Warrenpoint-based businesses, CTS Projects and Mourne Mountains Brewery.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

CTS provides competitively priced energy efficient home heating systems, mainly to social housing associations. What matters most to our customers is that their tenants receive a first class service, particularly in terms of maintenance and thanks to our unique IT systems we can give them realtime reporting and rapid responses to any issues.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

I’m confident that CTS can respond much quicker to our customer needs at any given time than our competitors can. Our systems ensure the right engineer is deployed, at the right time to get a first time fix.

This is a major benefit, especially for elderly or vulnerable tenants.

As for the brewery, we’re the only one to use the beautiful, soft water from Spelga Dam which is perfect for brewing. Our master brewer Tom Ray is one of the most experienced in the country – if those two facts don’t make you want to try the beer, nothing will!

What excites you most about what you do?

In CTS I’m very much results driven – we can quickly analyse our KPIs and see how we’re doing which is gratifying. The brewery is an outlet for my creativity and it’s fantastic to be

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able to taste beers around the world, bring my ideas back here and see people enjoy it. That’s living the dream!

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

I started CTS just as the economy took a downturn and it was impossible to get an overdraft. I needed £10,000 to win a £40,000 contract and was left with no option but to take out a credit card. I used the full credit limit to win the contract and get the business off the ground.

Where the brewery is concerned, the major obstacle is the licensing law here. We’re working hard together with other local brewers to create a change, as it’s a real hindrance to the growth of craft beer in Northern Ireland.

What would help you kick on to the next level?

There’s no doubt that an increased sense of both business and consumer confidence in the economy would stimulate growth.

I’m also passionate about bringing back young people who left the country in search of opportunity elsewhere.

No preconceptions.

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ONES TO WATCH

Matthew Large glistrr

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fter working in the events industry for a number of years, Matthew Large (CEO) noticed the similar difficulties experienced by event organisers, no matter what size of event. While studying at Queen’s University he began to consider solutions to these problems. This led to developing a very basic system to manage guests for nightlife venues initially, which has continually developed into glistrr, that is used by event organisers across a variety of event types. Matthew’s achievements were recognised in late 2014 when he was awarded Enterprise NI’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and also a place on the Invest NI Propel programme. More recently, glistrr was successful in securing a much coveted place on Northern Ireland’s only equity backed accelerator programme, Start Planet NI. In one sentence, what do you do? glistrr provides intel for event organisers that allows them to increase revenues by making better informed decisions.

Why is there a need for what you do and who are your customers?

Currently event organisers and venues see hundreds, if not thousands, of customers pass through their doors every week, but they have absolutely no knowledge of who these people are.

In today’s digital economy, with the decreasing engagement of traditional marketing and the increasing saturation of digital media advertising, it is critical to an event’s success that the right people are targeted at the right time to increase marketing efficiency.

intuitive platform to make decisions based on their customer’s activity and market to the right customer at the right time. This information also gives the event organiser the ability to identify influential (or high value) customers, providing the opportunity to target and engage these influencers directly and reduce marketing costs significantly.

Our customers come from a wide range of sectors, ranging from live music promoters to nightlife venues, hotels and multi-format event spaces. We have continued to spread our customer base outside of the UK and Ireland, recently working with new customer accounts in the United States, as well as South America and Europe.

What excites you most about what you do?

After years of experiencing these pains with our own events, we’re driven by the rush that we get from speaking to event organisers and hearing that glistrr has reduced their costs or helped them to attract more customers to their event.

What makes you better than what’s already out there?

Intelligence – for too long event organisers have seen thousands of customers come through their doors but haven’t had an understanding of these customers; what they liked, their demographic and, most importantly, if they returned.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come up against so far?

Our biggest challenge has been defining our position within the market. There are a lot of companies operating in the events space; from ticketing to marketing and social media. This results in a crowded space and facing the challenge of being compared with other companies. We believe that we have carved out our space in the market, providing the services of many of the ticketing companies, but with our added value of collection and analysis of intel.

glistrr allows event organisers to seamlessly collect customer information without the excessive use of forms, which provides an

JANUARY 2016

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No little black book.

4cexecutive.com

ANALYSIS

Wishlist for 2016 Stephen McCully, President of NI Chamber of Commerce, takes a look at the year ahead for the Northern Ireland economy investment in transport hubs, airport access and better and faster links to Dublin must also become a priority. Also, given the competition for labour in certain key sectors and occupations like ICT and engineering, shortages are likely to appear relatively quickly in Northern Ireland.”

Stephen McCully

A

s we begin another year, it is an appropriate time to look ahead at what is possible, or achievable, in the 12 months to come. At Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry there is a real belief that we can be positive about 2016, with the convergence of a variety of economic and political factors meaning that the foundations for sustainable economic growth could finally be in place.

On corporation tax…

Knowing the date and the new lower rate will help to attract new high-end foreign investment. However, we have always maintained that reduced tax alone is not the whole answer to fostering business growth.

It is essential that we start with sufficient budget allocated to Invest NI so it has the resources to market the new inward investment proposition in relation to the devolution of corporation tax and to continue to support high value job promotion.

Demand for Grade A office and industrial space is likely to intensify and infrastructure

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On skills…

NI Chamber welcomes, and we stand ready to work closely with, the new Department of the Economy. We hope that this will bring skills and the economy closer together.

We need to increase the size of our workforce to meet the demands of many industries and that means that 2016 is certainly not the time to reduce the number of students in our universities.

To attract quality overseas investment we have to be able to offer quality employees in the right quantity.

We have worked with a range of incoming companies to Northern Ireland and we know that the mix and ability of our employee pool is absolutely vital to them. This will require an ongoing liaison between higher and further education and the business community.

On growing exports…

NI Chamber has always championed export as the key to economic growth however Northern Ireland’s export base is small and heavily dependent on a few large firms.

We do however believe that the forthcoming ‘Export Matters’ Action Plan to be released by DETI during 2016 provides a route map to increased export activity.

The Department is committed to putting this issue out to consultation in early 2016 and NI Chamber is part of a panel

involved in the process to move forward on the ‘Export Matters’ action plan.

On the review of business rates…

Amongst the other issues which will help set the context for economic growth is the Rates Review. Business rates is a tax that hits companies of all sizes long before they a make profit, and impacts on business growth and investment.

NI Chamber members are of the view that the business rates system in Northern Ireland is in need of reform. Last year, as part of the NI Chamber & BDO Quarterly Economic Survey, almost 80% of businesses believe that rates should be reformed to make them more reflective of economic conditions. It is an important policy tool which requires careful and strategic consideration throughout the next few months.”

On Infrastructure…

Infrastructure is one of biggest issues raised

by NI Chamber members who believe that Northern Ireland’s infrastructure is suboptimal. There is a lack of delivery of key projects (e.g. North South Interconnector) and our road networks are not well maintained.

Northern Ireland also needs to invest in public transport services to enhance connectivity and mobility (including the rail link to Dublin).

On the new Programme for Government (PfG)…

A key determinant in the success of the economy over next year, and beyond, will be the new programme for Government. The last Executive declared that the economy was at the heart of the Programme for Government but it was an aspiration which was too often bogged down by political disagreement.

Action Renewables teams up with Vayu and Tughans to seek out Northern Ireland’s best renewable energy organisations and projects

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ow in their eighth year, the Action Renewables Awards are recognised as the flagship awards of the renewables industry in Northern Ireland and continuously celebrate the most innovative local organisations’ achievements in the renewables sector.

Former winners of the prestigious Action Renewables Awards include some of the area’s most forward-thinking engineering and manufacturing firms, innovative community organisations and schools, and businesses across all industries and sectors who have taken the lead in switching to more sustainable means of heating and fuelling their businesses.

“As the leading provider of renewable energy expertise in Northern Ireland, we champion the adoption of renewable energy solutions year-round, but our Action Renewables Awards luncheon has grown to be the beacon event for outstanding local renewables projects and installations,” said Action Renewables Director Michael Doran.

“Always driving the industry forward, Action Renewables will also launch the Action Renewables Energy Association (AREA) in 2016, which is driven by a team of renewables experts and represents a collective voice of a diverse group

Ciaran McConville, Action Renewables, and event sponsors Mary Rossiter, Vayu, and Maria O’Loan, Tughans launch the 2016 Action Renewables Awards from the iconic stairs at Titanic Belfast.

of members interested in sustaining and developing Northern Ireland’s renewable energy economy.”

Sponsored by renewable energy supplier Vayu – who have recently expanded their business from the Republic of Ireland to include supply to businesses in Northern Ireland – and solicitors Tughans, 2016’s Action Renewables Awards will be held in Titanic Belfast on 31st March and hosted by Jamie Delargy.

“We are delighted to sponsor the Action Renewables Awards for the second year

running, helping to highlight the wide range of expertise and innovation that exists across Northern Ireland’s renewables industry,” said Mary Rossiter, Vayu Energy. “The impressive calibre of last year’s entries and the overwhelmingly positive response to the awards clearly demonstrates the importance of renewables to local businesses. As a supplier of 100% green electricity, this is something we’re seeing on the ground first hand, which is very encouraging. We would encourage as many businesses as possible to enter this year and help us to celebrate the very best in renewables.”

Entries are now open for the 2016 Action Renewables Awards. To enter your organisation or business for one of the event’s nine categories, download an entry pack at http://actionrenewables.co.uk/association-awards/. Entries close at 5pm Monday 15th February 2016 with winners announced at the annual Action Renewables Awards Luncheon at Titanic Belfast on Thursday 31st March.

www.actionrenewables.co.uk

HEALTH

Take control of your workforce future health today

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overnment-led salary sacrifice schemes have for years allowed companies nation-wide to contribute what they normally pay in tax towards pensions, childcare vouchers or the bike to work scheme.

Thanks to this government-led initiative for all UK businesses, both employers and employees can also take advantage of this tax benefit scheme that allows individuals to invest in their health and wellbeing.

The ability to simultaneously improve wellbeing and save money is exactly what Randox Health is delivering through its Workplace Wellbeing programme.

By taking what you would usually pay as tax and investing it in your health instead, employees can save up to 62% on their income tax and National Insurance and employers can save 13.8% on their National Insurance Contributions.

Jason Webster, Business Manager of Randox Health, said the significance of the company’s Workplace Wellbeing initiative is that by taking a simple, yet sophisticated blood test, employees not only benefit financially, but also gain personal insight to prevent ill health and disease at a stage when corrective action can be taken.

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“The health benefits of our Workplace Wellbeing scheme are endless. Many of us pay money into an ‘insurance pot’ which can take care of us if we fall ill in the future. But at Randox Health we believe in going one step further – actually preventing illness before it happens.”

The payment plan for the scheme operates on a monthly basis, which means that the cost is spread over 12 months. No need for cash or card transactions, monthly payments are transferred at source.

Depending on tax bracket savings of up to 62% can be made on the cost of a Randox Health preventative programme.

“The Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing programme is the most advanced diagnostic service in the world. Both employers and employees can have access to our unique premium service at a fraction of the cost, as a completely tax-free initiative at no extra cost to the business. In addition to this, taking care of the health and wellbeing of your employees will reduce absenteeism and costs, resulting in improved productivity making this a win-win programme,” says Jason.

an in-depth, confidential, full body health screen, giving answers that no-one else can. From a simple blood test, which can take place within the workplace, results can comprehensively identify the health and function of your organs, cancer surveillance, nutritional health, sexual health and fertility amongst our portfolio of 150 disease indicators. This is followed up with a scientific report, personalised health plan, consultation with a GP and ongoing retesting where necessary for each employee.

This holistic style of testing ensures that the patient understands their full body health in great detail in order to prevent as many problems as possible in the future.

The Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing programme can save you from potential illness and disease in the future. Empower your employees to find out how healthy they really are and how they can continually improve their wellbeing. Don’t leave the health of your workforce to chance. Let Randox Health Workplace Wellbeing take control of your future business health.

For more information contact the team at Randox Health now. Tel: 0800 2545 130,

The scheme is managed entirely by Randox Health for your company. Guaranteeing

Email: wellbeing@randoxhealth.com, Website: http://www.randoxhealth.com/

WORKPLACE WELLBEING YOUR BEST BUSINESS DECISION...

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What is school for?

In January, thousands of families will be making their way around countless school open days as parents and pupils consider the transition from primary to secondary education. Mr Robert Robinson, Headmaster at Campbell College in Belfast, provides some insight into making the right choice.

Headmaster Robert Robinson, MBE.

Four Campbell College boys achieved 11A*’s at GCSE, Jake Bodels, Matthew Crowther Jamie Brown and James Nelson. Mohammad Rashid (far left) achieved 10A*’s and 1 A.

“In 2015 we celebrated our best A Level and GCSE results in a decade. A superb achievement. However, as we continue the drive to deliver academic excellence it is important to ask the question, What is school for? Producing boys with qualifications or producing boys who are educated?

One of the biggest changes I have witnessed in education over the last 25 years is the increase use of measurement. Whether it is league tables, percentages, comparisons, national averages or otherwise there is an insatiable appetite to “measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not.” * Whilst these may be important in guiding when selecting schools, it is important to

look beyond the numbers. I say this in the context of our best results in a decade and am under no illusion as to the importance of achieving grades. But we need to prepare pupils for life, for the working world in which they will exist and in which we want them to excel.

My advice to all parents and families at this difficult time is to consider the measurements but to look beyond the statistics. Every pupil is different and every school is different.

There will be a school that is a match for your child but you need to ask the right questions and look in the right places.”

I do not want the boys passing through Campbell College to believe that they are part of an examination production line. I want them to have experiences that will shape them, develop resilience that will protect them, build friendships that will support them, grow confidence, understand tolerance, develop curiosity and appreciate honesty. These are all characteristics that carry us through life. Results are one thing we can measure, but character is something you can never put a number on.

* Galilei Galileo

Visit www.campbellcollege.co.uk to find out more or come along to Open Day on Friday 22nd January from 7.00pm - 9.00pm or Saturday 23rd January from 10.00am - 12.30pm.

Only genuine search. Only 4c.

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Flags, firebombs & flashbacks

Venture Capital

No out-dated database.

VENTURE CAPITAL

No such thing as free funds Professor John Simpson looks at how Northern Ireland’s recovering economic health is attracting external funders

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hy is the financial market in Northern Ireland not more active in bringing ambitious businesses into more deals attracting greater involvement of venture capital, equity participation or other forms of extra capital to grow the performance of the private sector? Is this a question of too few willing borrowers or an inadequate supply of risk taking funders?

Superficially, the usual perception (since well-informed evidence is not available) is that there are more funds available than businesses seeking access to them. This perception is supported by some of the evidence of the overall development of the private sector.

The private sector is not seen as being generally short of venture capital in its various forms. Whilst measures for comparable regions are not readily available, there is some reassurance in the more recent analysis of private sector businesses registered in Northern Ireland.

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The strength of the private sector On a recent count, there are over 135 locally registered businesses which are reporting annual pretax profits of ÂŁ1m or more. In contrast, there are fewer than 10 larger private sector businesses which last year recorded significant pre-tax losses.

Another feature of the private sector in Northern Ireland is the absence of significant numbers of companies with a stock exchange quotation, whether a full listing or a quotation on the alternative market (AIM).

In recent years, quoted companies could be counted only in small single figures. Whilst the numbers are small, generalisations may be deceptive. However, businesses with quoted share prices have often become subject to take-over or acquisition bids. UTV Media more recently has been sold following the take-over two years ago of Andor Technology.

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No limits.

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VENTURE CAPITAL

The recent healthy performances of Kainos Software and First Derivatives confirm continuing success in IT ventures.

reward the lender and the entrepreneur on terms which are acceptable and do not impose excessive repayment terms.

Whilst it would be invidious to offer ideas on where other private sector firms are demonstrating the capacity to grow, both nationally and internationally, there are several (possibly over 20) where, to an external observer, growth and investment is taking place but within the constraints of family and personal control.

The tension between lender and borrower is understandable. Inevitably the funding questions will have regard to the risk being taken by either party. In the more theoretical world of preparing business plans, there may be a business model, used to inform the lender and borrower what the expectations are and, in addition, some allowance may be built in for excessive optimism or necessary caution.

Although the private sector is smaller (in terms of employment) than it would be if the region was growing more dynamically, the evidence of slow growth sits alongside indicators that private sector profitability is better than is sometimes assumed.

Demand for investment funds People and organisations with funds to invest can present themselves as the answer to a plea from an aspiring entrepreneur who needs money to get a business ‘off the ground’ or who can supplement the funding of a growing business which is short of capital.

Finding a mutually acceptable arrangement where an investor can justify an investment on agreeable terms and also find a borrower who can benefit from that investment, is not as easy as is sometimes suggested.

The motivation and expectation of the investor will likely focus on rates of return and degrees of security. The borrower must focus on whether the funding can generate additional net profits payable to

JANUARY 2016

“There are over 135 locally registered businesses which are reporting annual pre-tax profits of £1m or more. In contrast, there are fewer than 10 larger private sector businesses which last year recorded significant pre-tax losses.”

If a business that attracts capital does well and earns a good return, the lender will either collect his interest and phased capital repayments or, with a risk sharing investment, receive dividends on the shareholding >

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Only genuine search. Only 4c.

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VENTURE CAPITAL

and (possibly) have the option to sell the shareholding on agreed terms. For the borrower, the reciprocal effects must exist.

In a world of rational lenders and borrowers there will be many examples where a mutually acceptable deal is struck. In the real world, dealing with equity investment, venture capital and/or straightforward lending with a repayment schedule, each opens the market place to various options. For each participant the nature of the process means that any deal will not necessarily be symmetric. Ambition, undue optimism and cautious pessimism will all conspire to leave decision making somewhat hazardous.

Unhappily, too frequently the role of external funders has been to deal with a crisis, avoid closure and build a rescue plan. Credits voluntary arrangements are not the model expected for successful investments.

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“External funders may be surprised to find that whilst Northern Ireland is an economy which needs to expand, new funders will not find an easy market place.�

In Northern Ireland, for a variety of reasons, some systemic and others institutional, capital for business funding (working capital and asset related funding) has been less dependent on placing share issues and has been more concentrated on lending by the clearing banks and Government agencies such as Invest NI, whether

sometimes as grants or less frequently as risk capital.

Beware the contradictions Northern Ireland’s economic policies need to include both the development of indigenous businesses and the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI). The existing indigenous businesses are generally trading successfully but are not demonstrating a shortage of capital funding. If local businesses were more strongly motivated to grow and take risks, funding could become more of a problem.

External funders may be surprised to find that whilst Northern Ireland is an economy which needs to expand, new funders will not find an easy market place. There are investment opportunities but for sensible investors: not for easy pickings from soft vulnerable local entrepreneurs.

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Enterprise, minister?

Jonathan Bell, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, takes a look at the challenges and opportunities for the Northern Ireland economy in the year ahead

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s we look towards 2016 we must first acknowledge the huge significance of 2015 as the year we were able to set a new date and rate for corporation tax in Northern Ireland.

Assuming responsibility for these powers has provided the Executive with the ability to transform the performance of the local economy, by selling the benefits of Northern Ireland to investors on a worldwide basis. Having debated, discussed and speculated for many years the deal is done with a commitment to reduce the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland to 12.5% and we have now moved to set our focus on maximising the potential of the new rate. Our actions are pivotal in terms of the policy’s long term success.

We have of course had plans ready, awaiting that date and rate announcement, to take forward a reorientation in our approach to selling ourselves, with a new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) incentive and new skills and competences for those undertaking that marketing. This in turn will see new challenges for Invest NI will be taking forward a range of actions to develop our proposition and sell the benefits of Northern Ireland to investors on a worldwide basis.

This will include targeted communications and marketing campaigns, advertising, investor engagement and in-market events.

Corporation tax will bring significant opportunities, not just in terms of FDI but also for local businesses. Recent research from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre estimated that by 2033 a reduced rate could create well in excess of 30,000 jobs. To create a robust economy built on a strong private

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sector, we must work together to provide the support that businesses need. Overall, our private sector has been leading the way over the last number of years but we need this to continue to be the case. A growing private sector allows us to not only continue to rebuild our economy but to rebalance towards greater private sector growth. This allows us to move towards the goals set out in the Executive’s Economic Strategy.

The challenge set out in the Economic Strategy was to support the growth of our businesses, locally and internationally owned, to invest in research and development, embrace new processes and technologies, build the skills of their workforce and broaden their horizons by embracing global opportunities. It is now more than three years since that Strategy was launched and 89% of its commitments have been delivered.

To ensure the strategy reflects the latest economic conditions and developments in key policy areas, such as corporation tax, it will undergo a review and refocus over the coming year. Shortly, we will also publish ‘Export Matters – an Exports Action Plan for Northern Ireland’ which has been developed to put our focus firmly on export-led economic growth which will also remain the key goal of the refocused Economic Strategy.

The HMRC export figures published in December were extremely encouraging, with Northern Ireland one of only two UK regions to record an increase over the lastest 12 month rolling period – and at 4%, we were some way ahead of England’s 0.2% increase over the same timeframe.

The manufacturing sector is the most important sector in terms of exporting for

Northern Ireland. It accounts for 14% of all local economic output and accounts for one in every nine local jobs. According to recent figures from Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, manufacturing is forecast to grow significantly over the period to 2025.

Despite the disappointing news around job losses, over 800 new manufacturing jobs were added, bringing the total number of manufacturing jobs now sitting at over 80,000 for the first time since 2008. I recently established an Energy and Manufacturing Advisory Group, chaired by David Dobbin and supported by Ulster University Business School, to address issues around energy and to ensure that manufacturers can continue to flourish and improve their efficiency. I look forward to receiving the group’s report in March.

Of course, there are many factors that will ultimately feed into our success as an economy, whether that is exploring how best we can support ongoing air access connectivity to key markets, cutting red tape or encouraging innovation. These are things we already aim to do but of course there are other things too, such as ensuring we have the right skills that businesses demand. The creation of the Department for the Economy in 2016 will ensure we are agile in our response to supporting the economy and we can adapt quickly to changing business needs.

Although I am certain 2016 will bring its own unique challenges and opportunities, I firmly believe the coming years look bright for Northern Ireland’s economic future. We have always had the talent, ambition and skills to compete in the worldwide marketplace and now with a new corporation rate from 2018 we have the economic tools to compete.

The equity funding lowdown Tughans has worked on the majority of equity investments, from both the investee and investors’ side, in Northern Ireland over the last number of years, working on transactions with venture capital funds including Techstart, the Co-Investment Fund, Kernel Capital, Crescent Capital and Broadlake.

The corporate team has also been active in terms of private equity investment in recent times with a number of high profile transactions including Totalmobile (Lyceum Capital), Relay Software (HG Capital) and Lowe Refrigeration (MML Growth Capital).

John McGuckian, a partner in Tughans corporate team, shares some practical advice for any SME considering equity funding.

Q1. What are the top three things that a company can do to make an equity funding round as smooth as possible?

In our experience, those companies who go into a funding process with a really well honed business plan and financial pack find it quicker and easier to attract investment and close the round. The company’s requirements for, and challenges to, growth will therefore be clear. It allows the company to target the right investor who can provide not only the initial funding requirement, but also desired connections or experienced non-executive directors and additional money for follow on funding etc. It also allows the investor to quickly analyse the company and see the potential for realising its investment.

The second recommendation would be to ensure that, as far as possible, the company’s affairs are all in order before the funding process commences. It is relatively common for funders to discover issues in due diligence that need to be dealt with prior to completion of an investment. These are often ‘paperwork items’ that can be easily remedied, but can have significant legal consequences if unresolved and therefore add delay and cost to the deal.

Beyond that, the importance of choosing the right investor (that the management team is confident about working with) and having experienced professional advisors (who can provide advice on ‘industry norms’ and help to find workable compromises in deal negotiations) is essential.

Q2. Does equity investment equal a loss of control for existing shareholders?

This perception is often a major inhibitor to family / ownermanaged businesses looking for equity investment, but our experience is that in the normal course of trading it is definitely not the case. The most successful equity investments that we see are those where the investor has a great working relationship with the company’s management team from the outset, and an alignment of interests that helps to fuel the company’s growth.

Most investors would agree that regardless of what the legal documents say, real control lies with the people who run the business day to day. For that reason most investments are heavily based on the investor’s faith in the management team. In the event that the relationship does sour the protections granted to both parties in the investment documents should provide a road map for resolution, and so require careful consideration at the outset.

John McGuckian

Q3. Are equity investors only really interested in high tech companies?

Our experience is that while high tech companies are often good candidates for equity investment, local and other funders are actively looking to diversify their portfolios and are very happy to consider companies across all sectors where there is high growth opportunity and good exit potential.

Many of the equity funds who are active in Northern Ireland would describe their funds as generalist (as opposed to sector specific) but networking can be key here, as often professional advisors and other intermediaries are aware of what sectors are of particular interest to particular funds or investor syndicates from time to time.

SMEs

InterTradeIreland helps SMEs find funding for growth access funding which best suits their own specific business objectives. As a result, SMEs have continued to resort to tried and tested avenues which may be less economically advantageous and not viable for a sustained period.” ‘’Last year, InterTradeIreland introduced an initiative called Funding for Growth to make established SMEs seeking funding to grow their businesses aware of the opportunities that exist in both Northern Ireland and Ireland. It also offers advice on their suitability for raising this type of funding and equips them with the necessary tools to take their plans forward,” she added.

InterTradeIreland Funding Advisory Team – Gráinne Lennon, Connor Sweeney and Gary Stokes.

H

aving survived a long recession, SMEs which may have been cautious about growing their businesses are now starting to look for opportunities to develop their companies.

The challenge of where to find funding for this expansion can often appear daunting. However, the market is a very changed place with rapid growth in alternative sources of finance.

In addition to traditional sources of finance, there are alternative avenues for raising capital which many SMEs may not have considered before including mezzanine finance, private equity, invoice discounting, crowd funding and peer to peer lending.

Without financial expertise it may feel like an impossible task to try to work out which is the most suitable route for your company and how to go about accessing these monies.

It is therefore no surprise that approximately 40% of firms use their overdraft facility which may not always be cost-effective nor prove to be the best solution in the longer term.

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However, whether you are an established business looking for alternative means of Gráinne Lennon, Funding for Growth Manager, Growth Finance, or a high potential start up or early stage business looking for Seed InterTradeIreland said: “The challenge facing Funding, Business Angel Investment or Venture businesses is that without spending a huge Capital Funding – InterTradeIreland can help. amount of time researching the different View our range of supports below. options, it is difficult to know just how to

Overview of supports If you are an established business • Funding for Growth Workshops and Clinics give SMEs seeking funding for growth the opportunity to learn about funding options from traditional, new and alternative funding sources.

If you are an early stage business • Annual Venture Capital Conference which provides an opportunity for companies to network with venture capitalists and business angels.

• Annual Seedcorn Competition aimed at early stage companies offers a share of a € €280,000 cash prize fund.

• Business Angel Funding provides businesses with access to the key Angel Investors and Syndicates across the island.

• Equity Advisory Service gives a one to one advice for early stage companies seeking to raise Venture Capital.

• Equity Guides, Hints and Tips including a comprehensive ‘Guide to Venture Capital’ .

• Other Equity Events including business planning workshops and venture capital case study.

For more information visit: www.intertradeireland.com/raisefinance

Discover what’s possible

Venture Capital Conference 2016 Thursday, 3rd March 2016 Ramada Plaza Hotel, Belfast

Register Now InterTradeIreland’s annual Venture Capital Conference returns to Belfast. Once again bringing together in one room for one day the island’s new and growing companies seeking investment along with all of the funds and individuals on the island with money to invest.

The only Venture Capital Conference on the island - it is a must for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels, investors and anyone with an interest in venture capital.

For more information and to register visit

www.intertradeireland.com/vcc Sponsored by:

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Help to attract funding

February is

A Festival of Leadership The Management & Leadership Network (MLN) would like to invite and encourage you to participate in Management Month There will be a number of high-quality, free to attend masterclasses and networking events across the province, including those in Belfast, Lisburn, Derry~Londonderry and Newtownabbey. These events will allow local managers to gain exposure to cutting edge expertise, as well benefit from hearing business insights and wisdom from renowned business leaders. As always, there will also be valuable opportunities to network with fellow managers and leaders.

The first event of Management Month 2016 will take place on the morning of Thursday 4th February and is entitled ‘Creating an Inspired Team’. MLN is delighted to confirm that Professor Damian Hughes will speak at the event, which will take place at Mossley Mill in Newtownabbey. Professor Hughes is an acclaimed speaker and the author of six best-selling books. He highlights the psychological methods used by great achievers and shows, in easy steps, how you can adopt them into your own life and business.

His innovative thinking has been praised by Sir Richard Branson, Jonny Wilkinson, Sir Terry Leahy, Tiger Woods and Sir Alex Ferguson. Damian is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Change at Manchester Metropolitan University and prior to that was a HR Director for Unilever, where he led a turnaround in performance at the UK’s oldest manufacturing site in Port Sunlight before carrying out similar work in Africa and the USA. Damian will share his thoughts on ‘Inspiring Others to Achieve’ and ‘Becoming a Change Catalyst’.

Also speaking at this event will be Professor Feargal McCormack who will share the journey that resulted in PKF-FPM being crowned the ‘Top Accountancy Employer in the UK’. In addition, Louise Butler, a Partner in McKinty and Wright Solicitors, will deliver a talk entitled ‘Team Performance and Employment Law’ and Keith Liggett, MD of Legacy Wealth, will outline how Employee Benefits can and do help to drive the performance and ultimate success of local businesses. Regardless of organisation size or sector this event will benefit any manager who is leading a team of people, be that 5 or 500 people. The event, which will run from 9am – 11.45am, is being supported by Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council and the Institute of Leadership & Management.

Another highlight of the Month will be a summit entitled ‘Leadership in the Digital Age’, which will take place on the morning of Tuesday 16th February at The Island Centre in Lisburn.

Professor Mark Durkin will lead a line-up of business and thought leaders in discussing how organisations and leaders should, do and will compete and win in the digital age. It will explore the leadership challenge of aligning the product/service, the marketing, the channel and the technology to ensure customers get what they want, how, when and where they want it. The event, which will run from 8am – 11.30am, will debate whether leaders must embrace the complexity of business in the digital age and discuss ways in which this can be done.

These two events are just a selection of what will be included during Management Month so to view the full calendar, which will be continually updated, go to www.mln.org.uk.

Make the Most of it...

The Management & Leadership Conference Friday 26th February, 8.15am – 1pm, Titanic Belfast Widely regarded as the best event of its kind in Northern Ireland, the Management & Leadership Conference will, once again, feature a diverse and impactful line-up of speakers. These will be unveiled at intervals in the run up to the event but to whet your appetite we are delighted to announce that Mark Pollock will deliver a talk entitled ‘Expecting Problems As We Explore Possibilities’.

Unbroken after blindness in 1998, Mark went on to compete in ultra endurance races across deserts, mountains and the polar ice caps, including being the first blind person to race to the South Pole. He also won silver and bronze medals for rowing at the Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland. In 2010 Mark was left paralysed after falling from a second storey window. He is now exploring the frontiers of spinal cord injury recovery and connecting people around the world with the aim of fast-tracking a cure for paralysis. As part of this he recently founded the ‘Run in the Dark’ initiative, which has spread worldwide.

We are also delighted to reveal that Justin Urquhart Stewart, one of Britain’s most recognisable and respected business commentators, will return to Chair the event, draw out the nuggets and lessons from our speakers and offer his own unique observations.

Such was the feedback on Justin’s contribution to last year’s event that we simply had to invite him back. For those who don’t know him, Justin (pictured below) describes himself as a businessman, market commentator and the world’s worst barrister! An engaging, lively and entertaining character, Justin (sporting his trademark red braces) appears regularly on BBC1 Business Breakfast, Radio 5 Live and Wake Up To Money. An entrepreneur in his own right, he co-founded Seven Investment Management (7IM) in 2001. The company helps individuals and their families manage their capital to meet their financial needs/aspirations and now employs some 200 people.

The feedback from last year’s conference was outstanding and the quotes below reflect the overall delegate response...

“Educational and motivational.”

Mervyn Poli, Hughes Insurance “Best £60 you will ever spend.”

John Burke, NI Water “Well worth it.”

Keith Bell, Coca-Cola “Thought provoking and inspirational.”

Jennifer Holmes, RJ Kerr

“Excellent event again. The MLN conference sets the local benchmark with engaging and informative speakers.”

Dwayne Stewart, IntertradeIreland “Fantastic value for money. So many great speakers leaving me with lots of ideas to improve management.”

Joan Gormley, Ofqual “Take time out to attend this event. The insight and opportunity to reflect is worth it!”

Jonathan McAlpin, East Belfast Enterprise

“Invaluable, multi-disiplinary insight with real applicable outcomes.”

Lorcan McCabe, Aurum Holdings

Thanks to the generous support of the MLN and Management Month partners conference tickets are only £60

+VAT

For more information and to book your place go to www.mln.org.uk

PROFILE

Name: Tina McKenzie Position: Managing Director of Staffline Ireland

A word from

The Wise

The column with an ear for experience...

ambitions for Northern Ireland are only limited by how many hours there are in a day, so I pack as much into each day as I can.

Tina McKenzie (centre) is pictured receiving an Award for Outstanding Management & Leadership at the Women in Business NI Awards. The award was presented by Roseann Kelly (left), Chief Executive of WIB NI, and Jackie Henry, Senior Partner, Deloitte.

How did you start out in business?

I started working when I was 12 years old within a small family businesses, which gave me a really good grounding in how to deal with customers and staff.

What did you find the most challenging during your years in business?

What I find most challenging is tempering my passionate desire to make my businesses the best in the market, as soon as possible.

At a very young age I was managing people 30 years my senior and this in particular provided me with valuable insight into how people work and how to motivate staff.

Building a new business can be a slow, frustrating process in the beginning, especially when you’ve just made a big investment – you don’t go home with a warm and fuzzy feeling when costs are high and people’s livelihoods depend on you.

So even though business acumen is important, developing emotional intelligence and an understanding of people early on was a key advantage for me starting off in business. This is essential when you’re leading a recruitment company.

We’re working with people who are in pivotal transition points in their career, and we are helping them every day to step into the appropriate job. It’s important to be a people person.

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Thankfully 2015 has been great and we’re seeing the fruits of our labour. We were recently given an award for being the Fast Growth Business of the Year, which is a fantastic achievement.

How would you describe your management style?

Down to earth, demanding, personable, supportive, inquisitive, fun and fast. Our

What would you change if you could go back and do it all again?

I’m so happy with where I am right now – I’ve had the chance to work for great companies and luckily got to live abroad. Here in Northern Ireland, Staffline Ireland is seeing phenomenal returns on investment in the last three years. Women in Business NI awarded me the Outstanding Management & Leadership award at their awards ceremony in November and I was hugely humbled, as this is an amazing organisation. It’s been a phenomenal year so I’m not sure I would want to turn back the clock to change anything.

I guess, if I could change one small thing I would probably have work harder at university and finished my Masters. I was working whilst doing my Masters parttime and when I was offered a promotion it meant dropping the programme. It would have been a tough juggling act but I wish I had just done both.

Then again, I suppose it’s a great lesson for so many people who think academic success determines someone’s career success.

Working in recruitment and employment support we know this isn’t true – every day we help people into successful careers regardless of their academic backgrounds.

Intelligence comes in lots of forms and the academic route is just one option – to be successful you need perseverance, resilience and bucket loads of emotional intelligence.

Flags, firebombs & flashbacks

Executive Motoring

By Pat Burns

Sponsored by

we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

Fleet Financial celebrate 20-year business milestone

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wo decades of excellence and innovation delivers business growth, industry recognition and shared success.

Fleet Financial will this year celebrate 20 outstanding years as Northern Ireland’s leading contract hire and vehicle management provider with a year-long series of events and initiatives.

At the heart of its 20th anniversary celebrations will be a stunning gala ball in association with Hope for Youth NI, a local charity also celebrating its 20th year.

Held at the Culloden Hotel on Friday 22nd April, 2016, the event will raise vital funds to help support the work of Hope for Youth NI which provide support for young people right across Northern Ireland.

Launched in February 1996, the fast-growing company has played a leading role in supporting businesses across the UK and Ireland.

Specialising in contract hire and vehicle management to businesses and organisations, Fleet Financial has offices in Newtownabbey and Manchester and is part of Northern Ireland’s largest car retailer, Charles Hurst Group. Transacting business with over 1,000 companies ranging from sole traders, SMEs and some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies, it currently manages a fleet in excess of 4,000 vehicles.

Philip Miley, Sales & Marketing Director, Fleet Financial, said: “We would like to thank all our customers, our partners, staff and friends for the major successes that Fleet Financial has achieved over the last 20 years. This milestone is a testament to our longstanding commitment to our valued clients and to the continued innovation that makes us an industry leader in the UK and Ireland.”

Officially Northern Ireland’s Best Fleet Provider following consecutive award wins at the Business Eye Fleet Awards in 2014 and 2015, the firm is also the highest-ranking Northern Ireland fleet company in the UK’s official Top 50 list as compiled by industry bible Fleet News.

Philip Miley added: “As we reflect on the last two decades, we’re excited to be marking our 20th anniversary in 2016 and we look forward with great pride to our spectacular fundraising Gala Ball in April, which gives us a major opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work, dedication and for giving their support to us.”

With solid ‘green’ credentials, Fleet Financial is also committed to meeting tough environmental targets and helping their customers reduce their carbon foot print.

For more information on the event, how you can attend or get involved, please call 028 9084 9777.

Pictured celebrating the start of Fleet Financial’s 20th successful year in business is (front) Philip Miley, Fleet Financial Sales and Marketing Director, Operations Director Brian Casey, and Gareth Quinn from Hope For Youth NI ahead of a major fundraising Gala Ball which will take place at the Culloden Hotel on Friday April 22nd.

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we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

MX – 5 set to stay at the top

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he MX-5 is the best selling sports car ever and an all new fourth generation model is now available. Lighter, lower and wider with technological advances, Mazda’s sports car dominance looks set to continue.

With rear-wheel drive, perfect 50:50 weight distribution, plus more comfort and technology than ever before, the all-new MX-5 is offered with a choice of two SkyActiv-G petrol engines. With nine models across five trim levels, the MX-5 has reaffirmed Mazda’s driver-focused ethos and the engineering philosophy behind it has allowed Mazda to retain the agility, fun and engagement that has always defined the model, while at the same time meeting everincreasing safety and efficiency requirements, alongside improved refinement.

The lightest MX-5 since the iconic original, the all-new version is shorter, lower and wider than the outgoing car, with the smallest overhangs and lowest centre of gravity yet. These dynamic proportions combined with Mazda’s Kodo: Soul of Motion design philosophy ensure that the car’s styling reflects its focus on driving pleasure in an unmistakably contemporary and dynamic way.

The MX-5’s ultra-efficient lightweight petrol engines deliver new levels of performance and economy. Across the range features include alloy wheels, LED headlights, a leather steering wheel, plus a lightweight and sleek fabric hood. SE-L models add LED daytime running lights, climate control air-conditioning, DAB radio, Bluetooth and cruise control, plus Mazda’s MZD-Connect connectivity and

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infotainment system with 7-inch Colour touch-screen display and Multimedia Commander.

SE-L models with the 2.0-litre 160ps engine are distinguished by 17inch Gunmetal alloy wheels and piano black door mirrors, and benefit from a strut tower bar and limited slip differential. Step up to Sport trim and both the 1.5 and 2.0-litre cars feature rain sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, smart keyless entry, Premium Bose SurroundSound and heated leather seats.

With the 1.5-litre engine, Sport trim MX-5’s come with 16-inch Gunmetal alloy wheels and piano black door mirrors. Sport models with the 2.0-litre 160ps engine benefit from a dynamic set-up that includes Sports suspension featuring Bilstein dampers, a limited slip differential and strut tower bar, while visually, they are marked out by their 17-inch Bright alloy wheels and body coloured mirrors.

Since its UK launch in 1990, the Mazda MX-5 has maintained its unrivalled position as the spiritual successor to the traditional British sports car. Across the first three generations, 116,517 MX-5s have been sold in the UK and with exceptionally strong early orders, the allnew fourth-generation MX-5 is set to build on that sales success.

When it was launched in 1990, the 115ps Mk1 MX-5 cost £14,249 (equal to £31,687 in today’s money), yet 25 years later with vastly more standard equipment, the new model costs from £18,495, meaning more than ever, the Mazda MX-5 sets the benchmark as the one of the world’s best and most affordable sports cars.

we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

New SLC arrives in the spring

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n March 2016, 20 years on from the birth of its segment, the archetypal compact roadster is to be relaunched with a new name – SLC. The name change acknowledges the traditionally close relationship with the C-Class, from which much of the roadster’s technology is derived.

There are new additions to the model line-up – the sporty top-ofthe-line Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 and the entry-level SLC 180. In visual terms, stand-out features include the standard-fit diamond radiator grille and the LED Intelligent Light System (optional extra). The new Mercedes-Benz SLC has an impressive heritage to live up to: its predecessor, the SLK, which was launched in 1996, won fans around the world and achieved sales of around 670,000 units. Comprehensively refined and with a model line-up ranging from the high-torque and economical SLC 250 d to the sporty, high-performance Mercedes-AMG SLC 43, the new model has what it takes to build on that success.

The new entry-level model is the SLC 180 which produces 156 hp). Positioned above this are the SLC 200 (184 hp) and the SLC 300 (245 hp), both of which feature a 1991 cc four-cylinder

engine. The efficiency champion remains the 204 hp diesel model, the SLC 250 d, with a CO2 figure of 114 g/km.

Driving Performance is the AMG brand promise -- and the MercedesAMG SLC 43 lives up to it in impressive style. The new model combines a 367 hp, 520 Nm, 3.0-litre V6 biturbo engine with a modified version of the AMG sports suspension familiar from the SLK 55, and the combination is reflected in the sporty performance figures, with the SLC 43 accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds.

VW range upgrades for 2016

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olkswagen is gearing up for a busy start to 2016 with a raft of trim upgrades across the brand’s core models.

New versions of the Polo, Golf, and Passat Saloon and Estate are available to order from Volkswagen UK Retailers now.

Leading the charge is the generously-equipped Polo Match. Replacing the popular SE trim the new Polo Match – available in three- and fivedoor bodystyles and with a broad range of engine and transmission options – adds more than £900-worth of extra equipment to Volkswagen’s perennially popular supermini.

Boosting the appeal of the multi-award-winning Passat and Passat Estate is the debut of a revised SE Business trim level which adds even more style, and value, to the premium-focused class leader.

The SE Business designation – which is enhanced at the same time as the SE spec is removed from the range – offers attractive, high-spec features as standard such as Discover Navigation, front fog lights, electric folding door mirrors and tinted rear windows – together amounting to £555 of value – for just £100 OTR more than the outgoing SE models.

The iconic Volkswagen Golf, now in its seventh generation, continues the 2016 momentum with the imminent showroom debuts of the Golf GT Edition and Golf R-Line Edition.

The forthcoming Golf GT Edition replaces the GT trim level, and gains an additional £1,795 worth of equipment including 18-inch Durban alloy wheels, and panoramic sunroof. The new model is priced from £23,915 RRP OTR – just £300 more than the GT it replaces.

Meanwhile, the exciting new Golf R-Line Edition replaces the R-Line trim and, for an increase of just £250 OTR, adds an additional £1,730-worth of equipment including larger 18-inch Serron alloys wheels and a panoramic sunroof. The Golf R-Line Edition will be available to order from £24,860 RRP OTR.

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we are

EXECUTIVE MOTORING

Mitsubishi picks up a winner

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ick-up trucks are fundamental to Mitsubishi Motors.

In the UK, their legacy extends through four model generations and 33 years. The Mitsubishi trophy room shows the current L200 Series 4 has won more awards than all of its rivals put together.

Since its UK launch in 2006, the current L200 Series 4 has outsold all other pick-ups. The L200 Series 5 inherits the DNA of its predecessors and further advances the pick-up concept. It is an entirely new vehicle from the ground up, with significant improvements in 330 areas. The result is the perfect vehicle for commercial duty, combined with SUVlike refinement in quality and dynamic performance.

The L200 Series 5 is a generation ahead of any other pick-up on the market. It is as competent climbing up a mountain or navigating a building site as it is comfortable on a motorway or around city streets.

The vehicle retains the marque’s reputation for ruggedness and durability, and continues to have one of the best 4WD systems. It is the only pick-up that can be driven permanently in 2WD and 4WD on tarmac and off-road.

The L200 Series 5 provides outstanding cabin comfort and ride. The vehicle has great leg room. Mitsubishi’s unique ‘J’ curve body design between cabin and cargo area is not just for visual styling. It allows for a 25-degree recline in the rear seats, making for a comfortable 4- or 5-passenger ‘long journey’ space. Interior width has also increased, as have the sizes of the driver and front passenger seats, which now incorporate high-density, soft-touch ‘memory’ foam. The level of equipment specification on standard models is also high. The result of improved aerodynamics and superior sound insulation is that the vehicle is significantly quieter.

The L200 Series 5 has an improved turning radius of 5.9 metres and steering that can go from lock to lock in 3.8 turns (down from 4.3 in the previous generation L200). Ride comfort is improved to SUV levels through the introduction of a fully revised suspension, including six shockabsorbing body mounts that are more than double the size of those in the previous model. These absorb noise and vibration from the road, contributing to a smooth and quiet cabin experience.

This contributes to a significant improvement in handling and stability.

Body roll, which has the effect of slowing down a vehicle’s dynamic response, has been dramatically reduced on the new model, making it much more nimble. The L200 Series 5 has stiffer front springs, a larger suspension stabiliser bar and optimised damping characteristics.

At the rear, the leafspring suspension has been increased in length by 120mm. The L200 Series 5 has one of the largest carrying capacities of any pick-up, in no small part due to the extensive use of high-

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tensile steel in both cabin and cargo bed, building in strength without increasing overall vehicle weight.

The result is a pick-up with the outstanding combined load bed capacity and full towing capability of 4.1 tonnes. With a combined 42.8 mpg, the L200 Series 5 uses between 11 and 47 per cent less fuel than most of its competitor pick-ups. It has one of the largest ranges in its class, being able to travel 685 miles on a full tank of fuel.

And at just 169g/km CO2, it has one of the lowest emissions in its class by as much as 33 per cent, safeguarding owners against a future emissions-based tax regime for commercial vehicles.

The new MIVEC turbo diesel engine features new technology for fine control of combustion. As a result, it achieves one of the lowest compression ratios for a diesel engine, 15.5 to 1. A lower compression ratio increases combustion efficiency, which improves economy and emissions. The new engine has greater dynamic performance than the outgoing power unit. Lower compression also allows for the use of lighter materials in the engine’s construction. Consequently, the L200 Series 5 is the first pick-up in the world with an all aluminium engine, which allows a weight saving of 30 kg. It is the only pick-up with variable valve timing. Power and torque are increased to 178bhp and 430Nm at 2,500 rpm, delivering superior performance through a new 6-speed manual transmission or automatic. At 10.4 seconds, L200 Series 5 is two seconds quicker to 62 mph than its predecessor.

The L200 Series 5 incorporates Mitsubishi’s Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE), which is a highly efficient energy-absorbing structural design that disperses shock from any direction. On-board Active Stability & Traction Control (ASTC) prevents wheel slip by controlling unstable vehicle movements. It individually brakes spinning wheels and controls power distribution from the engine if traction is lost on slippery surfaces or when negotiating steep slopes. Seven SRS airbags have been incorporated into the cabin to protect the vehicle’s occupants. And the steering wheel retracts in a collision.

Prices for the Series 5 L200 start at £19,000.

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Dine FREE at Malmaison with Ulster Business

Malmaison Brasserie on Victoria Street provides a perfect setting for business lunch or dinner. The surroundings are unique and stylish and can offer allocated booths to you and your clients for seclusion to conduct your meeting. Coupled with iconic dishes prepared with a modern twist and served with passion and personality as well as a mouth watering wine list, you will certainly impress your guests.

Malmaison use local ingredients carefully selected by the Head Chef. This infusion of bistro classics with locally inspired

cooking, creates a very memorable dining experience.

As a business destination, Malmaison Belfast also offers two stylish meeting rooms with wow-factor as standard.

Your meeting or private event should be pure theatre with absolutely no dramas. Our team are dedicated to providing amazing hospitality and putting the show back into your business. For more information or to make an enquiry, please call Julie Lynch on 028 9022 0204 or email: jlynch@malmaison.com.

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APPOINTMENTS

Niall Watson has been appointed Delivery Executive – New Business and Mobilisation at Fujitsu. He will be responsible for the growth, mobilisation and delivery of new business.

Gail Prentice-Jackson has assumed the position of Associate Director within the Property and Asset Management Department at Osborne King where she deals with all aspects of property management.

Chris Sweeney has been promoted to the position of Associate Director within Osborne King’s general agency division. His principal role is negotiating the leasing and sale of property.

Michael Potter has been appointed Associate Director within the Osborne King’s Advisory division where he mainly carries out valuation reports for a range of clients and lending institutions.

Anna Vangrove has been appointed an Associate at TLT NI LLP. Anna advises lenders and borrowers on all aspects of commercial finance services.

Peter McGrath as been appointed an Associate at TLT NI LLP specialising in commercial and banking litigation.

He advises in relation to matters such as corporate and personal insolvency, property disputes.

Michael Wilson has joined TLT NI LLP as a Solicitor. Michael advises on a wide range of property matters including landlord and tenant law.

Maynard Mawhinney has been appointed to the Board of Around Noon, the Newry-based specialist in ‘food to go’ solutions. Mr Mawhinney has extensive experience in the food industry.

Michael Graham, has become a Full Accredited Member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) following completion of the Older Client in Law Practice Award.

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APPOINTMENTS

Richard McCaig assumes the position of Associate Director within the transactional department of Osborne King where he is responsible for sales, lettings and acquisitions in the office sector.

Harry Crosby has been appointed Senior Surveyor within the Professional/Advisory Departments at Osborne King.

Thomas Osborne has been promoted to the position of Senior Surveyor within Osborne King’s Licensed and Leisure & Auction divisions where he works on behalf of a wide range of clients.

Catherine Maxwell has been appointed company accountant at banah UK Ltd. Catherine oversees the accounts department.

Adrian Clark has been appointed Director of Business Development at banah UK Ltd. Adrian will ensure optimal commercialisation of the banahCEM materials.

Kristina Hare has joined Baker & McKenzie as Deputy General Counsel.

She has joined from KPMG Ireland where she worked as Legal Counsel.

Eleanor Gilliland has joined Baker McKenzie to lead Global Business Development for the Capital Markets Practice. Eleanor was formerly Business Development and Marketing Director at Capita Managed IT Solutions.

Helena has joined as HR Director to Baker & McKenzie, joining the Belfast Leadership Team, supporting the growing operational needs in Belfast.

Sarah Dillon has been appointed as Director of Capital Markets at Lambert Smith Hampton. She has over seven years’ experience working within the Irish investment market.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

PHOTOCALL 1. Jorges Lopes, Country Director, Diageo, on site with Gary Simpson, Production Manager, at Diageo’s East Belfast facility, which had packaged record volumes of beer in the run up to the 2015 Christmas season.

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2. Aer Lingus has welcomed its newest group of recruits for the 2016 Cadet Pilot Training Programme. Pictured are the 12 new recruits with Captain Stephen O’Reilly, Cadet Pilot Training, Aer Lingus and Captain Hans Munnelly, Cadet Pilot Training, Aer Lingus.

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3. Rhonda McClelland, Ulster Bank, with Ciaran and Melanie Breslin who have recently opened their new bistro Primrose with the help of the bank, creating 15 new jobs.

4. Andrew Cowan, Chief executive of Northern Irish Connections, and Alan Braithwaite, Business Director at Abacus Professional Recruitment, showcase #BelfastforLife to expats returning home to Northern Ireland at George Best Belfast City Airport over the festive holiday period.

5. Sir William Hastings was joined by Rachel Crawford, Manager of The Spa at Culloden, and Adrian McNally, General Manager of the Culloden Estate and Spa, to celebrate 25 years of business. The Spa at Culloden was one of Northern Ireland’s very first spas when it opened its doors in 1990.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

PHOTOCALL 6. A recent event at Halo, the Northern Ireland business angel network, resulted in a £28,000 “investment” into the NI Hospice. Five anonymous angels “invested” £5,000 each, while £3,000 was raised from a table ballot on the night.

Alan Watts, Director of Halo, visits the Hospice with Paul Terrington, Chair of the NI Hospice Development Board.

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8. The winners of this year’s corporate Christmas card competition for Fold Housing Association have been revealed.

Pictured from (L-R) are: Michael Maguire, Fiona McAnespie, Siana-Leigh Morgan, Maria Mullholland and Cáitlin McCarthy.

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7. Victoria Square was ready to cater for the huge stream of shoppers expected over Christmas thanks to free public WiFi network supplied by eir Business NI. Pictured from left to right are: eir Business NI sales & marketing director Matt McCloskey; Victoria Square Centre Manager Michelle Greeves; and Zenith Networks managing director Martin Lyons.

9. Expansion for Newry-based Murdock Builder’s Merchants as it opens its second branch in Dublin. Pictured are from left are: Stephen McDonnell (Ballymount Sales Manager), Ann Morgan (CEO of Murdock’s) and Gary Craven (Group Sales Manager, RoI).

10. Pictured from left is Dr Christine Thomson, Owner of Vita Dental Care, with Ivan Hagan, Business Manager at Danske Bank and Judy Haire, Practice Manager at Vita Dental Care. The new practice in Comber is creating five jobs following a £320,000 investment assisted by the bank.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

PHOTOCALL 11. Chartered Accountants Ireland has welcomed Ms Pamela Gourley from Hillsborough, County Down as the 24,000th member of the accountancy body. Pamela is pictured with Institute President Tony Nicholl.

12 The RealValue consortium, led by Glen Dimplex, has revealed details of how the RealValue research and innovation project has the potential to revolutionise how consumers use and store energy via their homes. Pictured L-R at the launch are: RealValue Business Director Rowena McCappin; Irish Broadcaster, Matt Cooper; Neil Stewart, Managing Director, Glen Dimplex Creda and Sean O’Driscoll, Chairman and Chief Executive, Glen Dimplex.

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13. Marie Curie received a £5,000 Christmas gift from Danske Bank in time for Christmas. Marie Curie Lead Nurse, Cindy Anderson and Senior Partnership Manager Conor O’Kane accepts the 2015 Christmas Charity Gift from Rachel Cleary (Danske Bank).

14. Belfast technology company The Lava Group has announced it has expanded its team by 50% in 2015. Pictured are (L-R) Gareth Morrison, CEO of The Lava Group and Stephen Ringland, software engineer, The Lava Group.

15. Pictured at the newlyrefurbished First Trust Bank University Road branch is Regional Director Edel McCooe and Head of First Trust Bank Des Moore. The bank invested over £800,000 in the branch’s redevelopment.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

PHOTOCALL 16. Two new degree courses in Early Childhood Care, Health & Education and Sport are available for the first time in the North West. Pictured at the launch is Karl Lacey, Sports Lecturer at LYIT and All-Ireland winning Gaelic Footballer and Sarah Quigley-Burns.

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17. Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry and Junior Minister, Emma Pengelly pictured at an event in W5 to mark the launch of astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to the International Space Station with ESA Astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy and Chris McCreery, NI Science Festival Director.

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18. Cycling enthusiast Amber Sloan and William Bagley of McConvey Cycles get ready for AWARE’s Malin-Mizen charity cycle which takes place over 28 May-4 June. More information can be found at www.awareni.org/malintomizen or by calling 028 9035 7820.

19. CDE Global has launched a five year growth strategy designed to increase its market share around the world.

Pictured (L-R) at the launch is Kevin Vallelly, head of product development; Tony Convery, founder and chairman; Brendan McGurgan, managing director; and Damian Meenagh, project design engineer.

20. A landmark location in Belfast – known by many as the former Wimpy Bar and Carlton Bar in decades past – has become the city’s newest Spanish tapas attraction.

Pictured launching Solo are Anthony O’Neill (waiter) with Zoe Benson from Lisburn and Daniel McCavery from Moira.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

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

PHOTOCALL 21. Over 70 small business in Northern Ireland have benefitted from the Northern Ireland Small Business Loan Fund this year.

Pictured are Adam and Sinead Murphy, Owners of Shnuggle, one of the beneficiaries of the fund with Harry McDaid, Chief Executive of UCI; William McCulla, Director of Corporate Finance at Invest NI and Michael Carlin, NI Small Business Loan Fund Manager.

22. Michael McDonnell, CEO and Liz Cuddy, Chair, Helm Housing at the association’s 40th Anniversary Stakeholder conference which took place at Riddel Hall.

Helm Housing is marking 40 years since its foundation.

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23. An Ulster University engineering graduate has secured a £300,000 investment to expand his new 3D medical printing company into European and US markets. Established in 2014 by Daniel Crawford, pictured, Axial 3D has already revolutionised the UK market by manufacturing orthopaedic models for the medical industry.

24. Food company Moy Park has achieved Platinum status in this year’s Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey. Pictured L-R: Environment Minister Mark H Durkan with Moy Park’s HR Director Mike Mullan and Kieran Harding, Managing Director, Business in the Community.

25. Ulster Rugby has chosen Sage provider Pinnacle to support its business growth. Pictured agreeing the new deal are, from left, Joanne Hunter, Accountant at Ulster Rugby, and Siobhan Marley, Business Development Director of Pinnacle.

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EVENTS

Canapés and cocktails The cream of the last month’s business events

The JPR team show off their awards.

PRide of place for JPR Over 200 public relations professionals from across Northern Ireland gathered recently to celebrate the best of public relations across the nation at the 2015 CIPR Northern Ireland PRide Awards at the Culloden Estate & Spa. Belfast agency JPR was the big winner of the night taking home five Gold Awards and four silver awards, including gold in the Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy category.

The JPR team took home a range of accolades in categories including the Low Budget Campaign for their work with Ulster Bank and the “Stay out of Harm Down on the Farm” campaign, to Best Event for the Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards and Best Use of Media Relations for the From Bolshoi to Belfast exhibition which placed Belfast on the international cultural map in 2014.

Taking home the big award of the night, judges’ comments included; “JPR presented a strong all-round entry to clinch Gold in the Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy Award. The judges were notably impressed by their outstanding commitment to training, development and continuous improvement.”

Also big winners on the night were Translink, claiming four Gold Awards, including both Community Relations Campaign and Public Sector Campaign for their campaign ‘iPredict’. ‘iPredict’ was created in order to communicate key safety messages about the dangers associated with misuse of the network to young audiences. Pictured, the JPR team show off their host of gongs at the 2015 CIPR Northern Ireland PRide Awards.

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Genesis scoops host of marketing awards Belfast creative ad agency Genesis has won Marketing Agency of the Year including Digital at this year’s Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards.

On the night, Genesis also picked up the CIM Marketing with Impact Public Sector Award for the Invest Northern Ireland Go for it campaign, and was shortlisted for the HSENI Farm Safety campaign, and the Henderson ‘Passion about Local’ campaign for SPAR. Pictured in the front row are Darren Lyttle, Tara West, Helen Blakley, and Nick Read (CIM Ireland Chair) and back from left Peter Thompson, Ed Henderson, and Stephen Bogan.

EVENTS

Campbell toasts accountants in Belfast City Hall Former Downing Street spin doctor Alistair Campbell was the main speaker at the Chartered Accountants Ireland dinner in Belfast City Hall in November. Guests included:

Dromore SuperValu picks up London award POOLE’S SuperValu, Dromore has been named Best Shop Layout at the prestigious Independent Achievers Academy (IAA) Awards. The awards, which took place in London recently, recognised the top performing retailers across the UK including SuperValu Dromore’s store owner Eddie Poole.

The Best Shop Layout was awarded to Eddie for re-arranging his shop to make it feel fresh and spacious, allowing customers to shop much easier and improving signage to guide shoppers.

Eddie Poole is pictured with wife Meena, Matt Goddard of award sponsor PepsiCo (left) and host Kevin Threlfall (right) at the recent Independent Achievers Academy Awards in London.

Teresa Campbell PFK-FPM; Chris Slowey Manfreight; Orla Gillespie McErleans Bakery.

Gillian Kerr; Stephanie Mulholland; Sinead Walsh; and Kelly Irwin of event sponsors Brightwater Recruitment Specialists.

Ian Sheppard of event sponsors Bank of Ireland; Tony Nicholl Chartered Accountants Ireland; Alastair Campbell guest speaker; and John Moclair.

Council holds Skills for Business event Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has held its first successful Skills for Business event, a key step in its aim to establish a new Employability and Skills Forum.

The forum – which will be a first among all Councils in Northern Ireland – will help to create new strategic partnerships and drive greater innovation and enterprise.

Pictured are Lord Mayor Darryn Causby, centre, with speakers Gareth Hetherington, left, and Michael McGuckin.

JANUARY 2016

Lisa Nicholl, Kathy Nicholl, Matthew Nicholl, Tony Nicholl, and Jo-Anne Nicholl.

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TECHNOLOGY

New year, new tech

By Adam Maguire

While 2015 saw many technologies generate buzz, the year ahead promises to be the proving ground for their commercial viability.

Here are the areas of tech likely to see the most activity in 2016

Reviews WEARABLES The Apple Watch put the spotlight on wearable technology last year, but despite rising sales they remains a somewhat fringe product category.

That has the potential to change in 2016, however.

Market leader FitBit is now under incredible pressure from new entrants and will be forced to go big or go home in the months ahead. Meanwhile Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Motorola will all likely debut new devices, as they seek to improve on last year’s offerings.

vital influencer for those considering an investment.

Most importantly, however, word-of-mouth from the growing number of wearable users should begin to play a role – with the reports of those who’ve already forked out becoming a

2016 is probably not the year when the wearable replaces the smartphone – but it could be the point at which we learn whether the tech is a fad or the future.

CONNECTED HOME Science fiction has long promised us an intelligent, interactive home but now the technology is there to make that happen.

You can have smart lighting that can be controlled remotely, smart heating that learns a user’s habits and connected health and security devices that warn householders about imminent risks.

What’s holding them back from mass adoption is the high cost involved and, somewhat ironically, the fact that one device will often not play nice with another (if it’s made by a rival company).

As the new-ness leaves connected devices this year, their price should fall. Meanwhile the efforts of various operating systems to pull the data and controls from these tools into one place should make it easier for people to pick and choose the brands they use.

That should leave the path clear for more mainstream ‘connected home’ devices in 2016 – assuming anyone outside of hardcore techies actually wants them.

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TECHNOLOGY

Previews Virtual Reality Another one of those long-promised technologies is virtual reality, which has come and gone with little success over the decades.

This time the technology looks more refined and there’s plenty of money behind it – including Facebook’s and Microsoft’s.

VR headsets from Oculus, HTC and Samsung will all hit the mass market this year – meanwhile the Windows 10 operating system will become more VR-friendly.

And by all accounts the effect is mindblowing when used – with few reports of the nausea-inducing effect that made Nintendo’s Virtual Boy legendary.

All that means that VR should gain traction this year – and if it doesn’t, it probably never will.

Streaming services 2015 was Netflix’s year, as it proved there was still money to be made from high quality TV programming even in the age of easy piracy.

Music streaming also grew in popularity, with Spotify’s subscriber numbers growing and Apple’s own entrant apparently performing well too.

That particular battle will be particularly interesting to watch in 2016, as Spotify’s ‘Freemium’ model goes head-to-head with Apple’s payto-play approach.

The music industry seems to prefer the Apple way but so far users still prefer how Spotify operates, which makes the battle for subscribers very important to the shape of services into the future.

Things won’t be any less turbulent on the TV side, either, with Netflix likely to spot a few tanks parked on its own lawn.

The biggest one will be Amazon, which will be looking to make a return on its massive investment in Jeremy Clarkson and Co. There’s also an expectation that US giant HBO will extend its own streaming service beyond the US this year, which may force some users to choose which provider they’re willing to pay for.

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BUSINESS TRAVELLER

Patrick Gray, Operations Chief, Kua ‘Aina Belfast Have you run into other Northern Ireland business people when you’ve been overseas on business?

Not yet, but I am sure we will see many in the future. Having just opened our first location in Northern Ireland at Victoria Square, Belfast, I am currently travelling often between London and Belfast and am already beginning to find familiar faces in the airports and on the flights.

What do you enjoy most about work travel and what are your pet hates?

What I enjoy most is the flight with no phone – it’s great to have some time ‘unplugged.’ My pet hate is having to turn the mobile back on when I land!

What city/location have you been most pleasantly surprised by / disappointed by? Or, what have been your best and worst experiences of travelling for work?

I adore New York – it’s a city built for business and success. My worst experience was missing a flight by two minutes and having to wait nine hours in the airport for the next one.

How often do you travel, where to and why?

For business I travel each week. Work has taken me across the globe, from Hawaii and Hong Kong to London and now back to Northern Ireland, but personally I try to get to Spain where my partner is from at least every couple of months. Travel is something I am passionate about as I spent nearly five years after school travelling the world.

Other than your phone, what are the three things you couldn’t do without when travelling on business?

My laptop is essential for getting work done on-the-go. I also bring my favourite pair of trainers to relax in and space in my case so I can buy a nice present to say sorry for being away again.

Have you found a good way to work while you are on the move / stuck in airports / up in the air?

I am answering these questions from an airport so yes I am getting better but it is still tricky sometimes. Power and difficulties with connectivity will always be the biggest issues.

What would be your top tips for anyone embarking on a job that involves a lot of travel?

Pack light, make sure you leave reading work for airports and bring fruit, as you can never get it in airports.

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What do you look for in a good hotel when away on business? (i.e. good service, Wi-Fi, business facilities, a well-stocked minibar!)

Wi-Fi, quiet, and a comfy bed are my three must-haves.

Have you worked out a way to avoid jet lag?

Just go for it! I don’t sleep on planes, so I have a very long day or a short day but you have to adjust immediately – don’t try and kid your body.

Do you speak any languages and if so have they been of use on business trips?

Sadly no – not even with a partner who is Spanish. I have promised I will learn soon.

Where in the world would you most love to work?

New York is my next target.

Where are you off to next?

I’m currently getting ready to return to Belfast to see how the newly-opened restaurant is going.

TRAVEL

Seven hidden European cities Looking for something different in your European city break? Here are some less well-known options, according to flight booker SkyScanner is both brilliant and cheap, and fine fuel for a night out, which should definitely be starting with a full hour of free (!) beer, wine and vodka at Hospoda 99.

4. Kaliningrad, Russia For 689 years it was German. In fact, it wasn’t even called Kaliningrad. Today, the former Konigsberg is the capital of the Russian enclave Kaliningrad Oblast, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. One must-see (you can’t miss it) is the House of the Soviets, an architectural eyesore that is structurally unsound, unoccupied and perennially saved from demolition by a mysterious owner. Confusingly, trains run on Moscow time - an hour early - so be sure to set your watch right.

1. Bydgoszcz, Poland Tongue twister and terrific alternative to popular Polish bolthole, Krakow, Bydgoszcz may be challenging to pronounce, but it’s easy to get to, thanks to a choice of direct flights from the UK. Whereas Krakow attracts the majority of British visitors, this city in Pomerania is well off the tourist map. It boasts an Old Town as picture-postcard as any this side of the Vistula River, and the Opera Nova, one of the best classical music concert halls in Europe.

2. Clermont-Ferrand, France Clermont-Ferrand is situated half way between Lyon and Limoges, smack-bang in the middle of the Massif Central - one big middle of nowhere in the middle of France. It is short on sights, unless you count the Michelin Tire Corporation’s test track, but big on volcanoes. One of the few must-dos is to climb the Puy-de-Dôme which overlooks the city. But if you’ve not got enough puff to get to the top of this extinct volcano, head to Parc Montjuzet and beautiful views across Clermont-Ferrand and the bluffs that surround it are just a short five minute hike away.

3. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic Three hours south of Prague, in the corner of the Czech Republic, near the nexus of the Austrian and German borders, the small city of Cesky Krumlov is not on the stag weekend circuit, but with its great nightlife, it could be. Eggenberg, the locally-brewed beer,

JANUARY 2016

5. Guimarães, Portugal The Algarve, Lisbon, perhaps Porto? Few British visitors to Portugal holiday in Guimarães, but maybe they will this year?

Portugal’s oldest city, Guimarães was a European Capital of Culture back in 2012 and has been designated the place where ‘Portugal was born’, its historical centre being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Foodies really should try the city’s speciality, ‘meat cake’, which tastes a lot better than it sounds.

6. Bitola, Macedonia Back in the glory days of the Ottoman Empire, the guide books would have called it a shoppers’ paradise. Half way between Vienna and Istanbul, Bitola boasted seven markets and 2000 stores, but today Macedonia’s second-largest city attracts few tourists. With a wonderful setting between mountain ranges, and east-meets-Eastern Europe architecture and atmosphere, it is no wonder that over 500 songs have been written about Bitola.

7. Odense, Denmark So hip the cool kids of Copenhagen haven’t even clocked on yet, Odense is Denmark’s third largest city and the birthplace of author Hans Christian Andersen. There’s a museum and gardens (a great picnic spot) dedicated to the famous Danish son who penned childhood tales such as The Little Mermaid. Besides literary icons, Odense does a good line in fashion boutiques and fancy restaurants - try Den Gamle Kro for Danish classics served up in half-timbered house dating back to 1683.

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SPORT

movement and is designed to build and strengthen the muscles around the knee.

The first product, the PFLEXX® Knee Exerciser, was launched in July 2012 and the company now sells online to over 42 countries worldwide in tandem with setting up a worldwide distribution network in countries such as the UK, Germany and most recently the Nordics.

The product range has been extended and now includes the new PFLEXXI®, a wrap around product for the knee and elbow where one size fits most and comes with three sets of interchangeable resistances.

Rehab remedy from Pflexxsports

By Geoff Wilson

P

flexxsports, a County Down-based company, was established in 2011 with the aim of designing and manufacturing a new revolutionary and innovative physiotherapy exercise and sports performance product.

The concept evolved from an injury to Les Pape, the Managing Director and inventor of the PFLEXX®.

T

While playing golf, Les tore his meniscus.

He soon realised he needed to rebuild the muscles but he did not have time to spend going to the gym for rehab.

Hence the birth of the world’s first wearable exerciser! Les started to invent his product with spring technology fitted to either side of the knee. The product works naturally against physical

he first Northern Irish track and field athlete in 16 years to make an Olympic Games qualifying time has just given a boost by three local businesses in Downpatrick ahead of participating in this weekend’s European Cross Country Championships. Kerry O’Flaherty, one of Ireland’s best track and field athletes, has already met the qualifying time in the 3k Steeplechase required for the Olympic Games next summer in Brazil. Now with the help of three Downpatrick businesses – McGrady Insurance, M.B McGrady & Co. Chartered Accountants and McGrady Financial Services – Kerry will be able to fund months of altitude training in the Pyrenees as part of her preparation for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Pictured are Fintan McGrady, Mal McGrady and Philip McCrickard with Kerry O’Flaherty.

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All the PFLEXX® products can be worn on the move to build the muscles as you carry on with your everyday life, or used in training programmes to strengthen the target muscle groups around the joint or to complement the physiotherapist’s programme.

To find out more on PFLEXX® visit www.pflexx.com or on twitter @Pflexxsports.

Geoff runs his own Sports Consultancy, working with clients such as FIFA across the world. He is also on the board of Tourism Northern Ireland. You can follow Geoff on twitter @geoffwnjwilson or connect on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/geoffwnjwilson

Business Diary

February 2016

DATE

EVENT

VENUE

CONTACT

29th January 10am - 5pm

Titanic Suites Open Day Organiser: Titanic Suites

55-59 Adelaide Street, Belfast, BT2 8FE Free (all attendees will receive 2 hours of free meeting space to use in February)

For further information about Titanic Suites or our Open Day then please call: Tel: 028 9033 9999 Email: claire@titanic-suites.com or visit: www.titanic-suites.com

4 February 7.30 - 9.00

Sales Institute of Ireland Breakfast Seminar

The Hilton Hotel, Belfast Free for members, or ÂŁ45 for non-members

For further information contact Melita Williams, Sales Institute of Ireland NI Membership Manager at melita@salesireland.ie

4 February 9.00 - 11.45

Creating an Inspired Team Organiser: MLN

Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey Free to attend as part of Management Month

For further information or booking details visit: www.mln.org.uk

10 February 8.00 - 11.30

Business with Purpose Organiser: MLN

NW SE Hub, The Diamond, Londonderry Free to attend as part of Management Month

For further information or booking details visit: www.mln.org.uk

16 February 8.00 - 11.30

Leadership in the Digital Age: Realigning Business Strategy Organiser: MLN

Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn Free to attend as part of Management Month

For further information or booking details visit www.mln.org.uk

19 February 17.30 - 19.00

Giant Lessons in Performance Organiser: MLN

The SSE Arena, 2 Queens Quay, Belfast Free to attend as part of Management Month

For further information or booking details visit: www.mln.org.uk

26 February 8.00-13.00

The Management & Leadership Conference Organiser: MLN

Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast ÂŁ60 + VAT

For further information or booking details visit: www.mln.org.uk

If you would like to promote an event or conference please contact Sonia Armstrong (soniaarmstrong@greerpublications.com)

MY DAY

Uncovering the 9-5

things that they do best. Usually they have an idea of what they want but we meet each one and get a real understanding of their lifestyle and working habits and they are always surprised at the amount of time they will save and by the end of the meeting, their task list is much longer than they had originally thought.

11am As it is Christmas, we have been asked to remove a Christmas tree from a client’s home as they are skiing and won’t have time to do it before they get back to work. We ensure the handyman is there on time and that he leaves the house spotless and securely locked.

11.30 While the handyman is removing the tree we are off to the post office to return some unsuitable presents. Then arrange one of our cleaning suppliers to go to another client’s home as a matter of urgency for a deep clean due to unannounced guests. Then we go to a Plumber’s Merchants to pick up a spindle for a leaking tap.

Name: Kim Johnston and Patricia Herron Position: Partners, WeDoo Concierge

5.20am Trish - my alarm goes off in the shape of my dog, Cooper ready for his morning walk before I head off the gym and get to the office at 8.30.

7am Kim - gets up to a short yoga session before checking the day’s WeDoo list for the day.

8.15am No day is the same and priorities are constantly shifting. Today started with making an appointment with a client’s doctor for them as well as reordering a prescription and having it collected and delivered to their work place.

8.45am Requests come in via texts, phone and email which we prioritise through a complex software system. This helps us organise tasks and appoint approved suppliers to easily match the things that need done with the people that do them best. Today, the WeDoo list first tasks include organising a client’s new passport, a driving licence and booking Bryan Adams tickets as well as an afternoon tea at The Merchant Hotel.

9.30am Every day we meet new clients to see how we can save them time by taking away their mundane tasks and let them get on with the

12.15am Lunch is a quick bowl of soup and a chat to see if we are on track to complete today’s tasks and to reorganise anything if needed.

1pm A client wants us to look at their existing Sky package. When we met them we discovered that they did not like sports so we removed that from the package and managed to save the £1,200 per year (which more than paid for their WeDoo membership!)

1.30pm A new business client wants to meet her Virtual PA to brief her on what she wants her to do for the first few months. We arrange for them to meet for coffee to discuss diary management, flight bookings and market research.

2.45pm WeDoo work with the best in class suppliers - plumbers, electricians, dry cleaners, dog groomers , etc - the list continues to grow. We spend time building relationships and vetting qualification and insurances.

We meet suppliers daily to find weDoo partners that are right for us and our clients. We are always being asked for new services and being able to find the right supplier is key to our business.

5pm Time to reviews the day’s WeDoo list to make sure everything has been completed, clients are happy, suppliers have been paid and that clients’ accounts are up to date.

6pm Time to head home while taking calls from clients, and check emails for tasks to add to the next day’s WeDoo list.

BUSINESS

WITHOUT BARRIERS We provide Insurance Broking and Risk Management services for clients ranging from new start-ups to some of the largest PLC’s and transact business in 140 countries worldwide.

We understand that no two businesses are the same, and your insurance needs are individual to you. Everything we do is founded on the personal touch. We believe in having a dialogue with our clients, which results in relationships that last.

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55, Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909

For more information contact our Belfast office: Metropolitan Building, 29-31 Alfred Street, Belfast, BT2 8ED T: 0289 024 1651 E: ukenquiries@ajg.com www.ajginternational.com