business first july-august 2015

BUSINESSFIRSTnorthern ireland’s business magazine

SUMMER 2015INFORM CHALLENGE INSPIRE

Thought LeaderGuest Columnist PA of the Year Best PracticeSinead McLaughlin,Londonderry Chamber ofCommerce kicks-off thegreat EU debate.

Colin Williams SixteenSouth takes a look at thecreative sector in NorthernIreland.

Your business can’t thrivewithout a great PA. Butwho are the best inNorthern Ireland?

Rory Campbell, FordeCampbell Llc on steps youmust take to defend yourbusiness reputation.

BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH

THE ENERGY DESK

Business First supports the Campaign

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YOUR BUSINESSFIRST TEAMEditor Gavin Walker

[email protected]

Sales Jenny [email protected]

Finance Margaret [email protected]

Design Studio [email protected]

What’s inside this issuePutting yourBusiness First

By every measure the people of Northern

Ireland are more generous per head of

population than most of our European

counterparts. And the business community is

no less so.

Over the years we’ve supported Glitter Balls,

marathons, appeals, campaigns and requests

for sponsorship without question.

At the most recent event held by Business

First, the Northern Ireland PA & Office

Manager Awards, our guests dug deep and

donated over £600 to The Children’s Trust. An

impressive show of generosity for a charity

that - to this point - does not have a local

outlet for its work with children with brain

injury.

So I hope we can all gather around the most

recent local appeal to support the work of

Marie Curie nurses. I don’t have to tell you

how important their work is but I do need to

let you know that it costs £6,090 per day to

run the Hospice in Belfast.

Which is why we’re supporting their

campaign to encourage local businesses to

‘Pay-for-a-Day’. You’ll find details on page 21

and it would be great if you could let us know

how your business might be raising funds to

support the appeal. Send us a picture and

we’ll feature you and your efforts online and

in future issues of Business First.

Thanks for your support.

See you on the frontline

Gavin

CLICK ANY PAGE TO BE TAKEN STRAIGHT THERE

BEST PRACTICE

CreativeaccountingColin Williams, creative directorSixteen South

The business agenda for a newParliamentNigel Smyth, Director CBI Northern Ireland

Looking after the family wealthMaybeth Shaw, Partner BDO Belfast

Can Invest NI and Twitter make morenoise than politics and the FT?Paul Terrington, chairInstitute of Directors Northern Ireland

Post election stability, but choppierwaters ahead globally Nigel Crawford, Head of OfficeQuilter Cheviot

It’s time to put enterprise firstPatrick Gallen, Chairman,Chartered Accountants Ulster Society

We haven’t seen high watermark ofBelfast’s waterfrontBen Collins, directorRICS Northern Ireland

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FEATURES

Businesses take off at Belfast CityAirportKaty Best, Commercial & Marketing DirectorGeorge Best Belfast City Airport

Reach for the sky – the economic importance of air route development Dr Peter Bolan, Ulster University

When do we need to engineersolutions?Simon Bridge, Visiting ProfessorUlster University

Defending the EUSinead McLaughlin Chief ExecutiveLondonderry Chamber of Commerce

Planning ReformedMichael GordonTurley Belfast

Is your workplace ready for theMillennials? Matt McCloskey sales director eircom Business Solutions NI

Crystal Balls & Glitter balls: What’s next? Bryan Keating ChairmanMatrix

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Northern Irelandbusiness is generous

COVER STORYGavin Walker talks to IanEdwards and John Thompson,directors of The Energy Desk(Ireland) Limited about how endto end energy management willsave Northern Ireland businessmillions of pounds. PAGE 12

FRONT COVER IMAGEIan Edwards, CEO, The Energy DeskPhoto by Khara Pringle See page 12 for the Cover Story

CONTENTS

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Protecting your business reputationRory Campbell, Forde Campbell Llc

Can you measure leadership?Davy McAlinden, programme director,William J Clinton Leadership Institute

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http://www.businessfirstonline.co.uk


mailto:[email protected]






YOUR EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Paul TerringtonInstitute of Directors page 22

Bryan KeatingMatrix page 9

Colin WilliamsSixteen Southpage 14

Chris BrownMCE Public Relationspage 80

Nigel SmythCBIpage 16

Patrick GallenChartered AccountantsUlster Societypage 34

Pete HanlonFlint Studiospage 36

Bill McCluggageBCS Belfastpage 43

Rory Campbell Forde Campbell page 18

Davy McAlinden, William J ClintonLeadership Institutepage 15

Sinead McLaughlinLondonderry Chamber ofCommercepage 30

Phil DavisNegative Equity NIpage 19

2 www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO BE TAKEN TO THE ARTICLEArticles from some of Northern Ireland’s most influential business leaders that will inform, challenge and inspire your thinking.



Bill Wolsey recognised with President’s PrizeB

elfast Chamber of Trade &

Commerce has awarded world-

renowned hotelier and publican

Bill Wolsey, with a highly coveted

President’s Recognition Award. The

well-known entrepreneur and owner of

multi-award winning Merchant Hotel

has received the award for his

outstanding Services to Hospitality and

Tourism.

Commenting on the award, Paul

McMahon, outgoing president of Belfast

Chamber of Trade and Commerce said:

“Bill Wolsey is to be commended for

how he and his team have made an

enormous contribution to the tourism

and hospitality landscape of Belfast.

“Bill is a visionary and calculated risk

taker whose numerous ventures have

paid off not only for the Beannchor

Group, but for all of Belfast and beyond.

Paul concluded, “His numerous venues

from The Merchant Hotel, to The

National to The Dirty Onion, ooze class,

style and are often ahead of their time in

terms of their offering and design. Bill is

an inspiring businessperson that Belfast

Chamber of Trade and Commerce is

delighted to recognise and call a

member.”

Speaking about the award, Bill Wolsey,

said: “I am delighted to win an award

which recognizes the amount of work,

and investment and jobs The Beannchor

Group has brought to the city.

“We are in the middle of an exciting

time within the group, trade is good,

particularly in The National and Dirty

Onion, which are two of our most

successful bars that we have ever

opened. ” Bill Wolsey is pictured accepting his award from PaulMcMahon, President of Belfast Chamber of Trade andCommerce

IN THE HEADLINES

Ulster Bank launches popular Business AchieversAwards for 2015

Top achievers in business are being

encouraged to enter a leading awards

scheme that could land them unrivalled

publicity, including a £35,000 publishing

bursary.

Ulster Bank has officially launched its

prestigious Ulster Bank Business Achievers

Awards, which include awards for Ulster

companies, followed by an all-island final.

Run in association with Invest NI and

IntertradeIreland the awards seek to

celebrate the achievements of local

companies across a wide range of sectors.

Companies can submit their entries via

BusinessAchieversAward.com and are

permitted to enter up to two of the eight

categories.

Previous Northern Ireland winners at an

all-island level include Avondale Foods, Mash

Direct, and BubbleBum. Last year Almac was

named the Overall Business Achiever.

Entries will be welcomed from today for

this year’s awards from small and medium-

sized enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors

and must be received by Friday 25 September.

Companies can enter in any two of the

following categories:

• Business Start Up Award

• Small Business Award

• Established SME Award

• International Business Award

• Woman Led Business Award

• Food & Drink Award

• Social Enterprise Award

• Agri-Business Award

Judges in the two-tiered competition will

recognise successes in the Ulster provincial

stage before inviting these winners to compete

at an all-island awards ceremony. Taking place

in December, this event will crown all-island

category winners as the overall Ulster Bank

Business Achiever for 2015.

This year’s overall winner will walk away

with a comprehensive prize package

including a €50,000 (around £35,000)

publishing bursary with the Belfast

Telegraph, business mentoring, and a full-

service communications workshop, plus

media exposure.

When looking for a winner, judges will be

reviewing a variety of merits including

financial performance, company milestones,

future strategy for business people and the

business, and development of innovative

products and services.

Launching the awards for this year are Dawn Cann of Avondale Foods, winner of the all-island Food &Drink award last year, Margaret Hearty of IntertradeIreland, Richard Donnan of Ulster Bank, and IanMurphy of Invest NI.



Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce

has welcomed Hugh Black as the newly

elected Chamber President.

Hugh is Commercial Director at Age NI and

has carried out the role as Vice President of

the Chamber over the past two years.

He replaces outgoing president Paul

McMahon who served for two consecutive

terms.

Handing over the chain at Friday’s AGM,

Paul McMahon said: “The past two years as

President have for me personally been among

the most exciting and challenging yet also

rewarding.

“Over the past two years, we have seen the

business landscape of Belfast change. We are

experiencing a renewed activity in the city

with new retailers coming to Belfast and we

are seeing more hotels being announced plus

the demand for office premises is at an all

time high.

“With the development of the University on

the way, the physical landscape will literally

change before our eyes. And change for the

better.

“Belfast is the gateway to the rest of

Northern Ireland and we are a litmus test for

the whole economy. If Belfast is doing well,

then so will the entire province.

“I know that Belfast Chamber of Trade and

Commerce will continue to work very hard

for its members and the wider population.

“As I slip into the background and continue

my day job as Centre director at Castle Court,

my resolve to help develop this city is

undiminished.

Paul concluded: “I look forward to working

with the newly elected Chamber President

and to continue to help shape this great city

to is maximum potential.”

Speaking after his election Mr Black said: “I

am delighted to have taken over as President

of the Chamber.

“Although to be honest, it does fill me with

some trepidation – to follow in the footsteps

of Paul.

“He has been a great President, a safe pair

of hands during a very difficult time, and a

man with a strong vision of what is best for

Belfast.

“I want the Chamber to continue to grow

and be influential in shaping the future of our

great city.

“There will be very difficult days ahead –

there is no point in saying otherwise. But I

believe we are at the start of a new and

exciting time for Belfast and indeed the whole

of Northern Ireland – if we work hard and

take the opportunities that arise.

Mr Black continued to say: “If the Northern

Ireland economy was a human body, Belfast

would be the heart. And we all know that a

strong heart will keep the whole body healthy.

“I want to see a thriving and healthy Belfast

but I also want our other cities and towns to

grow in Northern Ireland as well.

“Here in Belfast we have a new super

council that will hopefully take us to a new

level of well-being. The Ulster University is tp

be re-located to the centre of the city and we

must push hard for the Royal Exchange

development to get these off the ground, both

o these projects will have a massive impact on

the future success of Belfast.

“The Chamber now represents more than

400 business and professional people in the

city. We are listened to by government and

other agencies.

“The 50 per cent rates reduction Belfast

Chamber agreed with Stormont for new

businesses taking over vacant units has been

a terrific success. So much so, that it has now

been copied across the UK and by the

government.

“But we can do more.

“And I call today on our leaders to look at

how rates incentives for new businesses can

be rolled out across Northern Ireland.

“If we can be creative with something like

rates, we can help to kick start the economy.

Everyone wins.

“Belfast and Northern Ireland are now

firmly on the world map as a must see

destination.

“Massive cruise ships come into Belfast

Lough, the incredible success of Game of

Thrones has introduced us to a whole new

range of people, the world of golf is in love

with Northern Ireland.

“There are many more examples of what is

good about living here, visiting here and

doing business here.

Hugh concluded by saying: “As I take up this

post today – on your behalf – I call on those in

positions of power and responsibility to focus

on the re-generation of Belfast. The heart of

the Northern Ireland economy.”

The new president will be supported by the

Executive Council elected unanimously,

including: Michelle Jackson, Victoria Square,

Rajesh Rana, Andras Hotels, Anne Higgins,

Boots, Paul McMahon, CastleCourt, Chris

Suitor, Suitor Menswear, Alana Coyle, CBRE,

Steven Mewah, House of Frazer, John Lunn,

Lunns, Niall McKenna,James Street South, Ken

McCracken, Power NI, Christopher

McCausland, Value Cabs, Victoria Nemec,

Dorothy Perkins, Gordon McElroy, MKB, Gary

Rocks, Donaghy& Carey and Liam Creagh, Red

Box Media.

New Belfast Chamber President lays out road map toCity’s positive future

Hugh Black is the new president of the Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce



NIIB Finance to sponsor NorthernIreland Car of the Year Awards

The Northern Ireland Car of the Year

Awards, organised by the Ulster

Motoring Writers Association, returns

to the fore this year with the help of local

finance company NIIB. The resumption of the

awards in association with a major sponsor is

a sign of the growing improvement in the

Northern Ireland new car market which rose

by over nine per cent in 2014, matching the

UK average. The awards are judged by

members of the Ulster Motoring Writers

Association who test the cars on Northern

Ireland's roads covering a combined mileage

of over a quarter of a million miles every year.

Chairman of the UMWA, Jim Mc Cauley,

said," The Association is delighted to have

such a high profile sponsor for this annual

evaluation which is intended to guide the

buying public to what are the best value and

most competent cars in each of the judging

categories."

James Dempster is the Regional Manager

for NIIB Finance who said, "For many years

NIIB have aimed to provide the best service

and support available to Retail Customers,

Business Users, Fleet Users and Motor Trade.

Sponsoring these awards demonstrate our

continued commitment to the local Northern

Ireland market whilst continuing our growth

throughout the rest of the UK. NIIB remains

the local name in lending."

Sii Members discuss winning business from supply chain

Over 70 Sii members and

guests heard from Gerry

McGinn, who spoke on

'Winning business from the

supply chain - funded by a

variety of “Infrastructure”

Projects’.

Gerry explained that SME’s

had an important role to play

in large projects and suppliers

where now being required to

ensure the use of local Sme’s.

Upcoming meet the buyer

events would be an important

vehicle for these transactions.

Echoing the need for SME’s

to consider public Sector

Tenders, Noel Brady said;

“There is a wide range of

opportunities on offer and

companies must gear

themselves up in preparation

for submitting innovative,

value for money offerings to

government.”

IN THE HEADLINES

Paul Flowers, Editor and Motoring Correspondent, Spectator Newspapers; James Dempster, RegionalManager NIIB Finance and Jim McCauley, Chairman, Ulster Motoring Writers Association.

Genesis is NI MediaAgency of the Year

Belfast-based agency Genesis has been

awarded the prestigious title of

Northern Ireland Media Agency of the

Year 2015 at the Media Awards 2015 in

Dublin.

The award recognises excellence in media

strategy, planning, buying, innovation, people

development (training and skills) and new

business development.

The media team led by Media Director

Wendy McKnight, has provided strategic

direction, planning and buying for a wide

range of established and digital media across

NI, RoI, UK, Europe, the Middle East and the

US.

Ms McKnight commented, ‘We’re delighted

to receive this award in recognition of the

hard work and commitment of the team, and

the vision of our clients.

“As an agency, we aspire to international

class and receiving this award lets us know

that we are well on our way there. It’s a boost

for our clients too – the award confirms that

they’re working with the best in Northern

Ireland.’

The Genesis media department works on a

number of high profile campaigns for clients

such as Invest NI – Go For It, Invest NI – Inward

Investment, First Trust Bank, SPAR UK, SPAR

NI, EUROSPAR, firmus energy, Northern Ireland

Water, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue

Service, Health and Safety Executive Northern

Ireland and Dale Farm.



Be awarded ‘Employer of Choice’ at the FamilyFriendly Employer Awards!A

re you an employer offering family

friendly initiatives? Do you work for an

employer who has helped you balance

your work and family life? If so you need to

enter Employers For Childcare’s Family

Friendly Employer Awards 2015. Awards are

now open!

The Family Friendly Employer Awards

provide an opportunity for employers to gain

recognition for implementing family friendly

policies in the workplace. The application

closing date is Friday 3 July and the Awards

lunch will be held at Belfast City Hall on

Thursday 8 October where the winners of

each category will be revealed.

An industry expert presentation on best

workplace family friendly practice will be

delivered by CIPD. We will also be launching a

report on the impact that becoming a parent

has on your employment and career. In

addition to the awards, entertainment will

also be provided by comic actress Nuala

McKeever.

There are six award categories across the

different sectors, with the addition of two

new categories this year, categories include:

• Public Sector

• SME

• Large Private Business

• Charity/Social Enterprise

• Education Sector

• Micro Business

The winners will be chosen by a panel of

judges, including Professor Marie McHugh

(Dean of the Ulster Business School,

University of Ulster) Maxine Orr (Partner,

Worthingtons Solicitors), Julie Taylor

(Managing Director of Integrity NI and Board

Member of Employers For Childcare

Charitable Group) and Gavin Walker (Editor

of Business First) and a CIPD Committee

Member.

Award winners will enjoy the prestige of

being crowned Family Friendly Employer of

the Year. The winners will also feature in the

Family Friendly Employer Awards desk

calendar 2016, which will feature their

organisations logo and employee family

photograph. The winner will receive coverage

in local press and business publication

Business First.

The Family Friendly Employer Awards

recognise and reward organisations that

display a commitment to helping their

employees to balance their work and family

lives by providing and promoting family-

friendly working policies. Our research has

shown that these policies help organisations

to retain and motivate staff, as well as

building staff loyalty and morale.

Enter Today!

Entrance criteria can be found on our

website Family Friendly Employer Awards

If you have any questions about the awards,

please email

[email protected] or

call 028 9267 8200. The deadline for all

applications is Friday 3 July 2015. Good luck!

IN THE HEADLINES

Summer’s here and marketers around the

world are already turning their thoughts

to Christmas.

Northern Ireland is no exception and CIM’s

Ireland board members have organised their

annual ‘Christmas Comes Early’ event at the

Holiday Inn in Ormeau Avenue, Belfast on

September 18.

Christine Watson, chair of the Ireland Board

of CIM said that to create an effective festive

marketing campaign requires detailed

strategic planning and execution.

For traditional marketing, advertising needs

to be booked in early given how competitive it

can be to achieve prime advertising space,

while online Christmas campaigns have to be

carefully thought out to get the right content

and message out to potential customers.

Christine said: “The digital revolution

means that marketers have to be more agile

and responsive to trends and

consumer feedback so Christmas is a

busier time than ever for the

marketing profession.

“Christmas Comes Early is an

opportunity for marketing

professionals to let their hair down

before the big Yuletide push as well

as network and exchange some

useful ideas with their industry

colleagues.

“I would appeal to them to seize

this fun opportunity to celebrate the

season in September. It is a great

way to kick-start the Festive Season!”

It is a free event but there will be a

collection for charity and the suggested

minimum contribution will be £10.00.

Payment by credit/debit card will be accepted

and contributions can be gift-aided.

For more information follow

@CIMInfo_Ireland on twitter, visit the event

page on the CIM website at

www.cim.co.uk/events/70132 or call

01628 427340.

Christmas Comes Early for Ireland’s Marketers

Family Friendly Employer Award judges launch the Employers For Childcare Charitable Group 2015Awards at the Belfast City Hall. L-R: Gavin Walker, Business First, Julie Taylor, Integrity NI, MaxineOrr, Worthington Solicitors and Clare Greenwood, Employers For Childcare Charitable Group



http://www.cim.co.uk/events/70132


Whether it is the Lottery or Strictly

Come Dancing, everyone loves to

predict a winner. Sometimes there is

money to be won, but most of the satisfaction

is non financial: it comes from being right and

that lovely moment of “I told you so”.In this digital era, most people only have to

wait a short period to see the outcome of

their predictions. But in the not so distant

past, forecasting was a great long term

pastime, with a favourite topic being the

prediction of the end of the world.

A prophet or soothsayer and their followers

would say farewell to their friends, give away

their earthly chattels and march to the top of

a hill to await the end of the world on the eve

of the big event.

Of course, the next morning there was some

good news for the rest of us and some bad

news for the prophet.

Amazingly the likes of Botticelli, Martin

Luther, Christopher Columbus, John Wesley

and even Sir Isaac Newton all had a go at

forecasting Doomsday. Perhaps the apple

falling on Newton’s head did do some damage

after all.

As well as trading in the here and now,

companies also need to anticipate where their

market will be 12 month’s time or more so

they can exploit the opportunity and have all

their resources aligned at the right time.

With market ‘windows’ opening and closing

more rapidly with every passing year -

particularly with technology based products

and services - capturing and exploiting

opportunities has become increasingly

difficult.

A good example of a company which reads

future markets well is Andor Technology.

Based in West Belfast, it’s a world leader in

the design and manufacture of high

performance cameras. In the past companies

like Andor would have taken up to three years

from coming up with the idea of a brand new

camera to having it in customers hands.

Wanting to remain at the cutting edge of

product design, they came up with a very

innovation ‘hot housing’ process that cut the

time to market by half.

Companies need to have predictive,

strategic marketing at their heart. Innovation

is no longer a competitive advantage but a

business imperative.

The need to predict markets not only

applies to individual companies but also to

whole economies. Accurate foresighting

allows us to concentrate limited resources in

those areas that are most likely to show

growth in the future.

Global markets throw up more and more

opportunities, but at the same time they

create more and more competition. It is now

difficult to trade globally as a ‘generalist’

unless you are a massive corporation.

Most companies tend to specialize in

certain products and services for specific

markets.

We at Matrix, through our Horizon scanning

work, look to identify market opportunities

for Northern Ireland companies two, five and

even 10 years out. We are asked our expert

opinion on where to invest.

Given the scale of the challenges we are

facing and the funds we have to address them,

we need a process that selects – in a logical and

consistent manner – the areas where companies

are most likely to be able to compete and

prosper over the next five to 10 years.

Why so far ahead? Technology based companies live or die on

the quality, quantity and appropriateness of

their intellectual capital (IC). By far the most

important element of IC is the people in the

team.

Having staff with the right skills set is

paramount to producing intellectual assets

and property that can be exploited. While

there are superb programmes available to

accelerate required skills for FDI and

indigenous companies and help fill immediate

skills gaps, some skills and experience need a

much longer incubation period.

The same goes for the outputs of Research

and Development. That is why the correct

alignment of all these resources is vital for

companies if they are to compete globally.

With budgetary difficulties to the fore at

present across all fronts, it is understandable

that cuts to university and FE places, and

research grants are in the frame in the short

term.

However, as a work of Matrix points out,

there needs to be a continuous supply of

intellectual property assets and people over

the long term, otherwise market

opportunities - regardless of how wonderful

they are - may never be properly exploited by

companies here in Northern Ireland. Some

short term actions can have enormously

detrimental long term effects.

A quote from a paper by David Bolt of

Innovate UK nicely summarises the work of

Matrix Foresighting: It is the business ofpicking the winning races and shortening theodds.

Matrix published its latest horizon scanning

report on Life & Health Sciences in February

and the Digital ICT report is due mid year.

Work on Advanced Materials, Manufacturing

and Engineering is also well underway, with a

draft report due this autumn.

So the next time you dig out your crystal

ball to try and pick the winning lottery

numbers or predict the winner of the next

series of Strictly Come Dancing, you may also

want to try to forecast the next big thing in

technology.

But don’t go trying to predict Doomsday. If

you’re wrong, you’ll look foolish – and if

you’re right, there’ll be no-one around for you

to say “I told you so!”.

Crystal Balls & Glitter balls: What’s next?

Why is Matrix chairman Bryan Keating all in a trance?

COMMENTARY



COVER STORY

This is the TED Team. They want to show you how yourbusiness can save money on energy.INTERESTED?Gavin Walker talks to Ian Edwards and John Thompson, directors of The Energy Desk (Ireland) Limitedabout how end to end energy management will save Northern Ireland business millions of pounds.

In a climate of casual dress for business, Ian

Edwards still favours three piece suits. So

he was easy to spot as we met in his hotel

lobby for a discussion on how his decision to

open The Energy Desk (Ireland) office in

Belfast will benefit local business and all of

Northern Ireland.

The Energy Desk (TED) is an independent

End to End Energy Management Company

formed in 2006 in the UK where last year they

aggregated over £1.5 billion in energy for

clients and recovered over £4 million in bill

validation where suppliers had over charged,

also installed and part funded over £60

million in Energy Management Solutions

including (Biomass, CHP’s Solar and Lighting)

The Belfast office is already bringing the

same valuable service to client companies

throughout Ireland The Energy Desk (TED)

Team in Northern Ireland is already well

known to local business people. John

Thompson and David Shaw (Directors) have

a wealth of business experience between

them and are resolute in their aim to increase

awareness of improving the energy efficiency

and thereby profitability of local businesses.

TED had being operating in Northern

Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for the last

three years and have being reasonably

successful with and number of customers

large and small but felt that we needed an

office over in Northern Ireland to service our

existing customers and offer as many services

as on the main land.

“I met John almost by accident but within an

hour of our talking I knew I wanted to work

with him,” Ian said of the decision to open in

Belfast. “And when we reviewed the market

here, we realised business energy costs in

Northern Ireland are higher than the rest of the

UK and Energy costs was a major concern for

the local manufacturing sector in terms of

trying to not lose out on potential business.

Ian was keen to emphasise that the Belfast

office is not simply a branch office. “The

Belfast team will be working with local

entrepreneurs, Businesses both in Public and

private and with the Universities to

continually improve our services and

products. Every innovation they develop will

stay local creating new opportunities, jobs

and wealth for Northern Ireland.”

TED UK’s Operation Director Stewart Curtis

stated that John Thompson and David Shaw’s

mix of skills, competencies knowledge and

understanding of the market have been key to

the establishment of the TED Ireland operation

and he was looking forward to working closely

with them over the coming years.

What is End to End EnergyManagement?

Energy to end energy management is an

evolution far apart from you traditional

energy brokerage which in the past have just

help companies gain a quote for gas and

electricity and then call you up again in a year

or two time when your energy renewal is up.

End to end energy management provides a

solution for all a company’s energy needs. A

hands on approach helping companies

monitor and manage energy use, once the

energy consumption is understood Energy

Management then involves reducing energy

consumption through technology. So energy

management is lean approach, a full circle,

continuous savings and improvement and

now in many cases even an investment

opportunity.

The Energy Desk is one of a very select few

with the expertise and customer centric

approach to provide a full end to end energy

management service.

TED offers a range of services helping

companies achieve carbon targets, tackle

energy legislation such as ESOS, reduce costs

through more efficient procurement and even


deriving new revenue streams through

Demand Side Reduction and Power

Generation or by adopting new evolving

technologies.

“We've brought together some of the most

experienced energy professionals from

around the UK who have many years of

experience in energy in the public and private

sector, who bring their knowledge to bear on

problems and challenges as they arise, From

commercial managers/ engineers to

University Professors, our teams looks at each

aspect of a client's needs which all starts from

the initial free 'Energy Health Check' to

procurement of conventional and/or

renewable energy, new connections, and

energy management which could be up to

100 per cent funded for energy related

projects.

We can even undertake the development of

new products if required.” Ian added. “That's

true end to end energy management”

As a result, over the past year TED have

established an unimpeachable reputation with

suppliers throughout the UK and Ireland. TED’s

green services have also identifying millions of

pounds of extra revue for NHS trusts and

implemented and financed a range of

technologies such as biomass and solar panel

for medium to large business across the UK.

“Our knowledge, independence and

purchasing power enable us to get the best

prices possible through energy procurement,

thus allowing us to maintain our competitive

edge in the market.

We pride ourselves on having impartial

attitude when it comes to contacting

suppliers and always willing to change and

move with times. Then match that with our

technology offerings and finance/funding

options means we are now in a position to not

only to help our customer reduce cost but

even create a revenue stream.

For example by utilizing some costumers

backup generators they can make money

through demand response, or changing their

fuel supply from more expensive types of fuel

to a renewable fuel creating a hybrid. Which

can all be potentially funded to create a

revenue for the customer.”

“It was always my intention to have a

presence in Ireland and to that end we have

been building our relationships with

suppliers over a number of years, then when I

met John and we talked, I felt the time was

right to launch The Energy Desk (Ireland).

“When I travelled to the TED UK office, my

immediate impression was off the family

atmosphere within the office” said John, “Ian’s

leadership style is one that supports his team

and he believes in giving everyone an

opportunity to advance if that is what they

desire, this positivity flows throughout the

team and onwards to the suppliers and

clients, the TED Foundation is testament to

the ethics and values which the company has

and left me with an easy decision to be part of

The Energy Desk (Ireland).

“Many companies have found that instead

of trying to decipher all the Billing data

themselves, it’s often better to employ our

services” said John.” Whilst other companies

are predominantly focused on just helping

customers procure their energy, we at TED

provide so much more, we will take the time

to understand the complexity of the

operations, future business requirements and

consequently energy demands. We will then

formulate an energy procurement and

management strategy to meet those needs

and deploy energy saving measures to reduce

costs if required.

Project funding“One of the barriers to entry to energy

savings can be funding the project. Over the

past decade financial institutions have been

reluctant to finance capital investment - even

when our clients have provided a sound,

business case,” Ian explained.

“In reaction to that, we have sourced a

number of different funding avenues which can

be available to our clients for projects from as

small as a simple lighting/ solar project to a

complex energy management project for the

NHS and even water companies

“If the project stands up to financial

scrutiny, then we will work with our clients to

secure the funding they need to take the

project forward.

“Crucially, we are able to work with

companies of all sizes and across all sectors to

help them recognise the opportunities for

savings; create a bespoke plan that will take

advantage of the opportunities; undertake the

work to fulfil the technical requirements of

the project; and, potentially, fund the project.

That is the reality of ‘end to end energy

management’ for our clients.”

The TED FoundationThe Foundation is a very important

reflection of the company’s ethos and has

already successfully provided much needed

funds for cancer research and numerous

cancer support groups.

“When we provide a free utilities Health

Check we can assess how much a company

can save each year on its fuel bills. Then, if

they sign with TED, we donate a portion of

our revenue to The Energy Desk Foundation

charity fund which is then distributed to local

charities of the customer’s choice, it’s a

simple way for companies to fulfil their

Corporate Social Responsibility objectives

while also saving energy.”

The Foundation is also the power behind

“Versus Cancer” a music based charity set up

for Cancer awareness. Responsible for sell-

out music concerts at the Manchester Arena

which holds over 20,000 people, all proceeds

go to local Cancer charities and hospices, and

- while giving nothing away - Ian was

intimating that a similar event might well be

planned for Belfast “maybe even in 2016.”

For more information and to request your

free Energy Health Check, please visit

www.theenergydesk.co.uk,or call 0845 838 9830.


We've brought together some of the most experienced energy professionalsfrom around the UK who bring their knowledge to bear on problems andchallenges as they arise. Ian Edwards

The Alexandra Hotel in Fort William

approached The Energy Desk in January

2015 to quote on the supply and installation

of a new biomass wood pellet boiler and

ancillaries to replace the current LPG

powered system.

The installation will comprise of 1 x 350

Catfire Biomass Pellet Boiler and 2 x 3000ltr

Buffer Vessels. These will be housed with all

the ancillaries and paperwork inside a

converted 40ft steel container, which will be

clad with a wood finish to enhance the

aesthetic appearance. The Pellet Store will

also be located in the container and will feed

the Boiler via an automatic Auger system.

The Flow and Return pipework will

interface the existing system using a 350kW

plate heat exchanger located in the existing

plant room. Due to space restrictions, we

will leave the existing boiler in place so it

can be used as a backup for high heat

demand when necessary.

Current heat usage and cost with a 70%efficient LPG heating system:955,000kWh totalling £48,024 per year

New heat usage and cost with a 90%efficient biomass heating system:688,500kWh totalling £28,023 per year

Cost of Biomass System Installation:£218,625.00

Fuel Savings over 20 Years:£1,733,670.20

Estimated payback period: 4.5 years

RHI Payments over 20 Years: £716,377

Total Profit: £1,515,045.20

CASE STUDY

http://www.theenergydesk.co.uk



COMMENTARY

There can’t be too many of us in these

parts that aren’t aware of some of the

great things happening in the Creative

Industries in Northern Ireland. Get into any

taxi and you’ll be entertained by the driver’s

stories of famous celebrity passengers that

they’ve had the pleasure of ferrying around.

Game of Thrones is undoubtedly one of the

most popular television shows ever made,

and to have it filmed here in our hometown

alongside other massive productions like Call

of Duty and Frankenstein is just brilliant. For

our new Northern Ireland to be famous for

really positive reasons is just great and does

wonders for our tourism industry.

But, there are more great stories to tell –

stories of our own home grown indigenous

companies who are making television and

film to entertain the world.

I’m incredibly proud of my friends Kieran

and Matt of Stellify who’ve just landed a

prestige Saturday night primetime

entertainment show for BBC One which

they’ll shoot here in Belfast and which they’re

selling all over the world.

And for our own Oscar nominated Michael,

Brian and Ronan who scooped a BAFTA for

the brilliant locally made Boogaloo and

Graham. Myself and my family at Sixteen

South are focused solely on export and we’re

in production on another 52 episodes of Lily’s

Driftwood Bay which already airs to

preschoolers every day in over 30 countries

around the world including the UK, US,

Australia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Israel,

Hong Kong, France, Germany and Ireland.

We’re also green lighting a brand new 80-

episode animated series for a major US

network that we’ll announce soon. All of our

shows are proudly made here in Belfast and

together these two new productions will

employ 180 people, most of them locals.

It’s brilliant to see local producers winning

national and international awards for their

work – but the real win is the difference that

these productions make to our local economy.

Like every other industry, the CreativeIndustries have their own challenges.

Broadcasters have significantly reduced

their budgets, meaning that they pay a lot less

but still require the same amount of content.

That inevitably means that producers need to

find a cheaper way to make shows and most

children’s animated shows are now either

partially or completely produced in countries

like China, India or Singapore where the cost

(and quality) is less.

To bring a new film or television show here

to Northern Ireland can take years of pitching

and negotiation. We compete financially with

the rest of the world - especially with

countries like Canada and Ireland where their

local tax credits and benefits have proven to

really build the animation and production

communities and have been great for their

economies.

Northern Ireland ScreenWe’re fortunate to have our own committed

screen agency, Northern Ireland Screen, that’s

forward thinking and focused on building the

economy through supporting the screen

industries.

With their support and alongside the new

UK tax credit system, we in Northern Ireland

can be financially competitive with the rest of

the world.

We refuse to farm out any of our

productions – but instead insist that they’re

completely made here in Belfast. We spend

between £2 - 6 million on each show locally,

and because we export all of our work, that’s

all new money.

I believe to make a difference to the local

economy, we need to export our work, which

brings in new money, rather than focus on

local projects which only circulates the same

money round and round.

For us, it’s never ever about winning work

because we do it cheaper than the rest. Some

lessons I’ve learned over the last 7 years of

running Sixteen South apply to all of us in

business here in Northern Ireland and they

can be summed up in one sentence: Know

who you are and know what you carry.

We too often beat ourselves up, believing

that because we’re not based in London that

we can’t compete, we’re too far away from the

rest of the world and that we’re insignificant.

It’s just not true.

The Northern Irish people have so much

going for us. We’re natural storytellers - it’s

in our DNA as a little nation and it’s unique to

us. We’re a people who are passionate about

what we do. And as people, we have a natural

ability to be charming (I’m told).Creativity isn’t solely the reserve of

filmmakers, writers, directors and animators

– it’s in every one of us. Let’s continue to be

bold, brassy and really push Northern Ireland

to the rest of the world and continue to build

the new Northern Ireland that we all love so

much.

Colin Williams is founder and creativedirector at award winning Sixteen South.www.sixteensouth.tv

Creativeaccountingby Colin Williams, creative director – Sixteen South


http://www.sixteensouth.tv


Aquestion that is difficult to answer is,“What is leadership?” and an eventougher question is, “How do you

measure Leadership?” In the last issue ofBusiness First we tackled the first question, soI will help you to answer the second in thisissue because I believe you can measureleadership.

Let’s consider a typical performancemanagement process on a scale of 1-5 wherethe person is:

1: Exceptional – Someone performing andexceeding their objectives .

2: Very Good - Someone performing andexceeding some of their objectives.

3: Good – Steady, meets objectives.

4: Poor – Someone underperforming.

5: Very poor – Someone identified asconsistently underperforming and requiresan intervention.

Organisations tend to look towards thepeople at (1) and (2) for promotion and themuch coveted place at the ‘Leadership Table’.But what if we were to look at Leadershipattributes separately and use a differentprocess for identifying future leaders withinthe organisation – a model based on fourcontributions or simply known as the 4 Cs.

The 4 CsImagine that we have assessed our people

using the criteria above – based on theircurrent performance – and now we will askthe four key questions that will assess themon Leadership…

1. What is your contribution to thebusiness?

2. What is your contribution to your self-development?

3. What is your contribution to thedevelopment of others?

4. What is your contribution to the widerbusiness?

1. What is your contribution to thebusiness?

This is the day job – what we do at an

operational level. For example, a carsalesman’s target might be to sell 15 cars amonth and if they sell 25 it is undoubtedly thecase that they are making a significantcontribution to the business.

This is important, but on its own it is notleadership. People who work in this spacemight be rewarded with a pay rise and abonus, but just working on the day-to-dayoperations is not enough to get a place at theLeadership table – for that we must look atthe other contributions you are making.

2. What is your contribution to yourself-development?

The world is changing and your business /organisation is changing. How are youdeveloping yourself? Are you attending theappropriate training programmes, readingrelevant articles, joining project teams thatwill help develop new skills?

Are you in tune with the organisation youwork in and the changing profile of themarketplace? It is important for leaders toupskill themselves –if the business turns in anew direction you should be ready for it.

3. What is your contribution to thedevelopment of others?

Leadership is about engaging people todeliver the organisation’s strategy. Askyourself do you provide coaching ormentoring to others in the business? Do youshare knowledge with other teams? Do youhave a peer group support network?

If no one is contributing to the developmentof others then how will the team and theorganisation grow?

4. What is your contribution to thewider business?

So far so good – you may have passed theabove and cleared all three ‘hurdles’. This iswhere most people stumble. Do you bring inprocesses and systems that work just for yourteam or do you work towards organisationalimprovement whenever possible?

Can you connect the dots – do you know theimplications of carrying out an action andhow that may impact other teams such asFinance and HR? Can you see the big pictureand work towards that, or do you remain inyour silo?

This contribution is about taking the timeout to work in this space and can be

challenging for people –if you aren't doingthis then who is?

What are the advantages of applyingthis model?

It requires evidence – Each of the areasrequires evidence. For example:

1. Contribution to the business - This couldbe sales figures, exceeding targets, etc.

2. Contribution to self-development - Thiscould be programmes attended, CPD hours,written feedback from others on how youhave applied the skills.

3. Contribution to the development ofothers – Written feedback, hours spentcoaching.

4. Contribution to the wider business –Written feedback from the leadership team,innovation, evidence of working in cross-functional team projects.

It can be measured –We could add somemetrics to the evidence – For examplesomeone contributes 60 hours a year oncoaching others – Feedback from thecoachees could be measured on a scale of 1 -10. For example on a scale of 1-10 (1 beingpoor – 10 being excellent) how effective wasthe coaching, did it help you do your job moreeffectively, etc.

The onus is on the potential leader towork towards the model – Theresponsibility for working towards the FourCs, gathering the evidence, identifying theopportunities, etc. does not fall on the leader– it sits with the individual. The role of theleaders is to guide, advise, challenge andcheck progress during your regularperformance management reviews.

It’s not all about day to day operations –The model helps people understand thatcoming in each day, turning the machines on,processing something, flicking the switch offand going home is not leadership, and morethan likely won’t lead to the growth of thepeople and the organisation.

It’s not just for current leaders – it’s foreveryone. You will want to identify futureleaders and prepare them for Leadership sowhen they come to the table they are thinkingstrategically, developing others, etc – and it’snot new to them.

I believe this model gets to the core of whatleadership is and how we can measure it. It’snot easy to apply, but who said leadershipwas easy?

Can you measure leadership?asks Davy McAlinden, programme director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute

BEST PRACTICE



While the recent general electioncampaign was one of the mostabsorbing of modern times, business

was relieved that the clouds of uncertaintyaround the possibility of a hung parliamentwere quickly dispersed.

As we consider the proposals for thecoming five year term, there will undoubtedlybe hurdles to overcome for the newGovernment. Even with its slim majoritythough, it must not duck the tough decisionsneeded to keep growth striding ahead.

Those tough decisions and big challengesfacing our country represent many of the keyissues that remain reserved to Westminster.

So the CBI has set out an action plan for thenew Government’s first 100 days to ensure thatit catches the wind in its sails, and gets thedirection of travel for the new parliament right.

Firstly, we will need swift action on keyeconomic priorities. Staying on top of thepublic finances, with a ComprehensiveSpending Review to make the savings neededto cut the deficit while affording the NorthernIreland Executive the medium-term securityof its spending envelope. The Budgetstatement on 8th July will therefore be a keymoment in the business calendar.

On infrastructure, it is absolutely criticalthat the new Government speedily commitsto the final proposals of the AirportsCommission so that we can boost the UK’saviation capacity and don’t fall behindinternational competition.

Northern Ireland has a particular interestin growing the airport capacity of the SouthEast of England and it is therefore crucial thatwe see that early decision taken over thesummer months.

Tying all this together, we must embracethe spirit of openness – to trade, people,investment and ideas from abroad - that hasalways lain at the heart of Northern Irelandand the UK’s success.

An early sign will be the new government’sengagement with the European Union and itsability to set out an ambitious, achievablereform agenda for the whole EU. Reflectingtherefore on the announcement of an EUReferendum Bill in the Queen’s Speech, it’svital that alongside the Bill, the Governmentgets momentum going behind its reformagenda.

We must work with our allies to create anEU that does more of what it’s good at, likesigning trade deals and completing the singlemarket, and less of what it’s bad at, likeinterfering in lifestyle issues, such as whattype of bottle olive oil can be sold in.

For us here in Northern Ireland, thebusiness case for remaining in a reformed EUcannot be clearer.

The benchmarks against which thebusiness community will assess the newGovernment’s early progress are thereforeclear. Policies that create a pro-enterpriseenvironment, will allow businesses to get on,create jobs and drive growth. That way we’llget the new parliament, the UK and NorthernIreland off to the best possible start.

On the Northern Ireland theme it is ofcourse just as crucial that, with the electionresult settled, the Executive returns its focusto matters at hand – most notably, thedevolution of Corporation Tax powers tothese shores.

The passing of the Corporation Tax Actbefore the dissolution of Parliament was amajor, and hugely significant step, towards theeconomic transformation that our societyneeds. As we and others have detailedconsistently over the past decade, there is no

doubting as to the potential of a lowerCorporation Tax rate in terms of rebalancingour economy and delivering the highly skilled,highly paid jobs that we all want to see.

There now stands an urgent need torefocus on sealing the deal.

As we recently noted in evidence to theAssembly’s ETI Committee, it is not just thatthe Executive must refocus on other keyattributes that an economy must have interms of attracting investment – includingeducation and skills and infrastructureprovision – it, crucially, must refocus ondelivering the sustainable public financesthat the UK Government quite rightly placesat the core of the proposed further devolutionsettlement.

We have known for some time that,irrespective of what colour of UK governmentwas elected, that austerity was set tocontinue for at least part of the newParliament and that the Executive’s horizonsneeded to be set accordingly.

While the picture is now even clearer thanbefore, and while the business communitystands ready to work with the Executive todeliver the transformation in, for instance,our public services to enshrine greatersustainability, it is vital that the Executivenow gets on with the hard yards that arerequired of it.

Our economic future, the chance to realiseour undoubted potential, is intrinsically tiedto being able to offer a lower rate ofCorporation Tax. It would be unforgivablewere the Executive toforego this goldenopportunity.

More from CBI:www.cbi.org.uk/ni

The business agenda for a newParliament by Nigel Smyth, CBI Director

CBI


http://www.cbi.org.uk/ni


Innovative Further Education students claim their rewardsF

rom its inaugural year in 2011, theBusiness and Education through Skillsand Training (BEST Awards) have grown

to become a major showcase for creativityand innovation across Northern Ireland'sFurther Education Colleges.

Focused on the disciplines of Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM), the BEST Awards are hosted annuallyby Colleges Northern Ireland, themembership body for Northern Ireland's sixregional FE Colleges.

The BEST Awards culminate in a GrandFinals Day each year. This year 180 studentscompeted across five disciplines; science,engineering, creative industries, software andbuilt environment.

Sponsored by Recruit NI, Norbrook and theDepartment for Employment and Learning,the event took place on Wednesday 27th May2015 in the Ramada Hotel, Shaw’s Bridge,Belfast.

Students were judged throughout the dayby a panel of 40 industry and innovationspecialists, including representatives fromBombardier, MATRIX, AB Pneumatics,Schrader, Montupet, Institute of Physics, DEL,Ulster University and Queen’s University.

Four award winners were announced alongwith 13 category winners. Among thewinners were:

• Curtis Adams from Belfast MetropolitanCollege, who took first place in the 16-18age category for his design of a green trafficlight for cyclists.

• Andrew McGuire from Southern RegionalCollege, who won the Creative IndustriesAward, for his Eletrak App which providespeople with information on how to savemoney on their energy bills.

These two students, together with otherBEST Award winners, were selected to takepart in the STEM-focused FrontiersProgramme which takes place in theprestigious Worcester Polytechnic Institute inMassachusetts, USA. The FrontiersProgramme takes place in July 2015 andchallenges students to explore their limits ofknowledge in STEM subjects with access tostate-of-the-art technology and facilities.

A list of all the BEST Award winners isavailable on the Colleges NI website:www.collegesni.ac.uk.

Gerry Campbell, Chief Executive of CollegesNI said “The calibre of submissions this yearpoints towards a very bright future for youngand mature innovators in the FE sector.

“They demonstrated a huge range of skillsand talent so we know that entrepreneurship,creativity and innovation are thriving inNorthern Ireland.

“Now let’s keep the ideas flowing andenable further education to play a bigger rolein driving the economy forward”.

Minister for Employment and Learning DrStephen Farry said: “It is vital that we enthuseand inspire all our young people to studySTEM courses and to progress to employmentin the STEM related industries.

“The future of our economy depends upondriving up skills levels in these sectors. To dothis we must ensure that these sectors offerattractive employment opportunities, andthat all young people are aware of the widerange of careers options available.

“The FE college network plays a vital role inproviding the skills and education tounderpin the growth of this sector incollaboration with industry and myDepartment.

“The BEST Awards are established as anexcellent platform to promote and showcasethe world class STEM skills which have beendeveloped and nurtured within our furthereducation sector.”

Curtis Adams from Belfast Metropolitan College along with a number of MLAs and CNI BoardMembers at this year’s BEST Awards

Andrew McGuire along with lecturers from Southern Regional College


http://www.collegesni.ac.uk


BEST PRACTICE

"We do decanters with six glasses on a sil-ver tray, for £4.95. People say, 'How canyou sell this for such a price?' I say, be-cause it's total crap." With this comment,Gerald Ratner saw his jewellery empirevalue fall by £500 million.

Reputation is critically important – andincredibly vulnerable. In the 2015 RiskBarometer published by Allianz, loss of

reputation ranks second in the top businessrisks within the UK.

Aren’t lawyers the worst people to askabout business reputation protection? Ourinstinct is to ignore PR consequences andprotect clients from liability at all costs. Onthat level, we understand Thomas Cook’shesitancy over an apology relating to thetragic death of children on a Thomas Cookholiday. However, reputation depends not juston why things go wrong, but also on how thebusiness deals with the matter.

We believe that businesses need tounderstand the importance of reputation, andtake steps both to pre-empt reputational loss,and to deal with actual or potentialreputational threat.

Understand The Importance Of YourReputation

Although sounding like a stern parentalinjunction before a night on the town, this isfundamentally important. You can’t see it ortouch it, but a reputation absolutely exists as

an asset. It’s the basis for brand strength, andas goodwill it’s something that can be boughtand sold by contract.

The law allows various ways to protect yourbusiness’ reputation. A business can get atrademark to register its exclusive right to usea name or logo in a particular business areaand jurisdiction.

If its reputation is strong, the business canprevent potential competitors from usingconfusingly similar names and reputations. In‘80s Randalstown, Hurrells Clothing spelt itsname in green and gold, mimicking Harrods.Harrods’ lawyers’ letter arrived swiftly: theirclient’s reputation was strong enough tocontrol a small business in a street hard toconfuse with Knightsbridge.

Finally, if your business is hit by adefamatory remark, it can take legal action.The law differs between Northern Ireland andGB, but a NI company can claim damages forharm to its business or trading reputation.

Online tools and sites can help youunderstand public perception of yourbusiness: online reputation monitoringplatforms search on their customers’ namesand associated keywords across social media,capturing any conversation about thebusiness within seconds.

Pre-Emptive ProtectionYou should consider the following steps:

• protect your brand: if you haven’tregistered your brand as a trademark, put ™after it; if you have, you can use the ®symbol. Register a trademark yourself inthe UK via the Intellectual Property Office,or get a trademark business to do it for you.

• licence appropriately: if you allow otherbusinesses to use your brand, control thescope of use in a contract. This can controlhow long they use your brand, what theyuse it for, and even how they use it.

• sort out your data protection procedures:the Edelman Privacy Risk Index records 71per cent of customers saying they wouldleave an organisation following a databreach.

If you’re using customer personal data,register with the InformationCommissioner’s Office as a data controller(it’s a criminal offence not to, and only costsan average business £35 yearly); ensureyour privacy policy statements correctly

record how you collect and use data; ensureyou properly obtain consent to use personaldata, and (particular bugbear for legalpedants, this) have unsubscribe facilitiesthat actually work.

• be careful with online marketing: theAdvertising Standards Authority wants tomake sure consumers know when they’rebeing marketed to: it’s keeping a close eyeon social media commentators and vloggerswho quietly market products. As the ASAwarns, businesses caught marketing thisway risk not just prosecution but also thereputational damage of being caught out.

Post Event ProtectionA serious reputational threat to your

business has emerged, and it’s gone viral.What steps should you take?

• make an appropriate statement. In almostevery circumstance, it’s vital to make aresponse: this shows that you’re alert, andhave a degree of control over the situation.If threats are vicious and defamatory, a calmapproach is crucial – a hysterical responsecan cause increased reputational damage.

• if the story’s true: balance the risk ofadmission (taking legal advice asnecessary) against the PR impact of beingseen not apologise. If you’re going toapologise, do it properly: acknowledge thefacts, show understanding of theconsequences and suitable remorse, andtake responsibility as appropriate.

• if the story’s not true: say so, as part ofyour public statement. And then identifywho spread the story: the internet mayseem impenetrable, but there are processeswhich help. Court orders can oblige ISPs toreveal the users hiding behind concealing“dynamic” IP addresses. “Takedown”notices fight back against the onlinedissemination of unauthorised photos,threatening websites with action from theirhosting provider if they don’t remove theoffending material.

ConclusionYour business reputation is

a commercial asset. Lawsexist to help you protect it,and there are practical stepsyou can, and should, take tominimise reputational threat.

Protecting your business reputationby Rory Campbell, Forde Campbell Llc

You can’t see it or touch it, but a reputation absolutely exists as an asset. It’sthe basis for brand strength, and as goodwill it’s something that can be boughtand sold by contract. Rory Campbell



We’re not a nation best known for ourentrepreneurs and innovators, butwe do have our fair share: Northern

Irish people have built or helped to buildglobal empires and sit on the boards of someof the world’s most influential companies.And that’s because we work hard and thinkdifferently, applying our own kind of intuitivelogic that takes business in a brand newdirection.

And that’s never been truer than whentalking about the people behind NegativeEquity NI.

The brainchild of Phil Davison and TomCardwell, Negative Equity NI was borne out ofa need to help people made propertyprisoners by the crash.

These two local property gurus, alreadywell established, highly respected names inthe sector, recognised that the sheer scale ofthe problem required a brand new solution.

Phil explains: “We were two of the fewpeople who saw this coming. We knew thatthe huge property price rises whereunsustainable and that the bubble wouldburst sooner rather than later.

“Even beyond the fact that the problem ismuch deeper and more widespread here thananywhere else in the UK, the repercussionsreach far beyond each stressed outhomeowner who needs to move with urgencyor whose family has outgrown their home. Wesaw the effects filter into every aspect of theeconomy - negative equity skews the entiremarket, introduces stagnation, affectsmortgage lending levels and creates adysfunctional market environment that is farfrom naturally fluid.

“The single post-crash positive was thatlower property prices gave first time buyers a

fighting chance to geton the property ladder.Although, with securinga mortgage moredifficult than ever andmuch of the first timebuyer housing stockoccupied by peoplewho can’t move up theproperty ladder, it’ssmall consolation.”

Phil and Tom startedlooking at the issuemore closely and atputting together aservice and team thatwould help people towrite off property debtwith their bank’sblessing.

Five years, hundreds of clients later andwith many millions of pounds of mortgagedebt written off, their ambition and attentionto detail have built a brand that is both lovedby their clients and that has won the respectof the banks.

Tom tells us more: “We had to work out alot of issues before we even started, but wewere confident in bringing new thinking todebt resolution. We looked at the fewcompanies out there who promise what wedo but don’t deliver. We’ve invested a lot ingetting the regulation we need to operateprofessionally and ethically. And then we puttogether a team who not only know theirstuff, but also understand the importance ofbuilding good relationships to enabling highservice standards. That’s both with ourclients and with the lenders – both here inNorthern Ireland and across the UK.”

Today the team are almost 15 strong – thelargest working in this particular sector. And,most impressively, have a 100 per centsuccess rate in resolving mortgage debt.”

Tom says: “Our clients include all kinds ofpeople – professionals of every kind. Theircommonality is that they are affected bysomething that is beyond their control. Weassess their case and we give them choices -something they haven’t had in a long time. Weonly ever help when we’re confident of anoutcome – so far that has been in every case.

A 100 per cent track record of success issomething few companies can talk about sowe’re proud of our people and our processes.”

Having become the leader in the localmarket, Negative Equity has even biggerambitions. They’ve recently appointed a newBusiness Development Manager and arelooking at rolling the Negative Equity NImodel out across the UK.

The fastest growing company of its kind, now with the biggest team, leading service innovation in the debt sector –Business First took time out to find out more about an inspirational company that’s turning around the fortunes ofpeople who have otherwise little or no choice when it comes to resolving property debt.

Negative Equity NI – an incredibleNorthern Irish success story…

NEGATIVE EQUITY NI

Phil Davison



As we begin to see the green shoots ofrecovery in the Northern Irish economy, thecurrent climate represents an opportunity

for businesses to not only review but also to buildupon the lessons learnt from the economicdownturn.

One of the major commercial lessons to begleaned from the recession is that planning toprotect your wealth should be a key concern.

This is seldom more relevant than in a familyowned business context where the issues offamily wealth and business success are so ofteninextricably linked.

In many cases, the family business is thought ofas the main (and in some cases, the only) sourceof future family wealth and sustainability.

Such dependency on the performance of thebusiness, coupled with a failure to make adequateprovision which is independent of the business, isa trait which is so prevalent in a family ownedbusiness context.

Focus on the long termOur work with family businesses has

demonstrated to us time and again how commonit is for owners to focus on the long-term viabilityof the business and fail to provide for additionalexternal sources of personal wealth.

Yet the existence of such sources makessuccession planning so much easier.

It is not difficult to understand why familybusiness owners would neglect to focus on theirown long term financial security when all theirfocus tends to be on growing their business andreinvesting profits to enable such growth tohappen.

However, we believe that the importance ofinvesting in other forms of family wealth shouldnot be overlooked. Where family business ownersare less reliant on the business to maintain theirfuture lifestyle or retirement plans, this shouldput less pressure on the business and the nextgeneration of family management.

By extension, this lack of pressure should helpmaintain a healthier family environment betweenthe old and new family generations involved inthe business.

Pension planningOne of the key areas which is often

underutilised but which can prove an invaluablesource of wealth for family business owners, isthe area of pension planning.

Although the annual allowances has beenreduced to £40,000 and the lifetime allowance isdue to be cut to £1m from April 2016, there is stillplenty of scope for significant pension planning,particularly when there are several familymembers involved, and the earlier that this is

considered, the more scope there is to build asizeable pension pot.

There has also been significant reform to theflexibility around pensions which could proveimportant to family business owners.

The income that an individual gets back inretirement from a defined contribution pension istaxable at their marginal rate on everythingexcept 25 per cent of the fund which can be takentax free (provided the total value of the pensionfunds does not exceed the lifetime allowance).

But even taking this pension commencementlump sum used to set the clock ticking and thosewith a defined contribution pension had to opt tobuy an annuity or go into draw down. Theserestrictions on taking benefits have been relaxedgiving these individuals much more flexibilityover how and when to use their pension funds.

Whether or not individuals have formallyretired, from April 2015, new rules allow anyoneover age 55 to withdraw all of their money fromthe defined contribution funds. When theuncrystallised pension lump fund is taken, 25 percent of it should be tax free, and the rest will betaxed at the individual’s marginal tax rate.

There are new anti-avoidance rules will whichwould also be triggered but the individual willnot have to buy an annuity or designate any of theremaining funds as going into drawdown.

On 29 September 2014, the chancellor alsoannounced that individuals aged under 75 would,in future, be able to pass on the balance of theirpension funds to chosen beneficiaries withouttriggering a long established penal tax charge.

The reformed pension rules therefore offeradditional flexibility and can be a valuable sourceof family wealth management.

It is important to appreciate the philosophybehind the family and the business in order tomake the right decisions for both going forward.

Some feel that the family business is there toprovide income for family members in the longterm.

Whilst this can be true, it may not always be thecase. We believe that the family wealth arisingfrom the business should be nurtured andsupplemented by careful personal wealthmanagement with the aim that retiring familymembers will have long term independentfinancial security.

Pension planning can be a very significant toolin achieving such goals. However, professionaladvice should always be taken before anydecisions are made in relation to pensions toensure the planning being undertaken is the mostappropriate for the circumstances.

To talk to Maybeth about anything in this articleplease give her a call on 9043 9009.

Looking after the family wealthIn the second of a series of articles focussing on issues specific to family businesses in Northern Ireland, Maybeth Shaw, Partner at BDONorthern Ireland, looks at how family businesses can benefit from long term financial planning.

COMMENTARY

It is not difficult tounderstand whyfamily businessowners would neglectto focus on their ownlong term financialsecurity when alltheir focus tends tobe on growing theirbusiness andreinvesting profits toenable such growth tohappen. Maybeth Shaw



The answer can be found in South Belfaston the quiet Kensington Road, in aHospice property managed by leading

palliative care charity, Marie Curie.

The Marie Curie Hospice first opened itsdoors in June 1965 with a remit to providecancer patients with quality end of life care.However, much has changed over the last 50years.

The unit now comprises a state-of-the-art 18bed facility providing care and support topeople (and their families) living with anyterminal illness e.g. motor neurone disease,dementia, multiple sclerosis, chronicobstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) andcancer.

Each year the Hospice cares for around 550with a range of terminal illnesses at a cost ofjust over £2m per year, but as Ciara Gallagher,Head of Fundraising at Marie Curie explainsthis service simply wouldn’t be possible if itwasn’t for the fantastic support the charityreceives.

“Marie Curie is fortunate to have suchwonderful support from individual,fundraising groups and corporate partners.The money these groups raise means thecharity can continue to delivery its Hospiceservices for in-patients and further develop itsday hospice services (physiotherapy, painmanagement and mobility assessments) forout-patients.

“However, as more than 70 per cent of MarieCurie funding comes from donations, it is vitalthat we look for ways to encourage supportersto get involved – one such initiative is the ‘Payfor a Day’ campaign.”

What is Pay for a Day?The campaign encourages organisations and

individuals to help Marie Curie care for peopleliving with a terminal illness by fundraising topay for 24hours of Hospice care.

As Ciara explains there are many reasonswhy supporters choose to ‘Pay for a Day’ at theHospice. “This might be to celebrate thememory of a close family member orcolleague, or to mark a company milestone.

“Whatever the reason, we work with theorganisation to help staff devise a fundraisingplan to help achieve the ‘Pay for a Day’ targetof £6,090. The great thing about the campaignis that it gives participating organisations avery tangible target to aim for and there is noreal time limit on when it has to be reached.

“There are many ways to ‘Pay for a Day’…itcould be a one-off donation or getting staffinvolved in fundraising. Or by raising thetarget by getting involved in one of our events,right now we’re encouraging participation in

‘Walk to Remember’ events taking place inBelfast (Stormont estate) on Saturday 29August and in Omagh (Ulster American FolkPark) on Saturday 12 September, and theBelfast City Half Marathon on Sunday 20September.”

Whatever day an organisation chooses,Marie Curie will recognise it in a number ofways. These might include a company visit tothe Hospice, a personalised certificate that willbe displayed in the Hospice and an online casestudy detailing an organisations ‘Pay for a Day’journey.

But in Ciara’s opinion it is the opportunity tovisit the Hospice and see first-hand how MarieCurie will use an organisation’s ‘Pay for theDay’ money that has the most impact. “Noteveryone has experienced the Marie Curienursing service, or for that matter hasknowledge of what it is that our nurses do ona daily basis.

“By visiting the Hospice there is anopportunity to speak to some of the nurses,families and sometimes patients, and to hearjust how much of an impact their fundraisingactivity will have.

“Pay for a Day is a fantastic campaign for thebusiness sector to get involved with. Havingbeen involved with a number of organisations

that have chosen to support the campaign Ihave seen how it has helped create a sense ofstaff morale and motivation and how it hasinspired organisations to achieve and evensurpass the £6,090 fundraising target.

“It’s an immensely rewarding and satisfyingjourney for all concerned and one that I hopemore businesses will see as valuable.”

To find out more about the Marie Curie ‘Payfor a Day’ campaign please visitwww.mariecurie.org.uk/belfast or call 028 9088 2060.

What has 18 beds, houses a team of dedicated nurses, cares for people with terminal illnesses…but costs £6,090 per day to run?

Marie Curie Pay-For-A-Day Campaign

CAMPAIGN


http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/belfast


As I write, a headline on Financial Timeson my desk reads, “Leaders try to savepowersharing administration from

collapse,” quoting Theresa Villiers, theNorthern Ireland Secretary, as warning thatthe situation, “looks increasingly grim”.

Also, as I write, Japan’s Osaka Chamber hastaken to Twitter to welcome Invest NorthernIreland, Alistair Hamilton and a number ofestablished and successful Japanese investorsto the Northern Ireland seminar in the city.

Yesterday Twitter was extoling NorthernIreland as cyber security hub from theprestigious Infosecurity Europe event,launched by digital economy minister EdVaizey.

It’s been a good year for InvestNI; theyexceeded most of their objectives and arejustifiably telling the world that NorthernIreland is a strong investment location andthat the imminent cut in corporation tax willmake it even more attractive. The last thingthey need is another political crisis todampen investor enthusiasm.

Admittedly, this is hardly the first, or eventhe second, crisis that has threatened thecollapse of the devolved administration.

In previous crises, there was a generalexpectation that they would get resolvedthrough a deal cobbled together as the clockwas about to strike midnight – and theygenerally were.

But this one looks different. It too, may stillbe averted at the last minute, but if thathappens there is a growing perception that itwould be a crisis deferred, rather than a crisisresolved and that may have implications.

That’s because both the chancellor and thesecretary of state have reiterated that‘switching-on’ the corporation tax powers andtherefore ‘the rate and the date’ arecontingent on delivering on the entirety of theStormont House Agreement.

That means not just sorting out the welfarereform, but putting the Executive finances ona sustainable footing.

In a UK contextIn the meantime, the new government’s

devotion to devolution and decentralisationcontinues elsewhere. The former GoldmanSachs chief economist Jim O’Neill, now aTreasury minister, is charged with deliveringEngland’s Northern Powerhouse.

That’s a bold plan to unite the North ofEngland’s 15 million population into acollective force to rebalance the North-Southeconomic divide by attracting new

investment into northern cities and towns.

The elected mayor of the NorthernPowerhouse’s new Greater ManchesterCombined Authority (GMCA), supported by acabinet comprising the ten council leaders,will control an annual budget of around £7bn,considerable spending autonomy, significanteconomies of scale and the authority toperuse and attract foreign direct investment(FDI) as well as other private investment, intothe GMCA.

The SNP’s virtual clean sweep of Scotland’spolitical landscape has set a new benchmarkfor the devolved nations.

Apart from a commitment to implement therecommendations of the Smith Commission -income tax rates and bands, an assigned shareof VAT and the full devolution of AirPassenger Duty - Nicola Sturgeon set as aminimum the further devolution of powersover employment policy; the minimum wage;

welfare reform; business taxation (includingcorporation tax); and National Insurance.

Given the pace of devolution anddecentralisation elsewhere in the UK, a high-profile political crisis here is particularlyunwelcome, particularly if it were toundermine, postpone or even threaten thedevolution of corporation tax.

But corporation tax aside, Northern Ireland,as an integral part of the UK tax systemremains one of the world’s most competitivetax regions for business.

The latest annual PwC, World Bank and IFC,Paying Taxes study shows that the UK lies in16th place in a league table of 189 countries,worldwide. That’s two places up on 2011when the UK was in the number 18 spot andis despite 47 countries having reduced theircorporate profits tax at the height of theglobal financial crisis of 2008-2010.

Northern Ireland also punches well aboveits weight in terms of attracting FDI andpersuading investors to reinvest, with FDIinto the region amongst the highest amongstthe UK regions outside London.

And these investors are enthusiasticchampions for Northern Ireland – as Tweetsfrom Osaka referencing Japanese investorsclearly indicate.

We don’t need another crisis; we needstability and a business-friendly governmentthat invests in infrastructure, skills andinnovation. But we also need an articulateand globally-focused business, academic andthird sector community that is vocal in itssupport for Northern Ireland as aninvestment location and is prepared to standup and say so internationally.

Just as good news from Twitter in Osakaand Infosecurity Europe countered bad newsin the FT, we are engaged in a battle for thehearts and minds and commitment of mobileinvestors.

So are the Scots, the Northern Powerhouseand the Irish. We need to be better, strongerand more internationally articulate and thatmight just counter some of the fallout fromthe political crises.

Can Invest NI and Twitter make morenoise than politics and the FT?asks Paul Terrington, chair, Institute of Directors Northern Ireland

COMMENTARY

We don’t need another crisis; weneed stability and a business-friendly government that invests ininfrastructure, skills andinnovation. But we also need anarticulate and globally-focusedbusiness, academic and thirdsector community that is vocal inits support for Northern Ireland asan investment location and isprepared to stand up and say sointernationally.



Businesses take off at Belfast City AirportL

atest figures published by the UK's CivilAviation Authority showed that GeorgeBest Belfast City Airport transported

more than 2.5m (2,555,111) passengers in2014 and we believe this trend is set tocontinue thanks to a number of routedevelopments.

As an airport, we have a clear strategy toensure that, as a region, we promote excellentair connectivity. This means we are constantlyevolving the selection of routes we offer andairlines we work with to ensure passengershave the ultimate choice when decidingwhere to fly to and who with.

As a key destination for businesscommuters, London is already extremely wellserved from Belfast City Airport. We are theonly airport in Northern Ireland to offerservices to London Heathrow, with Aer Lingusand British Airways operating up to nineflights daily to the international hub. Inaddition to this, Aer Lingus also has threeflights to London Gatwick on a daily basis.

In 2014, Flybe commenced its four timesdaily service to London City which is alreadyproving extremely popular with both leisureand business travellers who are keen to landin the heart of London.

Furthermore, 2015 has also seen theintroduction of a number of new and excitingroutes at Belfast City Airport includingLiverpool (Flybe), Barcelona (Vueling) andAmsterdam (KLM).

With business travellers accounting foralmost half of the total passenger numbersthrough Belfast City Airport, this directconnection to major hubs such as Amsterdamand Heathrow means that Northern Irelandbusinesses have greater accessibility tolucrative international markets than everbefore.

In fact, many international firms locatehere, relying on our links to the world.Companies like PwC and Citi rely on the dailylink from Belfast to Heathrow to connect withtheir global offices.

Through Heathrow, passengers can takeadvantage of approximately 180 onwarddestinations with upward of 240 routeconnections through Amsterdam Schiphol.

This ability to easily connect to both welland lesser known, perhaps previouslyinaccessible, locations enables businesses inNorthern Ireland to go further.

Our other routes also facilitate the need toconnect with the mainland, which is crucialfor business and leisure passengers, forwhom hopping on a train or a boat is just notan option.

Through our partner airline, Flybe, we have

a fantastic and extremely popular domesticroute network – from Aberdeen toSouthampton.

Travel on your termsWe are acutely aware of the value of time to

our business travellers. Even before gettingon their flight, we understand that thesepassengers in particular need to make thebest use of their time.

Along with excellent surface access options,parking at the airport also means that you cantruly travel on your terms. Our constantimprovements to our range of online parkingproducts means that whether you aretravelling for just one day or one week, youare in total control.

Additionally, with such a high volume ofbusiness travellers passing through theairport on a daily basis, we have installed free,unlimited WiFi in 2013, which has enabledour passengers to make use of what wouldpreviously have been termed travel ‘downtime’.

Instead, our passengers can now stay fullyconnected via tablets and smartphonesthroughout every leg of their journey.

There are a number of other options thatwe have available - such as fast-track securityand lounge access- which we believe makeevery journey easier for business and leisuretravellers alike.

Let them come to youBelfast City Airport doesn’t just facilitate

travel to a wide host of locations – it is abusiness destination in itself. Our state of theart Conference Suite has been designed withour local business community and businesstravellers in mind.

Should you require a prestigious venue for abusiness seminar or an informal one-to-onemeeting, this is the ideal venue to forgebusiness deals and foster relationships whichwill enable Northern Ireland businesses to gofurther.

In addition, Belfast City Airport for manyyears has been promoting the city andNorthern Ireland as an outstandingdestination, not only to airlines but to thewider aviation industry and all of thetravelling public.

Recently it was announced that theprestigious Routes Europe conference will becoming to Belfast in 2017. We believe this willenable us to further market the city andregion like never before, and we look forwardto continuing to work with Government toensure we fully capitalise on the conference.

It will direct the commercial aviationspotlight on Belfast and we will certainly playour part in making the region shine..

For more information please visitwww.belfastcityairport.com

Belfast City Airport can also be contactedthrough social media:Facebook.com/belfastcityairportTwitter.com @belfastcity_air

by Katy Best, Commercial and MarketingDirector at George Best Belfast City Airport

Katy Best and Minister Arlene Foster at the announcment of the arrival of KLM to George Best BelfastCity Airport


http://www.belfastcityairport.com


In the modern world in which we live, airconnectivity is vital to any country’seconomic growth and development. When

it comes to crucially important industries liketourism then this is even more pertinent. Therecent news that Belfast is to host a majorinternational conference on air routedevelopment (Routes Europe) in 2017 is afantastic achievement with enormous potentialin this regard. ‘Routes Europe’ is essentially theair route development forum for Europe anddraws together a range of airlines, airportauthorities, tourism bodies and indeed anyonewith a vested interest in conducting businessto, from and within Europe.

This year’s conference (now in its 12thyear) took place in Aberdeen (followingMarseille in 2014) and saw some 1200delegates attend, with 125 airlines, over 300airports and 45 tourism authoritiesrepresented. Make no mistake then, this is abig deal and a hugely significant conferenceevent to have secured.

Air connectivity is hugely significant notjust for tourism development but theeconomy of a country in general. According toOxford Economics visitors arriving by aircontribute over £12 billion a year to the UKtourism industry, generating a further170,000 jobs; 55 per cent by value of the UK’smanufactured exports to countries outsidethe EU are transported by air; air serviceshave been vital in developing economicrelationships with emerging economies suchas China; and a quarter of companies reportthat access to air services is important indetermining where they locate theiroperations in the UK.

Clearly, air route development is important

for tourism but also the wider economy in theUK. Here in Northern Ireland there is noquestion that air route development needs tobe higher on the agenda and taken even moreseriously. We are in many respects aperipheral location in Europe and yetconnectivity and access to markets areabsolutely crucial to economic development(including tourism).

Research indicates that businesses trade 20times as much with countries that have adirect daily flight to that country, as they dowith those countries that do not. Otherstudies have shown air links as the mostinfluential transport factor in the locationdecisions of most over-seas based businessinvesting in the UK. On the tourism front, airroute development is vital if we are tocontinue to grow as a destination. Includingdirect, indirect, and induced effects, airtransport on a global basis supports 35million jobs within tourism, contributingaround $807 billion a year to world GDP(according to the WTTC).

Our peripheral location hinders how far wecan develop as tourism destination inNorthern Ireland. Having to take severalflights to get here can be off-putting as well asexpensive for many international tourists.Developing direct flight routes with the rightmarkets can help address that and allow us tocon-tinue to grow as a destination.

It may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s ofteneasier said than done of course. Suchendeavours can be incredibly challenging.Airlines want to know that a route iscommercially viable before they will evenconsider it. Support from government interms of air route development funds cancertainly help in that regard, as well assupport from tourism bodies and the widerbusiness sector.

Then we have the issue of Air PassengerDuty (APD). A policy introduced in back in1994 and the subject of some controversy inNorthern Ireland in recent times. This wasbrought to the fore last year when theRepublic dropped their equivalent to our APDwhich then paved the way for airports there(most notably Dublin) to more viably attract ahost of new routes. The concern has thereforebeen that we will watch air routedevelopment strengthen the economy in theRepublic whilst here in Northern Irelandthings either remain static or certainlydevelop much more slowly in comparison.

In terms of air routes, Dublin already servesfive times more cities than Belfast and airlineseat capacity in the summer period is tentimes higher than for Belfast. Whichever way

we cut it we are at a clear disadvantage in thisregard. It has been proven that reducing APDis one of the most effective ways to enableairports to attract new routes and increasepassenger numbers.

Therefore this is something that warrantsserious attention in terms of both tourismstrategy and wider economic strategy forNorthern Ireland going forward. Other issuesfacing development of our air connectivityinclude the cap on passenger numbers atBelfast City Airport. Limiting seat capacitythere curtails any true meaningful air routedevelopment for the future in relation to thatairport. The airport itself has been trying tolift the seats cap since 2004.

Recent moves in the past few months tohave the cap lifted has brought morecontroversy in terms of objections from localresidents in the airport vicinity, mostlyrelating to concerns over noise pollution.

With any new growth and development(including tourism) it is of course a balanceand the views of our local communities haveto be included and taken into consideration.Nonetheless, if our economy is to grow andour tourism industry is to flourish andcontinue its current upward trend then thesekinds of measures need to be addressed.

The role that airlines and airports play inopening up new destinations and allowingexisting destinations to grow is massive.Therefore, whatever the challenges, we haveto move this crucially important aspect ofdevelopment much higher up the agenda.

That is why the news of Belfast hosting the‘Routes Europe’ 2017 conference is such atruly significant achievement. It givesNorthern Ireland a platform and an impetusto fully address the issue and to do so withmany of the key players who will actually behere on the ground for the event. It also putsthe media spotlight even more firmly on theseissues. The conference presents a fantasticopportunity then, one which needs to beplanned for now, in a strategic and proactiveway.

Proper development of air routes and goodeffective air connectivity enables flows oftrade, investment, labour, knowledge andtourists that ultimately support economicgrowth by pro-viding new opportunities,improving productivity and increasingcompetition.

These benefits can then extend directly andindirectly across all sectors of our economy.Let’s start planning towards achieving morein this regard now, so we can harness the2017 event to maximum effect.

Reach for the sky – the economic importance of air route development by Dr Peter Bolan, Ulster University



THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

In the year in which we commemorate the

70th anniversary of the end of the Second

World War it might be appropriate to

consider a lesson from that war highlighted in

a recent book by Paul Kennedy.

The book in question is Engineers of Victoryand, in examining the Allied victory, Kennedy

looks at the effort required to achieve it. To do

this he uses a wide definition of engineer

from Webster’s Dictionary as ‘one who

carries through an enterprise by skilful or

artful contrivance’.

This is the sort of effort which is needed

when a single-solution approach is not an

option. Kennedy ascribes victory, not to the

result of one or two battles or campaigns or

to the impact of one or two tactics or

weapons, but to the co-ordinated application

of many contributions from different areas.

The Allies could not look elsewhere for

solutions, they had to devise their own, and

Kennedy describes how they overcame a

series of complex problems, each of which

was solved through many combined and co-

ordinated ideas and efforts.

For instance one of the problems which had

to be addressed was how to get convoys

safely across the Atlantic.

Without safe passage for ships across this

stretch of water Britain could not have

received the food and oil it needed to survive

and the American forces could not have been

brought to Europe to add their essential effort

to the defeat of Germany.

The first big movement of American forces

across the Atlantic was in 1943 but before that

in the Atlantic things had become increasingly

dangerous for the Allied side. For instance

1942 was a particularly bad year when losses

of Allied shipping had risen almost to a

catastrophic level and the number of German

U-boats was still increasing because, although

some U-boats were being found and sunk, the

Germans were building more faster than the

Allies were destroying them.

There was then a lull over the winter

because of the weather, but in March 1943

alone 108 ships Allied ships were lost – so it

looked as if that year was going to be worse.

However, in retrospect, it is clear that the tide

then began to turn and Allied efforts began to

pay off.

Those efforts had started earlier so that by

1943 new solutions were coming on stream

and the U-boats never again managed to

make such an impact and March of that year

marked the last period of clear German

dominance.

But, as Kennedy shows, this Allied success

came, not from the contribution of a single

issue or from the uncoordinated brilliance of

individual efforts, but from the ‘engineered’

enterprise of a co-ordinated effort which

encompassed a whole series of initiatives. For

instance among the contributory factors he

describes were:

• Providing air cover to close the ‘gap’ in the

middle of the Atlantic by a combination of

developing long range shore-based

aircraft and the conversion of merchant

ships into relatively simple aircraft

carriers.

• Developing radar sets and searchlights

which could be carried by aircraft to

enable them to find submarines.

• Evolving weapons with which aircraft

could sink those submarines once they

were spotted.

• Providing intelligence, not least from

Ultra, on where the submarines were likely

to be.

• Disrupting submarine building, and their

home base berthing facilities, by bombing.

• Restricting submarine passage on the

surface to and from those bases – because

submerged submarines were slower and

had to use up the charge in their batteries.

• Devising efficient convoy procedures with

a balance of warship use between

protecting convoys and hunting

submarines.

• Supplying sufficient anti-submarine

warships with the means both of

detecting submarines (radar and sonar)

and then of destroying them (‘hedgehog’

mortars and depth charges).

• Devising effective tactics for the use of the

new anti-submarine equipment.

• Providing appropriate training in the use

of the new equipment and tactics.

by Simon Bridge, visiting professor at Ulster University

When do weneed to engineersolutions?



That is a long list, and it is not exhaustive,

but it does illustrate the totality of the

‘engineering’ effort needed. All these

contributions played their part – but they

could not be pre-ordained.

The list above was assembled after the

victory, not before it, and those contributions

were made only because the Allied

management allowed and encouraged the

development of a wide variety of new

innovative approaches and then engineered

those that worked into a co-ordinated

solution.

The traditional approach of sailing ships in

convoy to protect them from enemy

intervention had a long history and it had, for

instance, helped against the submarine threat

in the First World War.

Therefore, since the 1939, the British had

again organised convoys protected by escort

ships as the recognised way to reduce losses.

However, as the mounting U-boat successes

showed, that was not working well enough -

so the otherwise often popular response of

doing more of the same was not going to be a

sound strategy.

But it probably took the situation of war,

where the alternative was defeat, to force that

change and to encourage a search for, and an

acceptance of, new thinking - and the

sidelining of traditional approaches and the

people who could not see beyond them.

So for the Allies this required a re-thinking of

old assumptions and a willingness to recognise

contributions from unusual directions - such as

the Birmingham University development of the

cavity magnetron which enabled radar to be

miniaturised and to operate at different wave-

lengths so that it could both be small enough to

be fitted into aircraft and be able detect objects

as small as submarine conning towers.

And what was also required was the

organisational ability to bring all this

enterprise together in a co-ordinated way.

Thus it was not just a matter of individual

initiative, innovation or enterprise, although

that was important, but the ‘skilful or artful

contrivance’ to carry it all through.

If a complicated piece of machinery stops

working then that is often because a

component has failed. So, if that component

can be identified and repaired or replaced,

the machine should work again. However if a

complex system doesn’t work, and had

actually never really worked in the present

situation, then a single solution approach is

very unlikely to succeed.

You can’t realistically just try one thing and

expect to have cracked the problem - instead

the sort of overall engineering effort

described by Kennedy will be required.

It is therefore important to distinguish

between situations when a single solution

might work and those which are more

complex and likely to require the enterprise

of a co-ordinated engineered approach.

Thus, when our cars stop working, often a

relatively quick repair will get them on the

road again. But an example of a complex

situation is our economy and, if something

like it is not working as well as we might

want, or hope, then we should expect to have

to engineer the enterprise needed to fix it. An

economy isn’t a machine like a clock which,

although complicated, doesn’t work because

one component has broken.

To use Sir Karl Popper’s analogy, it is more

like a cloud than a clock – and it is affected by

the complex interaction of many factors most

or all of which may need to be adjusted.

We need to recognise the complexity of

clouds and encourage the enterprising

‘engineering’ needed to change them: for

instance for an economy a co-ordinated effort

to address policy assumptions, policy

rationale, policy methods, policy delivery and

policy evaluation – all of them not just one of

them.

This ‘engineering’ is not something that one

designer or planner-in-chief works out on a

drawing board, but a system which

encourages, supports and co-ordinates efforts

from a wide variety of contributors looking at

many different facets of the problem.

Victory in the Atlantic, and then in the War

as a whole, wasn’t a victory for unthinking

brute force, but for ‘the proper application’ of

the effort that was available. It wasn’t a one-

solution problem (how many are?) – so

thinking that the answer in the Atlantic was

long-range aircraft and then sitting back and

doing not much else until they were available

would not have succeeded.

The Allies worked on all the things they

thought they might need and explored lots of

possible opportunities – not just the

glamorous ones.

It was easy to have a vision of victory but

realising that vision was something different.

Having the vision, no matter how glorious or

glossily promoted, was no substitute for the

engineered enterprise necessary to achieve it.

It was also important to recognise that

achieving victory was not a single-solution

problem and that it was going to require a

complex and innovative engineered effort –

and therefore what was needed was not just

to allow, but actively to encourage and

support, such an approach.

We need to recognise the complexity of clouds and encourage theenterprising ‘engineering’ needed to change them: for instance for aneconomy a co-ordinated effort to address policy assumptions, policyrationale, policy methods, policy delivery and policy evaluation – all of themnot just one of them. Professor Simon Bridge



Whether you call our city Londonderry

or Derry, there is one dominant and

overwhelming reality that can

sometimes be an elephant in the room. We

are the UK’s only cross-border city. Or, to put

it another way, the currency of part of our city

is sterling, but part of our city operates in the

eurozone.

In three directions, Derry’s suburbs are in

the Republic of Ireland. Commuters and

businesses’ delivery vehicles here will often

cross the border two or more times a day.

Many people in Derry and Donegal carry

two currencies as part of everyday life. Others

don’t bother – sterling is accepted in Donegal

as easily as euros are taken by businesses in

Derry and Strabane.

It should be no surprise then that talk of

‘Brexit’ and a referendum on European Union

membership strikes anxiety into the heart of

commerce and citizens alike.

Some parties even went into the General

Election calling for the reintroduction of

border controls in Ireland.

Let us remember what happened when

there were last border controls. For this we

do not need to go back to the years before the

Good Friday Agreement.

Instead we can recall 2007 – the year of the

latest foot and mouth outbreak. The result

was chaos for many people. Business was

disrupted. Cross-border commuters arrived

late for work and late home at night.

Shoppers had their milk, meat and cheese

confiscated when they arrived at customs

controls. Others took to the back roads,

knowing where there were no border posts.

So the vote in the North West would be very

strongly against border controls!

For most of our businesses in Derry, the

Republic of Ireland is their major export

destination.

For some, it is more important than their

home market of Northern Ireland. Many have

well established cross-border business

partnerships. Some of our largest companies

have subsidiaries in Donegal or Dublin.

They all worry about what ‘Brexit’ would

mean for them.

Despite the two jurisdictions and two

currencies, the North West of Ireland

operates to a large extent as a single economy.

Currencies are easily traded. Cross-border

property ownership is common.

For many consumers, where they shop – in

the North or the Republic – is based on a

calculation of today’s currency valuations.

This is our life. How would this change if the

UK left the EU? Well, we just don’t know. And

uncertainty, as we all recognise, damages

investment and business planning.

We are already suffering from the instability

of the Stormont Assembly, which is eroding

business confidence and making it less likely

that companies from the United States and

elsewhere will invest here. We now have

parallel uncertainty about the UK’s place

within Europe.

The impact of the UK leaving the EU would

be much more damaging to Northern Ireland

than it would be to Great Britain. For one thing,

our relationship with the Republic of Ireland is

vital to us in ways that no international trading

relationship is as key to GB.

Secondly, Northern Ireland remains poor

relative to the rest of the UK. And, specifically,

the North West is much poorer than the rest

of Northern Ireland. This means that our

businesses have to be export focused to

generate adequate revenues – there is simply

not sufficient wealth here to sustain the

business activity we need to create large

numbers of jobs. Leaving the EU would

substantially reduce our export opportunities.

If the UK did leave the EU, it is likely that the

country would join EFTA, the European Free

Trade Association. In this we would be like

Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. And the

Swiss operate border controls for people

arriving from its neighbouring countries. So

would the same apply here? Presumably.

Our businesses trade on two sides of the

border – as if the border does not exist. For

most day-to-day purposes the border actually

does not exist. To recreate that border is

unimaginable. Derry does not want to be at

the end of the road.

Whichever direction you travel in, at

present, Derry is the beginning of an exciting

journey.

Let us keep it that way.

Defending the EUSinead McLaughlin, chief executive, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce kicks-off thedebate that will dominate our livers for the next 18 months

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP



SPONSORED ARTICLE


Mobility advances, unified collaboration

(UC) tools and growing Wi-Fi

networks have all combined to create

a more flexible and productive workplace. In

fact, the idea of a static workplace is rapidly

disappearing as a younger generation of

employees join the workforce.

These so-called Millennials have been

connected to a range of devices for most of

their lives and value the greater flexibility and

collaboration that tools such as IM, social

networks, videoconferencing and Wi-Fi bring.

The Effects of a Modern ConnectedWorkplace

It’s clear that a digital workplace can deliver

productivity benefits. Businesses that

implement social technologies for employee

interaction increase the productivity of high-

skilled workers by 20–25 per cent (McKinseyGlobal Institute, 2012).

According to Deloitte, second generation

digital collaboration tools such as virtual

meetings, enterprise social networks and IM

allow for a higher frequency of shorter but

more engaging contact.

In a 2013 study across 6 countries in

Western Europe, they found that employees

with access to effective collaboration tools

were 17 per cent more satisfied with their

workplace culture.

UC and a more established Wi-Fi network

are fuelling the growth of trends like BYOD.

Gartner predicts that by 2016 38 per cent of

enterprises expect to stop providing their

workers with devices, and by 2017 50 per

cent of companies will require their

employees to supply their own device.

By allowing employees to use their own

devices enterprises can tap into significant

benefits. BYOD can reduce the upfront costs

of hiring, workers have access to market-

leading technology faster, employees are

juggling less devices and are happier using

their own, employees are more productive

quicker as they are familiar with their own

device and less time is spent on training or

upskilling workers.

Organisations are Playing Catch-upThe benefits of a more flexible approach to

working are clear, yet according to statistics,

the modern workplace has yet to emerge.

Latest results from CIPD found that only 35

per cent of employers offer mobile working

arrangements and actual uptake is as low as

14 per cent.

Deloitte’s 2013 study highlighted that just

nine per cent of respondents believed their

organisation to have a very effective

infrastructure for sharing and collaboration.

The technology is there to enable greater

take-up, so what’s stopping businesses from

freeing up employees from their desks?

Creating an open digital working

environment can be a minefield for

enterprises, who need to walk a fine line

between respecting employee privacy and

protecting intellectual property and sensitive

data.

According to research by Deloitte, the big

collaboration blockers are traditional human

resource issues like workplace culture and

management structure. HR and IT within

organisations need to work hand-in-hand to

move digital collaboration tools from ‘nice to

have’ to ‘core applications’.

Where to start with a DigitalWorkplace Policy?

Every company is different and flexible

work policies are not a ‘one size fits all’

solution but here are some of the key

elements:

• Assess the tools employees are using and

determine an acceptable usage policy for each

- ensure that employees read and understand

them.

• Make it clear what is permitted on social

media from the outset to avoid any confusion.

Companies should make sure that employees

know how to react to negative comments and

that they are not permitted to post

confidential company data.

• Clearly state what type or classification of

information can be communicated via IM.

Your policy may want to include the

company's right to monitor usage.

• Ensure personal devices that are used for

work purposes are password protected.

• Draw up a list of applications that are

acceptable to use on own/company devices.

An acceptable usage list means all employees

are aware of the applications and other

resources that are considered safe by their

company.

• Make sure the workplace policy covers

accessing sensitive data from a personal

device and use of Wi-Fi hotspots.

• Don’t underestimate the power of

executives as role models.

In conjunction with a comprehensive policy,

a mobile device management (MDM) solution

is worth investing in if flexible working is

prevalent in an enterprise. MDM solutions

make it easier for companies to track, monitor

and secure employee interactions.

When it comes to security, an ‘information-

focused’ strategy will become more prevalent

with greater focus on detective and reactive

controls. In practice, this means

implementing context-aware security

monitoring for internal and external

environments, threat intelligence assessment

capabilities and incident response.

Regardless of the added complexity, the

modern connected workplace is inevitable.

Gartner predicts that by 2018, 25 per cent of

large organisations will have an explicit

strategy to make their corporate computing

environments similar to a consumer

computing experience.

There’s no doubt that workers of today

expect to be able to work on their terms: at

non-traditional hours, from non-traditional

workplaces like cafes, using their own laptops

or smartphones and with access to

collaborative tools.

For many enterprises, attracting top talent

means creating a Millennial-friendly

workplace. This transformed workplace is

one where flexibility is

encouraged and supported

in an environment that

protects both the worker

and the enterprise.

Matt McCloskey is salesdirector with eircom Business Solutions NI.uk.linkedin.com/in/mattmccloskeywww.eircom.co.uk.twitter.com/eircomUKlinkedin.com/company/eircomni


The workplace has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. Advances inmobility and devices and increasingly tech savvy workers have forced many enterprisesto re-assess their definition of the workplace and adapt to demands for a more flexibleapproach to work.

is your workplace ready forTHE MILLENNIALS?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

http://www.eircom.co.uk


After the firm expectation of a hung

parliament, the recent election result

was an unexpected boost for the UK’s

markets. Sterling rallied, shares surged and

the City breathed a collective sigh of relief.

However, now the dust has settled, and

the champagne corks have been swept

away at Tory HQ, attention is turning to

what the medium and long-term

consequences of the Conservative victory

might be.

Undoubtedly, a single party government

means greater stability, and that can only

be a good thing for the financial sector.

There is no reason for the Bank of England

to become agitated, and the markets will be

reassured that the Government has a

mandate to deal with the budget deficit in a

focused way, without the need for plea-

bargaining with coalition partners at every

turn.

There are rising waves ahead, however.

As ever, perhaps the most pressing concern

is money, or rather, the lack of it. While the

Conservatives do not have a reputation for

profligacy, a large part of their election

promises hinged on giveaways – whether

the promise of free childcare for 30 hours a

week or slashed inheritance tax.

Funding for these concessions needs to

be found somewhere and this is one thing

that will continue to be in short supply for

some time to come as Chancellor George

Osborne continues the challenging task of

rebalancing the economy.

Further north from the Palace of

Westminster, the SNP victory, and Alex

Salmond’s declaration that “the Scottish

lion has roared” also means that Scotland

will continue to be a source of perceived

instability, if not actual instability. However,

the economy most at risk of destabilisation

is its own, with the SNP likely to press for

increased tax raising powers, something

which risks making business in the north of

the border less attractive, and bringing

with it the real risk of disinvestment.

There is also the looming spectre of the

promised in-out EU referendum, something

which many commentators argue could

rock the markets as the time nears and

fears of a ‘Brexit’ heighten. It is worth

remembering here, however, that business

can give Whitehall a run for its money

when it comes to politicking. Business

leaders catastrophizing about the result of

the referendum in the media are being

astute, sending David Cameron the clear

message that he needs to negotiate hard

with Europe ahead of any referendum in

order to secure terms which are likely to

generate the result that industry wants.

He is in a good position to achieve this.

Germany sees the UK’s market-led

economy as a useful foil to more

interventionist economies such as that of

France and thus will be amenable to re-

negotiating terms which will be more

palatable to both British businesses and

the British electorate.

For all the media brouhaha about the

UK’s relationship with the EU, then, it is

likely that the issue will be resolved

without resorting to extreme measures.

Certainly, I would expect the markets to

give Britain the benefit of the doubt ahead

of any such referendum.

So in the short term, we are not

anticipating the UK’s political scene

making waves in the markets. That is not to

say that all is well on the horizon, however.

Instead, those waves are much more likely

to come from without the island, in the

form of US interest rate rises, growth

slowdown in China and the effect of

Greece’s eurogroup negotiations, all of

which could well have a tangible impact on

UK investors in the near future.

About Quilter Cheviot

Quilter Cheviot, part of Old Mutual Wealth, isone of the UK’s largest discretionaryinvestment firms and can trace its heritage to1771. The firm is based in twelve locationsacross the UK, Jersey and Ireland and has totalfunds under management of £17.5bn (€24bn)*(as at 31 March 2015).

The firm is based in twelve locations acrossthe UK, Jersey and Ireland. It focusses primarilyon structuring and managing discretionaryportfolios and funds for private clients,charities, trusts, pension funds andIntermediaries.

The business’ Belfast Office works closelywith independent financial advisers to assistindividuals with their investment strategies,delivering a bespoke service built on robustresearch and lasting personal relationships.

Nigel Crawford, Head Of Office for investment management company Quilter Cheviot in Belfast, tells BusinessFIrst what the post-election landscape might look like.

Post election stability, but choppierwaters ahead globally


First off, allow me to introduce myself.

I’m Patrick Gallen, and I’m the new

chairman of Chartered Accountants

Ulster Society. This is my first contribution

to ‘Business First’, and I’m delighted to be

taking up from where my predecessor, Paul

Henry, left off.

CAUS has a membership of 3,800 across

all sectors of the local economy and, as a

professional body, is perfectly placed to

provide in-depth analysis and comment on

what is happening.

So, with that in mind, let’s kick off with

Corporation Tax, and how the turmoil on

the vexed question of Welfare Reform could

impact adversely on the devolution of the

power to Belfast.

As I write, talks to resolve what to many

seem an intractable issue are continuing.

I’m an optimist by nature, and my hope is

that at some stage soon, the political

parties, aided by the two Governments, will

find a way through the political ‘thicket’.

The Northern Ireland economy needs the

power which, it is argued, will serve as a

trump card in attracting game-changing

and valuable inward investment projects to

these shores. I’m not going to repeat word-

for-word what economists have said about

recovery in 2015. We all know it is shaky

and in need of stabilisation.

We have unprecedented cuts coming our

way in the Public Sector with significant job

losses. Therefore, we don’t have the luxury

to ponder and procrastinate.

As a region, we have to grasp Corporation

Tax powers and get a rate established with

the minimum of delay so that the people in

Invest NI who promote and market us

internationally can deploy the ultimate

piece of persuasion in international

boardrooms.

If the devolution timetable slips from

2017, Northern Ireland will suffer. Our

economy will falter and stutter; the

Republic of Ireland will power ahead and a

chance to make a significant mark will

have, at best, been delayed. Put simply, we

cannot allow that to happen!

No one is pretending that Corporation

Tax on its own will radically transform the

economy.

Other elements have to tie in with the

power to set the rate – either 12.5 or 10 per

cent - and they encompass an investment in

our infrastructure and addressing

challenges in R&D, innovation, skills, access

to finance and productivity.

At the centre of a real desire to up our

game must be a determination to act with

speed when new opportunities present

themselves, and to nurture new thinking

which places enterprise front and centre.

2015 will be challenging. It will be less so

if we have political stability instead of a

crisis-a-day with accompanying doomsday

narratives.

From where I sit, the message is pointed:

let’s sort out the impasse over Welfare

Reform and get down to the real challenges

we face which are building opportunities,

restoring confidence and giving the can-do

approach room to flourish.

It’s time to put enterprise first and then

we can all benefit going forward.

It’s time to putenterprise firstsays Patrick Gallen, chairman, Chartered Accountants Ulster Society

COMMENTARY

From where I sit, themessage is pointed: let’ssort out the impasse overWelfare Reform and getdown to the realchallenges we facewhich are buildingopportunities, restoringconfidence and givingthe can-do approachroom to flourish. It’stime to put enterprisefirst and then we can allbenefit going forward.Patrick Gallen



WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Leading Global Ambition at theWomen In Business Conference

Business Women urged tojoin with 1200 others inWomen In Business

Women in Business, is slashing

its annual membership fee to

£25 in a one-off bid to double

its numbers and attract women from

small businesses and organisations.

They want to offer all business women

access and engagement with the fastest

growing network of its kind on the

island and believe that any perceived

financial barrier to joining will now be

removed with this new fee which

averages at just over £2.00 per month.

The new membership fee is available

now.

To become a member log onto

www.womeninbusinessni.com or tel

0800 032 8533.

Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive of Women

in Business, said: “This year’s theme of

‘leading global ambition’ allowed us to

engage speakers who are truly ambitious,

great leaders and operating at a global level

but more importantly they are local role

models.

“It was important following the success of

our International Conference last year that we

showcase our home grown talent. The

message is to everyone regardless of size that

you are a leader, you should be ambitious and

you should look globally for new markets and

trends.

“From Irish native Rosaleen Blair of

Alexander Mann to Argento founder, Pete

Boyle from Strabane, and Grainne Kelly of

Bubblebum from Derry~Londonderry, we had

a real mix of entrepreneurial styles and

business passions which was extremely well

received by those attending.

“Our speakers touched nerves, challenged

ambitions, provoked goals and thoughts,

inspired and motivated the delegates, and

they left the conference empowered and ready

to lead their business with a real sense of

global ambition.”

Ellvena Graham, Head of Ulster Bank

Northern Ireland, who were key sponsor of

the Conference, said: "Ulster Bank has a strong

track record of supporting female

entrepreneurship, through initiatives such as

our BusinessWomenCan networking events

and resources, and we would encourage local

women to engage with the bank as we can

provide support for their exciting plans for

growth."

This year’s conference offered delegates a

new element in the ‘Mentoring Market’ where

pairs of mentors offered advice in breakout

sessions from sectors including agri food,

creative industries, local government,

manufacturing and financial. This session was

followed by facilitated networking where

delegates had 30 minutes to discuss the

findings, learnings and secrets of success

shared by the speakers and mentors.

In celebration of Women in Business

rebrand, a special membership fee of £25 has

been introduced.

To join Women in Business tel 0800 032

8533, log onto

www.womeninbusinessni.com, follow the

organisation on facebook

/womeninbusinessni and on twitter

@wibni.

http://www.womeninbusinessni.com


http://www.womeninbusinessni.com

Anew online map shop, which allows

Land & Property Services (LPS)

customers to purchase Ordnance

Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) mapping

products, is proving to be a real success in the

business community.

The new website means that customers

anywhere in the world and at any time are

now able to view, purchase and download the

extensive range of OSNI digital map products

to their computers and tablets within minutes

and order OSNI paper map products online.

Who will benefitThe OSNI map shop is proving to be of

particular benefit to solicitors, engineers,

architects, surveyors and property

developers. It provides quick and easy access

to OSNI’s most popular products such as OSNI

ACEmap®.

ACEmaps are the definitive location

mapping for planning applications, property

conveyancing and land registration in

Northern Ireland. Solicitors, in particular, can

benefit from buying ACEmaps online, cutting

down on postal time and paperwork.

ACEmap online also allows users to see if any

accompanying lands are covered within the

area selection with the option of changing

scale, orientation or paper size.

A further feature of the site which is

proving popular, especially with architects, is

the new bespoke mapping function. This

function allows users to select areas of

interest for large scale vector mapping,

commonly used in AutoCAD. This creates an

area more relevant to any shape of site and

avoids unnecessary coverage, makes the file

smaller for systems to handle and reduces

costs compared to purchasing map tiles.

The site also gives access to

orthophotography and height products,

1:10,000 raster mapping and a host of other

data for more detailed work.

More than paper mapsNew Finance Minister, Arlene Foster said:

“Ordnance Survey mapping products have

been trusted for centuries and this new

online map shop shows that they provide

more than just paper maps. I am delighted to

see such a positive uptake in the services

offered on the online map shop and would

encourage everyone to visit the new website

and browse the range of products on offer”.

The new website, which was developed by

Land & Property Services in partnership with

nidirect and BT, is now hosted within nidirect,

the official government website for Northern

Ireland.

For more information, visit

www.nidirect.gov.uk/osniTo keep up to date with Ordnance Survey NI

news and events, follow OSNI on twitter:

@osni_maps.

Online map shop a realbenefit to business community

Hilton Paris Opera chooses Sonet Communications

In 2014, the prestigious Hilton Paris

Opera hotel embarked on an 18-month

refurbishment and upgrade programme

throughout the entire building.

A key element of this process called for

the installation of new structured cabling

for all data, telephony, wireless access and

fibre optics throughout the landmark

property.

The client initiated a process of

competitive tender, which attracted a global

response from cabling specialists. However,

based on its proposed methodology and

price, plus extensive prior experience, the

contact to complete the new cable install

was awarded to Sonet Communications

from Lisburn, in Northern Ireland.

Our approach By drawing on our prior experience of

work within hotel environments, including

those in the Hilton Group, the Sonet team

was able to respond quickly and effectively

to the challenges of this project:

• Careful pre-planning meant that all

issues relating to compliance with French

health and safety issues were successfully

addressed.

• Excellent relations were established with

other contractors and language barriers

were overcome.

• Rigorous testing of each phase ensured

that exacting quality standards were

maintained throughout.

• Full training on the new data and fibre

network was delivered on time and to all

appropriate Hilton hotel IT staff.

• Full signoff completed on time.

Choosing the Right SolutionAt Sonet Communications we opted for

the Excel range of products, one which we

had much experience of installing.

Sonet have a long established relationship

with Eurocables in Belfast who are an

approved Excel Cabling Partner, so they

provided the Excel end-to-end Category 6

solution.

Outputs Complete customer delight is always our

aim, and this was achieved on the Hilton

Paris Opera project. However, in addition to

fulfilling all of the requirements laid down

in the brief, the Sonet team was also able to

resolve a number of long-running technical

issues which had plagued the data and

telephony systems within the hotel.

Furthermore, there were no hidden costs or

surprises for the client. Any changes or

additional works were carefully explained

and costed, so that the benefits resulting

from them became self-evident to the

overall Project Managers.

In response to the professional and

diligent manner in which Sonet

Communications undertook their role in this

project, the French construction programme

managers, Artelia International, awarded

Sonet additional work on the site.

For further information on how Sonet

Communications can resolve your cabling

issues, contact John Robson on: 9262 2299

SPONSORED ARTICLE

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/osni


In May, the popular FSB village made a

return to Balmoral Show and

demonstrated the diverse range of sectors,

goods and services that small businesses

represent throughout Northern Ireland.

Ranging from canine hydrotherapy

treatments to emergency medical supplies,

our members are indicative of the extent to

which small businesses offer essential

services, whilst also being the established

backbone to the local economy.

Northern Ireland has a high dependence on

the rural economy. Ulster Bank figures

recently revealed the predominance of agri-

businesses as they cited that one in four

businesses in Northern Ireland was currently

classified as agri-business. A large number of

our members own rural businesses and as a

result are affected by rural crime.

According to figures released by the

National Farmers Union (NFU) the level of

rural crime increased by 15 per cent last year,

and was estimated to cost the local economy

£3.9million, which reflects an increase from

the 2012 figure of £3.4million.

The prevalence of rural crime is something

that FSB highlighted during a recent

presentation by FSB on business crime to the

Northern Ireland Assembly’s Justice

Committee.

Presenting on behalf of the Federation of

Small Businesses (FSB) in Northern Ireland,

Policy Chair Wilfred Mitchell OBE, explained

that whilst retail crime was often brought to

the fore of such discussions, it was vital that

other crimes impacting businesses were not

overlooked.

Mr Mitchell outlined: “Agri-business is a

major contributor to the Northern Irish

economy, having the highest agri-business

rate in the United Kingdom.

“Rural crime on agri-businesses have not

only severe financial impacts but also

emotional. This is due to the fact that most

rural businesses are home-based, so the

crime will impact on home and family life as

well as livelihood.

“An FSB analysis of rural and urban

businesses has revealed that overall urban

located businesses are more likely to report

crime than rural businesses with 47.1 per

cent of urban businesses reporting crime

compared to 40.5 per cent of rural

businesses,” he explained.

A 2010 survey carried out by the FSB on

business crime revealed that only 60 per cent

of members overall, urban and rural, reported

crimes such as aggression, intimidation,

criminal damage and even burglary. The

primary reason provided for the response

was lack of faith that the police would take

their complaints seriously.

Indeed something that is increasingly

voiced by our FSB members has been a lack of

frustration and confidence at the low rates of

conviction, following earlier reporting of

crime.

Mr Mitchell added: “Unfortunately business

crime tends to create little concern amongst

many members of the public, as it is regarded,

due to misconceptions around insurance

payouts, as being a victimless crime. This is

far from the case.

“As well as the cost to business resources,

time and confidence; a business making a

claim on their insurance as a result of crime

will see an increase in their premiums, which

have already increased over the last few

years.”

The FSB have emphasised two steps toenable greater business confidence indealing with business crime.

Firstly through greater partnership with

local policing, such as through the PCSPs and

secondly for the topic of business crime to be

treated as a separate topic to domestic crime,

in order to establish more accurate figures.

One forum that has been helpful to small

businesses is the Policing and Community

Safety Partnerships (PCSPs). The FSB are

keen to encourage business owners to be

involved in their local PCSPs as they provide a

source of co-operation directly between

business and the PSNI, which is invaluable.

In a culture of underreporting of business

crime, this partnership is vital as it focuses on

what threats businesses are facing and what

measures can be taken to improve safety, and

ultimately business confidence and growth.

The FSB contends that local PCSPs can play

a greater role in highlighting business

concerns by putting crime against businesses

at the heart of their Action Plans. It is vital

that businesses are encouraged to continue to

participate.

Both rural and urban rates of business

crime in Northern Ireland remain unclear and

the full extent is beyond any figures that are

inaccurately recorded. As the most

underreported crime by victims, Crime

Statistics for Northern Ireland are published

each year by the PSNI in line with Home

Office counting rules. These statistics include

integrating crimes against businesses into

overall domestic crime statistics as opposed

to separating business crime into its own

category.

Mr Mitchell concluded: “The FSB are keen

to engage on the issue of business crime with

our members and provide them with support

and education to better protect themselves

and their livelihoods.

“Simultaneously we are lobbying our law

makers to identify a truer picture of the

extent of business crime, by treating it as a

standalone topic and measuring its

detrimental impact on the local economy

overall.”

Business crime is an issue for both urbanand rural based businessesFSB Northern Ireland

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP



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The Chartered Institute of Marketing

(CIM) recently published the findings

of its survey into small-business

marketing. A series of events was held in May

throughout the UK, including one in Belfast in

partnership with Ulster University Business

School, to introduce the headline figures but

also to hear from small business ‘at the coal-

face’. What is the reality of marketing for

small businesses? It it fundamentally

different from big business marketing?

The title of the events held in May was

Think big, act small but perhaps the message

really is ‘think big, act big’.

The digitisation of marketing has provided

a great opportunity for small businesses. On

the web you can appear to be a large

company, and although it’s not entirely a level

playing field, small businesses can be far

more flexible than their larger competitors.

The buzz-word these days is ‘agile’ but

small businesses have been ‘agile’ for ages.

They know their customers, they’re often

literally close to them, and they can respond

much faster to fashion, trends and

circumstances.

As one small-business owner put it “Being a

small business with, we hope, a big profile,

we all live and breathe our brand. We are the

marketing. It’s in our ethos.”

Especially so for one-person businesses,

you are the brand, it’s you they’re buying.

When we talk about big business brands it’s

often in terms which you would associate

with an individual.

“A brand = its reputation + your own

personal experience of it” sometimes

expressed as what people would say about

you when you’re not in the room. CIM’s

Marketing Expert web site

www.cimmarketingexpert.co.uk expands

on the definition of a brand, saying that a

brand is ‘a promise’. You know what you’re

going to get with a well-branded product or

service.

Defining a brandA brand is ‘a set of beliefs, values and

perceptions that exist in the mind of your

stakeholders’, so it’s not what you think about

your brand, it’s what your customers think

about you.

Many people think a brand is a logo, but it’s

more than that being a combination of your

logo and corporate identity; again, what

people think of you. A brand is ‘a storehouse

of trust and reputation’. So small-business

owners are brand experts. They have far

more control over their brand than their

larger competitors.

The problem is that small-business owners

rarely have the time to focus on long-term

strategy. They’re often firefighting today’s

problems rather than creating tomorrow’s

success. They think small and act small.

The UK Government’s 2014 Small Business

Survey found that most feel they're good at

business strategy, yet only 28 per cent say

they are good at entering new markets and

just 44 per cent think they are good at

developing and introducing new or improved

products and services. Which is a bit of a

worry when nearly 60 per cent see

competition as a major barrier to success.

It looks like marketing is needed to deliver

those growth ambitions – yet only seven per

cent are seeking help.

But do small businesses have growth

ambitions? The CIM survey suggests that

‘growth’ is not top of their agenda.

Remarkably, only 37 per cent of respondants

said they had ambitions to grow their

business and have an exit plan with a view to

sell. Thirty one per cent said they were trying

to build a profitable blue-chip company with

scale. This suggests that some 60 to 70 per

cent are happy to remain as they are. Part of

the problem here is semantics.

The survey asks about ‘growth’ but what

does that mean? For many small businesses

‘growth’ implies more staff, bigger premises,

bigger overdraft, bigger risk, bigger

headaches. Is that what they really want? Or

‘growth’ can mean bigger turnover, bigger

profit, more stability, an easier exit strategy.

There’s perhaps a clue to the answer in the

survey result which stated that for 75 per

cent of respondants “the most important

thing for our organisation is to create a stable

working environment for the long term”.

Similarly 62 per cent said that “in our

organisation it’s as much about values and

ethics as profit”. So for these companies

‘growth’ doesn’t necessarily mean bigger

profits. Indeed 51 per cent said “we just want

to generate sufficient revenue/funding/profit

to sustain business activity”.

Does this demonstrate a startling lack of

ambition, or the reality of small-business

strategy? Remember that Google and Apple

were small businesses once.

Even for small businesses, standing still

isn’t an option or else you’ll see your

customers taken away from you by other

innovative entrpreneurs. A longer-term

perspective is where marketing – done well

by professionals – can help to build

sustainable competitive advantage through

customer relationships and brand

development. And if ethics are top of your

agenda, then surely satisfying the customer

and providing high-quality value is key to

defining your success?

Join the debate by following

@CIMInfo_Ireland #CIMSmallBiz15 and visit

www.cim.co.uk/ireland.

Richard Houdmont, Network Manager (Wales, Ireland and Isle of Man), CIM

Think big, act small?

COMMENTARY

Three of the speakers at ‘Think Big Act Small’ an event for small and medium enterprises at UlsterUniversity Belfast campus as part of Local Business Week. They are chartered marketer EimearKearney of Lough Neagh Partnership, Christine Watson, Chair of the CIM Ireland Board and KirstyMcManus, Director of the Ulster University Business School SME Centre.

http://www.cimmarketingexpert.co.uk


http://www.cim.co.uk/ireland


Adam Spence, Niall Bradley, Deaglan Lundy and Bob McTernaghan

Brendan O'Kane, Daniel McCorry, Paul Farrell and William Brown

Ciaran O'Hare, Chris Kinney, Conor Woods and John Greer

Darwin Smith, Hugh McGoldrick, Joe Tunney and James McKervill

Tom Snodden, Mark Lyness, Ronnie Hill and Kieran Donohoe

Ken Hanna, Ryan McIlhatton, Andrew Agnew and Godfrey Duncan Dean Beckett, Stephen Keown, Robert Brown and Ciaran Maguire

Donald Eakin, Julie Leonard, Tommy Maguire and Diarmuid Convery

ASDON GOLF DAY 2015

The Asdon group and their clients enjoyed the annual Asdon golf day

on 28th May 2015 at Dunmurry Golf Club.

Despite the threat of a few showers the day was a great success

followed by a wonderful meal in the clubhouse followed by the eagerly

anticipated prize giving – a great day of golf all round.

Asdon Golf Day



Over the last few years we have been

working hard on the TELL-US awards

with our partners across Europe.

As one of the founding members of the

consortium which successfully bid for EU

funding under the FP7 instrument we were

determined that the awards would provide

real benefit to the region.

As I write this on the eve of the finals at the

Futur en Seine exhibition in Paris we don’t yet

know who has won the grand final, but one

thing is for sure they really deserve it !

However all the participants have gained

from engaging in the competition through

having market entry advice through to being

introduced to purchasers from across Europe.

We are very grateful to Capita in Northern

Ireland who provided significant sponsorship.

Most people would agree that educating

young people is part of the greater good,

something well worth supporting by society.

Our objective is to change the world, to

better learning opportunities for young

people. We are doing this because we aim for

the future, for a better, more modern,

education.

TELL US, "Technology Enhanced Learning

Leading to Unique Stories" is a twoyear

project funded by the Seventh Framework

Programme of the European Commission

(Grant agreement n°619462).

It aims at addressing the inertia of the TEL

deployment in European formal education

systems by organising a two stage contest

process throughout Europe 28 and by

demonstrating successful adoption and

scaling-up of the awarded products and

demand by the formal learning context.

There is no doubt that Technology

Enhanced Learning (TEL) has created

enormous changes in schools, universities

and in vocational learning. However, these

innovations have tended to be unsustainable.

Too often, initiatives need a high degree of

effort to be sustained, and are consequently

endangered when funding stops.

At the same time, mobile and social

information and communication technologies

are fundamentally changing our lives.

Nowadays we use them naturally to keep in

contact with our friends, to seek information,

to buy things and to work. In many domains,

these emerging technologies demonstrate

that scaling is possible.

However few educational institutions have

taken these technologies up in a systematic

way in order to include them in their learning

strategy. In spite of a huge amount of

technologies available for learning purposes,

teachers and students are NOT taking them

up and the real breakthrough of new teaching

and learning methods with new technologies

has not happened.

To address this problem, the TELL US

project organised a range of contests aimed at

finding technologies that have successfully

been scaled up and have shown successful

results in formal educational contexts, in

order to help them grow in size and

geographically.

The challenge offered by this contest

approach was to allow suppliers and

producers to be open to new potentially risky

ideas and create breakthroughs in TEL by

demonstrating the depth and breadth of

innovative and effective solutions available.

The TELL US contest was open for ALL

participants from large companies, SMEs,

innovators, formal education actors and

students.

The competition was subdivided into the

“formal educational environment” which is

centred on the three following main market

segments:

• Schools

• Vocational Education and Training

• Higher Education (High Schools and

Universities)

Following the competition, when the

winner is selected by the grand jury, we will

be publicising the innovative technologies

and introducing these services to potential

buyers and the wider public.

The consortium members will be providing

detailed market entry information for all EU

regions and allowing these great technologies

to achieve the market scale they deserve.

Fr more information see

www.tellusawards.eu

Be WiserSeperately we continue with our

Cybersecurity cluster project Be Wiser

(www.be-wiser.eu) and are now at the stage

where we are reaching outside of Europe to

engage users, practitioners and security

professionals worldwide.

The Centre for Secure Technoliges (CSIT) at

Queens have been central to the process and

the BeWiser group ran breakout sessions at

the recent Cyber Security Summit.

Our next steps are to begin to really form a

community outside the project group

anchored by our website and by trade

missions and visits.

Our first trade mission will be to Dubai

during GITEX technology week where we will

be showcasing the amazing work done in

Northern Ireland and trying to connect this

with markets in the middle east.

Northern Ireland companies attending the

mission can get support from Invest Northern

Ireland and any digital company with even a

passing interest in security should check out

what’s on offer.

We will be following this up in 2016 with

missions to San Francisco during the RSA

conference and possibly the Info security

Europe event in London, so watch this space

and check out the BeWiser website and

Momentum newsletter.

Many people are completely unaware that we

in Momentum are engaged in these projects

and the many other things that we do.

If you aren’t aware then a good starting

point would be to check out our website and

sign up for our eZine (the link is on the top ofour website) www.momentumni.org

MomentumNI engages in projectsacross the communityby Michael Boble, CEO, Momentum

SCIENCE & IT


http://www.tellusawards.eu

http://www.be-wiser.eu

http://www.momentumni.org


Over the past few years we have seen

exponential growth in popularity of

accessing the internet and with this an

increase in demand for wireless high speed

connectivity. People expect it everywhere.

They also expect it at low or no cost as a

guest. One study has shown that over 90% of

customers expect free, reliable Wi-Fi available

in any public building or space.

This is causing some businesses a bit of a

headache as offering these services is often

more complicated than we think and can be a

challenge for a number of reasons.

Wi-Fi traditionally only targeted small

spaces like coffee shops that had small

amounts of people connecting at one time. As

the demand for such services has increased

this traditional Wi-Fi approach of a box in the

corner is no longer good enough, when it

could have many guests connecting at once.

So where does a business start? The

starting position, is understanding the

potential number of users and the

connectivity required to offer a fast Wi-Fi

service. If the existing broadband speed is

not sufficient to support this, then there are

alternative technologies which can provide

the required high-speed.

The next requirement is to model the actual

environment and estimate the number / type

of wireless access points required to provide

the solution, and if there are going to be areas

of high-density coverage. Sometimes this will

result in the need for specialist equipment.

The third question is, can you leverage the

investment needed either through charging

or by using the infrastructure for your

business purposes, such as acquiring user

data for marketing or your own internal

operations.

When installing Wi-Fi for public use, a

business must ask itself?

• How many people do I expect to be

connected to the service at once, and is my

speed sufficient to allow them to have a

satisfactory experience?

• Will the Wi-Fi cover my entire business

area, or certain zones?

• Who is best positioned to help me with my

Wi-Fi questions – is it my IT person, or should

I talk to a communications provider?

• What precautions do I need to provide,

such as restricting access to sites / use

disclaimers etc?

What begins as “We need Wi-Fi” becomes

on the surface, a lot more complex. Choosing

the correct connectivity partner, like so many

other business decisions is critical to the

success of the project. To help organisations

understand what needs to be considered,

Atlas is producing a help sheet to assist you. If

you would like a copy of the information

emailed to you please contact sales@atlas-

comms.com.

Richard Simpson, managing director of

Atlas Communication. Atlas provides in-

premises and hosted data, wireless and

telephony solutions to businesses across

Northern Ireland and can be contacted at

028 9078 6868.

Businesses under pressureto provide public Wi-Fi






SCIENCE & IT

We all follow different paths in our

personal and working lives but no

matter what we have chosen as a

career we have one thing in common, we all

strive to be successful at work, to progress in

our careers and achieve both personal and

professional growth.

The Chartered Institute for IT provides a

community in which IT professionals can

develop skills, initiate and take part in debate

on how we ensure that everyone benefits

from the fast moving world of IT, and inform

public policy on how IT can make a beneficial

contribution to society.

But being a member of a profession and

being recognised as a professional are not the

same thing.

While it takes dedication, time and training

to become a member of a profession it takes

something more to be recognised as a

professional.

You may be good at what you do, be a

brilliant software coder, understand

everything about networks or databases, have

outstanding talent in web site or agile digital

design but if you are not professional in your

approach and attitude then it speaks volumes

about who you really are, and it will make it

much harder to achieve the rewarding career

in IT you desire.

In my experience, being an IT professional

is primarily about fostering personal

development that leads to recognition:

• Self-recognition in terms of what it says

about yourself, are you proud of what you

do, do you want to tell people that you work

in IT, that you feel part of something bigger

– a vibrant and impactful community of IT

professionals?

• Peer recognition and your attitude to

colleagues – do you respect and

acknowledge the talents and efforts of your

IT colleagues, do you share knowledge

openly and are you generous with your

praise, and is this reciprocated?

• And, probably the most important of all,

customer recognition - do you go the extra

mile, do more than expected, walk the talk

by doing what you say you can do and

exceed the expectations of your customers

both inside and outside the business?

Being a professional means that you need to

become an expert, become the ‘go to’ person

and continue to develop your technical

competence in whichever area of IT you have

decided to follow.

You also need to be able to communicate

effectively and with the authority that comes

from both knowledge and practice. This

entails keeping up to date and this is

especially hard in the fast moving

environment of IT where things change so

rapidly.

It can be fun but it definitelyinvolves hard work.

Computers and IT are now a fundamental

part of the fabric of our society and for the

first time a new generation of young people

aspiring to become professionals within the

digital economy are leaving school to take

places at college, university or going directly

into employment.

The IT and digital sector offers rewarding

and exciting opportunities for school leavers

and a career in IT and the digital sector is

becoming the new career of choice for many

young people.

However, the IT profession is relatively

immature when compared to other

professions such as medicine, law, banking

and engineering, to name but a few.

That’s not to say it’s less important and, in

fact, its importance has increased

significantly over the past few years as the

impact of technology has resulted in major

economic growth and societal change.

The environment around us is becoming

increasingly connected and some estimates

suggest that 50 billion devices could be

connected to each other via the internet by

2020 with potentially over a trillion things

that could be connected.

The impact of such super connectedness

and the so-called ‘Internet of Things’ is

already radically changing the way we live,

work and communicate.

Therefore, in a connected world IT

professionals need to be cognisant of the

impact the work they do has and will have not

only on the businesses they work in but also

the society around them.

They need to understand that being a

professional in IT means disrupting and being

disrupted, and having skills and a positive

attitude will be needed to survive and

prosper.

Northern Ireland has a proud heritage of

inventors and innovators, and this trend

continues today with a growing number of

entrepreneurs and practitioners in areas such

as software, fintech, cyber security, networks,

health informatics and social media, to name

but a few.

Competition for digital skills is fierce and

the growth and retention of talent is key to

increasing Northern Ireland’s thriving digital

economy.

Automation is driving significant changes in

the workplace and we will see many jobs

becoming increasingly commoditised at all

levels.

Therefore it is essential that we continue to

recognise, promote and reward the

development of digital skills and foster a

sense of pride in our young IT professional.

Starting out This year the Belfast Branch of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, will be recognising the achievements of our young IT professionalsin Northern Ireland by introducing an ‘IT Young Professional of the Year Award’ at the award event in September. Bill McCluggage, chairof BCS Belfast branch looks at what it means to be an ‘IT professional’ and why should we recognise the development of professionalskills and the achievement of our talented young IT professionals in Northern Ireland?

Bill McCluggage


PlanNet21 Communications goingfrom strength to global domination


EY ‘International’ Finalist 2015 Denise

Tormey receives Prize from CPL's Ann

Heraty on behalf of PlanNet21

Communications.

Not only are PlanNet21 Communications

Ireland most highly accredited Cisco Gold

Partner, and have the most amount of CCIE

and Cisco accredited engineers across

Ireland, they have just announced a major

investment after purchasing a new head

office in Dublin’s prestigious Citywest

Business Campus.

Now with Offices in Belfast, Dublin, Cork,

Galway, France & San Francisco this puts

PlanNet21 Communications into the global

league.

With clients such as Facebook, Dell,

Yahoo, Paddy Power and locally here in

Northern Ireland such as Invest NI, Queens

University they are growing at a serious

pace.

And we hear very strong rumors of a

major announcement next month from the

company; they sure are one to watch.

Belfast OfficeTitanic Suites,

55-59 Adelaide Street,

Belfast,

BT2 8FE.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44-2890-726044

Web: www.plannet21.com

PlanNet21 Co-founder Denise Tormey accepts prestigious award

PlanNet21 Communications currently

employ over 70 staff across Ireland and

are seeking new employees, for all

locations, they hold the follow certifications,

and are very much a company you should be

considering when going to market for new

services

Certifications and Specialisations

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner

• Cisco Master Unified Communications

Specialisation

• Cisco Advanced Data Centre Networking

Specialisation

• Cisco Advanced Unified Communications

Specialisation

• Cisco Advanced Routing and Switching

Specialisation

• Cisco Advanced Security Specialisation

• Cisco Advanced Wireless LAN

Specialisation

• ATP - Cisco Unified Contact Centre

Enterprise

• ATP - Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal

• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

• Polycom Certified Partner

• Microsoft Unified Communications

Partner

• Microsoft Information Worker Partner

• Solar Winds Gold Partner

• Palo Alto Gold Partner

• NetApp Gold Partner

CareeropportunitieswithPlanNet21



http://www.plannet21.com


Businesses in Northern Ireland have

endured a challenging few years during

which survival was the number one

priority. Now the improving economic

outlook has provided some welcome

breathing space, there is a great opportunity

for enterprising companies to plan for the

future and explore new export markets.

In many ways, Northern Ireland is already

forging ahead. For example, the economic

development agency, Invest NI, exceeded its

target for job creation in 20141, generating an

additional £300m in annual salaries to boost

consumer spending power. However, the

agency also fell some way short of its four-

year goal for boosting export growth,

achieving 4.9 per cent against a target of 20

per cent. And this neatly encapsulates the

structural imbalance within the wider UK

economy that the Government wants to

address: consumer spending represents a

more significant driver of economic growth

than exports.

One current hindrance to export growth is

that manufacturers’ confidence has been hit

by concerns about the weakening euro and

continued problems in the Eurozone2. This

matters because Europe is such a significant

market for businesses in Northern Ireland.

The Manufacturing Sales & Exports Survey

2013/143 reported that exports saw an 8.6

per cent rise in real terms over the year. But

while the value of sales to the Republic of

Ireland grew by 9.9 per cent and sales to the

rest of the EU increased by 16.3 per cent,

exports to markets outside the EU rose by just

4.9 per cent.

Going for growthIt’s well recognised that businesses that

explore new export markets can expand their

customer base and boost sales, as well as

reducing their dependence on the EU. And

there is no shortage of emerging countries

with the potential for dynamic growth and a

growing population of middle-class

consumers, including Indonesia, Turkey,

Colombia, Peru, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Taking advantage of such growth

opportunities inevitably requires investment

and an appetite for risk but many businesses

are inhibited by the fear of excessive financial

losses, and it can be a frustrating struggle to

secure the funds necessary from investors for

new ventures.

In this situation, you might be surprised to

hear that working with a reputable credit

insurance provider, such as Coface, can make

a real difference. The traditional purpose of

credit insurance – protection in the event of

bad debt – is just one of a number of benefits

that could help unlock the potential of your

business:

1. Evaluating risks in overseasmarkets

It’s important to take every opportunity to

research your chosen export market,

including the economic prospects, the

likelihood of political instability and the

business climate. To this end, Coface’s

experienced economists produce regular

reports and assessments of the trading

situation in different countries and within

industry sectors to help you research

potential markets. Our business climate

assessments will highlight weaknesses in

corporate governance and corporate law

which could jeopardise the enforceability of

your contract.

2. Current intelligence aboutpotential business partners

It is not always easy to access up-to-date

and accurate intelligence about the trading

record and financial health of domestic and

overseas companies. However, Coface has

access to a global database which tracks the

trading behaviour of over 65 million

companies, as well as underwriters on the

ground to monitor local trends.

3. Cashflow protection in the eventof payment default

Customer insolvency and protracted late

payment jeopardise your cashflow, making it

difficult to pay staff, suppliers and meet other

business obligations. It’s a major cause of

business failure but credit insurance means

you can be confident of recovering the value

of an insured bad debt.

Coface has developed a range of credit

insurance policies to meet the needs of

different businesses, from SMEs to multi-

nationals. All protect policy-holders in the

event of non-payment by domestic and

overseas customers and include debt

collection. As well as traditional whole

turnover polices, it is also possible to obtain

cover for strategically important customers

or specific short-term risks.

4. Make your businessmore attractive tocommercial lenders

A credit-insured business

represents a demonstrably better

risk for investors than one which

is vulnerable to the failure of one

or two customers. Many Coface

customers have found that their

policy provides evidence of financial security

to banks and other sources of finance,

improving their credit options and borrowing

terms.

5. Streamline the creditmanagement process

All Coface clients have access to Cofanet, an

online policy and credit management tool

which allows them to apply for credit limits

on new customers; monitor and adjust

existing limits; view a real-time snapshot of

the distribution of credit risk in their

portfolio; and send messages directly to our

underwriting department.

For more information about Coface in

Northern Ireland, contact Chris Moore, Coface

Business Development Manager on

+353 86 607 2328.

Coface Ireland

Suite 5, Adelphi House

Upper Georges Street

Dun Laoghaire

Dublin, Ireland

(01) 230 4669

www.coface.ie

References:1 Invest NI beats targets in record year for new

jobs, BBC News online, 19 May 2015http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uknorthernireland32801990

2 Quarterly Economic Survey: Recoverycontinues, but pace slackens, Northern IrelandChamber of Commerce and industry, 21 April2015www.northernirelandchamber.com/chambernews/quarterlyeconomicsurveyrecoverycontinuesbutpaceslackens/51416/

3 Results from the Northern IrelandManufacturing Sales & Exports Survey 2013/14,Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency,3 December 2014www.detini.gov.uk/mses_2013_14_pdf.pdf

Insure and growCredit insurance can safeguard your business and help establish a stable platform for growth, explains Coface UK Director of Risk,Grant Williams.

SPONSORED ARTICLE


http://www.coface.ie

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk�northern�ireland�328019902



http://www.northernirelandchamber.com/chamber�news/quarterly�economic�survey�recovery�continues�but�pace�slackens/51416/




http://www.detini.gov.uk/mses_2013_14_pdf.pdf


People generally go through life thinking

about their health and their wealth.

Great care is taken off their money,

property and other possessions. Payments

made to the taxman are paid as an obligation

but with reticence.

The majority of wills that married couples

have are known as mirror wills. In that event

of first death all property goes to the survivor

and then on their death everything to the

family or other relatives. Single people leave

everything generally to nephews or nieces or

a favoured cause.

There are figures which state 70 per cent of

people do not have wills. Then the law of

intestacy kicks in and this can be costly and

complicated if there are lots of children from

various relationships or a far reaching family

tree .

In Northern Ireland families usually rely on

the family solicitor who in the past might

have assisted with house purchase or a

speeding fine. The lawyer was instructed to

draw up a will. They might be appointed as

executor or deal with probate. This is the

formal legal and money process required on

death with the will being an important

component

The downsides of a mirror will which

usually costs about £100 or less is that it

leaves the deceased’s assets subject to attack !

Savings accumulated over the years could be

lost to pay for the survivor’s care costs, an

inheritance tax bill of the surviving spouse

but also the next generation.

Or they could be lost to a child’s ex –spouse,

creditors or with people living longer, a

child’s care costs.

So how can a person revise their will or

draft a brand new one which is aligned with

the way they have run their lives-save taxes

and keep assets secure in the family

bloodline?

Most couples live below the Inheritance tax

threshold of £650,000. This is where first

spouse to pass away leaves everything to

survivor.

If after the first death there are other

beneficiaries the amount available to pass over

the survivor depletes. The tax rate of 40 per

cent then kicks in on the survivor’s death.

The bigger risk and the most punitive drain

on the family wealth are care costs.

A wealthy person going into care could be in

the same corridor as someone with a wealth of

says £23,250 .Care can cost anything from £500

plus per week .

It is sad to hear families talk about selling the

family home to fund care when it could be

prevented.

Bear in mind people have different health

and wealth profiles. Say a single child aged

60, already financially secure inherits

£200,000. Possibly they will invest this in

shares or put into a savings account.

The assumption is they are not going to

blow dad’s money on extravagance! This

money could then on their demise be caught

at 40 per cent tax ,or it could fund their care

or worse they could marry late in life and die

with a badly worded or no will and the money

go sideways to a completely different family.

Or say the child was married and the legacy

is set aside for children‘s marriage costs, gifts

or grandchildren’s educational needs a

divorce lawyer would probably agree that this

legacy would be factored into the divorce

settlement.

The family lamenting that their wealth has

gone to someone they knew all along was

wholly inappropriate for their beloved son or

daughter.

To keep family wealth in the bloodline is a

will with the assets being transferred on

death to a discretionary trust. The trustees

are the surviving spouse and the children.

Probate is done in the normal manner and

then the assets are “borrowed “from the trust.

Any attackers such as care costs, tax man or

ex- spouse can be warded off as the assets

have simply been on loan are a liability of the

recipient or lender.

People get confused by trusts thinking of

punitive tax rates, expensive ongoing fees or

loss of control of money to some impersonal

company. If a family home plus savings are

less than £650,000 there is no tax. Careful

planning for those with wealth above that can

be carried out.

Family money should only be managed by

the family held in their discretionary trust

with their solicitor or a licensed executor and

trustee company.

A County Antrim client helped was a

married gentleman and his wife who had

mirror wills and two grown up children.

No inheritance tax likely .They had two

grown up children. After a series of meetings

with the family and the executor and trustee

company the parents decided to update wills

and include discretionary trusts .

The family lawyer adjusted the deeds of the

house to make the parents tenants in

common. When the father died leaving

everything to his wife through the family

discretionary trust. Mum at this stage was

becoming vulnerable health wise and went

into care. The house was owned half by her

and half by the dad’s discretionary trust.

Under legislation the house is deemed to

have zero value. No one would want to buy

half a house! When the children sold the

house the proceeds went into each parent’s

trust and the children could borrow it to do

as they wished

Similar planning can be done for a widow

or widower .

Anyone wanting a free impartial discussion

on asset protection, inheritance tax or

bloodline planning contacted Martin Malseed

email: [email protected] or

phone 0792 900 2238

The real benefits of a carefullyplanned Willby Martin Malseed, Wealthcare Ireland

BEST PRACTICE

Under legislation the house isdeemed to have zero value. No onewould want to buy half a house!When the children sold the housethe proceeds went into eachparent’s trust and the childrencould borrow it to do as they wished



Just over ten years ago only homes and

businesses in the greater Belfast area were

able to connect to the convenience of

natural gas.

March 2005 marked a dramatic change

when firmus energy was awarded new

licences to build a second natural gas

network and to supply gas to ‘new gas towns

and cities’ along the routes of the North-West

pipeline, from Carrickfergus to

Derry~Londonderry, and the South-North

pipeline, which runs from just outside Dublin

to Ballyclare.

In less than ten years the Antrim-based

company has flourished and today has over

25,000 residential and commercial customers

in these ‘new gas towns and cities’. In 2010

firmus energy was also awarded a licence to

supply natural gas in the greater Belfast area

and 50,000 customers later the company now

supplies gas to over 75,000 customers across

Northern Ireland.

firmus energy continues to work with the

Utility Regulator in a bid to bring the benefits

of natural gas to even more locations and the

most recent expansion to receive approval is

for Richhill, Co Armagh. The company has

announced plans to invest around £1.1 million

in the infrastructure development which has

the potential to bring natural gas to around

1,200 homes and businesses in the area.

Among the 20 plus towns and cities across

Northern Ireland now connected to the

firmus energy natural gas network are

Portadown, Lurgan and Armagh and demand

from the neighbouring areas has been rapid.

The response to natural gas being made

available in Richhill has been very

encouraging with potential business

customers already declaring interest.

Michael Scott, managing director for firmus

energy said: “We have invested around £95

million in the local economy during the last

ten years and through regular negotiation

with the Utility Regulator have extended our

network into more and more new areas

resulting in us building out upwards of

900km of pipeline.

“These were towns, cities and villages

which had never had access to natural gas

and customers were quick to recognise the

advantages in terms of fuel efficiency,

convenience and environmental benefits.

“As we celebrate our tenth year in business,

we remain committed to investing in the

Northern Ireland economy by continuing to

identify and expand the natural gas network

into new areas. Along with our local

workforce of 100 people at our Antrim

headquarters, this also creates employment

opportunities for hundreds of local

contractors, installers and support agencies.

“Natural gas can provide many benefits for

homes and businesses. It is piped safely and

directly into premises so there are no worries

about running out, remembering to re-order,

spillages or fuel theft. As there is no need to

store fuel on site, the removal of oil or LPG

tanks can free up valuable outside space.

New natural gas boilers are highly efficient

and heating and hot water can operate

independently from each other. With a combi

boiler you simply heat your water as you use

it, so it’s always available and you don’t have

the expense of heating a large hot water tank.

At home, add cooking and tumble drying

using natural gas and you’ll see savings

compared to doing the same with electricity.

“And there are environmental benefits too.

Excluding power generation stations, firmus

energy now supplies around 50 per cent of the

natural gas consumed in Northern Ireland and

has displaced upwards of 450,000 tonnes of

CO2 emissions as a result; the equivalent of

over 90,000 fewer passenger cars on the road.”

firmus energy was bought by iCON

Infrastructure in July 2014, an independent

investment group focusing on acquiring and

operating infrastructure assets in Europe and

North America. Since its establishment in

2004, iCON’s team has been responsible for

the deployment of over €2.5 billion of capital

into infrastructure enterprises with a total

capitalisation of €10 billion.

iCON has a wealth of experience owning and

managing infrastructure businesses including

energy, railways, transportation and ports.

Paul Malan, Senior Partner of iCON

Infrastructure LLP, said: “Over the last ten

years, the team at firmus energy has built a

dynamic and reliable gas utility business that

emphasises efficiency and quality of service

to its customers and provides exciting career

opportunities for its employees. We are

delighted to be able to support the continued

growth of the business and the energy

industry in Northern Ireland.”

Michael Scott, added: “Right from the

outset iCON made a commitment which

provided job stability for our employees and

suppliers through a continued focus on

investing in the growth of both the natural

gas network in Northern Ireland and the

firmus energy business in general.

“We hope that, ten years into the future, we

will have been able to bring natural gas to

many more thousands of homes and

businesses across Northern Ireland.”

To find out more about firmus energy or

natural gas, visit www.firmusenergy.co.ukor for more information on getting connected,

contact the customer helpline on

0800 032 4567.

firmus energy – now available in 20 towns,cities and villages across Northern Ireland

SPONSORED ARTICLE


Pictured at the briefing in Richhill are: (foreground) Michael Scott, Managing Director and EricCosgrove, Engineering Director from firmus energy (behind) William Irwin MLA; David Taylor; CllrJim Speers; Mickey Brady MP MLA; Paul Stanfield, Sales Director firmus energy; Cathal Boylan MLA;Greg Bell, Finance Director firmus energy and Cllr Gareth Wilson

http://www.firmusenergy.co.uk


Current fire protection legislation

including the Fire and Rescue Services

(Northern Ireland) Order 2006 requires

property managers of all non-residential

premises to provide adequate fire protection.

It is their responsibility to ensure that there is

an updated, competent fire risk assessment.

To demonstrate that the responsible person

has met their obligations, many public

authorities and commercial organisations

now insist that their fire protection services

are carried out by a company that has been

third party certificated.

BAFE is the independent third party

certification, registration body for the fire

protection industry. We develop schemes for

UKAS accredited certification bodies to assess

and approve companies to recognised

standards.

There are now more than 1200 BAFE

registered companies across the UK. Our aim

is to support property managers to ensure

that they get quality fire protection for their

premises, staff and service users.

BAFE has introduced a UKAS accredited

scheme for Companies who carry out Fire

Risk Assessments (SP205). The scheme

considers the competence of the individual

assessors as well as the quality requirements

for the organisation.

A competent fire risk assessment is now a

requirement for all care homes in Northern

Ireland. There are a growing number of

companies registering to the scheme,

throughout the UK.

If you are looking for the supply and

maintenance of portable extinguishers, look

for one of the 360 Companies accredited to

BAFE Schemes SP101/ST104. Companies are

certificated to ISO9001 and all of their

technicians are assessed by BAFE for initial

and ongoing competence.

There are currently more than 1250 BAFE

registered technicians, working for our

registered companies.

For fire alarm systems Companies should

hold BAFE modular SP203-1 scheme

approval. This scheme includes design,

installation, commissioning and maintenance

of fire detection systems and also requires

that all equipment used is third party

certificated. The scheme now has over 790

registered companies. Registration to this

BAFE scheme is often a key requirement in

tenders for the provision of fire alarms.

Our Emergency Lighting scheme (SP203-4)

sets out the standards and staff competence

criteria to be met. It is modular as with the

fire alarm scheme and is achieving growing

recognition from end users.

So if you want to be sure you are getting

your fire protection from companies who are

properly and regularly assessed use the

Website search facility to find registered

companies in your area.

Website: www.bafe.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

BAFE – helping you to meet your fireprotection obligations


RISK MANAGEMENT

http://www.bafe.org.uk




Award-winning firm ASM Chartered

Accountants has launched a series of

events aimed at providing SMEs with

practical advice on cross-border matters such

as tax, pensions, and other pertinent issues.

This new initiative will be delivered in

partnership with InterTradeIreland, the

cross-border business development agency.

The initiative, to be known as 'the Cross

Border Bureau', will aim to promote business

growth through cross-border trade, by

providing advice and consultancy to

businesses operating between Northern

Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The guidance will focus on matters of

business growth, specifically, taxation,

payroll, pensions and VAT, with emphasis on

the issues faced by those companies and

business people that have interests in both

jurisdictions. In keeping with

InterTradeIreland’s mission to support SMEs

to identify and develop cross-border business

opportunities, the initiative will provide

valuable information on setting up a cross-

border business including up to date

regulatory information to keep your business

compliant and identifying potential sources of

financial funding.

The first Cross-Border Bureau events will

take the form of free seminars in Newry (10

September), Belfast (17 September 2015),

Magherafelt (24 September & 5 November),

Dundalk (8 October) and Dungannon (22

October), at which delegates will be

addressed by keynote speakers from ASM and

InterTradeIreland. Free downloadable

materials will be produced by ASM for those

who cannot attend in person.

Ronan McGuirk, Director, ASM Chartered

Accountants, Newry, said: ‘With six offices in

both jurisdictions– four North and two South

of the border, ASM is perfectly placed to give

businesses with a target on cross border

growth, advice on a range of financial issues.

Alongside InterTradeIreland, we hope we can

take that one step further and open up

delegates to further funding information and

contacts which will help them achieve a range

of business objectives."

Paddy Savage, Operations Manager, Trade

Programmes, InterTradeIreland, commented:

"Events such as these are great opportunities

for SMEs to find out more about the

opportunities that exist right here on our

doorstep. Businesses will take away valuable

practical information on all cross-border

matters and have an opportunity to network

with other like-minded individuals. Any

business, new or established should consider

coming along to what will be informative and

helpful events for businesses interested in

growing their business."

ASM Chartered Accountants has grown

rapidly since its launch in 1995 and is now

one of the largest accounting and

management consultancy firms in Ireland,

with offices in Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk,

Dungannon, Magherafelt and Newry. The

company's 160 strong team comprises

specialists in a range of accountancy

disciplines and related skills that include:

corporate finance, audit and accounting,

internal audit, consultancy services, taxation,

hotels, tourism and leisure, insolvency, and

forensic accounting.

InterTradeIreland, headquartered in Newry,

County Down, helps SMEs across Ireland,

both North and South, by offering practical

advice on cross-border business funding,

intelligence and contacts. The organisation is

jointly funded by the Department of

Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in

Northern Ireland and the Department of Jobs,

Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) in the

Republic of Ireland.

The events are scheduled for thefollowing dates and locations:

Thursday 10th September 2015Canal Court Hotel, Newry– 8.00am to 9.30am

Thursday 17th September 2015The Merchant Hotel, Belfast – 8.00am to

9.30amThursday 24th September Glenavon House Hotel, Magherafelt, 8.15am

to 10.00am

Thursday 8th OctoberBallymascanlon House Hotel, Dundalk,

8.00am to 9.30am

Thursday 22nd OctoberQuinn’s Corner, Dungannon 8.00am to 9.30am

Thursday 5 November 2015Da Vinci’s Hotel, Derry/Londonderry -

8.15am to 10.00am

To book a place on one of the six Cross

Border Bureau seminars, visit

www.asmaccountants.com

ASM Chartered Accountants delivers ‘Cross BorderBureau' trade initiative with InterTradeIreland

Michael O'Hare, Michael Williamson, Paddy Savage, Ronan McGuirk, Alistair Cooke, Sinead Heaney, Catriona Gorham


http://www.asmaccountants.com


C& H Jefferson, one of

Northern Ireland’s longest

established legal practices,

have recently relocated to a

prominent location at the corner of

Queen Street and Wellington Place,

Belfast.

The firm’s new premises are

located in the City Centre close to

the City Hall and convenient to the

Courts. The design and fit out

works carried out by 1080° has

delivered a modern and stylish

office.

C & H Jefferson is one of the

largest commercial and litigation

practices in Northern Ireland with

the expertise to meet all the

business needs of its clients, big or

small.

The firm prides itself on its

reputation for providing sensible

advice in clear terms and getting

things done.

This has been the basis for

building long-term client

relationships and promoting

economic growth in the local

economy.

C & H Jefferson celebrated its

relocation with a series of launch

events in June 2015. Managing

Partner, Gareth Jones comments:

“We are delighted with our

impressive new working

environment which we see as a

confident investment for our

business and the businesses of our

clients.”

C & H Jefferson are now located at

Jefferson House, 42 Queen Street,

Belfast, BT1 6HL with a new

contact number, 028 90 230 230

Left to right:- David Lennon, Ken Rutherford, Mark Tinman, Ian Stanfield, Scott McCarroll and Gareth Jones

New home for leading legal practice

C&H JEFFERSON



BEST PRACTICE

Developing a highly skilled workforce is

vital to the success of businesses in

every sector. It is the key driver of

innovation, productivity and profitability.

Companies can play an integral role in

shaping the future workforce by providing

work experience placements that equip

graduates with the relevant skills-set to thrive

in industry.

Ulster University’s Placement Employer of

the Year Awards celebrate those employers that

are actively nurturing the next generation of

skilled graduates. Business First caught up with

some of this year’s finalists to explore how

work placements not only benefit students, but

are truly at the heart of business growth.

Randox Laboratories Hannah Hutchinson, Human Resources

OfficerRandox has been offering work placements

to Ulster University students for a few years

now and believes engaging with aspiring

young minds has a positive business impact,

while shaping the professional careers of

students. With a mission to improve

healthcare worldwide, the placement

program helps Randox identify young talent

across a range of disciplines who can

contribute to this goal.

It’s a mutually beneficial programme.

Randox benefits from having young,

innovative thinkers to identify and work on

projects that can contribute to the

competitive positioning of the global business.

At the same time, students are gaining

meaningful work experience; vital in helping

them stand out from their peers as they

graduate into an increasingly competitive

global labour market.

Ulster University student Michael Mulligan

is just one example of how placements students

can really add value. A Business with Computing

student, Michael was assigned a project to

develop a Mobile App for our Global RX sales

team to provide up-to-date product information,

competitor comparisons and guides to aid sales

representatives across the globe.

Michael’s input in to the development of

this App cannot be underestimated. His

dedication and enthusiasm have played an

integral part in growing the RX brand online.

The student’s perspective Michael Mulligan, placement student at

RandoxMy placement with Randox really has

exceeded all my expectations. I was asked to

present the Mobile App I designed to the

Managing Director at the quarterly Board

meeting and the feedback was extremely

favourable. The responsibility Randox has

assigned to me, and the support network

they’ve put in place to facilitate my

professional development has been amazing.

Randox is a very forward thinking company

and being able to utilise my degree to work

with a range of internal and external

stakeholders to develop the App has been

incredibly enjoyable and will look great on my

CV. To top it all off, I have just been offered a

permanent job with Randox following

graduation.

EYMichael Christie, Director in Assurance and

Belfast Graduate Programmes Lead, EYAs one of the ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms

globally offering services in Assurance,

Advisory, Transaction Advisory Services (TAS)

and Tax, EY counts its work experienence

programme as a vital source of talent.

Our Belfast office offers summer internships

in Assurance and Tax. These comprise mainly

of 4 week programmes based locally, plus a 12

week structured programme with students

participating in projects in Dublin while also

working locally. Other opportunities include a

one year placement in TAS Restructuring and

we have plans to offer a one year placement in

audit for the 2016/17 academic year.

EY benefits significantly from having access

to high performing, motivated students

coming from a range of degree backgrounds.

In terms of recruitment, work placements

provide an opportunity to put potential

recruits to test and see how they handle the

commercial environment. We have a very high

conversion rate of work placement students

ultimately joining the firm as employees.

At EY the work placement experience is

designed to not only provide insight into EY

and the working world but to also provide

assistance with career planning, broadening

students’ personal networks and developing

their skills. The experience also enables the

students to apply their academic knowledge,

providing on-the-job experience which helps

to make their CV stand out.

The student’s perspective Niamh Hughes, Intern at EYI am thoroughly enjoying my placement

with EY and never expected to be given so

much responsibility and exposure to clients. I

have been working on a number of formal

insolvency appointments and have also been

involved in delivering asset tracing services.

The people who work for EY have really

helped make this a valuable experience as

they continue to make sure I am getting what

I want out of this wonderful opportunity.

Working for EY has helped me to develop my

skills in ways I could never have imagined,

allowing me the experiences I need to

progress and excel and preparing me for final

year and my career journey ahead.

Driving business growth throughwork experience placements

Michael Mulligan, placement student at Randox

Niamh Hughes, Intern at EY



2015 marks the 35th anniversary ofDaly Park, a leading CharteredAccountancy practice in Northern Irelandwith offices in Newry, Lurgan and Belfast.The company has established itself as adedicated and professional provider ofAccounting, Audit, Taxation andConsultancy services to its client base andis looking forward to future growthacross the practice.

Ruairi Maginn, Director, said, “We value

greatly the reputation of our firm in terms of

the energy and professional commitment of

our staff in relation to our clients and the

services we provide. As part of this

commitment, Daly Park has invested heavily

in upgrading our internal computer systems

this year so that our team can continue to

improve and develop the quality services our

wide range of clients expect.

Keeping abreast of current IT

developments will enable us to grow in the

coming years and allow us to work efficiently

with live data within our offices and

remotely from client sites. With the

enhanced security features we can reassure

our clients about information confidentiality

and the prevention of cyber attacks.”

With the projected growth of the practice

Ruairi predicts future job creation.

“As a company, we are committed to the

retention and development of our staff

internally as we know our clients develop

strong relationships with them and they

value the trust that has been established.

Looking to the future, we anticipate the need

for further recruitment for key services

particularly within our Consultancy and Tax

departments. Also, as an approved training

practice regulated by Chartered Accountants

Ireland, we are currently advertising our

annual recruitment drive for Trainee

Chartered Accountants who will start with

us in September 2015.”

“While we aspire to future growth, we in

Daly Park are very conscious that we live up

to our Mission Statement - “ProfessionalCommitment with a Personal Approach”.

Growth ThroughExcellence…

www.dalypark.comNewry: +44 (0)28 3026 7715 Lurgan: +44 (0)28 38232 4924 Belfast: +44 (0)28 9072 6000

Ruairi Maginn, Director


http://www.dalypark.com


Belfast has in many ways been defined by

its waterfront. The city thrived in the

18th century as a merchant town,

importing goods via the Irish Sea from Great

Britain and exporting the produce of the linen

trade by ship. In the 19th century, Belfast

became Ireland's leading industrial city, with

linen, tobacco, heavy engineering, and

shipbuilding dominating the economy.

Located at the end of Belfast Lough and at

the mouth of the River Lagan, Belfast was an

ideal location for the shipbuilding industry,

which was obviously dominated by Harland

and Wolff, employing up to 35,000 workers

and one of the largest shipbuilders in the

world.

Today, Belfast’s waterfront has been

regenerated and is something the city can

again be proud of. Consisting of the Laganside

and Titanic Quarter development areas, it

features world class commercial, leisure,

residential and tourism facilities, thanks to

successful regeneration projects. Where once

shipbuilding dominated, Belfast now has a

growing base of high tech businesses,

benefiting from world-class communications

infrastructure, and a flourishing tourism

industry, for example.

A recent report for the RICS Research Trust

and the Institute of Spatial and Environmental

Planning at Queen’s University Belfast sought

to examine a number of city waterfront

projects, including Belfast’s, with a view to

“reviewing the current state of urban

waterfront regeneration in the context of

neoliberal urbanism and city competitiveness”.

The report presents a positive picture of the

waterfront areas reviewed, including Belfast’s

Laganside and Titanic Quarter, but it does note

that ‘connectivity’ is arguably the Achilles Heel

of waterfront developments. The others

reviewed were Liverpool, Cardiff, and Dublin.

The report notes that physical connectivity

was poor in all of the areas, except Liverpool.

The researchers say that whilst Laganside is

well connected to Belfast city centre by virtue

of its adjacent location, links with Titanic

Quarter remain poor. However, despite this,

they find that it has not prevented the area

becoming popular with tourists.

The regeneration of Belfast’s waterfront

really began in earnest by the end of the

1980s, after the decline of shipbuilding and

the closure of the Belfast Gasworks led to

dereliction in areas closer to Belfast City

Centre.

The Laganside Urban Development

Corporation (UDC) operated from 1989 until

2007, originally covering 140 hectares

fronting the River Lagan but subsequently

extended to another 60 hectares of the nearby

Gasworks and Cathedral Quarter. Its aim was

to regenerate the areas ‘to the stage where

private sector development and investment

will continue without major public

intervention’.

In 2000, the Odyssey Arena Millennium

Project opened, providing a large new

entertainment function for the Belfast

waterfront. The 75-hectare Titanic Quarter

development continued the regeneration from

2001.

Titanic Quarter’s vision was to achieve ‘a

high profile European waterfront development

firmly rooted in the history and character of

Belfast, acting as a driver for high quality

investment and development in the city’. Phase

one - built between 2007 and 2011 - included

475 apartments, offices, a new campus for the

Belfast Metropolitan College, a hotel and a new

site for the Public Records Office of Northern

Ireland. In addition, a Science Park had

opened in 2002 to provide office space for

small high tech businesses on 10 further

hectares.

The highly successful ‘Titanic Belfast’ and

the Titanic Slipway public space, both opened

in April 2012 have since followed, along with

an Urban Sports Academy run as a social

economy business, and the Titanic Studios for

film and television production. In 2014,

planning permission was granted for an

extension to the studios, along with new office

space next to the College.

In many respects, the regeneration of

Belfast’s waterfront should stand as an

example of what can be achieved with vision

and ambition, turning what was a derelict

area, symbolic of industrial decline, into a

dynamic, regenerated space, home to new and

growing sectors. I certainly hope that we

haven’t seen the high watermark yet, and that

the successes to date continue to be built on.

Vastly improved connectivity, including with

our maritime heritage, is key.

We haven’t seen high watermark ofBelfast’s waterfrontasks Ben Collins, director, RICS Northern Ireland

The [RICS] reportpresents a positivepicture of thewaterfront areasreviewed, includingBelfast’s Laganside andTitanic Quarter, but itdoes note that‘connectivity’ isarguably the AchillesHeel of waterfrontdevelopments. Ben Collins

CONSTRUCTIION



Ahighly anticipated new Practice

Direction on Expert Evidence (No.1 of

2015) has been issued and is applicable

to all proceedings in the High Court of Justice

in Northern Ireland, Queen’s Bench Division

(Commercial) from 1 June 2015. This replaces

the existing Practice Direction No.6 of 2002.

Often it is necessary to instruct an expert

witness to provide expert evidence in a case,

not only to assist the lawyers in establishing a

claim but to assist the court in matters that

fall outside its expertise. It is therefore

important that experts are aware of their

roles and responsibilities in order to properly

be of assistance both to the instructing client

and to the court.

An expert witness is someone who has been

instructed to give or prepare evidence for the

assistance of a judicial tribunal on matters

within his or her expertise. The duty to assist

the Court overrides any obligations to the

party who has instructed or who will pay the

expert. This is an important principle both

for the expert and the client.

The principle duties and responsibilities of

an expert were set out in the widely cited case

of National Justice Compania Naviera SA v

Prudential Assurance Co Ltd (The Ikarian

Reefer) [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 68. In this case

Mr Justice Cresswell set out the following

duties and responsibilities:

1. Expert evidence presented to the court

should be, and should be seen to be, the

independent product of the expert

uninfluenced as to the form or content by the

exigencies of litigation.

2. An expert witness should provide

independent assistance to the court by way of

objective unbiased opinion in relation to

matters within their expertise. An expert

witness in the High Court should never

assume the role of an advocate.

3. An expert witness should state the facts

or assumption on which their opinion is

based. They should not omit to consider

material facts which could detract from their

concluded opinion.

4. An expert witness should make it clear

when a particular question or issue falls

outside their expertise.

5. If an expert's opinion is not properly

researched because they consider that

insufficient data are available then this must

be stated with an indication that the opinion

is no more than a provisional one. In cases

where an expert witness who has prepared a

report could not assert that the report

contained the truth, the whole truth and

nothing but the truth without some

qualification that qualification should be

stated in the report.

6. If, after exchange of reports, an expert

witness changes their view on the material

having read the other side's expert report or

for any other reason, such change of view

should be communicated (through legal

representative) to the other side without

delay and when appropriate to the court.

7. Where expert evidence refers to

photographs, plans, calculations, analyses,

measurements survey reports or other

similar documents, these must be provided to

the opposite party at the same time as the

exchange of reports.

The ChangesThe need for an expert witness will depend

on the circumstances of each case. If a party is

intending to instruct an expert witness, they

should notify the Commercial Judge as soon

as possible and be prepared to explain the

reason for retaining an expert and the

relevance of his expertise.

Moving towards the position in England and

Wales, the Court may require a party

instructing an expert to provide a costs

budget setting out projected costs. It is

therefore vitally important from a commercial

perspective that expert witnesses have

systems in place to properly assess their

projected costs and to keep same under

review throughout the entirety of the case.

Expert witnesses may be under further

scrutiny under the new Practice Direction as

any party may seek clarification of an experts

report by directing written questions to the

expert. This should only relate to clarification

of the report and must be proportionate. It

will be interesting to see how this works in

practice.

Another unique feature in the Practice

Direction is that the Court may direct experts

to give evidence concurrently. This is widely

known as ‘hot tubbing’. In essence, the

experts are in the stand at the same time and

will be questioned together by the Judge and

then by the parties lawyers. This gives the

Judge the unique opportunity to ask a

question of one expert and then ask the other

why they do not agree. Ordinarily each expert

would take to the stand individually and

unless a witness was recalled there would be

little opportunity to go over the evidence of

the other parties. By giving concurrent

evidence the court can fully explore the

evidence of both experts.

The new Practice Direction provides for a

number of key changes that is imperative for

experts to be aware of and understand.

If you would like further information about

the new Practice Direction, please contact the

Dispute Resolution team at Cleaver Fulton

Rankin.

It’s a Matter of Evidence

Julie-Ann McCaffrey Lisa Boyd

by Julie-Ann McCaffrey and Lisa Boyd, Dispute Resolution Team, Cleaver, Fulton Rankin



HSS Hire, the leading national supplier of

tools, equipment and related services,

has been serving business since 1957.

HSS Hire has an established network of 24

branches strategically located across Ireland.

The HSS Power venture complements existing

extensive fleet, enabling it to offer a wider

range of large capacity and specialist

generators to provide a more comprehensive

service in the growing market for temporary

power.

Michael Killeen, Managing Director of HSS

Hire Ireland & Scotland and the Laois Hire

Group said, ‘It enables us to enhance our

position as a market leader in diesel

generator hire here in Ireland, building on the

strong customer base that has been nurtured

during the last 50 years and providing a new

specialised platform to grow its business.’

HSS Power, as part of the HSS Group, can

now provide for your power needs from

20kva to a massive 1250kva on short or long

term contracts as well as supplying a wide

range of power accessories.

HSS Power also boosts a highly specialised

team to support the new range of power

capabilities.

This specialist team provides a complete

nationwide service covering all of Ireland,

with many years of experience in the

generator hire sector.

Adrian McBride, General Manager of HSS

Power says “We consistently deliver on any

temporary power needs, with specific

experience in critical continuity environments

for national events, construction,

manufacturing, windfarms, factories, banking,

hospitals, and health care industries.”

HSS Power offers more than just generator

hire. McBride explains that, “As part of our

specialist division we also offer fuel

management services powered by the latest

telemetry with comprehensive nationwide

support and technical expertise. The

synchronising technology and the latest

silenced generators reduce fuel emissions and

carbon footprint.”

Michael Killeen concludes, that hire success is

all about ‘continually adapting to the needs of

the customer with the aim of providing a ‘one-

stop’ hire needs across all industries with

innovative solutions’. HSS Hire firmly believes

that HSS Power reinforces their driving ambition

to provide an unrivalled hire experience.

For further information contact the team by

calling: 1800 815 017 or 0800 023 2302

HSS Power: the complete power solution

CONSTRUCTIION



NORTHERN IRELAND PA OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015

Leading businesspeople celebrated the

success of their PAs and Office Managers

at the inaugural Northern Ireland PA &

Office Manager Awards held in the

spectacular surroundings of Cultra Manor in

the grounds of the Ulster Folk & Transport

Museum.

Sponsored by Turkish Airlines, the Awards

recognised the outstanding contribution PAs

and Office Managers make to the success of

local businesses.

Judges Helen Nilen from Pay2Day and Kate

McKay of AKU Training acknowledged the

level of professionalism and dedication the

nominations expressed.

“While we were agreed on our choice of

winners, we found the quality of the

nominations and the obvious appreciation of

the contribution the nominees make to their

respective organisations very impressive,”

Helen said.

Kate added that “in one of the categories

the difference between Highly Commended

and Winner was half a point! That’s how

competitive the Awards were.”

Organiser and fellow judge Gavin Walker

welcomed the finalists to the Awards saying

that “to have made it to this stage of the

competition makes you each a winner in both

the eyes of your colleagues and those of the

Judges.”

Keynote speaker Kate McEwan, PA to

Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of Ann

Sumers, emphasised the changing role of PAs

and Office Managers saying that “the

demands made of us and the expectations

that we will be able to solve problems is very

different to the old idea of a PA or Office

Manager simply being a glorified coffee

maker and minute taker.

“We are now integral to the success of our

organisations and our professionalism,

integrity and constant professional

development is the norm, not the exception.”

Each of the category winners were

presented with a Certificate of Recognition of

their achievement and will enjoy an overnight

stay at one of Northern Ireland’s leading Spa

Hotels. The overall winner Tracey Magee of

Xafinity will be flying to Istanbul from Dublin

courtesy of Turkish Airlines.

During the lunch guests donated to the

nominated charity The Children’s Trust for

children with brain injury raising over £600.

“The enthusiasm of employers to nominate

their PAs and Office Managers in the

inaugural Awards has been very exciting,”

said Gavin Walker.

He added “We are already looking forward

to and planning for an even more spectacular

event in 2016. Although it would be very

difficult to find a more stunning location with

the quality of food and service we have

experienced at the Cultra Manor today.

“They along with Turkish Airlines and our

other sponsors, have made this a day to

remember for our award-winning PAs and

Office Managers.”

Download a full colour ebook of the day at

www.businessfirstonline.co.uk

Northern Ireland businesscelebrates Awards for PAs& Office Managers

Media Partner for theNorthern Ireland PA & Office Manager Awards

Northern Ireland’s PA of the Year, Tracy Magee (centre) with (l-r) Jenny Belshaw, Business First, Patrick McKinney, Turkish Airlines, Gavin Walker, KateMcEwan, Keynote Speaker, Onur Gul, Turkish Airlines and Geoff Clarke, Xafinity (noninated Tracey

Sponsored by In association with



Highly Commended. Edwina Flynn, Best Property (centre) nominated byCiara Aiken with sponsor Sinead McCann, Corick House

Highly Commended. Janine Smalls, iCare Charity nominated by MaireadMackle. Presented by Katie McEwan, sponsored by Roe Park Resort & Spa

Highly Commended. Ann Andrew, Northern Ireland Guardian Ad LitemAgency nominated by Declan McAllister. Presented by Katie McEwan,sponsored by Killyhevlin Hotel & Spa.

Highly Commended. Cathrina Finnegan, Autoline Insurance Group(right) nominated by Julie Gibbons. Presented by Gemma Johnson ofsponsor Galgorm Hotel & Spa.

Winner. Chris Anderson, Bryson Group nominated by John McMullanPresented by Katie McEwan, sponsored by Roe Park Resort & Spa

Winner. Ann Wallace, Department of Culture Arts and Leisure nominatedby Denis McMahon. Presented by Katie McEwan, sponsored by KillyhevlinHotel & Spa.

Winner. Jenny Adams, Shredbank (right) nominated by Philip Bain.Presented by Gemma Johnson of sponsor Galgorm Hotel & Spa.

Winner:Tracey Magee, Xafinity, (centre) nominated by Geoff Clarke, withsponsor Sinead McCann, Corick House

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HOSPITALITY, CONFERENCES AND CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT

It was as a young and nervous recentlygraduated student of hotel school that Imade my way up the long driveway to

begin working at the Manor House Hotelsome 30 years ago.

And while I enjoyed my short time with theNoble family (who still own the hotel) then,the promise of foreign shores called me awaybefore I had the opportunity to make much ofan impact.

Fast-forward three decades and once againI found myself on that long and windingdriveway leading to the impressive facade ofthe Manor House Hotel. Now the drivewaymeanders through the hotel’s Par Three golfcourse and rises gradually before opening outto a wonderful vista across the hotel’s marinaand Lough Erne.

The history of the building begins has beentraced to around 1660 and is one ofrebuilding and extending. And no more sounder its present owners who have taken theoriginal house (which was the Manor HouseHotel of 30 years ago) and added wings ofbedrooms and meeting and conference

facilities. In the process, they have managedto maintain the wonderful architecture of the1868 Manor House (at that time known asRockfield). The beautiful double-heighthallway with ceiling fresco and pillars is afantastic start to your visit to the hotel (andwhile you’re checking in, take a peek into thelounge on your right while you check in. It’s a

great place to relax later before or afterdinner).

The sense of space and place pervadesevery corner of the Manor House Hotel, andno more so than in the well appointed newbedrooms. Naturally I’d recommend securinga lough-view room, but no matter where youare in the house you’ll be very comfortable.

Which brings us to the restaurant. TheBelleek Restaurant takes full advantage of theelevated views over the lough and has beenAwarded two AA Rosettes for culinaryexcellence. The menu reflects the quality ofthe local produce with Chef Rory Carvilletaking the natural products to new heights ofculinary achievement. And with a set price of£35 per person, you can afford to takeadvantage of the well stocked wine cellar tocompliment your food choices!

With access to a full spa, tennis courts onthe grounds and even shuffle board andboules pistes on-site, your visit to the ManorHouse will be as memorable as ours.

But here’s a tip: don’t wait 30 years to findout for yourself!

For more information and to view a samplemenu, www.manorhousecountryhotel.com

TO THE MANOR RE-BORNAfter 30 years Gavin Walker returns to the Manor House Hotel on the shores of Lough Erneto discover what a difference three decades can make!


http://www.manorhousecountryhotel.com



In the heart of Northern Ireland you willfind Maldron Hotel Belfast located only 50metres from Belfast International Airport

and 16 miles from Belfast City Centre.Maldron Hotel Belfast is renowned for high

standards, outstanding service and a keen eyefor detail and is the perfect venue for yournext meeting.

Here are 5 reasons to have your next eventat Maldron Hotel Belfast:

1. Only 50 Metres from Belfast International Airport

2. Just 16 miles out of Belfast City so you can avoid traffic and parking issues

3. Easily accessible from M1/M2 making us the ideal meeting point for any regional offices

4. We have 10 impressive conference rooms with capacity for up to 250 delegates

5. You can avail of complimentary WiFi and parking

Maldron Hotel Belfast is perfectly locatedfor corporate meetings when you are bringing

people together from differentparts of the region or evenfrom further afield.

Offering a choice of 10impressive conference roomsto suit any event or budget.We can tailor events fortraining, product launches,networking, interviews orexhibitions.

Take advantage of ourSummer Conference Deals. Weare offering complimentaryRoom Hire when you book lunch for yourconference/event in our Island Suite. Thisoffer is based on a minimum of 100 delegates.

If you require a small meeting space, youcan avail of our 25 per cent Meeting RoomDiscount when you book lunch with yourmeeting room. This offer is based on aminimum of 15 delegates.

These offers are only available for bookingstaking place from 11th June until 31st August2015. So think of Maldron Hotel Belfast when

you are planning your next meeting and takeadvantage of these great offers. These offersare subject to availability. Terms andConditions apply.

Contact our dedicated Events team today. Our conference team offers a highly

personalised approach to meetings andevents, trained to offer you a tailored andprofessional service.

Contact 028 9445 7000 or [email protected].

Have you next meetingat Maldron Hotel Belfast!




With an extraordinary history datingback to 1618, Galgorm Castle is abeautiful location in the heart of

Northern Ireland. Look no further thanGalgorm Castle for a great corporateexperience; the golf course is one of Ireland’sfinest Championship parklands and is thehome of the Northern Ireland Open, set in thegrounds of the historical estate.

A Championship golf course, award-winning Garden Centre for non-golfers andthe wonderful Eagle Bar & Grill to satisfy yourfood and beverage needs, a great CorporateDay is guaranteed at Galgorm Castle. Ourresident PGA Professionals are also availableto provide a Golf Clinic before play, or a BeatThe Pro Competition to keep thingsinteresting on the course.

Prices start from as little as £33.50pp forTea/Coffee on arrival, Bacon Rolls followingregistration, 18 holes of golf on theChampionship Parkland and a Meal &Tea/Coffee in the Award-Winning Eagle Bar &Grill to complete the day. Corporate days areopen to groups of all sizes.

For many businesses a corporate golfmembership is a great benefit in today’s fast-paced commercial world. Whether the

membership is used for business or pleasure,Galgorm Castle has the range of facilities toFulfil every requirement.

Utilise a corporate membership to host onthe course meetings with clients oralternatively rewarding top performingemployees with access to a Championshipgolf course.

There is a range of Corporate GolfMemberships available, starting from as littleas £450. As well as use of the Championshipcourse, Corporate Members benefit frommembers’ discount in the Pro-Shop, 10 percnt discount in the Eagle Bar & Grill and theopportunity to bring guests at a specialmembers guest rate.

Europe’s leading professionals who comeback to the perennial home of the NorthernIreland Open every year highlight GalgormCastle as one of the standout venues on theirinternational schedule:

“The best Challenge Tour event I’ve playedin, simple as that. It’s everything you’d expectfrom a European Tour event. The facilities arefirst class, as good as you will find anywhere,”enthused Oliver Wilson, the 2008 Ryder Cupplayer who lost the 2013 Northern IrelandOpen in a play-off to Daan Huizing.

This year’s Northern Ireland Open takesplace from August 6-9 where members andsupporters from across the province will enjoyanother week-long festival of golf and food withsomething for all the family to enjoy.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be touringprofessional standard to play Galgorm Castle,all levels are welcome, especially with ourdedicated team of PGA Professionals on handto help you every step of the way.

For further information, please contact theGalgorm Castle team:[email protected] or 028 2564 6161

Galgorm Castle Golf Days





Brimming with character LarchfieldEstate, a stunning, award winning venueis owned and run by Gavin and Sarah

Mackie, who took over the 600 acre countryestate in 2007 shortly after holding their ownwedding there.

Larchfield now welcomes over 17,000guests a year (all through private events onthe Estate) and offers something different tothe more standard hotel venue for corporateand private events and weddings.

The latest project is an Orangery buildingwhich replaces a marquee entrance and linksinto the rustic barn, perfect for a drinksreception, breakout space or for a smallercorporate/private function.

It was interior designed by Mary-LouThomson who is a childhood friend of Sarahsand has worked on projects such as SvetiStefan (Montenegro), Gangtey Goenpa Lodge(Bhutan) as well as projects for the AmmanGroup and the One and Only Resorts.

The local Belfast based architect was WDR &RT Taggarts and a team of handpicked local

builders worked inconjunction with the Estateteam to deliver the build ontime and budget within thethree month time frameallocated to it.

Gavin Mackie says ‘It is areal credit to everyoneinvolved in the project that itwas delivered on time to thestandard specified. Threemonths in the middle ofwinter was a tough call, but we knew thatevery day we had the Estate closed for the buildmeant no events so we spent a lot of time andthought in the planning process to ensure thateverything was ordered and on site ready forwhen we needed it.

“We are thrilled with the outcome and hopethat it will enable us to elongate our season andto offer an even higher end product to themarket throughout the year.’

Larchfield boasts amazing facilities – cobbledcourtyards, a four acre paddock adjoining the

walled gardens, The converted Stables, anumber of cottages and rooms available forovernight stays and a modernised rustic barncomprising of an adjoining bar area, dancefloorroom and spacious orangery entrance. Thismulti award winning venue can cater for smallaway days, with overnight stays through tolarge corporate events, parties and productlaunches.

For more information, please visitwww.larchfieldestate.co.uk or call 028 9263 8025

New Orangery for eventsat Larchfield Estate



http://www.larchfieldestate.co.uk

GES RELAUNCH


GES group re-launches Mallusk Division

GES Group welcomed customers, keymembers of Industry, and special gueststo their Mallusk Open Day, held on

Wednesday 11th March, 2015.The Open Day showcased the Group’s

recent £300,000 investment in their Malluskpremises, which was supported by InvestNorthern Ireland, and included an extensionand significant refurbishment, creating a26,000 sq. ft. purpose-built facility.

The investment also provided for 10 newjobs, including five apprenticeshipplacements on the company’s IET ApprovedApprenticeship Programme.

Invest NI’s CEO, Alastair Hamilton, said:“GES Group is an excellent example of a localcompany that is continuously pursuing newopportunities and evolving to meet changingcustomer demands.

“The recent investment, supported byInvest NI, will enable GES to seek out new

customers while the new staff will ensure thecapacity to service its expanding customerbase.”

The company used the event to highlighttheir recent re-brand, which has seen theirwide variety of products, services andspecialisms marketed in five key areas:Process Automation, Power & Rotation,Renewable Power, Power Systems andTechnical Sales.

This new structure enables GES Group toprovide a holistic power and energy solution,in-house, from their suite of services;ensuring high levels of quality for thecustomer, while enabling GES to becompetitive within the market.

The company’s “partnership” approach tobusiness strengthens their position, and beingan Approved Business Partner of IET clearlydemonstrates their wealth of experience,expertise and competence.

GES Mallusk Open Day (L-R) Tom Grant, GES Group CEO, Alastair Hamilton, Invest NI CEO, and David Moore, Managing Director GES Group

by Rachel Doherty, HSQE & Marketing Manager, GES Group



The Keynote Speaker, mayor ofNewtownabbey, Alderman Thomas Hogg,congratulated GES Group on their success,performance and growth over the past fiveyears.

He said, “I’d like to congratulate Tom Grant,David Moore, the Management Team of GESand all of their staff for achieving real growthfor the organisation, and look forward tobeing able to support the business with moredevelopment initiatives in the future. I wishyou the best of luck going forward.”

Speaking about the success of the event,managing director, David Moore, commented,"The Open Day was no doubt a landmark forGES - we provided customers with a guidedtour of our new facility, and launched our newCompany structure, culture and vision.

“I'm excited to see the next phase of ourCompany's growth and development plans.There is much more to come from GESGroup."

For more information, and to view the fullphoto gallery, go to www.ges-group.com/latest-news.

I'm excited to see the next phase of our Company's growth and developmentplans. There is much more to come from GES Group.David Moore, Managing Director

Alderman Thomas Hogg,Mayor of Newtownabbey


http://www.ges-group.com/


The recent passage into law of the Workand Families Act (Northern Ireland)2015, and associated regulations, is a

major step forward for working parents. The new arrangements give parents of

children due to be born, or placed for adoption,on or after 5th April 2015, who meet qualifyingconditions, access to shared parental leave andpay in their child’s first year.

This gives families greater choice over howthey arrange childcare by allowing workingmothers the option to end their maternityleave and pay early, and to share untakenleave and pay with their partner. Adopters aresimilarly able to bring their adoption leaveand pay to an early end to opt into sharedparental leave and pay with their partner.

Employers want to know how thechanges will affect them.

Systems have been designed to resemblethose employers already use. The sameoverall quantity of leave and pay remainsavailable to a couple, but there is now theoption for them to share it.

This creates potential benefits from anemployer perspective.

By reducing the need for employees tomake stark choices between work and familycommitments, the new rights can helpemployers to retain their best people.

By working with their employees to developpractical plans for sharing leave and pay witha partner, employers may also see key

workers being absent for shorter periods oftime as shared childcare becomes morecommonplace.

For some businesses, this will mean thatindividual parents actually return to worksooner than under the existing system, in theknowledge that their partner is at homecaring for the child.

Businesses already recognise thatemployees are more productive andmotivated when they have the opportunity towork flexibly, and shared parental rights willhelp employers to retain committed,knowledgeable staff.

The new rights enable both mothers andfathers to keep a strong link to the workplace;they have the option to interrupt their leave toreturn to work, perhaps to take on a particularproject. The system will work best whenemployers and employees are able to agree to apattern of leave that suits everyone. Whereagreement can’t be reached, there are defaultarrangements to ensure that shared leave andpay can be taken in a reasonable way.

The measures are a proactive response tochanging expectations around work and familylife. It is right that we do more to support therole of fathers and partners who want tocontribute more to the care of their children.

It is also important to challengeassumptions that only women will ever beabsent from the workplace for caring reasons.Addressing these points will have long termbenefits for all parents, irrespective of gender,

as well as for employers.Shared parental leave and pay are intended

to support a gradual culture change inworkplaces, giving fathers more confidence totalk to their employers about taking time offfor childcare and challenging expectationsabout women’s choices around work andhome responsibilities.

The new rights will be accompanied bychanges that will benefit adoptive parents andpeople using surrogacy arrangements. Theright to request flexible working will also bemade available to all employees with 26weeks’ service.

Published guidance explains the key stepsemployers and employees need to take andanswers frequently asked questions. Bothemployers and employees can also contactthe Labour Relations Agency helpline if theyhave a query.

To learn more, visit nibusinessinfo.co.uk(employers) or nidirect.gov.uk (employees)and if you have a specific query, contact theLabour Relations Agency on 028 9032 1442

Shared Parental Leave & yourbusiness Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry outlines the new right to shared parental leave

and pay and the benefits to businesses.

Helping Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry launch the new Families Act arePip Jaffa, ParentingNI and Marie Marin, Employers for Childcare Charitable Group.

Shared parental leave andpay – how will it work?

1. Shared parental leave must be taken inweekly blocks. It can be stopped andstarted, so periods of work can beinterspersed with periods of leave forchildcare. Each parent notifies theiremployer of their entitlement and “book”the leave with at least eight weeks’ notice.2. An employee can book more than oneperiod of leave in a single bookingnotification.3. An employee may submit up to threebooking notifications, and more if theemployer agrees.4. Where requested as discontinuousblocks (i.e. there is an interruption in theproposed block of leave for a return towork), the employer may require theemployee to take leave in a continuousblock (so leaving out the interruption). Inthis situation, the date for the continuousblock to start can still be chosen by theemployee.5. Each parent can use up to 20 SPL “intouch” days (SPLiT days) to go into work,so could effectively take shared parentalleave and work on a part-time basis for aperiod. SPLiT days can only be taken ifagreed between the employer andemployee.6. Shared parental leave can be taken atany time in the first year following thechild’s birth/placement.

COMMENTARY



[1]Deborah Cromie has been appointeddirector of the Valuation and AdvisoryServices department of CBRE in Belfast. In thisrole she is responsible for leading theValuation & Advisory Services team on newbusiness generation. Having recently returnedfrom an 18 month secondment post at RBSUlster Bank, Deborah has fifteen years’experience in the Northern Irelandcommercial property market and has been anintegral part of the CBRE Belfast team sincejoining in 2000. As an RICS Registered Valuershe has recently been responsible for thedelivery of a number of large portfoliovaluations for loan sales and carries outvaluations for a number of UK Funds as wellas traditional retail, office and land valuations.

[2] Alex Speers has been appointed as aValuation Surveyor in CBRE Hotels Irelandundertaking hotel, licensed and leisurevaluations. Alex has worked on numerousmajor hotel single asset and portfoliovaluation instructions and assists in providingvaluations and advice to all the main financialinstitutions. Alex works on instructions onbehalf of single owner operators, large hotelgroups and receivers throughout Ireland. InNovember 2014, Alex relocated to the Belfastoffice. Alex graduated from the University ofUlster, Jordanstown in 2009 with a First ClassBachelor of Science in Property Investmentand Development. Alex became a CharteredSurveyor in 2014.

[3] Steven Conwell has been appointedAssociate Director within the Valuation andAdvisory Services department of CBRE and isresponsible for a wide range of instructions toinclude secured lending throughout NorthernIreland. Steven is an RICS Registered Valuerand has 9 years’ experience in the NorthernIreland commercial property market. As wellas retail, industrial, office and land valuationsSteven has, in recent years, been involved inthe valuation of portfolio assets for large loansales.

[4] Fiona Martyn has been apppointedProject Manager in the Building ConsultancyDepartment in CBRE Belfast. In this role she isresponsible for the management andmitigation of project risks, budget control,control of the design process, managing theContractor and Design Team on site andthrough to handover of the scheme in acontrolled manner.

[5] Valerie Ludlow has been appointed ClientServices director at ASG. Valerie has worked inthe Marketing Communications industry forover 10 years in both London and Northern

1 2 3

4 5 6

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Ireland. Her experience spans both thepublic and private sectors, developing anddelivering campaigns that influencebehaviour, change attitudes and driveconsumer engagement. Valerie will lead theASG Client Services team which isresponsible for providing an integratedmarketing proposition for all ASG clients.

[6] Kieran McNicholl has been appointed ashead of Media at ASG. Kieran has been withASG for over four years, previously as MediaManager, and will be responsible formanaging the media department, deliveringintegrated, multi-channel, mediasolutions/campaigns, across many sectors atregional, national and international levels.Kieran has recently planned media for manyhigh profile clients including the Departmentfor Employment & Learning, Linwoods,Phoenix Natural Gas, Queen’s University,Remus Uomo and Ulster University.

[7] Russell Lever has been appointedAccount Director at ASG PR. Russell has 10years’ experience in the PR industry andconsiderable account managementexperience across a range of clients in the

Northern Ireland public and private sectors.He specialises in media relations and hasbeen responsible for the strategicmanagement of a number of high profileclients including Calor Gas, safefood, The Co-operative Insurance and Toyota (GB) Plc

[8] Karen Barr has been appointed ClientMarketing director at ASG. Karen hasworked in the advertising industry for 20years, managing both public and privatesector clients and delivering national andinternational campaigns for a range ofindustries including energy, retail and FMCG.Karen will be responsible for some of theagency’s key clients, particularly in the foodand tourism sectors.

[9] Brightwater, the biggest professionalservices recruiter in Northern Ireland, isvery proud to announce the promotion ofStephanie Mulholland to AssociateDirector. A graduate of Queens University,Stephanie has been in Recruitment for 16years, with Brightwater for 10 years and aManager in the Belfast office for 4 years.

Business First celebrates your success

ON THE MOVE


BUSINESS IN COMMUNTY

Thirty one local businesses celebratedrecently at the Arts & Business NIInvesting in the Arts special reception,

to mark their partnerships with local artsorganisations. The Arts & Businesses NIevent, sponsored by Ulster Bank was held inthe Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office.

In addition to being one of the recognisedbusinesses at the event, Ulster Banksponsored the Investing in the Arts reception.Stephen Cruise, head of branch banking,private and specialist financial adviceNorthern Ireland, Ulster Bank commented:“On behalf of Ulster Bank I want to commendthe many arts and business organisations thatare working together to create inspiring andimpactful projects.

“Their joint efforts are making significantcultural and economic contributions acrossNorthern Ireland. We are pleased to play ourpart in sponsoring this event to helpshowcase the exciting potential that comesfrom collaboration between the arts andbusiness sectors.

“It’s testament to the continuedcommitment and excellent support from Arts& Business NI that so many new partnershipshave formed, and that existing relationshipshave been enhanced. Congratulations to allinvolved.”

Festival of Fools and Sestina Music Ltdentertained with short performances catchingthe attention of the audience and giving aninsight into previous projects successfulthrough the Investment Programme.

All the partnerships recognised at thisreception received support from the Arts &Business NI, Investment Programme. TheInvestment Programme is designed toencourage inspirational, sustainablepartnerships between businesses and the artsorganisations they sponsor, to maximise thebenefits of working together.

In 2014-15 A&B NI, supported by the ArtsCouncil of Northern Ireland, invested in 33creative and pioneering relationshipsbetween arts organisations and theirbusiness partners. It is encouraging to notethat 49 per cent of the projects supported bythis Investment Fund were first timepartnerships with 30 per cent of the businesspartners also first time sponsors of the arts.

Mary Nagele, chief executive of Arts &Business in Northern Ireland, added: “TheInvestment Programme is vital in supportingarts organisations diversify their funding,working with businesses provides a strongplatform and the partnerships commendedshowcase what can be accomplished whenarts and business work together in forging

creative and engaging projects. “We hope this encourages more businesses

to seize the opportunity to get involved withthe arts and create something amazing.”

A selection of some of the creativecollaborations to whet your appetite…..

• Edwards & Co. Solicitors and Lyric Theatre

• Lidl NI and The MAC• Suki Teahouse Ltd and Visual Artists

Ireland• Airporter and Waterside Theatre• Burke Shipping Group and c21 Theatre

Company Ltd• Diageo Northern Ireland and Beam

Creative Network• Jameson and Queen’s Film Theatre• Nicholson Bass and Brian Ballard• Nicholson Bass and Rita Duffy• Ramada Encore and Festival of Fools• RentaMerc Van Hire NI and Replay

Theatre Company


Celebrating Cultural Collaborations

Dr Joanne Stuart, OBE, chair, A&B NI; Stephen Cruise, head of branch banking, private & specialist financial advice NI, Ulster Bank; Tina Segner TumbleCircus; Arthur Scott, director of culture, DCAL; Roisin McDonough, chief executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Mary Nagele, CEO, A&B NI



BT, picked up the top award – NorthernIreland Responsible Company of theYear at the event, which has become

one of Northern Ireland’s one prestigiousbusiness awards events and is run byBusiness in the Community.

Allstate NI scooped a UK Award for itsemployee wellbeing initiative – Energy forLife. Two previous UK winners, Moy Park andPhoenix Natural Gas, were also reaccreditedfor a further year.

Sponsored by Electric Ireland, the annualawards highlight the best examples of thepositive impact of businesses to addresssocial and environmental issues and/ortransform their communities. The regionalwinners were:

• NI Responsible Company of the Year, sponsored by Allstate NI - BT

• Resource Efficiency Champion, in partnership with WRAP – ReCon Waste Management

• Business & Biodiversity, sponsored by AES– Henry Brothers (Magherafelt) Ltd

• Employer of Choice, sponsored by Arthur Cox – South West College

• Employability Champion, in partnership with The Citywide Employers’ Forum –

Loughs Agency• Community Impact Champion, sponsored by firmus energy – Heron Brothers

• Education Partner, sponsored by Allen & Overy – George Best Belfast City Airport

• Marketplace Leadership, in partnership with Ulster Business – Fold Housing Association

Kieran Harding, managing director,Business in the Community Northern Irelandsaid: “The Responsible Business Awards givemuch needed visibility to organisations whoare putting responsible behaviour at the heartof how they do business.

“All of the finalists are playing their part totackle societal issues and become moresustainable by bringing to life the practicalrole that businesses can take to address someof our most pressing issues.

“We congratulate all our winners and thosewho were shortlisted for being inspirationalexamples from whom others to learn.”

Environmentalist and writer, JonathonPorritt addressed the audience with his takeon how the actions we take now will impactthe world that exists tomorrow.

A new children’s creative writing project –

Fighting Words Belfast – was also profiled atthe event and the audience was inspired bythe project’s patron in Northern Ireland –writer and author, Glenn Patterson.

Rob Hardeman, Seagate Technology(Ireland) Ltd was named as NorthernIreland’s 2015 Prince’s Ambassador forCorporate Responsibility.

To find out more about this year’s winners,please visit: www.bitcni.org.uk

BT is Northern Ireland Responsible Company of YearBusiness people gathered in Belfast to see Northern Ireland’s leading responsible companies be recognised and rewarded for theiractions.

JOF

EWLoT

VACTB

Alex Crossan and Maureen Walkingshaw, BT receive the Northern Ireland Responsible Company of the Year accolade from Rose Kelly, from last year’swinning company Allstate NI along with Sinead , BT and Kieran Harding, Business in the Community


http://www.bitcni.org.uk


The Lexus NX SUV is certainly a stylishlooking vehicle. According to thecompany, the story behind the name of

its new NX is that it stands for 'nimblecrossover'.

This is, after all, a smaller counterpart tothe big RX 450h that's designed as analternative to the likes of the Audi Q5 andBMW X3. One thing that is definitely differentin the Lexus is that is powered by two engines–yes it’s a hybrid. Up front is a 2 0 litreturbocharged petrol engine and at the rearyou have an electric motor that is charged upby the power used when braking and drivingdownhill – well, basically. Power deliver issimply super smooth.

Style may not be everything when it comesto SUVs, but it counts for a great deal. Whichis why the Lexus NX has a head start over itsrivals – there are few cars that turn heads likethe NX with its bold creases, imposing spindlegrille and slim, slashed lights. It’s a seriouslygood-looking SUV. It is also a practical one aswell, with plenty of room inside and offering avery comfortable journey for its occupants.Fitted with a six-speed automatic gearbox thedriver has the choice of using thetransmission in normal, sport mode oreconomy mode. I tried them all and yes sportmode does waken the NX up a bit quickerwhile the normal mode offered a veryrelaxing and comfortable way to drive.

The driving position is excellent as you sitquite high and with the seat and the steeringwheel fully adjustable it is easy to find acomfortable position. Visibility is alsoexcellent and with the help of the rear viewcamera, parking is a doddle.

The rest of the interior is as you wouldexpect from Lexus; high quality, high classmaterials used throughout and a very welldesigned – some may say over designed –dashboard which houses all the switch gearwhich is easy to use and has a nice qualityfeel.

Most SUV’S are heavy and when you add theHybrid system that is on the Lexus NX it addsto the weight, this becomes noticeable whenyou are pushing on a bit as the NX feels a littleheavy when braking hard – to combat thisLexus have fitted a large set of brakes whichkeep the NX under control at all times.

The Four–Wheel drive system keeps the NXfirmly glued to the road. The Lexus NX hasgood road manners and feels extremely safeto drive, one thing I could not achieve was themanufactures quoted economy figure of 50+miles per gallon of petrol I found if I gotaround 35 MPG I was doing well. As far asdriving the NX on the motorway it was nearlysilent and effortless.

The Lexus NX is well equipped, well madeand a quality vehicle, it may offer only petrolengines but then again it does them very welland against the opposition it really does stackup.

F-SportLexusNX

by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINEmotoring correspondent

MOTORING



The new Mazda 6 is not a revolutionmore of an evolution – well that is whatI first thought. In order to keep pace

with a very competitive part of the marketthat’s seen plenty of recent renewal, theMazda 6 has had some exterior and interiorstyling improvements, powertrain and chassistweaks, added active safety equipment andextra standard kit and it all has beenbeneficial.

I chose to test the Mazda 6 fitted with150bhp 2.2-litre turbo diesel Tourer, in mid-spec SE-L trim, with Mazda’s six-speedmanual transmission which was an excellentcombination , The six speed gearbox is a shortthrow and feels precise and sporty – it is apleasure to use

The interior has been completely re-designed and for the better For starters,Mazda’s easily smudged, fingerprint-magnetgloss black fascia trim has been replaced by afillet of leather-faced plastic – and it’s vastlypreferable. Applying the touchscreenmultimedia screen, rotary controller andheating and ventilation controls add to thequality of the new interior. The new clocksare nice and simple making them very easy toread. The driving position is good and easilyachieved with both steering column and seatadjustment. The Tourer is a big practical carwith plenty of room four 5 adults and plentyof storage space.

The big difference to the precious Mazda 6are under the skin., The 2.2 litre diesel engineis one of the quietest diesel engines I haveencountered, with the six speed gearbox itdelivers its 150 bhp onto the road without

any fuss and feels nice and lively, The chassiswhich has been redesigned and lightened is abeauty, as the Mazda 6 tourer make look a bitbulky but underneath it is a svelte athlete.The Steering is pinpoint sharp and the newsuspension keeps the body roll to a minimum, It is no slouch either ,it will propel you to60mph from a standstill in 9.3 seconds and iscapable of 130mph . Then you get anotherbonus the Mazda 6 will easily do 55 miles tothe gallon on a combined set of travels.

The Mazda 6 with its new underpinningsand suspension set up is a real fun car todrive, the engine and gearbox are made foreach other and yes it is very practical as well.You really cannot question Mazda’s reliabilityas that has never been in doubt. Enjoyable todrive? Yes. Economical to run? Yes. Practical?Yes and good value for money with pricesstarting for this model at £24,495 – I think so.

Make mine a Mazda

by Ian Beasant,BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINEmotoring correspondent



The Volkswagen Passat is in its eighthgeneration and for 2015 is a completelynew car incorporating Volkswagen’s

extremely successful new manufacturingtechniques called MQB platform.

The new Passat shares the sameunderpinnings with the VW Golf and the Audi

A3. With a longer wheelbase, lower centre ofgravity, improved torsional rigidity and betterweight distribution, the Passat is moredynamic than ever. The styling is very sleekand very classy, this all adds to the premiumlook and feel of the new Passat

I drove a 2.0 litre Bluemotion estate model

of the new Passat. The Blue motion ensuresan economical vehicle and I averaged 55milesper gallon from the 150 bhp diesel engine.The transmission is provided by Volkswagenssix-Speed DSG gearbox driving the frontwheels. And with the usual diesel rattle welldamped, it was difficult to tell that this was adiesel car – especially when cruising on themotorway where the car is almost silent.

The new MQB Platform allows the engine tobe set lower in the car and gives it betterweight distribution. It also helps that the caris lighter than before. As a result, this latestPassat is faster on its feet and more agile thanpast models. It shares the same unflusteredcornering composure and linear steering feelas the smaller Golf, while body control isexcellent and there’s lots of grip. Traction isgood on the exit of tighter corners and it feelsexciting and enjoyable to drive and does notfeel big and heavy in anyway- in fact quite theopposite.

The interior is well designed, simple andeasy to use; the weight of the switch gear isjust about perfect and gives you that lovelyweighted top class feel.

My car was fitted with Volkswagen’s newErgo Comfort seats, which come with electricbackrest adjustment for the driver. Fullleather is optional and was fitted to my car – Iwould thoroughly recommend it.

The Passat Estate is a totally practical car,looks extremely well, solidly built, drivesbeautifully and handles the bumps andpotholes on our roads with ease.

The new Hyundai i20 has beencompletely re-designed, re-engineeredand re- modelled – and is all the better

for it.Over the years Hyundai has really

transformed itself from a car maker thatcustomers would buy from because of price.Now we flock to them as the vehicles arewell built, offer an outstanding five yearwarranty and roadside assistance, arepractical, pleasing on the eye and great todrive. It’s a winning formula that is working.

I had a week of driving the new i20 over anumber of different routes of mostly B roads.The petrol 1.2 engine felt a little bit lethargicat times but used with the five –speedgearbox it was acceptable and where it reallyexcelled was its ability to cover miles andmiles without using any fuel. Hyundai sayyou should be able to achieve 88 miles pergallon in this car and I got very close to that.

The interior of the i20 is well put togetherusing premium materials and a simple butvery effective layout. The i20 is bigger thanits city rivals and it has plenty of room totransport five adults in comfort.

The driving position is great and it’s easy

to get comfortable with help of adjustableseat height and reach and rake adjustmenton the steering column. The i20 is a fun andcomfortable car to drive with a premium feeleven with our bumpy roads and potholes. Ithandles neatly and while I would have likedthe steering to offer more feedback, that’s asmall thing as the rest of the i20 is welltuned to the road.

The new Hyundai i20 is a good looking caras well. With so many manufacturers chasing

this small car market the Hyundai comes outvery well in all areas. Starting at £10,695 ifyou move up to the SE model it comes withair –con, blue tooth and a host of extras thatare all worthwhile.

The i20 may not suit badge snobs , but looka little closer and this a premium car that iswill fulfil all your needs whether its Citydriving , motorway cruising or dashingacross county and all with comfort style andit will put a smile on your face.

MOTORING

Hyundai i20

Premium Passat


The Final Word


Last month I was part of the team thatrolled out TEDxStormontWomen whichtook the successful TEDxStormont

events to the next level and created a bespokeevent putting the spotlight on some of themost successful and interesting women inNorthern Ireland.

It was a sell-out. We would have filled theroom four times over with a reserve waitinglist of around 200. I was surprised at how thisevent was embraced and how many peopleengaged with it on social media and inperson. It struck me that these types of issuesbased events are actually few and far betweenin Northern Ireland, so it was no wonder itreceived the attention it did.

Female representation in politics It is no secret that women are significantly

underrepresented at local government leveland the Assembly here in Northern Ireland.Generally speaking, it is not exactly regardedas an outrage either.

With the exception of Dáil Éireann, theNorthern Ireland Assembly has the lowestfemale representation of devolved andnational legislatures in these islands.

In a European context, with the exception ofsome Italian regional legislatures, theNorthern Ireland Assembly has the lowestfemale representation of comparabledevolved institutions in Western Europe. Thestats prove this:

• Only 21 MLAs (out of 108) are female•Three (out of 18 constituencies inNorthern Ireland) have no femalerepresentation at the Assembly•Nine constituencies only have one femalerepresentative at the Assembly • Sinn Fein has the most female MLAs withnine with the DUP in second place with five

Uphill struggleUnless something is done, we may see

female representation stagnate at the currentlevel or at best, only marginally increase.

Our electoral system means we have alarger numbers of seats which tend to favourwomen, so any planned reductions may affectthe numbers of women returned. In this case,the reduction in the number of councils and acorresponding reduction in the number ofAssembly seats may indirectly influence thesupply of future potential female MLAs, ifcouncil representation can be seen as aninitial step in political life.

There is also a barrier at the initialcandidate selection stage. The SexDiscrimination (Election Candidates) Act2002 permits political parties to practicepositive discrimination in relation to theselection of candidates. Men can be selectedover woman without explanation or sanction.This provision has been extended to 2030which means that there is little legislativebacking, if any, to deal with this situation.

Assembly Report Earlier this year the Assembly and

Executive Review Committee at Stormontpublished a report on ‘Women in politics andthe Northern Ireland Assembly’. It concludedthat the under-representation of women inpolitics in Northern Ireland is a serious issuewhich must be addressed as matter ofurgency. It also stated that the Assembly andpolitical parties play a key role in encouragingwomen to seek and secure election to theNorthern Ireland Assembly.

However, the Committee considered, butcould not agree on, the introduction of quotasand legislation in respect of financialpenalties for political parties should they failto meet an agreed gender quota.

It came up with 29 recommendations forthe likes of the Political Parties, the Assemblyand the Executive to address. Some of therecommendations included that:

• Political parties should considerdeveloping targeted membership strategiesto encourage more women to get involvedand become members of their parties.

• Political parties review their internalmedia strategy to ensure greater visibility offemale politicians.• The Assembly should establish a workinggroup on a gender sensitive parliament andthat the working group should have equalmembership of male and female MLAs.• The Assembly should consider hosting atleast one annual event to highlight the workof female politicians. This should coincidewith either International Women’s Day orduring Parliamentary Week.• The Executive should consider theimplementation of gender mainstreamingand gender budgeting in Executive policiesand legislation development.• The Executive should take steps toincrease the diversity of public bodies andin particular introduce measures to addressthe gender imbalance in publicappointments in Northern Ireland.

Plans in place This year the Politics Plus initiative at the

Northern Ireland Assembly launched aWomen in Politics Leadership Programme tolook at themes such as creating successfulalliances, enduring partnerships, judgement,decision-making and evidence-basedarguments among other skills developmentcourses. I understand that it has beensuccessful to date and should be supported.

It is good to see that action is being taken,but it must be sustained as we move forwardinto new elections, a reduced number ofAssembly seats, a brand new super-councilset up and a decrease in governmentdepartments. It would be a good thing to getmore females into politics and public life here,and who knows, we might even get a differentoutcome to the political problems we face ona regular basis. Connect with ChrisTwitter: @CB_PRandPAEmail: [email protected]

by Chris Brown, MCE Public Relations

Time to fix themakeup of politicalrepresentation



business first july-august 2015

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