business month may 2014

June 2014 l ISSUE 44PRICE £2.50 (Where sold)

June 2014 l ISSUE 44PRICE £2.50 (Where sold)

INCIS IVE , OBJECTIVE , INDEPENDENT

PLUS: PAUL GOSLING ON COLERAINE’S ENTERPRISEZONE STATUS AND NICK LEESON ON PHONE HACKING

WHY MOREFIRMS SHOULD

LIST ON THESTOCK EXCHANGE

312 May 2014 BUSINESS MONTH

CONTENTS

WELCOME tothe May edi-tion of Busi-ness Month,where we’re

already well into an excitingmonth for Northern Irelandand its economy.

We’ve been in the pinksince the weekend, wheninternational cyclists of thehighest calibre sped throughthe streets of Belfast andbeyond during the GrandePartenza of the Giro d’Italia.

But we are also looking for-ward to the Balmoral Show,which kicks off at the Mazeoutside Lisburn in a matterof days. We’ve takenBalmoral as a springboardfor a closer look at the agri-food industry.

And, as news filters outthat Moy Park, our biggestfirm, could be partly-floatedby its parent companyMarfrig, our cover story con-siders whether the time isright for companies here totake the plunge and join thelonesome First Derivativesand UTV Media plc with aLondon listing.

We also consider how thenew enterprise zone inColeraine will work out, andhave a close look at recruit-ment and cyber-security inour Focus On section.

Texthelp is featured in ourSME section, we’re off toDubai in our holiday section— plus, resident party animalThe Chairman has been up tohis usual tricks, while NickLeeson discusses phonehacking in the Last Word.

Enjoy.

Editor’s noteMargaret [email protected]

BUSINESS MONTH 124-144 RoyalAvenue, Belfast, BT11EBEditor - David Elliott

Sales manager - Jackie ReidContact: +44 2890 264070 or email:[email protected]

Design and production: RE&DBusiness Month is an imprint ofIndependent News and Media (NI)

FEATURES12 Analysis: There’s still hardwork ahead, despite talk of theend of austerity14 Analysis: The residentialsector is leading the way in theproperty market recovery16 Economy watch: Despite thesuccess of the agriculturesuccess, farmers are still facingmany challenges22 Analysis: Crowdfunding isflying along, but is it going toofast?28 SME: Texthelp Ltd chiefexecutive reveals how itssoftware for struggling readersis changing lives32 Inside Report: Coleraine’senterprise zone status is vitalto NI’s digital ambitions

FOCUS38 Recruitment: How firmscan attract and retain the bestcandidates42 Cybersecurity: Why NorthernIreland is so well placed to play arole in tackling hacking

OFFLINE46 Out to lunch: Restaurant onthe Barge, Belfast48 Day in the life of: JamesMcGarvey is on his bike48 Quite a catch: Renault'sCaptur58 The Chairman: Going to allthe right places62 Last Word: Nick Leeson 58

48

COVER STORYNUMBERS GAME

Why more Northern Irelandfirms should think aboutfloating on the stock market

26

54

BUSINESS MONTH 12 May 2014

NEWS BITES

4

7.7%unemployment rate

26.3%economic inactivityrate

67.9%employment rate

23.1%youth unemploy-

ment rate

45.5%long-term unem-ployment rate

6.3%claimant count rate

Warning soundedfor Armagh BramleyARMAGH apple growers must“use it or lose it” when it comesto the EU protected geographi-cal indication (PGI) of thebeloved Armagh Bramley.The labelling means that onlyapples grown in Armagh cancall themselves ‘Bramley' —Lough Neagh eels and ‘early'potatoes from Comber are theonly other items from NorthernIreland to also hold PGI status.However, PGI expert DrMatthew O’Callaghan warned ameeting of the Northern IrelandFruit Growers’ Association:“Having gained PGI status, it isvery much a case of use it toboost income or lose it.”He said a concerted effortcould help boost ArmaghBramleys' profile, “gain moremarket share”.

Ulster Bank ends fiveyears of heavy lossesULSTER Bank has turned thecorner with its first profits since2009, marking the end of fiveyears of heavy losses for North-ern Ireland's biggest bank.The bank's all-Ireland resultsshowed operating profit of £17mfor January to April, contrastingwith losses of nearly £1bn forthe last fewmonths of 2013.Part of Royal Bank of Scotland,Ulster Bank has cut bad debtsby 80%with “significant reduc-tions” in its mortgage, corporateand small to medium-sized busi-ness portfolios.

Belfast wins globalbid for 486 EY jobsBELFAST won out against anumber of locations aroundthe world to secure nearly 500jobs paying salaries of nearly£40,000 at business advisers EY.It is the accountancy and con-sultancy firm's biggest expan-sion in Northern Ireland. Atpresent it employs 145 people inBelfast. The announcement willmean 486 new jobs — in audit-ing and other roles — located inEY's Belfast offices by 2018.

Schrader investmentcreates work for 241CONTINUING a run of majorjob announcements, SchraderElectronics said it is investingover £56m and creating 241new posts at its Carrickfergusand Antrim plants.The jobs are to be added overthe next three years. The firm,which manufactures tyre pres-sure monitoring systems, nowemploys around 1,000 people.EnterpriseMinister ArleneFoster said the new positionswould create “£7m a year insalaries and . . . employment andtraining opportunities”.

Overseas tourists setto spend extra 33%NORTHERN Ireland could seeforeign tourist spending riseby 33% to more than £314mby 2017, according to Barclays.The research forecast thatspending on retail, hospitalityand leisure will jump as more

overseas visitors come to North-ern Ireland, lured by sportingevents such as the Giro d’Italiaand TV programmes such asGame of Throneswhich arefilmed in the province.It predicts overseas touristswill spend £148m on hospitali-ty and leisure, up 32% from£112m in 2013. Retail spendingis set to rise by 37% to £126m,up from last year’s £92m.

Executives blamed forplight of Co-Op Bank

ADAMNING report into thenear-collapse of the Co-operativeBank has laid the blame on exec-utives running the business inthe wake of its merger with theBritannia building society.Sir Christopher Kelly, authorof the review, said: “This reporttells a sorry story of failings inmanagement and governance.”The former Treasury mandarinwas asked to investigate afterthe bank was found to have a£1.5bn hole in its balance sheet

which ultimately required arescue by bondholders.His report found “over-whelming” evidence that Bri-tannia chief executive NevilleRichardson failed to leave thenew business “in a good posi-tion” when he departed in 2011.

£3m price tag forBelfast gay venue

THE Kremlin nightclub inBelfast — Northern Ireland'sbest-known gay venue — hasgone on the market for £3m.Commercial property agentsCBRE has been appointed tomarket the bar and restaurantcomplex close to the city'sCathedral Quarter.The site also includes UnionStreet Bar, where the restau-rant is located, and The ShoeFactory Club, where UnionStreet's club nights are held.The sale is expected to gener-ate keen interest as it is locatedclose to what will be the mainUniversity of Ulster campus.

The Irish League of Credit Unions brought its annual general meeting to Belfast's Waterfront Hall lastmonth, with more than 2,000 delegates from around Ireland in attendance. Guest speakers BaronessNuala O'Loan and Belfast's Lord Mayor Councillor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir joined the ICLU's president MartinSisk to open the conference and address credit union representatives.

NI labour market survey

6 BUSINESS MONTH 12 May 2014

NEWS BITES

SKILL shortages are holdingback a recovery in NorthernIreland’s construction sector,claims the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors (RICS).The latest RICS constructionmarket survey has reportedsigns of recovery for the lastthree quarters.But the survey also reportedthat nearly a third of construc-tion sector employers in theprovince are having difficultyrecruiting skilled people acrossa range of disciplines.There are also skills shortagesidentified in the sector in GreatBritain, according to the RICS.Jim Sammon, RICS Northern

Ireland construction spokesman,said: “The positive story is thatthe recovery in the constructionindustry is continuing, withthe latest RICS survey showingthat the workloads of charteredsurveyors grew for a thirdquarter, and at an increasedrate of growth.“This is from low levels ofactivity after such a significantdownturn, but this latest surveygives cause for optimism thatthe recovery is taking hold.“The other side of the storyis that with activity increasing,evidence of skills shortagesis emerging. We are alsogetting indications from localthird-level education establish-ments that enrolment levels for

construction-related coursesare at low levels. With skillsshortages emerging and thepipeline of professionalspotentially hampered by fewerstudents enrolling on construc-tion-related courses, this givesus real cause for concern.”Mr Sammon added thatstudents should not be deterredfrom studying at university inconstruction-related coursesas a result of the problems ofrecent years.“We hear from the local uni-versities that employers arecurrently having difficultyrecruiting because of theincreasing demand and the lackof availability of students withthe necessary skills,” he said.

Builders suffering shortage of skills

▲ EXCHANGE RATEThe pound strengthened againstthe dollar from $1.49 in July lastyear to nearly $1.68 in April.

▲ HOUSE PRICESNorthern Ireland house pricesrose for the 10th consecutivemonth, according to the latestRICS/Ulster Bank residentialmarket survey.

▲ MORTGAGE LENDINGGross mortgage lending in theUK has jumped 33% in thepast year, said the Council ofMortgage Lenders.

▲ ECONOMIC GROWTHThe UK economy grew by aslower-than-expected 0.8% inthe first quarter of this year,according to the Office forNational Statistics (ONS).

.▲ UNEMPLOYMENTUnemployment in NorthernIreland rose by 0.4% to 7.7% inthe quarter December toFebruary. The UK rate fell in thesame period to 6.9%.

▼ ENERGY COSTSSeventy-one percent of businesseshave experienced higher energycosts over the past year, asmeasured by the latest QuarterlyEconomic Survey by the NorthernIreland Chamber of Commerce.

▼ ECONOMIC INACTIVITYEconomic inactivity in NorthernIreland fell by 10,000 in the mostrecent quarter. The rate is now26.3%, compared to 21.9% inthe UK as a whole.

▼ INFLATION RATEThe UK’s annual inflation rate fellto 1.6% in March, down from 1.7%in February, as measured by theConsumer Price Index. The Gov-ernment’s target rate is 2%.

▼ STARBUCK SALESStarbucks’ sales in Britain aredown in the wake of its tax-avoidance row. Revenues shrunkby 3.4% to £399.4m in the yearto September from £413.4m.

ELECTRICITY prices in theprovince are to fall, followingthe ruling of a CompetitionCommission investigation intoNorthern Ireland Electricity’spricing policy. The NorthernIreland Utility Regulatorreferred the matter to theCompetition Commission afterNIE had rejected the regulator’sproposed changes to pricingcontrols.The CC concluded thatelements of the price controlconditions in place since 2007now operate against the publicinterest. It has imposedchanges, cutting NIE’s prices by6.42% below the level proposedby the Utility Regulator — butrejected by NIE as not beingsufficiently generous. The CCalso instructed NIE to providemore transparent financialreports to the regulator.Professor Martin Cave, chair-man of the inquiry group, said:“We’ve undertaken a majorredesign of NIE’s price controlconditions and the new modelwill provide much greaterincentives for the company toavoid unnecessary expenditureand to invest efficiently.”NIE said: “A key aspect of thecommission’s determination isthe closer alignment of the reg-ulatory framework and report-ing arrangements with thoseapplied by Ofgem (the GB regu-lator). NIE fully supports thischange which should facilitatefuture price control reviews.”

Typical household bills are tofall by a cumulative £10 by theend of September 2017.Manufacturing NI saidthat it is expecting costs forlarge commercial electricityconsumers to be cut by around£15,000 over the next twoyears. However, its chiefexecutive, Stephen Kelly, saidthe reduction was insufficient

to provide a competitively pricedelectricity supply system inNorthern Ireland, where costsare the second highest inEurope. Mr Kelly also calledfor greater progress in thecreation of an all-Irelandelectricity supply market, giventhat electricity costs in theRepublic are 20% below thoseof Northern Ireland.

Watchdog acts on electricityPAUL GOSLING

PAUL GOSLING

Manufacturing NI said that costs for large commercial electricity users areexpected to fall by around £15,000 over the next two years

ANY interest rate hikes agreedby the Bank of England willdisproportionately hit NorthernIreland, according to analysisconducted by NottinghamTrent University. Homeownershere have the UK’s secondhighest exposure to variablerate mortgages.While only 22% of mortgagesin the south of England arevariable rate, some 79% ofhome loans in Northern Irelandwill rise when interest ratesincrease. By contrast, just 21%of Northern Ireland mortgage

borrowers are on fixed rateloans, against 78% of those inthe south of England who areprotected from interest ratehikes.Alla Koblyakova of Notting-ham Trent University said:“We have found that there is apersistent tendency for peoplein Northern Ireland to holdvariable rate mortgages,which is in stark contrast topeople in London and thesouthern regions, who havea tendency towards longerterm fixed rates.“Our research suggests thatthis is a definitive feature of the

UK mortgage market and therecent credit crisis has onlyadded impulse to this trend.As variable rate mortgages aremore sensitive to financialshocks, it’s a matter of nationaleconomic concern that there issuch a geographical imbalancein the way that mortgages aredistributed in the UK.“It’s very important thatpolicymakers are fully awareof this when considering futuremonetary policy decisions,as an increase in interestrates is likely to affect poorerregions much more severelythan others.”

IRELAND’S National AssetManagement Agency has soldits ‘Eagle’ portfolio of propertyloans in Northern Ireland toone of the world’s largestprivate equity funds, CerberusCapital Management.The deal was finalised afterPimco — a division of insuranceand asset management giantAllianz — pulled out of negotia-tions. Final terms were achievedthrough an open tender process.The portfolio consists of loansowned by Northern Ireland-based debtors and secured byassets in Northern Ireland, theRepublic, Great Britain andother European locations.The par value of the portfolio is£4.5bn, but Cerberus is likely tohave negotiated a substantialdiscount on this. The sale repre-sents the largest portfolio dis-posal by Nama and is a clearsignal of optimism in the North-ern Ireland property market.John W Snow, chairman ofCerberus Capital Management,said: “This investment, and theunderlying assets in Irelandand other European markets,will be an important founda-tion for our overall Europeanstrategy.“Cerberus is a patient, long-term investor and has a well-established track record ofmaking significant improve-ments to the assets that it man-ages. We believe Cerberus hasthe ideal base of expertise andexperience to manage the Eagle

portfolio and will be a strongpartner for Nama, for NorthernIreland and for all the stake-holders associated with thistransaction.”Northern Ireland FinanceMinister SimonHamilton saidthe sale, saying it would free updevelopment potential. “A firmlike Cerberus, which takes along-term view and has the scaleto invest in its newly purchasedassets to realise their value, isexactly what Northern Ireland

needs. This deal could be theshot in the arm for our construc-tion sector that we so badly need.“Nama’s Northern Irelandportfolio contains assets withconsiderable development po-tential. In housing, offices andretail, there are opportunitieseverywhere. This deal can un-lock those opportunities andallow NI to develop and growand, in the process, provide amuch-needed stimulus for thelocal construction industry.”


NEWS BITES

Nama’s Eagle sale is a ‘shot inthe arm’ for construction sector

Variable rate risk for Northern Ireland2,000 jobsin string ofexpansions

PAUL GOSLING

PAUL GOSLING

THERE are optimistic signsfor Northern Ireland’s labourmarket, with some 2,000new jobs in the pipeline.Concentrix is to recruitmore than 1,000 staff in asubstantial expansion of itsexisting operation in Belfast.The company, is part of theSynnex Corporation, whichemploys over 800 peoplealready in the city. Synnex isone of the world’s largestbusiness process servicesproviders.Invest NI is providing£3.5m of support as part ofthe £36m investment in theConcentrix expansion. Thecompany’s senior vice presi-dent, Philip Cassidy, said:“The support provided byInvest NI, the quality of peo-ple and the cost competitivebusiness environment makesNorthern Ireland a veryattractive location for us.”Around 330 jobs are to beemployed in Londonderry, ina contact support centre oper-ated by Convergys, which haspreviously had a base in thecity under the name Stream—which was bought by Conver-gys in January. Invest NI isproviding funding of £1.5m tosupport the project.A further 75 jobs are to becreated in Derry, with inter-national law firm SmithDehnsetting up a global mediaadvisory hub in the city.Around 100 people are tobe recruited by Delta Print &Packaging. Belfast IT infra-structure business Novoscois to create 50 jobs. It cur-rently employs 70 people atits Northern Ireland SciencePark premises. Invest NI issupporting the expansionwith funding of £624,000.New television channel,IrishTV, is to engage 30 peo-ple in Northern Ireland aspart of a total Irish work-force of 150 people.And it is hoped up to 750jobs will be created throughan expansion of childcareprovision for school-age chil-dren. Some 7,000 childcareplaces are to be made avail-able under the Bright StartChildcare Scheme.

PAUL GOSLING

The National Asset Management Agency has sold a portfolio of NorthernIreland property loans to private equity fund, Cerberus Capital Management


NEWS BITES

THE Federation of Small Busi-nesses (FSB) has criticisedproposals to introduce newparenting and adoption rightsfor working parents in North-ern Ireland. It says employersshould be allowed to offerflexible arrangements for newparents, without being requiredto do so by law.“Businesses are only juststarting to gain confidenceagain to take on additional

staff, so the Executive needs tobe very mindful of the dangerof placing further burdens onemployers that could deterbusinesses from recruiting,”said Wilfred Mitchell, theFSB’s Northern Ireland policychairman.Legislation is to be introducedin the Assembly by Employmentand Learning Minister StephenFarry. Under the proposals,shared parental leave and paywould be established, allowingparents to decide between them

how they balance care arrange-ment for newly born or newlyadopted children. The legisla-tion would also extend the rightto request flexible working.The Department for Employ-ment and Learning also an-nounced that it is to conduct areview of the use of zero hourscontracts in Northern Ireland.Employers’ use of zero hourscontracts combined with anexclusivity obligation onemployees will be examined aspart of the review.

FSB opposed to legislation offlexible working for parents

PAUL GOSLING

EMPLOYMENTMinisterStephen Farry has launcheda plan to improve the skillsbased for Northern Ire-land’s manufacturing andengineering employers.“If we are to enableNorthern Ireland to com-pete globally, it is funda-mental that we increaseour export base and in thiscontext, advanced manufac-turing and engineeringservices will be pivotal,”said Mr Farry.“To achieve these aspira-tions, it will be essentialthat the workforce hasthe skills and technicalknowledge to produceinnovative products and toadapt to the challengesfacing the sector.”The working group he setup to identify and addressthe skills challenges facedby this industry has devel-oped an action plan “whichwill help to enhance thequality of the workforce,maximise employmentopportunities and give ourlocal advanced manufactur-ing and engineering servic-es industry a competitiveedge in the global market-place”, said Mr Farry.The plan was welcomedby CBI Northern Irelandassistant director KirstyMcManus, who said: “Inorder to meet the demandfor 3,000 people per yearentering the sector we,along with many others inthe business community,saw in 2012 the urgentneed for a structured planwhich would help the localeconomy achieve its poten-tial in this crucial field.“The aerospace, engineer-ing and manufacturingsectors have long calledfor such a strategy and itspublication is a testamentto the drive of companieslike Bombardier, Seagateand AJ Power in terms ofseeing it realised.”

Plan forboostingskills nowin place

PAUL GOSLING

The Federation of Small Businesses warns that employers are only starting to regain confidence to take on more staff

NEWS BITES

NEW research has shown that50-plus male accountants stilldominate the chief executiveposition in UK companies,despite pressure from thegovernment for diversity onboards of directors.The figures from recruitmentgroup Robert Half, in its FTSE100 CEO Tracker, analysed thebackground of companies' chiefexecutives and revealed that halfhave an accountancy or finan-cial management background.The research came as theBelfast Telegraph’s Top 100Northern Ireland Companies2014 featured a woman atthe helm of the number-onecompany for the first time —Janet McCollum, managingdirector of Moy Park.Phil Sheridan, Half 's UKmanaging director, said: “The

Men withaccountingstill ruleCEO roost

doubling of the attrition rateand the introduction of moreadvertising and marketingspecialists shows movement inthe market, but the old guardof finance still holds sway withexecutives with a backgroundin accountancy and financeholding the reins of the UK's

top companies.”A similar study released byPwC's research arm Strategy&looked at the number of newCEO appointments globallyand found womenmade up just3% of the global incoming classin 2013, a 1.3 percentage pointdrop from the previous year.

It found that over the past 10years, the US and Canada havehad the highest share of womenCEO appointments at 3.2%,while Europe stood at just 1.4%.Its survey also shows thatwomen are more often hiredfrom outside their company,and are more often forced out ofoffice than male counterparts.Strategy& predicts that by 2040,women will make up one-thirdof new chief executives globally.While Janet McCollum isnow the first woman to lead anumber-one company in North-ern Ireland, there are just fourother firms in the Belfast Tele-graph Top 100 Companies ledby women.The arrival of Ms McCollumto the Top 100 also coincideswith the departure of anotherfemale CEO — former Translinkboss Catherine Mason, who hasbeen replaced by interim chiefexecutive Gordon Milligan.However, Northern IrelandWater is now headed up bySarah Venning, another femalenewcomer. Alliance Boots’Bernadette Lavery, UlsterBank’s Ellvena Graham and theProgressive Building Society’sDarina Armstrong make up theremainder of the famous five.


New research shows that half the chief executives of FTSE 100 companieshave an accountancy or financial management background


NEWS ANALYSIS

AFTER years of aus-terity and negativegrowth forecasts,economic recoveryis finally under way

in Northern Ireland with em-ployment levels rising and con-fidence returning. The majorityof economic commentators arenow forecasting growth in 2014and EY’s Item club is forecast-ing real wage growth.Despite this good news andimproving sentiment, not alleconomic indicators are head-ing in the right direction.Northern Ireland’s biggest eco-nomic challenges remain its de-pendence on public spending,compounded by the small sizeof its private sector and exportbase along with over-relianceon the economic direction ofthe UK and Ireland. The rate ofrecovery is forecast to be belowthe corresponding rate in theUK and many consumers willexperience little improvementin their personal finances.However, after the worst re-cession in living memory busi-ness is re-establishingconfidence and this confidencewill determine the speed andextent of our economic recov-ery. At EY’s recent budget brief-ing in Belfast we carried outpolling questions with over 150business executives — 55% ofdelegates indicted they expectto make significant investmentin 2014. This is encouragingand highlights that businessesare resilient and will emergefrom the recession strongerthan before. It was equally en-couraging to see 59% said cur-rent economic conditions areimproving.Throughout the recession theagri-food sector has shown re-silience and consistent growth.This is Northern Ireland’sbiggest export sector and con-tinues to show strong levels ofgrowth. Other traditional sec-tors are also looking to exportmarkets. Local constructioncompanies, a sector impactedthe worst by the recession, areincreasingly looking to the ex-panding infrastructure spendin the UK. Elsewhere local soft-

On road to recoveryWith many predictions that the days of austerity are behind us, Michael Hall,managing partner of EY Northern Ireland, warns there’s still hard work ahead

ware and IT companies biggestissue is the need for more staffand some have to look overseasto fully staff their businesses.Great Britain remains thecore destination market for theexternal sales of Northern Ire-land goods, accounting for 60%of trade. Next are Europe (11%),the Republic of Ireland (10%),and North America (8%). Ex-ports remain crucial to the for-tunes of the all island economy.The Executive continues tomake a hard push on inwardinvestment and it has securedsome notable recent inward in-vestment successes. Simultane-ously, the private sector ispromoting the importance ofNorthern Ireland as a place toinvest and work in order to ac-celerate growth through theGrowing Something Brilliantagenda.Planned investment from for-eign direct investment (FDI)has totalled more than £2.5bnin Northern Ireland over thelast decade, resulting in the cre-ation of more than 26,000 jobs.The majority of these jobs, justshy of 19,000, have been creat-ed in the services sector. NorthAmerica has been the primary

source of FDI, with the US andCanada alone making com-bined investment in excess of£1.5bn in over the last 10 years.All eyes will be on the Scot-tish independence referendum,after which we understand adecision will be made onNorthern Ireland’s corporationtax, which will play a vital rolein continuing to attract FDI.After a prolonged financialcrisis, there is now evidencethat businesses are turning acorner and identifying growthopportunities. The quality ofour local businesses shouldnever be doubted.Growth requires funding andit would be difficult to say cred-it is flowing. The recent reces-sion and credit crunch hasunderstandably had knock onconsequences to business fund-ing. Businesses need to startthinking more broadly thanbanks for funding.The main local banks are allactively chasing good lendingopportunities. Balance sheet is-sues have been dealt with andthe banks need profitable busi-ness to get them back to profit.If you have a strong businesslooking to expand then there

will be competition by thebanks for your business.Outside traditional bankfunding the range of optionshas rarely been as plentiful andInvest NI must be congratulat-ed for the support they haveprovided. There are now twonew Northern Ireland venturecapital funds, Crescent Capitaland Kernel, and Invest NI hascommitted £15m of funding toeach fund, which has the poten-tial to invest over £48m inSMEs over the next five years.Overall business sentiment ison the rise. Recent measuresannounced in the Budget, suchas enhanced tax relief and re-ducing employers National In-surance Contributions (NIC)costs, should have a positiveimpact on businesses here. In-terestingly, at EY’s budget brief-ing last month, 43% ofattendees indicted a reductionin employment taxes stood outas the most influential factorimpacting investment. There-fore, we cannot become com-placent and there are very clearindicators that more needs tobe done to support businessand exports, enhance inwardinvestment and employment.


NEWS ANALYSIS

Property hopes brighterAll the signs are that the market across the board is recovering but the residentialsector is leading the way, says Mark Carron, associate director of Osborne King

CAUTIOUS optimism,probably the mostwidely used phraseto describe theNorthern Ireland

property market for 2014, isgiving property investors anddevelopers both hope and con-fidence that we have eventuallyturned the corner and marketconditions are beginning toimprove.Since the downturn in 2008,market conditions have contin-ued to deteriorate, however,increased market activity in2013 going into this year indi-cates the market is finding itsfeet again. That said, we arestarting from a very low base interms of volume and value.During 2013, Osborne Kingwas involved in the disposal ofover 30 pubs and hotels. Mostof these sales emanated fromreceivers or administratorclients. Key sales included theCHA (Diamond) and Kurkovaportfolios, totalling in excess of20 pubs with a combined valuein excess of £7m. During thefirst quarter of 2014, sales havecontinued in a similar vein,

with notable deals includingThe Leighinmohr Hotel, Bally-mena; Harry’s Bar, Banbridge;and Wine & Co, Holywood. Weexpect licensed transactions toslow down in 2014, as distressedappointments dwindle andoperators go through a phaseof reinvestment with banksbeginning to lend again toestablished operators.Numerous new bars andrestaurants will continue toopen throughout Belfast. Over-all, the hospitality sector seemspositive, although issues suchas VAT, excessive commercialrates and antiquated legislationremain factors.Similarly for the retailmarket, rates are still a majorobstacle to recovery, coupledwith the growth of online salesand poor consumer confidence.Thankfully, we are seeing anumber of locally owned busi-nesses expand, as opposed tonational brands, who are reluc-tant to enter into or grow theirmarket share locally due to rea-sons such as burdensome ratesliability. We expect this sectorto pick up, notably in Belfast,

with the province improvinggradually over the year andbeyond.The Belfast office market isalso showing signs of recovery.In excess of 400,000sq ft ofspace was let in 2013, thehighest for some time. Notablelettings were completed to,among others, Aepona, AllstateInsurance, Citi Group and Land& Property Services.A lack of new speculativedevelopment is putting pres-sure on rents as supply dimin-ishes, with prime grade-A rentsnow reflecting £12-£13 per sqft. This lack of developmentcould impact on job creation asinward investment companiesstruggle to find accommoda-tion — a risk that Invest NI andthe Executive should note.The most positive signs ofrecovery are in the domestichousing and development landmarkets, with the return ofinvestors, first-time buyers andhouse builders. This market isbeing fuelled by a sustainedperiod of low interest rates, aprotracted inactive market, im-proving credit conditions and a

more positive economic out-look. Evidence of this flourish-ing market was reflected in ourMarch auction, where biddingwas brisk, in particular for theresidential lots. All of the hous-es and development land weresold. A 7.7 acre plot with plan-ning in Portadown sold for£540,000, 50% over its reserveand a site in Lurgan went for£145,000, 90% over its reserve.Finally, another commonterm in the market at present is‘loan sales’, where a financialinstitution sells off its loanportfolio. The most recent andlargest to date was Nama’sProject Eagle loan portfolio,acquired by the world’s leadingprivate investment company,Cerberus Capital, for a reported£1.3bn. The view seems to bethat in the short-term, debtsales will not impact greatly onthe local market. We do notenvisage a flood of sales whichwould undo the recent revival.Overall, the green shoots ofrecovery are evident. A slowand steady recovery shouldassist in long-term sustainableproperty returns.


ECONOMY WATCH

Seeds ofAgriculture has been one of Northern

during the downturn but as ourpromising farmers are still faced with

NORTHERN Irelandhas been experienc-ing something of aneconomic recovery,with demand

returning for various sectors.However, total private sectoroutput still remains more than14% below its pre-downturnpeak, and the constructionsector is still suffering a lack ofdemand with output less thanhalf of that of mid-2007.By contrast, strong demand isa given within the agri-foodsector. Indeed, the fact that theUK has a trade deficit in foodof more than £18bn per annumindicates the scale of fooddemand, and the potential forlocal firms to grow significantlyby capitalising on this.Over the last number of years,the demand for agriculturalproducts has soared and thistrend is set to continue. ‘Buyfarms, not flats’ was the head-line on a recent editorial of theMoney Weekmagazine. Thepublication highlighted thatone of the greatest global bullmarkets ever seen is takingplace within agricultural land.But while agriculture enjoysstability in demand, it hasvolatility in spades elsewhere.Northern Ireland’s agriculturalsector, like the industry world-wide, has traditionally been thesector most exposed to globalmarkets, exchange rates andadverse weather conditions. Asa result, it experiences morevolatile conditions than anyother sector. Annual double-digit increases or decreasesacross a range of indicators arepar for the course.Despite this volatility, theagriculture and wider agri-foodsector has been one of the bestperformers during the down-turn. Output, sales and employ-ment are all up relative to 2007.Gross agriculture output byvolumewas up 4% in real terms,although gross input was upfour times this figure. As a result,gross value added actually fellby 10%. However, unlike other

sectors, gross value added andoutput are not the key indicatorstomeasure agricultural perform-ance.Within agriculture, however,fluctuations in prices and subsi-dies mean the key performancemeasure is income and prof-itability, not output. 2013 was astrong year for the agriculturesector as far as farm income wasconcerned with total incomefrom farming (TIFF) increasingby 31% in real terms. However,this followed a decline of thesame amount in 2012 and high-lights the volatility within thesector. Last year’s increase wasattributed to a rise in producerprices, notably the 21% rise inmilk prices, and an increase inthe value of farm subsidies.Despite volatility in recentyears, last year TIFF was stillsome 27% higher in real termsrelative to 2007, which was abumper year for the agriculturesector. TIFF increased by 48%in real terms in 2007. This fig-ure jumps to 88% when com-paring the rise between 2006and 2013. At a headline level,

comparing the performance ofthe local agriculture and con-struction sectors over this peri-od could be summarised asseven years of feast and famine.The agriculture sector hasbeen one of the few areas to befairly resilient to job losses. Overthe six-year period from Q42007-Q4 2013, agriculture,forestry and fishing recorded arise in employment of 6.5% (780jobs). If the rise in employmentnumbers in the food processingsector is included employmenthas risen by an extra 1,200 jobs.This position of net employmentgrowth compares favourablywith the Northern Ireland econ-omy as a whole. Over the corre-sponding six-year period, theaverage decline for all sectorsof the economy was 3.1%. Thisis after 36% of the jobs lostduring the recession have beenrecouped. The average for allsectors conceals the 36% declinein construction employmentover the past six years.Analysis of Northern Ire-land’s manufacturing sales andexports survey also reveals that

the local food, drink and tobacco(FDT) sector has been the starperformer throughout thedownturn. In 2012/13, NI’s FDTsector posted annual sales of£8.8bn which representedmore than half of all manufac-turing sales. This represented arise, in real terms (adjusting forinflation and exchange rates),of 4% or £343m, on the previ-ous year’s record high. Overthef our years to 2012/13, FDTsales to the Republic of Irelandand to Great Britain haveincreased cumulatively by 46%and 34% respectively.Given that FDT accounts formore than half of total manu-facturing sales, its performancehas concealed even greaterdeclines in other sectors. Strip-ping out FDT sales reveals thatin 2012/13 the remaining sub-sectors have sales levels 24%below the 2008/09 peak. At amarket level, manufacturingsales to the RoI (excluding FDT)in 2012/13 were a staggering61% below their 2007/08 levels.The surge in Great Britainsales largely stemmed fromsignificant moves in thesterling exchange rate againstthe euro. During the downturn,the big moves in the sterling/euro exchange rate resulted in amarked appreciation in theeuro against sterling whichmade Irish exports to GBuncompetitive. Local manufac-turers stole a march by displac-ing their Republic of Irelandcounterparts as suppliers to theGB market. Looking ahead,however, the exchange ratetailwind that the agri-foodsector has enjoyed throughoutthe downturn appears to haverun its course. Given thestrength in sterling against theeuro in 2013/14, this pricecompetitiveness should ease.That said, with wider condi-tions for the industry, notablythe high demand from withinthe UK, in place to supportgrowth, the agri-food and drinkindustry should enjoy a brightfuture into the years ahead.

AGRI-FOOD

Richard RamseyChief economist Ulster Bank


KEY to every businessis foresight and plan-ning. For farmers,however, the factorsdriving their busi-

nesses are dogged with risk anduncertainty. Input costs are aclassic example with the pricesof fuel, fertiliser, feed andforeign exchange constantlychanging in volatile world mar-kets. Farmers simply can’tpredict their cost of production.On the other hand the pricethey receive for their productsis not tied to these volatilecosts. The margin thereforevaries from year to year. It’s nota logical business to be in.Thankfully farmers perseverebecause they believe in the longhaul and consider that thingswill balance out over time.One current uncertainty is theCommon Agricultural Policy(CAP) reform. Our farmerswould be happy to work in asubsidy-free world, if theythought themarket wouldcompensate accordingly. That’snot going to happen any timesoon. Until then EU subsidieswill provide a significant propor-tion of most farms’ incomes.However, government here hasyet to decide how CAP reformwill be applied in NorthernIreland. There aremany conflict-ing interests and no outcomewhich suits all the stakeholders.The consequence is a standstillfor farm investment and produc-tion decisions. No business canafford to stand still but at pres-ent our farmers have littlechoice. The decision will bemade eventually. In the interimit would benefit foresight andplanning if farmers knew thatthey had a period of severalyears to bed in whichever reformis to be adopted.The success of any businessdepends on its people. This isproblematic for farmers. Farmbusinesses are often husband-and-wife partnerships, theformer being everything fromproduction director to opera-tive, the latter being everything

from financial director to officejunior. There is no cover forsickness or holiday save thatwhich is bought in. There’smaybe one other manemployed and family membersmay help on a part-time basis.Essentially the farm incomecan’t support full employment.This becomes a serious issuewhen planning the businesssuccession. How will the farm-ing couple be able to retire?What will fund their pension?Who will take over? How willthe siblings get a share of theassets? A plus factor in theCAP proposals is the additionalsupport earmarked for youngfarmers. In the first instancethis will bring down the aver-age age of farmers. The currentfigure of 58 is unsustainable.Some farmers are looking tointegration for a solution. Inthis regard the poultry sectorhere has a world-class player inMoy Park. It contracts farmersto grow chicken to a specifiedsize and quality. The farmersare paid a margin over feedaccordingly. Moy Park looks

after processing, product inno-vation, marketing, deals withthe supermarket and managesthe risks. It’s a system thatattracts bank funding. Deriva-tives of the model are nowbeing looked at seriously bythe egg, pork, beef and dairysectors. As natural entrepre-neurs, farmers are independ-ently minded. The issue is thatit’s not easy to move away fromthe way things have alwaysbeen done, or to form groups ortrust tie-ins with processors.The Going for Growth docu-ment launched at last year’sBalmoral Show envisages theneed for a £400m investmentin agri-food up to 2020. Deliv-ery of this will represent atremendous pump primingexercise for the industry.There’s an old adage that thefourth son in the farming fami-ly becomes the engineer. Thesedays it’s just as likely to be thedaughter. It reflects the factthat farmers here have aninnate ability to come up withbetter ways to do things. Betterbeing defined as a job being

done more efficiently in termsof labour used, time spent andcost incurred. All businessesneed to innovate and, on amicro level, farmers here dojust that. However, they have tocompete in a world marketwith access to the results ofresearch and innovation on ahuge scale. Our institutionshere can more than matchthat research and innovation.Many astute farmers hereincorporate the latest thinkingin their businesses. The issue ishow to transfer the technologyto micro-level. It’s how to getthe most up-to-date ideas tomen who would be willing bynature to apply them.SMEs can fail when they can’tgrow big enough to compete orgrow too big too quickly. Farmbusinesses here have to faceboth these issues at the sametime. A generation ago a dairyfarm was financially viablewith about a quarter of thecows needed today. Thusfarmers today need about fourtimes the land needed previ-ously. This additional landis rented were possible or pur-chased as a necessity. As aresult farm businesses aregenerally asset rich and cashpoor. It means our farmershave to trade with extensiveborrowings which is frighten-ing in the current financialclimate.One thing is not an issue forour farmers is integrity. Theterm food security is nowcommon parlance. This meansensuring we have sufficientfood to eat as world demandoutpaces supply. It meansensuring a safe food chain fromfarm to fork. These require-ments can only be delivered byfarmers with the skills toincrease production sustain-ably and the integrity to dothat right every time.Farmers such as our farmers.

The Royal Ulster AgriculturalSociety organises the BalmoralShow which runs from May 14 to 16

FARMERS

Ireland’s best-performing sectorsexperts note, while the future looksvolatility and succession problems

Colin McDonaldChief executive of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society

success


COVER STORY

THE past 18 monthshave seen a strongpick up in the initialpublic offering (IPO)market in the UK. Yet

Northern Ireland lags behindthe trend, with a relatively lowlevel of listed businesses.Colin Walsh, managingdirector, Crescent Capital, andchairman of the CBI in North-ern Ireland, even describes thelevel as “chronically low”.Crescent Capital is a Belfast-based venture capital fund man-ager. Their primary focusis on Northern Ireland compa-nies operating in the informa-tion technology, life sciencesand manufacturing sectors.Mr Walsh told BusinessMonth: “As it stands thereare only two publicly listed com-panies in Northern Ireland. Thetakeover of Andor byOxford Instruments earlierthis year means that only FirstDerivatives and UTVMediaremain. Andor was the last localcompany to go publicand that was back in 2004.When compared on a per capitabasis to Scotland or Wales, weshould have dozens.”Once a company opts to gopublic it has several obligations.It must declare its directors andshareholders, file regular ac-counts and provide a full pictureof its ongoing performance.That, Mr Walsh says, is oneof the main stumbling blocksfor Northern Ireland businessowners: “With continuousannouncements about andanalysis of a company’s tradingperformance, publicly listedcompanies offer their clientsmuch better visibility and secu-

rity. People in Northern Irelandare cautious about this scrutiny,but realistically the worst thingthat can happen is embarrass-ment over a poor performance.“Even if a public company isperforming badly they can stillusually raise additional capitalon the stock exchange to rescuethe business. This is why [they]generally offer a more secure op-tion for banks, allowing greateraccess to funds when required.”Mr Walsh urges more compa-nies here to consider listing as afuture move. He recommendsthat any emerging tech businessgenerating over £10m in sales,with a strong growth story,should look into the possibility.More traditional businesseswould need to have sales of over£50m to be seen as a contender.“Choosing to go public bringsadded visibility. When Andormade themove, they were auniversity spin-out business.

Even when they were securingglobal sales, that label stuck.Going public gave themmorecredibility with their clients andtheir suppliers,” he says.In order for a listing to be suc-cessful a business must be ableto demonstrate an opportunityfor strong growth, have the abili-ty to make goodmargins andhave a strong management teamin place that are prepared towithstand the public visibility.Mr Walsh says: “We are nowseeing a wave of companiesacross Great Britain going pub-lic, but not in Northern Ireland.There are less barriers comparedto a few years ago. Investors areready to invest in new andemerging companies. The scruti-ny needs to be seen as a positiveas it drives good corporate gov-ernance and puts pressure ondirectors to run a professionalbusiness. Local companies mayneed someone to hold their

hand to take them through theprocess and that is part of theproblemwe are facing. We don’thave enough good role models. Iam very concerned that wemayhave no public companies at allin a few years rather than thedozens we should have.”AIM is the London StockExchange’s market for smallercompanies. A range of business-es including early-stage venture-capital backed, as well as moreestablished companies join AIMin search of access to growthcapital. To join a company has torelease a minimum of 15% of itsshares, with approximately 25%required for the full exchange.Mark Fahy, head of UK smalland mid-caps at the LSE, comesto Northern Ireland monthly toraise awareness of the benefitsof floating. He believes that,while a lot of work is needed toeducate the marketplace, thereis a growing level of interestcoming from local companies.“Each company needs toassess their own reasons forwanting to float. Perhaps theyneed capital, or want shares asan acquisition currency. Theymight want to maintain keyemployees, build credibility oropen up broader access tofinance. For some, it could be anexit strategy or simply the nextstep in the company’s forwardmovement,” he says.Mr Fahy meets with interest-ed business owners, takingthem through the process. Heengages with advisors, account-ants, lawyers and venture capi-talists through events andround table discussions, pro-moting the value of listing.“Interested companies need

MAKE ITNorthern Ireland companies have tended to shy away from the stock exchange, but right now

there are lots of good reasons to go for a public listing, as Rebecca Kincade discovers

YOUR AIM


>> Turn to page 20

to draw together a team of theirown trusted advisors from avery early stage. They need tofind people, with expertise inthe market. This is the strongestpipeline we’ve seen in the IPOmarket for a long time and thesupport is out there. AIM hassome positive changes comingup that will encourage moremovement. From the end of thismonth it will be exempt fromstamp duty, making it a greatoption for smaller, fast-growingcompanies.”Alastair Keith, corporate part-ner at lawyers A&L Goodbody,has advised on a wide range oftransactions both at a nationaland multi-jurisdictional level.He specialises in acquisitions,venture capital, group reorgani-sations, joint ventures and ini-tial public offerings.He says: “IPOs are tied to theeconomic success of a region sofor the last few years theyhaven’t been a realistic option.We are now seeing that changeand the outlook is healthy for2014.“Northern Ireland has a his-torically low level, driven by areticence of local owners to puttheir companies in the public

domain. This is an entrepre-neurial society but many family-owned businesses don’t want togive up the level of control thatis needed.”Mr Keith is, however, noticingan attitude change. “There is alot of ambition out there. Busi-nesses are hoping to grow andthey aren’t discounting IPOs.With access to funding provid-ing a barrier, the new genera-tions of owners and directorsare realising that this can be agood choice for them. I think we

will see an organic rise in localpublicly listed companies.”Going public can be an expen-sive process. The business willneed to appoint a nominatedadvisor, or nomad, to helpmarket the company ahead oflisting. Accountants and lawyersare also needed.Mr Keith says: “Listing can bemore expensive than taking onother forms of finance, but whattends to happen is that whenyou are looking at howmuchyou are hoping to raise you build

the costs into that amount soit shouldn’t impact on the busi-ness.”Themessage from advisors isthat themarket is good for IPOsat present.There’s a window of opportuni-ty for Northern Ireland compa-nies to take the next step if theyare considering going public. Itremains to be seen how long thiswindowwill stay open andwhether any of our businessowners will use it to take the leapinto the public domain.


COVER STORY

>> From page 19


NEWS ANALYSIS

YOU can’t have failedto catch some of thebuzz about crowd-funding — and theUK is leading the

world in many aspects here. Forexample, crowdfunding gener-ated £939m in 2013 in the UKand this is up 91% from 2012.Two years ago it stood at only£300m.The figures are amazing, but Iforesee trouble ahead.First of all, what is crowd-funding? Actually it’s a wholeraft of different things, but allwith the common theme of a lotof people putting some moneyinto something enabled by awebsite. Here are some of thedifferent flavours:Peer to Business (P2B) lend-ing: Companies can borrowmoney from a group of people,cutting out the banks. Compa-nies pay (much) lower interestrates and lenders get muchhigher interest in return, oftenwell over 10%Invoice trading: Just like P2Bbut with the group of individu-als acting like factors, ie they‘buy’ the invoices as companiessell their goodsEquity-based crowdfunding:This time the crowd invests inshares, usually in smallamounts, so spreading the riskover many shareholdersReward-based crowdfunding:Just like equity, but no sharesare given. Instead the crowdhope to get a product, eg a newtype of watch or tickets to atheatrical production, thattheir money has helped developThere are others, includingthe largest of all which is — be-lieve it or not — donation-based crowdfunding, where thecrowd just give money.And the growth rates are justphenomenal — 618% for equityand 211% for debt in the UK in2013. In fact the report from in-novation charity Nesta fromwhich these figures comestates: “We can cautiously pre-dict the United Kingdom alter-native finance market will growto £1.6bn in 2014 and provide£840m worth of business fi-

Getting crowded outCrowdfunding is flying along, but is it going too fast?Alan Watts, director of Halo, the NI Science Park-basedbusiness angels, tries to help you keep the wheels on

nance for start-ups and SMEs”.And they also say that 5,000start-ups and SMEs receivedsome form of crowd funding inthe last three years. This is real-ly good news and shows thatthe miracle of money flowinginto new, small but innovativecompanies is somehow actuallyhappening.It just seems too good to betrue, doesn’t it?Let me state right now, thatI’m a big fan of crowdfunding. Isee it as an important and long-term part of the entire access tofinance landscape and it mostcertainly isn’t going to go away.And Halo has partnershipswith two major crowdfundersSeedrs and Crowdcube to en-sure Northern Ireland compa-nies get their fair share of themoney.However, I do think thesegrowth rates can’t continue and

also that two major bumps inthe road are on the way.Firstly the report highlightsthat the number of what theycall “active backers anddonors,” ie, the crowd, is con-tinuing to grow. It is now 9.4mpeople in the UK. The UK pop-ulation is 64m, so already 15%are sticking money in. And thepoint must be reached soonwhere this must taper off.There are only so many peoplewith the money, the interest orthe plain stupidity to putmoney in. And the UK govern-ment is actively taking steps toregulate who can get involved,so that the innocent, or thosewho don’t understand the risks,are largely excluded from beingable to do so — and that’s agood thing.So there will be a ceiling onthose putting money in.And then there are the fail-

ures. Crowdfunding is new,fashionable and even ‘cool’.This is fine and dandy untilsome of the companies receiv-ing the money crash and burn.In the angel world where Iwork, the percentage of failuresis well over 50%. So there willbe losses, bad headlines andmuch wailing and gnashing ofteeth.So hold tight, it’s going to be abumpy ride and the paint mayget a bit scratched. But thewheels will stay on and crowd-funding will come through toplay a major part in developinginnovative companies.And we’ll all benefit fromthat.More information aboutHalo, the Northern Irelandbusiness angels, can be foundat www.haloni.com . Alan canalso be contacted through thissite.

24 BUSINESS MONTH 13 MAY 2014

BREAKING THE MOULD

NNaammee:: Philip McAleeseCCoommppaannyy:: See.Sense

II ggoott iinnttoo bbuussiinneessss bbeeccaauussee......I’m an engineer and a cyclecommuter. While I was livingin Singapore and onmy dailycommute, I cycled through quitebusy traffic. It was here I realisedthe importance of staying visibleon the roads at all times.On one particular commute, Ilooked at the smartphone onmy handle bars and had a light-bulb moment — I realised thatthe sensor technology in thesmartphone device could be ap-plied to a light. It would make acycle light bright when I need-ed it and conserve energy whenI didn’t need it.From there I decided to createthe world’s first intelligent bikelight, able to sense and reactto the cyclist, the road, and itsenvironment to improve visibil-ity — See.Sense. I moved backfrom Singapore to NorthernIreland, and, with my wifeIrene, an experienced projectmanager, we focused exclusivelyon establishing See.Sense.

II ddiiddnn''tt aallwwaayyss ddoo tthhiiss......I have over 20 years’ experiencein electronic and software engi-neering. I graduated fromQueen’s University Belfast witha Bachelor of Engineering (elec-tronic and software engineer-ing). Following university, Ispent two years designing airtraffic control simulators forNational Air Traffic Services.I then went on to design, buildandmaintain trading systemsfor several multinational invest-ment banks. I held a number ofvice president and director rolesand delivered dozens of largeprojects incorporating bothhardware and software.

TThhee bbeesstt tthhiinngg aabboouutt mmyy wwoorrkkiiss......After working my way up themanagerial ranks in the invest-ment banking world, it hasbeen wonderful to get backto my engineering roots and dosomething I really enjoy.Not a lot of engineers haveknowledge of both softwareand hardware, and it’s the deep

Cyclist sees the senseSoftware engineer Philip McAleese tells of the flash of inspirationthat led to the invention of the world’s first intelligent bicycle light

understanding of both that hasallowed me to be able to designboth the electronics and thecomplex embedded algorithmsthat make See.Sense possible.Starting a company fromscratch and taking on ambitiousgoals for our future is challeng-ing but also exhilarating. It’sbeen wonderful to be recognisedas a best Early Stage company inNorthern Ireland at the Inter-Trade Ireland Seedcorn InvestorReadiness competition, as wellas Breakthrough Company ofthe Year from the Invest NIPropel Programme, and also awinner of UK Trade & IndustryGlobal Jumpstart Competition.

TThhee ppeerrssoonn II ttaakkee iinnssppiirraattiioonnffrroomm iinn bbuussiinneessss iiss......There are two people. Firstly,Richard Branson, because hehas a very good way of not look-ing to, but achieving a hugeamount and instilling valuesinto his organisations thatallow them to have a true senseof identity in order to excel. Sec-ondly, James Dyson because he

had a new technology productand faced repeated setbacksand was sufficiently dedicatedto overcome them all and besuccessful.

TThhee bbiiggggeesstt oobbssttaacclleess wwee''vveeccoommee uupp aaggaaiinnsstt iinn bbuussiinneessssaarree......We have ambitious goals to cre-ate a global cycling technologyand software company and thismeans we have also created anextremely busy agenda for our-selves. As parents of two youngchildren, we’ve had to workhard to ensure we allow timefor family among the fast paceof being a business start-up.We’ve gone from a concept tohaving a product released tocustomers in under a year. Thisincluded establishing our busi-ness model, running a success-ful Kickstarter crowdfundingcampaign, establishing the pro-duction process and routes tomarket, moving into a smalloffice and starting the recruit-ment process for employees, tonow seeking investment. While

exhilarating and exciting it isalso a lot of work and we’rethankful to have had supportfrom our families.

MMyy aaddvviiccee ttoo ssoommeeoonnee tthhiinnkkiinnggaabboouutt ssttaarrttiinngg uupp tthheeiirr oowwnnbbuussiinneessss iiss......Ensure you have a good socialnetwork of support around you.Tap into the start-up networksaround and learn from yourpeers as well as establishednames. In Northern Irelandthere is a great architecture ofsupport and we would highlyrecommend the services ofInvest NI, the Propel Pro-gramme, InterTrade Ireland’sSeedcorn competition, as wellas the more informal peer sup-port for start-ups at events likeThe Friday Night Mashup.

IInn 1100 yyeeaarrss ttiimmee II hhooppee ttoo bbee......Retired, living on an island!

II ccoouullddnn''tt ggoo ttoo wwoorrkk wwiitthhoouutt......A freshly ground coffee in themorning, and a brisk cycle rideto fuel both body and brain!

Philip and Irene McAleese of See.Sense

at helping improve timescalesand consistency in cancer drugdiscovery and research.

In 10 years’ time the worldwill…We will be even more over-whelmed by the pace and vol-ume at which information isavailable — at personal, socialnetwork, organisation and gov-ernment levels. This will createso many more challenges todistil what is useful, relevantand interesting — separatedout from all the loud ‘noise’ ofmessages that are pushed atus through so many electronicand traditional channels ofcommunication.

My one business regret is…I’m fortunate not to have anysignificant business regrets. If

I had found the opportunity, Iwould have moved earlier fromthe larger company cultureswhere I had worked into entre-preneurial business growth.Entrepreneurship isn’t foreverybody — there are manyrisks and opportunities to failas well as succeed. However,what drives me is a huge senseof achievement in creating busi-ness propositions and employ-ment opportunities fromscratch. I also believe thatentrepreneurial businesseshave the potential to createcultures where everyone in acompany feels that they make adifference — which they do.And that for the long-termhealth of our economy, we musthave strong, vibrant, thrivingindigenous companies that cre-ate experiences and role models

for future spin-outs, businessgrowth and wealth generation.

My one piece of businessadvice is...Always think about what cus-tomers want — today and intothe future. The acid test of anybusiness value is that cus-tomers like and want to buythese products and services,rather than spending theirmoney on something else. Andnothing ever just sells itself.

I couldn’t start the daywithout...Having some sort of plan forwhat I want to achieve. I thinkof each business day as anopportunity to take somesmall step towards longer termgoals, and hopefully to enjoythe journey along the way.


AND I’LL TELL YOU ANOTHER THING

Name: Des Speed, CEO ofPathXL, based at NorthernIreland Science Park, andformer chief executive ofLagan Technologies

My first job was…My first job was in operationalresearch in the aircraft industry.After some years in that role, Iswitched across into computersoftware, which has been mylong-term career since then in awide variety of organisationtypes and sizes. I’m fortunate tohave learned greatly from thisvariety of experience.

The person who taught mehow to succeed was…Nigel Wilson, now chief execu-tive of one of the largest compa-nies in the UK. As my boss, heprovided me the opportunity tobecome a founder director ofSx3, then a subsidiary of theViridian Group. Nigel taughtme that with visionary leader-ship, creativity, confidence inpeople and boundless energy,great things can be achieved —way beyond the typical expecta-tions of “business as usual”. Healso took a risk in backing whathe saw as potential in me, whenothers weren’t so sure — thatgave me more confidence toback my own judgment.

My business mantra is…Persistence, persistence,persistence.

It’s all changed since I startedout....I’m now chief executive ofPathXL, a company that focus-es on the detection and analysisof cancer tumours using a typeof software called digitalpathology — a unique mix ofgenerally available softwarewith highly specialised re-search and mathematics.For me, this is a long wayfrom some of my original rolesin aircraft manufacture andelectricity distribution. I’mfortunate to be surrounded byan outstanding and very dedi-cated team. We have launchedground-breaking new products,the first and best of their kindin the world. These are targeted

Enjoying taking the long routeFrom operational research in the aircraft industry to chief executive of a software firmfocused on the detection and analysis of cancer tumours. Des Speed tracks the journey

Entrepreneur Des Speed, left, with Peter Hamilton of PathXL


SME WATCH

FROM a Falklands warveteran to school-children in Kentucky,a software company inAntrim has been help-

ing a range of people to over-come their literacy problems.Award-winning firm Texthelp,which also has offices inWoburn, Massachusetts, usessoftware to support people withdyslexia and literacy difficultiesin learning to read, write, studyand communicate with easeand independence.The company was set up inthe 1990s to bring its softwareto education, corporate andEnglish-speaking markets. Italso has a dealer channel thatcovers the UK, Republic of Ire-land and Australia.Chief executive Mark Mc-Cusker said: “Fundamentally

what we do is design technolo-gy for people who struggle withreading and writing.“In the early days of the com-pany we were very focused onthe likes of the dyslexic commu-nity, whereas now as we havegrown and broadened the soft-ware so it is equally useful tosomeone who has English as asecond language or someonewho is functionally illiterate —a very broad range of people.“In terms of the evolution ofthe company we started off inonly English-speaking marketsand grew in the UK, Ireland,North America, Australia, NewZealand, South Africa.“More recently we have start-ed to focus on markets whereEnglish is not the first lan-guage, so we are doing work inChina, India and Brazil.”

Texthelp's software enablespeople to develop their reading,students to achieve a degreeand employees to operate effec-tively in the workplace.Customers include schools,universities, private corporateconcerns, local government de-partments and publishers suchas Pearson, McGraw Hill andDiscovery Education.“We have a broad range butthe common link to the technol-ogy is helping people who arestruggling with reading andwriting,” Mark said.“In most cases the consumerof our technology doesn't actu-ally pay for it. It's unusual. Theultimate user very rarely paysfor our software — it is usually athird party in the supply chainthat pays for the software.”Texthelp has 121 staff, with

some 28 of them based in Amer-ica.All technical development,administration, and sales andmarketing in the UK and therest of world, excluding NorthAmerica, takes place at theheadquarters in Antrim.Invest NI assisted Texthelpwhen it moved into the US mar-ket and continues to provide itwith valuable assistance.Hispanic children embracingthe technology in Kentuckyschools got the company think-ing about how Texthelp couldassist people who do not haveEnglish as their first language.“Kentucky was determined itwas going to be one of the topstates for supporting studentswho were struggling readers,not just dyslexia, but any formof struggling reader.”

Word perfect

Amanda Ferguson talks to Texthelp Ltd chief executive Mark McCusker abouthow its software for struggling readers is changing lives across the globe

Then around three years agothe company began movinginto non-English speakingcountries.“When you look at someonewho was learning English, thetypical errors they make are notactually dissimilar from some-one who is dyslexic,” Mark ex-plained.“For example, they will tendto spell phonetically and strug-gle with pronunciation ofwords. So we started to adaptthe software for that marketand that has led us into themarkets of China, India and alittle bit of South America.”Texthelp has ambitious plansfor the future.“When I joined in 1998 therewas six of us and we are now at121,” Mark said.“We are pushing on forward.Our growth plans are largely fo-cused on the rest of the worldnow.”Queen's University Belfastgraduate Mark (55) has a back-ground in engineering. Now hesays running a business thathelps others is very rewarding.“We talk about the changeyou can bring. We have a wholeseries of feedback from cus-tomers we talk about.

“My favourite one is from awoman who contacted us oneday to say that her husband, aFalklands war veteran, was verydyslexic and he was a little bitembarrassed.“She bought our software, put

it on the machine and told himto try it. When she came back 15minutes later he was crying be-cause for the first time in hislife he could actually read anemail from his daughter.“At the end of the day we are a

hard-nosed commercial organi-sation, but there is a very strongcounterbalance in terms of thesatisfaction in delivering some-thing that does changes lives.Our mission is that we changelives. That is what we do.”



ASK THE EXPERTS

I WANT to give a youngperson a chance throughwork experience but I’mconfused by the range ofschemes there are — whatdo you advise?

IT’S great that you are keento give a young person workexperience. At Businessin the Community, we areaiming to get business topledge their support inhelping 3,000 young peopleinto jobs over the nextthree years.

Every organisationwilling to offer employmentsupport for young peoplewill help us achieve thisambitious goal.

You’re right though,there are lots of differentwork experience andemployability schemesavailable and it can getconfusing as to whichone is best for your organi-sation.

Some schemes last fora matter of weeks, whileothers last for up to ayear. Some target youngpeople that are at riskof becoming long-termunemployed, whereasothers engage withgraduates seeking toacquire experience to helpthem get a job. Some of theschemes have financialincentives attached, andothers don’t.

A good starting pointis to map out what kind ofopportunity you want tooffer. Ideally, how longwould it last for? Whatskills does the youngperson need in order to besuccessful? You’ll alsoneed to think about whowill mentor the youngperson and if you can offerthem a wage.

Once you’ve thoughtthrough a bit more ofthe detail, contact theemployability team atBusiness in the Communityand we’ll help you find theright solution to both fityour business and providethe best work experienceopportunity. Give us a callon (028) 9046 0606.SW

AS the owner of a small business, I’m worried that I'm not up todate with finances. Have there been any changes I should beaware of?SMALL businesses shouldensure they make the most ofthe new benefits and don’t getcaught out by the changes. Thecost of employing people cameout as the top issue facing smallbusinesses in a recent surveywe conducted.While the latest Budget didn’tprovide a silver bullet for thisissue, there are new tax breaksand changes from last monthwhich small business ownersneed to be aware of and insome cases could help them tomake those vital recruitmentdecisions.Key changes from April in-clude:■ Employment allowance —from April 2014 most business-es and charities will be entitledto a £2,000 employmentallowance per year towardstheir employer NationalInsurance contributions (NIC)bill;■ Employees’ and employers’NIC — the point at whichemployees and employers startpaying NIC will be alignedfrom 2014/15 at £153 per week;■ Statutory sick pay (SSP)recovery — from April 6 2014the recovery of SSP will beabolished;■ Personal allowance and taxcode 2014/15 — the personalallowance for 2014/15 rises to

£10,000 from £9,440 in 2013/14;■ Workplace pensions — fromApril 2014, it will be the turnof employers with between 50and 250 employees to complywith the new rules. From April2015, the new rules will alsoapply to employers with lessthan 50 employees;■ RTI reporting concessionfor small employers — the con-cession for small businesses

with between 10 and 50employees comes to an endon April 5 2014 when theywill need to start reportingPAYE information in realtime. Employers with nineor fewer employees cancontinue to report PAYE infor-mation on or before the lastpayday in the month untilApril 2016.JA

All questions should be addressed to: [email protected] and advice are published in good faith but should not replace the advice of your professional financial advisor.

Jim AndrewAccountantTaxAssist Accountants

Ciara LaganLawyerLaw firm Tughans

Sheila Whelan-DuffyHead of EmployabilityBusiness in the Community NI

Sound advice can be a valuable commodityWe put your questions to the experts with the answers

I OWN and run a successful medium-sized business but amlooking to retire in the next five to 10 years. How do I passon my business to the next generation?

TO ensure the smooth exit of an owner on retirement, it isvital to address succession planning early. There are ongoingmanagement and ownership issues that need to be consid-ered.

The business will need a suitably qualified and skilled man-agement team to continue its success. If the next generationdo not have such skills, consideration should be given to get-ting the right team in from outside the board as soon as possi-ble. Outside management can be incentivised without the nextgeneration relinquishing majority control of the business.

If there is more than one successor to the business, formalstructure should be introduced, such as a family constitutionto set out decision-making processes and reward entitlement.This avoids uncertainty and minimises risk of conflict.

Is the next generation interested in the business? If they donot want to be involved in the business there are other optionssuch as a trade sale or management buy-out.

Tax advice should be sought early to ensure tax efficiency ofany business transfer.CL


THERE was little onoffer in the Chancel-lor's Budget of March19 that was specifical-ly targeted at North-

ern Ireland. But Colerainebenefited from one announce-ment that is expected to lead tonew jobs and substantialinvestment. The north coasttown is to become NorthernIreland’s data centre capital.A small enterprise zone is tobe created on the edge of thetown, forming the basis for ahigh-technology business parkwithin the University of Ulster’scampus. Coleraine’s will be thefirst of the new generation ofenterprise zones in NorthernIreland, offering substantialfinancial support for capitalintensive investments.However, the inducementsavailable for enterprise zoneshere are different from those inEngland. For businesses locat-ing in English enterprise zones,discounts can be provided ontheir business rates, improvedaccess to higher qualitytelecommunications infrastruc-ture and fast planning deci-sions. In some instances,enhanced capital allowancesare available, though EuropeanUnion state aid rules preventthese being available alongsidebusiness rate discounts.Of these incentives, three areirrelevant to Northern Ireland.We already have a telecommu-nications infrastructure that isbetter than most of England’sand business rate setting policyis devolved to the Assembly. Afast-track planning decision

was achieved for the Colerainedevelopment, without needingenterprise zone status toachieve it. The decision wasmade in just nine weeks, butbefore enterprise zone statuswas granted.It is the enhanced capitalallowances that were the vitalingredient for Coleraine,attracting a £20m investmentfrom specialist investor5NINES into a new data centre.This has provided a moreeffective substitute for the job-based grant assistance that inother circumstances wouldhave been provided by InvestNI, but was not attractive inthis instance because only 15jobs are expected to be createdin the near term.A data centre is an essentialpart of the modern digitalinfrastructure, particularly asthe use of cloud computingaccelerates. Cloud technologyenables businesses and individ-uals to store data remotely,rather than overloading theirown systems and devices.Demand for cloud storage isescalating with the massiveincrease in use of and storageof data. Data centres are heavyusers of energy, so access toreliable electricity sources isnecessary, as well as very high-quality telecoms connectivity.Finance Minister SimonHamilton explained the impor-tance of the capital allowancesin attracting 5NINES.“Designating this enterprisezone in Northern Ireland isanother tool to lever economicgrowth,” he said. “It will enable

the 5NINES project to benefitfrom the additional incentiveof enhanced capital allowances,which allows them to claim100% first-year allowances forqualifying plant and machineryexpenditure. This is particularlyattractive to capital intensiveinvestments such as this datacentre.”Officials say the approval ofthe Coleraine enterprise zonewas not connected to the nearsimultaneous announcement ofaround 300 job losses at theDriver and Vehicle Agencyoperation in the town. Negotia-tions with the Treasury havetaken place over an extendedperiod and the planningapproval for the data centrewas agreed in October, severalmonths before the decisionwas taken regarding the DVAredundancies.The University of Ulsterfailed to respond to a request todiscuss the development on itsland, or its involvement in theproject. But minutes from ameeting of the university’s gov-erning council shed some light.The minutes record: “The vice-chancellor confirmed that therewould be no cost to the univer-sity under the terms of the pro-posed contract with 5NINES.The agreement with 5NINESwould hopefully act as a cata-lyst for further businesses tolocate in the business park.”There are two key advantagesfor 5NINES in locating atColeraine. One is the enhancedcapital allowances agreed withthe Treasury, the second is itsclose location to the landing

INSIDE REPORT

point for the Project Kelvinhigh-speed broadband cablingwith North America.According to one seniorperson familiar with the deal,the recently deceased EddieHaughey, Lord Ballyedmond,was actively involved inbringing the scheme to fruition.Lord Ballyedmond, the chair-man of Norbrook Veterinary

THE CLOUD’SSILVER LININGSILVER LININGColeraine is to have the province's first enterprisezone. Paul Gosling examines why the move is sosignificant to the province’s digital ambitions


Pharmaceuticals, was a gener-ous benefactor to the Universi-ty of Ulster.Sinclair Stockman is alsorumoured to have been acentral figure: he is a visitingprofessor at the university’scomputing faculty and chair-man of data centre develop-ment company, Data CityExchange. Both Stockman and

Data City Exchange failed to re-spond to requests for comment,as did 5NINES.However, Justin Gilbert, apartner in 5NINES — which isdeveloping data centres global-ly — has previously spoken tothe Belfast Telegraph. He said:“Local people have been very,very supportive of what we aredoing, particularly Coleraine

Borough Council. We travelledall over Northern Ireland tofind the right spot and clearlybecause of the landing station,Coleraine has a big benefit.”He explained that data centresare not only central to the infra-structure for high-technologysector expansion in NorthernIreland, but can also indirectlygenerate substantial numbers

of jobs. “We need data centres ifwe're going to make a new digi-tal industry in Northern Ire-land,” he said. “We couldgenerate over 16,000 jobs,but in order for that to happen,someone has to build datacentres, which are the founda-tion of any digital economy.”

>> Turn to page 34


INSIDE REPORT

The company is expected tofollow up the Coleraine datacentre with similar projectselsewhere in Northern Ireland,including in Belfast. 5NINES isa substantial business, holdingcontracts with many heavyusers of cloud storage systemsand other data centre services,including the UK Governmentand leading outsource serviceprovider Capita.EnterpriseMinister ArleneFoster stresses that the creationof the data centre at Coleraine isextremely important in terms ofbuilding a high-technology infra-structure in Northern Irelandand in attracting related inwardinvestment. She said: “Overmany years the Executive hasshown the priority that we attachto having a world-class telecom-munications infrastructure. Thisopportunity allows us to furtherexploit the extensive superfastfibre-optic broadband networkavailable across Northern Ire-land and the direct internationalconnectivity that Project Kelvinprovides to North America andcontinental Europe.“Data centres are a strategical-ly important piece of thetelecommunications infrastruc-

ture and the Executive was keento demonstrate its support forthe proposal in an innovativeway. Such investments can becrucial in the development ofthe ICT sector as a whole andwill, without doubt, enhance theproposition NI can offer to in-ward investors who are increas-ingly globally connected.”In a written reply in theAssembly, the minister added:“Subject to timescales for estab-lishing the zone, we will liaisewith the University of Ulsterand Coleraine Borough Councilas appropriate to agree how thesite will be marketed... InvestNI will promote the new datacentre to relevant companies ininternational markets. This,along with the excellent tele-coms and IT research base atUU Coleraine and the engineer-ing talent available in thenorth-west region, should helpattract more FDI [foreign directinvestment] and local compa-nies to explore the location as asuitable place to establish andgrow their operations from.”If building telecommunica-tions infrastructure is like a digi-tal jigsaw, another piece is nowbeing fitted into place. The wholeof NI should benefit, though Col-erainemost of all.

>> From page 33

BUSINESS MONTH 12 May 201436

TICKERS

The month’s local indicators at a glanceUlster Bank economist Richard Ramsey gives a rundown on the latest key pointersSTERLING’S effective exchangerate, which is a weighted aver-age of the pound’s individualexchange rates against a basketof currencies, plummeted by30% following the creditcrunch in the summer of 2007.This has been a mixed bless-ing. On the one hand, sterling’sweakness boosted export pricecompetitiveness. On the otherhand, its depreciation exacer-bated food and energy priceinflation and squeezed house-hold incomes in the process.However, as the economic hasseen a recovery, so to has thevalue of sterling. This has beenparticularly evident since lastsummer with the currency’seffective exchange rate appreci-ating by over 9% since the endof July 2013. As a result, ster-ling’s effective exchange rate isnow at its highest level sincethe end of October 2008.Sterling’s appreciation hasbeen linked to the UK’s improv-ing economy and expectationsthat the Bank of England willbegin raising interest ratesahead of its counterparts in theEuropean Central Bank (ECB)

and the Federal Reserve. Of thethree, the eurozone’s ECB willpotentially provide additionalmonetary policy stimulus;options could include a furthercut in its benchmark interestrate and an asset purchaseprogramme. Financial markets’

expectations surrounding theECB’s likely policy action haveweighed on euro sentiment,particularly against sterling.The euro/sterling exchange ratehas fallen from 87.4p (£ = 1.143)at the end of July 2013 to around82p (£ = 1.217) at the end of

April 2014. Meanwhile sterlinghas hit a five-year high ($1.69)against the dollar. Sterling’sstrength is good news for UKholidaymakers heading abroad.However, UK exporters willexperience an erosion in pricecompetitiveness.

ACCORDING to the NorthernIreland Composite EconomicIndex, the economy grew by0.6% q/q in Q4 2013 withprivate sector output alsoincreasing by 0.6% q/q. Puttingthe recovery into perspective,however, NI’s private sectorhas clawed back less than 20%of the output lost during the

recession with output in Q42013 still 14.4% below the Q22007 peak. Private sector servic-es output remains 12.6% belowthe Q3 2006 peak. Constructionsector output remains 48.4%below its Q2 2007 peak. Todate, NI manufacturing hasrecouped 44% of the outputlost during the recession.

ULSTER BANK’S PMI, showsNorthern Ireland’s private sectorrecovery still firing on all cylin-ders at the end of Q1 2014. Localfirms have now posted threesuccessive quarters of stronggrowth. The pace of businessexpansion eased inMarch butthe corresponding accelerationin new orders growth suggests

strong rates in this area shouldcontinue for some time yet.Northern Ireland’s private sectorfirms have now reported growthin new orders for 10 consecutivemonths. This sustained growth isfeeding job creation. InMarch,firms saw staffing levels increaseat the fastest rate since the PMIsurvey began in August 2002.


ANALYSIS

Seasons aren’t in fashionA designer is shaking up the fashion business with a trans-seasonal collectionmore in keeping with the poor weather,writes Maureen Coleman

ALEADING Ulsterdesigner haslaunched her firstever trans-seasonalcollection, claiming

Ireland's harsh climate hashelped change fashion.According to Una Rodden, alack of sunshine in recent yearsmeans the traditional spring/summer collections are nolonger relevant to her clients.The Belfast-based designersaid the women buying herclothes wanted pieces theycould wear all year round andthat summer clothes were nolonger value for money, as con-tinued poor weather preventedthem from having much wear.And in another newmove, theaward-winning designer hasswapped the traditional cat-walks for fashion film instead,teaming up with Belfast visualartist and photographer, NeilKerr, to reveal her first trans-seasonal collection, Usine.Una unveiled her new collec-tion with a fashion film screen-ing and live model presentationin Belfast nightspot Aether &Echo. The film and photo-shoot

were shot by Neil in a vast,empty warehouse Donegal.She said: “We work withclients every day . . . what theyare looking for are pieces thatwill last them longer than justone season. The customer isdictating what they require andwe are fulfilling that brief.“What we're seeing is that theweather here is a huge factor inwhat we wear and how we wearit. The seasons are so messedup. We don't really have aspring/summer anymore and ifit does happen, it doesn't lastlong. The rest of the year ismore like spring or autumn.“So I didn't want to give thecollection a label of a particularseason, as a lot of our clothescan be worn all year round.With our weather, we needsomething more weighty insummer, or lighter in autumnor layered up for winter, hencethe trans-seasonal collection.“The recession has also had aknock-on effect. People justdon't have the disposableincome to buy so many differ-ent wardrobes. They wantpieces that will work for three

or four occasions, not just one.”Una pointed out that high-street store Zara steered awayfrom seasonal collections aswell, instead introducing newpieces ever six to eight weeks.And designer Christopher Kanewas so disheartened by theweather last year, he arranged apreview of his autumn/wintercollection before the summerwas out, to help generate sales.Una had been considering newways of unveiling her collections,when 34-year-old Neil walkedinto her shop one day and askedif he could photograph her work.After showing Una a Polaroidimage, they immediately clicked.“I was looking for someone tophotograph my clothes in anon-realistic, quirky way andNeil’s photography is very cooland artistic,” she said.Una told him she had beentoying with the idea of a livemodel presentation and Neilagreed it would complement afashion film. The pair teamedup for the first time last year,presenting Una’s collection atthe Meter House in the Gas-works in Belfast.

Una said: “It was like an artgallery experience. The modelswere placed in the centre of theroom and everyone there wasunsure if they were real ormannequins. Then they startedto move. “The great thing is thatpeople got to see every angle ofevery dress and garment.”The Usine collection wasrevealed with a display of Neil’sPolaroid pictures, live modelsand a fashion film.Una said: “When I started outin fashion I worked forMichelle O’Doherty and therewas no-one else doing what shewas doing back then.“When she moved to Amster-dam, we opened up here, butwe were very much on our own.Now there are so many youngerdesigners coming through.“But we have to stay ahead inthis industry and that’s themain reason we’re moving awayfrom catwalks and using fash-ion film instead. There are newfaces coming through and wehave to be more gutsy, takegreater risks.“If we keep doing the same aseverybody else, we will get lost.”

Photography by Neil Kerr, www.neilkerr.com'


FOCUS ON: RECRUITMENT

MAJOR globalrecruitment firmHays has 50 re-cruitersin Northern

Ireland and regional directorJohn Moore says that the firm,which deals with 70% of North-ern Ireland’s top-100 companies,has seen a 100% rise in the num-ber of permanent appointmentsin the past year alone — a realsign of a boost in business confi-dence.“Looking at recent trends, Ithink it is well documented thatwithin IT, the demand for staff isunparallelled. There was no let-upthroughout the downturn,” hesaid.“The demand has acceleratedmuch faster than the universities cancope with and we are seeing a real warfor talent in the sector.“In construction, estimators,planners, buyers and quantity survey-ors are in demand but because a lot ofthe output from the main contractorsis in Great Britain or further afield,anyone who wants to develop theircareer needs to be flexible on loca-tion. Within the public sector we arestarting to see the impact of theongoing cost controls, and thatsalaries are not as competitive asthey used to be.“If we want to boost the jobsmarket I think it is very important thatNorthern Ireland is seen as a great place tolive and work.”Firstsource, which provides customermanagement and business services toorganisations in the financial services,telecommunication and healthcare sectors,has developed an innovative strategy ofrecruitment among long-term unemployedpeople and has a number of flexible work-ing programmes for students, parents andcarers in a bid to attract and retain staff.Headquartered in India, the company set

up in Northern Ireland in 2006 and hasover 2,000 employees across its four sites

in Belfast and Derry.Laura Hourican, head of HRfor UK and Ireland for First-source, said that developingthe firm’s people has helpedthe company achieve hugegrowth.“We’ve given people op-tions, to move location, tomove into a different part ofthe business, to workaround term time, to workaround their families or de-pendents. We allow parentsto apply for additional leaveover the holiday period —we go beyond our legal re-quirements and that helpsus retain and develop ourbest people,” she said.“We’re a 365 day, 24/7 op-eration. Evenings and week-ends can be busiest for someclients, so we have the theability to offer a lot of flexibil-ity.“We have positions in HR,IT, management, payroll, ac-counts — every contact centrehas massive support functionsand there are always new op-portunities.“You can start in Firstsourceby answering a phone and endup managing a team of 100people.

PERFECT FITChoosing the right staff is vital to success in business. Clare Weir speaks to recruiters

PANEL:John Moore, Northern Ireland director,Hays:“I would also say that hiring managers needto look beyond the 25-40 bracket if theywant to grow their business. If everyone islooking in the same place, companies aregoing to be understaffed. Hire for potential,on one hand and hire those who still havelots to give, on the other.”

Laura Hourican, head of human resources,

UK and Ireland, Firstsource“The candidate has to have a positive expe-rience. Every candidate is an ambassadorfor your company and giving and receivingfeedback is very important.”

Ciaran McCallion, senior HR manager,Allen & Overy“We think it is important to provide youngpeople with a range of skills that they cantake anywhere in the world.”

>> Turn to page 40


FOR THE JOBand HR experts to find out how companies can attract and retain the best candidates


FOCUS ON: RECRUITMENT

“I think when choosing staff, you have tobe very clear on what you are looking for interms of the brief and the skills, right fromthe start. If you don’t, it’s harder to find theright people.“We also run assessments as well ashaving face-to-face interviews — we look atskills, qualifications, we sometimes askfor a presentation or undertake a psycho-metric profile. We don’t think you shouldunderestimate what is available, or over-look the other assessment tools you can useas well as interviews.”There’s an old saying that you should“start ’em young” and global legal firmAllen & Overy, based at the Obel buildingin Belfast, have taken that message to heart,creating a documents skills course at theSouth Eastern Regional College (SERC) anddelivering outreach project with AshfieldGirls’ School and Mercy Primary School inBelfast.The firm also has a number of IT appren-tices in place and in addition has estab-lished partnerships with the localuniversities in the areas of law andlibrarianship.Ciaran McCallion, senior human

resources manager at A&O, said thatin the past two years, seven people out ofthe 25 people who have completed theSERC course have gone on to work withthe company.“We’re playing a long game. We’re buildingan alumni of people who, if they do not come

in to work with us immediately, will go on touse those skills with other employers and infuture years they may come back to us.“It’s a really good way to build the futureworkforce from the ground up and wethink it is important to provide youngpeople with a range of skills that they can

take anywhere in the world. In the pasttwo-and-a-half years, we’ve hired over 370people and we’ve had over 9,000 applica-tions through the door.“We have great, talented people in Belfastand the office is recognised throughout thecompany’s global network.”

>> From page 39


FOCUS ON CYBER SECURITY

THESE days, everyonewith a smartphonein their pocket is aone-person softwarecompany.

And with more and moreeveryday transactions takingplace through mobile devicessuch as phones and tablets, theopportunity for cybercriminalsto access our financial detailsand personal information ison the rise.Bigger companies too aresuffering, with hacking, phish-ing and disruption of serviceattacks — as well as intellectualproperty theft — causingincreasing financial and repu-tational damage.With the demand for cyber-security experts growing at 12times the rate of the overall jobmarket, Business Month tooka look at what steps can betaken to safeguard our onlinepresence, both personal and ina business capacity, and whichcompanies are capitalising onthe need for tougher security.Andy O'Donoghue (pictured)from BeaumeX, Ireland'sleading Apple and enter-tainment distributor, is abroadcaster and cyberse-curity commentator. Hesays that the biggest threatto businesses is a lack ofawareness.“SMEs (small andmedium-sized en-

terprises), in particular, haveno idea of the cost of a securitybreach . . . it's not just finan-cial, it's not just the theft ofmoney or of credit carddetails, but the theft of infor-mation and the damage toreputation,” he said.“If you have five or 10 peoplein a company, if most of the

sales come from online — if awebsite goes down for two orthree days, lost sales and dam-age to reputation can be hugelyexpensive.“The cost of one hackingattack would be enough toput many small firms outof business. It's beenestimated that just threeto five days of a websitebeing down could costbetween £30,000 and£50,000.“Initiatives like the In-

novation Voucherand the 10 Stepsto Cyber Securi-

ty plan are a step in the rightdirection but there needs tobe more awareness. Hackersare gaining access to customerlists and credit card informa-tion. In lots of cases companiesare hacked and they don'tknow it. A customer's creditcard details will be used andtested in small transactionsand eventually the rate andsize of the transaction mayincrease.“I think with the the surge inonline and mobile payments,which is set to really increaseover the next two years, andwith the increase of thingslike online and mobile check-ins at airports, more avenuesfor cybercrime will be openingup and this raises a lot of ques-tions.“Will identity have to becomefurther embedded in phones,will physical attributes becomepart of security? Clever elec-tronics companies like Appleand Samsung are already look-ing at fingerprint and retinal IDtechnology.”Northern Ireland is alreadyhome to some major compa-nies which specialise in securi-ty and biometrics.One such firm is Core Sys-tems, which makes softwarewhich drives security systemsin a growing number of jails inthe UK, the US, and other partsof the world. From its Crumlin

Road base, it develops securityand biometric software whichcan identify people from theirpersonal characteristics, suchas fingerprints or eyes.That lends itself to the thecustody sector, including pris-ons, police stations and immi-gration centres, and it hasfound an eager market for itshigh-tech products.Core Systems is investing£700,000 in an expansion andresearch and developmentproject to secure new opportu-nities in the US market.The firm frequently appearsin the Deloitte Technology Fast50 Awards, a list of the top 50fastest-growing technologycompanies in Ireland andrecently won an award at theInvest NI/British AirwaysExport Challenge Competition.A far younger company,which has spun out of theCentre for Secure InformationTechnologies (CSIT) atQueen's University Belfast, isLiopa, the world's first lipauthentication processor formobile devices, which couldeventually replace the tradi-tional security password.Initial product developmenthas been funded through theTechnology Strategy Board andthe company is now workingwith a local point-of-sales firm

With the demand for cybersecurity growing at a rapid pace, Clare Weir discoverswhy Northern Ireland is so well placed to play a role in tackling hacking and the like

HELPING TONET CROOKS

>> Turn to page 44

The costof one

hacking attackwould put mostsmall firms outof business


Counteringthe attackÉ In March, The EconomistIntelligence Unit launchedCyberTab, a free and anony-mous calculator that helpscompanies tally the cost ofspecific cyber attacks.É CyberTab users can inputa range of expenses andestimated costs for either aspecific attack scenario oractual breach. The tool willthen generate a reportdetails the cost and enablesa cost-benefit analysis ofsecurity strategies.ÉThe Cyber Security UKChallenge is bringingtogether experts to designand develop a series of chal-lenges and competitionsthat will test the nation’scybersecurity skills. Thisgroup is led by a manage-ment team consisting ofprofessional bodies, govern-ment departments, privateindustry, and public sectororganisations.ÉThe Technology StrategyBoard in the UK haslaunched InnovationVouchers for SMEs, entre-preneurs and early-stagestart-ups who see value inprotecting and growing theironline business by havingeffective cyber security. TheTSB makes £5,000 availableto each successful applicantto fund initiatives such as a'cyber audit' for existingprocesses and for start-upcompanies needing to buildcyber security into thebusiness.ÉThe Cyber SecurityGuidance for Business,produced by CESG (theinformation security arm ofGCHQ), the Department forBusiness Innovation andSkills and the Centre for theProtection of NationalInfrastructure, aims to helpthe private sector minimisethe risks to company assets.The guidance includes a 'TenSteps to Cyber Security'programme for companies.

Smartphonetechnology isincreasing therisk of cybercrime

to trial the software with aview to including it in theirverification process.David Crozier, from the firm,was involved in organisingthe fourth annual cybersecurity conference hostedby the CSIT, at Queen's Univer-sity recently.Speakers from 12 differentcountries on four continents —representing Facebook, Intel,IBM, GCHQ, the Korea Infor-mation and Security Agency,Estonian Information System'sAuthority and McAfee — alladdressed the event.The conference heard thatQueen's University is to offer anew masters degree in cybersecurity, which will belaunched this September.“Having our first referencecompany for Liopa is a big stepand we are looking to build thecompany out, seek investmentand ramp up recruitment andsales from an initial team offour,” said Mr Crozier.“The selling point for lipbiometrics is that companiesdon't need to invest in biomet-ric hardware like fingerprint

scanners or sensing equipment— we are taking advantage ofsensors and cameras already

installed on phones, thereis very little additional hard-ware needed,” he explained

He added that Northern Ire-land is well placed to fill theglobal cybersecurity gap.He said: “If you look at theBelfast market in terms ofskills, the raw material is . . .really well placed, in . . . ourcomputer science and elec-tronic engineering graduates,and the roll out of the MScwill just enhance that.“We try not to play upconcerns but we are seeingmore industrial espionage —attacks on intellectualproperty and trade secretsand the details of major infra-structure projects or sensitivesecurity matters.“Small companies makingtiny parts, which are part of abigger international supplychain, need to look very care-fully at their security as theycould be seen as a weak linkwhere criminals can gain anaccess point.“Network intrusion to seekcustomer databases andrecords, can sometimes notonly be used to cause financialdamage but to set up mirrorcompanies and websites whichcan then be used for moreadvanced organised crime.”


FOCUS ON CYBER SECURITY

Cybersecurity is a major issue for firms

>> From page 43


OFFLINE SECTION

MOTORING

QUITE A CATCHRenault Captur is a beast of a car

DAY IN THE LIFE

JAMES GARVEYOwner of James McGarvey Cycles

MAN ABOUT TOWN

THE CHAIRMANInside track on Northern Ireland business

SKY’S THELIMIT

DUBAI HAS GOTALL YOU COULD

EVER WANT

OUT TO LUNCH

Food is our success story of the 21st century, Dr Una McMahon Beattie of the UlsterBusiness School tells Joris Minne, at Holohan’s Restaurant on the Barge, Belfast

SOME people give their profession abad name. Dr Harold Shipman, themass-murdering GP, did it for doc-tors and David Van Day of Dollar didit for popmusicians.

But others like UnaMcMahon Beattie havemanaged the opposite and actually ratchetup the reputations of their profession— inthis case, academics.DrMcMahon Beattie is head of departmentfor hospitality and tourism at the Ulster Busi-ness School. She has two bases: Belfast wherehospitality and the culinary arts are taught,and Coleraine which is home to the disci-plines including travel, tourism, leisure,events and food production and develop-ment.Today we are inspecting the work of a grad-uate. We are in Holohan’s, the restauranthoused on the deck of the aging Confiancebargemoored on the Lagan close to theWa-terfront Hall. The restaurateur is CalvinHoulihan Doyle who is a former UBS pupiland whose finals included a business plansubmission for a restaurant. And here it is.The business plan has been put into practice,the lights turned on, the gas turned up andfurniture placed.Dr Una is delighted to see the place busy(as is Calvin). There is boxty on themenu anda salad of black pudding, Irish bacon, hen’segg, soda bread and a stout vinaigrette. Sodoes education cut the difference between a

successful culinary business and a failure?“There will always be success and failureand preparing for success definitely raisesthe chances of survival,” she says.“If you study the subject, learn the disci-plines of management, accountancy, market-ing, customer relations and the otheressential features of the restaurant and hotelsector you will be in a far better position todeal with challenges whichmight otherwiseknock a less able and less well prepared busi-ness leader,” she says.It makes sense, and while the restaurantmarket is volatile it has proven strong and re-liable for those who are experts and knowtheir subject.The UBS trains its students the hard way:placements for up to 150 students each yearcould involve working in the kitchens, frontof house, in airlines, hotel receptions andevery conceivable tourism activity.McMahon Beattie is a firm believer in whatthe French call formation.“Work experience, education and trainingwill make a better professional, help seeproblems arise, guide the person towards themost efficient way of doing things and engen-der a sense of leadership,” she says.Apart from being devoted to the training ofyoung people — this school is among the old-est in the UK having started up in the 1970s— she is deputy editor of the influential Jour-nal of Revenue and PricingManagement.

Having grown up in a publican family sheknows all about the importance of analysisand she is soon on to the subject of gastro-sexuals. I swallow hard and wait for an expla-nation.“These are 24-44 year oldmales influencedby celebrity chefs, kitchen designs and equip-ment and they are partly the cause of therock and roll status which chefs now enjoy,”she says.She is a true boffin and talk soon turnsback to the food product development suitesin Coleraine wheremysterious work in col-laboration with producers is conducted andwhere the analytics of the sector become ascomplex as any science.“Food is the Northern Ireland success storyof the 21st century,” she declares, “and UlsterBusiness School is more committed than everto industry development and the formationof the next generations of experts.”

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Holohan’s restaurantBoxty with ham hock £7.50Salmon and shrimp cake £7.50Salad £6.00Colcannon £3.50Carrageen moss £4.00Chocolate & hazelnut torte £4.00

Total £32.50


Graduate hasall the rightingredients


SHOP FRONT

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Streetview No.34: City ReptilesRon McBride

In the heart of Belfast asmall business selling ex-otic species manages tosurvive in the urban jun-gle. A short distance from

the Europa Hotel it is possibleto investigate snakes, lizards,frogs, tortoises, spiders and in-sects from exotic climes.Wayne Hull’s City Reptilesopened almost 30 years ago.The shop has a modernfrontage with the foliage in thewindow display hinting at whatlies inside. Staff numbers havefallen but both he and Scotthave years of experience. Todaythey are assisted by volunteersgaining work experience in thefield.The interior of the shop is

dominated by vivariums neatlylaid out. On entry an attractiveboa constrictor lies at ease.Walking around, the variety ofstock becomes apparent if timeis taken to observe closely. Asmight be expected, each vivari-um has its peculiar environ-ment.City Reptiles supplies various

sizes and accessories. In theshop it is apparent that thesecreatures are sentient and needconsiderable attention as thestaff spray to adjust humidity,feed crickets and check the UVlighting, temperature, waterand substrate.Some of the snakes and frogsare indeed very attractive intheir setting. It is fascinating toread about the Green TreePython which grows to aboutsix feet. They are docile, unlessprovoked, and content to coil

around a branch for long peri-ods. They need 10 hours of UVlighting per day and spray-mist-ing twice daily. Artificialbranches which can be re-moved, snake and all, are usedfor easy cleaning of the cage.They should be fed every 10days or so.The trade has been criticisedin the past in terms of bad prac-tice but City Reptiles operateson an ethical basis, educatingbeginners as to their duty ofcare. It is not possible to walk

in and buy a Western Hognoseor Reticulated Python withoutsatisfying the staff that the rele-vant conditions are in place.Their website is informative,providing interesting caresheets. Some creatures such astortoises must have CITES cer-tification. Most of the stockcomes from wholesalers inHertfordshire but local breed-ers, some of whom started off ashobbyists years ago, supply theshop.Prospective buyers need to beaware that long-term care isneeded, that cages of a suitablesize are vital and that they mustbe prepared to feed snakes,lizards or whatever properly.The question of feeding is wor-thy of consideration as begin-ners may feel uneasy.City Reptiles has links withthe biology departments inlocal schools and with QUB.Should anyone be interested ina new, responsible hobby, a visitto the shop would at least be in-teresting.Should you already have areptile — why not board it withthem on holiday?

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Meet the mankeeping thecity’s cyclistson the road

James McGarveyOwner manager, James McGarvey Cycles

8amBefore I leave the house I checkemails and update our newwebsite, mcgarveycycles.com.We’re also new to the worlds ofTwitter and Facebook and Ispend some time catching upwith our followers.

9.30amI open the shop and as usual I’mgreeted by cyclist commuterswith bike emergencies. Manycustomers need their bicycles toget to work or college. We cando repairs within the hourdepending on how busy we are,which allows customers to getback on the road quickly.We are lucky to have regularcustomers who have been withus for years. We have seenmore tourists coming into theshop of late, which could bedue to the Giro d'Italia 2014hype building. I enjoy givingthem a traditional bicycle shopservice, which you don’t usual-ly get from a big chain retailer.

10.30amI work on deliveries, assemblebikes and get them ready for

display. When I started mycareer I was seeing iconic bikessuch as the Raleigh Chopper orthe Royal Enfield Tourist.Nowadays I’m repairing thelatest downhill mountainbikes with hydraulic brakesystems or top-class carbonfibre racing bikes with electricassisted transmissions.Although this shows improve-ments in bike technology, westill receive the old broken andworn bicycle that’s in need of anew lease of life.

11.30amTwo special cyclists comeinto the shop with a TrekTandem bike in need of a fullservice. This type of of two-wheeled bike is not uncom-mon. The customers in thisinstance are planning touse it in an upcoming event inCork.

12.15pmI start getting ready for thelunchtime rush. Workers fromacross the city pop in forrepairs or accessories and partsfor DIY home bike repairs.

1pmThe cycling community inBelfast is very close knit andour shop is seen by many as ahub to meet and enjoy somebanter.People of all ages call in tothe shop during their lunchhour — in fact, at this timeof the day we are like a smallpub or restaurant without thefood or drink.We chat about bikes or lifeand share a few jokes. TheGiro d'Italia 2014 is a big talk-ing point — some of my cus-tomers have volunteered to actas marshals during the eventand have promised to sharephotos with me.

2pmI tidy up showroom and have abite to eat. I then phone or textcustomers with estimates or letthem know that their bikes areready. This is followed by a fewmore repairs. I finish work on aBMX bike. The young ownerwas insistent that it must beready when he finished school,so this job had to be a priorityor I would have been in trouble!

3.00pmI usually start wheel repairswhen it is a bit quieter. I pre-pare and build a few wheelsand today I am repairing awheelchair wheel. Buildingbicycle wheels is my passion,as I’m able to use my toolswhich have been passed downto me — my stand was made inthe 1930s and was used by myfather and grandfather whenthey had a bike shop inSmithfield Market.

4.30pmI deal with some paperwork.

5pmA customer comes in with anemergency puncture and hewaits in the shop while I fix it.

5.30pmI close the shop.

7.30/8pmI head out for a gentle spin onmy bike to take time out andget ready for the challenges ofanother unpredictable day inthe shop.

Depreciation morecostly than fuelMILLIONS of pounds are wastedevery day by drivers who focusedon fuel economywhen theychose their car, instead of thereal cash-killer — depreciation.That’s the warning from theindependent experts onmotor-ing costs, CAP Automotive.According to its car ownershipcost figures, the average cashvalue lost by the typical mediumfamily car bought three yearsago is £12,559. But the samecars, driven 12,000miles a year,have only burned an average£4,000 of fuel. Depreciation hastherefore cost the typicalmotorist three times as much asthey have spent at the pumps.

VW ‘very satisfied’with delivery ratesTHE Volkswagen Group deliv-ered 2.40 million vehicles fromJanuary to March this year.Deliveries in the month ofMarch ran at 929,500 up 7.6%from the samemonth last year.“All in all, we are very satisfiedwith the way deliveries devel-oped in the first three months,”group board member for sales

Christian Klingler said. “Thepositive momentum in the Asia-Pacific region continued, withChina remaining the group’slargest single market. Further-more, there are signs of a returnto modest growth on the mar-kets inWestern Europe.”

All motorists in Francerequire a breathalyserTHE IAM (Institute of AdvancedMotorists) and AlcoSenseBreathalysers are remindingmotorists travelling to Francethat it is now a legal require-ment to carry an NF approvedbreathalyser in all vehicles.The easiest way to tell if thebreathalyser complies with theFrench legislation is to makesure it has the blue circular NFlogo. The legal limit in France is50mg per 100ml of blood, lowerthan in the UKwhere the UKlimit is 80mg.

McNab wins LifetimeAchievement AwardONE of Northern Ireland’s mostexperienced motor industryinsiders has been honoured atNorthern Ireland’s first FleetIndustry Awards. Charles Hurst

group’s operations director,Colin McNab, scooped the Life-time Achievement Award at therecent ‘Business Eye FleetAwards for Northern Ireland’.MrMcNab said: “I love

my job and relish the challengesit brings. So to get an accoladefor something that means somuch to me already, it is a realhonour.”

LEAF drives 30% risein Nissan fleet salesNISSAN fleet sales leapt 30% inthe last financial year as demandfor the all-electric Nissan LEAFsurged to new heights.LEAF sales were up 132% in

the 2013 financial year andcontributed to a total of 27,912core fleet and leasing sales forthe manufacturer. Sales ofQashqai increased by 15% whilethose of the Juke crossoverwere up by 36%.

Toyota Corolla claimsworld bestseller statusTHE Toyota Corolla claimed theworld’s bestseller status in 2013,with internal data confirming1.22 million sales. Launched in1966, the popular nameplate had

amassed 40.72 million cumula-tive sales by the end of Februarythis year.Even though Corolla has not

been part of Toyota’s UK line-upsince 2007, more than half amillion were sold here from themid-1960s and almost 200,000are still on the road today

Volvo celebrates 50years of child safetyVOLVO Car Group’s dedicationto protecting the smallest andmost vulnerable car occupantscelebrates its 50-year anniver-sary in 2014.The groundbreaking workstarted with the world’s firstrear-facing child seat prototypein a PV544 back in 1964 — andthe latest innovation is an inflat-able child seat concept that iseasily tucked away in a smallbag when not in use.The differences in anatomy

between children and adultsform the foundation for VolvoCars’ child-safety developmentsboth in terms of car integratedfeatures and accessories. Chil-dren are not small versions ofadults, which is why childrenneed special restraints whentravelling in cars, said Volvo.

MOTORING NEWS

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RENAULT'S Capturbegan life as a three-door concept modeland while the pro-duction variant has

been toned down for everydaypracticality, it remains an ex-citing shape. Based on the newClio platform, the Captur addsexcitement and individualityto its excellent underpinnings

and presents itself with a defi-nite ‘wow' factor, particularlywhen finished in two-tonebody colours.At 4.1m, the car falls into thesupermini Crossover category,a design gathering momentumin which the vehicle takes thebest features of establishedtraits — bigger than a hatch-back, smaller than an SUV and

bordering on an estate. Withinthis sector there is a lot ofcompetition and in NorthernIreland significant demand,but to attract buyers the carhas to have, among otherattributes, personality. TheCaptur has this in abundance,both in its exterior design andyouthful cabin, adding practi-cality to its aesthetic appeal.

Engine availability is athree-way choice of small ca-pacity turbos, two petrol andone diesel, with the test choicefocusing on Renault's famous-ly frugal 1.5 litre 90 dCi diesel.This returns a 0-62mph timeof 13.1 seconds with top speedcrossing comfortably intothree figures, but overall per-formance is about more than

QUITE A CATCHA compact crossover which combines the best of three worlds, says Jim McCauley


off the mark figures. As dieselsgo, this is an extremely refinedunit and with maximumtorque coming in at 1,750rpmoffers smooth progressionthrough the gears, the five-speed manual 'box copingcompetently with all needs.Brisk overtaking requires achange-down to fourth, and ifthe driver is seen to be linger-ing too long in any gear asmall light bar at the base ofthe instrument panel changesfrom green to orange to adviseon an up-shift. Further im-provements to economy canbe made by selecting the Ecobutton which reduces enginetorque, modifies throttle re-sponse and adjusts the control

program of the air condition-ing to improve efficiency. Thecar also features stop/starttechnology to further increasefuel economy.Despite its high groundclearance of 200mm, a longerwheelbase than the Clio andwider track ensure confident,comfortable and stable han-dling while ride response con-tinues to improve with a fullcomplement of five occupants.The cabin of the Capturmajors on practicality withgood storage and colour-codedmetal highlights on the airvents and speaker surrounds.Accommodation is excellentwith rear-seat room providingas much as 75mmmore than

in the Clio. The sliding rearseat allows the volume of theluggage area to increase from377 to 455 litres depending onrequirements. A twin-floorboot provides covered under-floor storage while with therear seats folded, luggage ca-pacity extends to 1,235 litres.An innovative feature of thecar are the zipped-on seat cov-ers which can be removed forcleaning if required.But the ultimate secret ofthe Captur is its running costs.While fuel economy is official-ly given as 76.4mpg on thecombined cycle, mixed drivingon local roads recorded justshort of 60mpg and that waswithout using the Eco setting.

With one of the lowest CO2emissions of any engine at95gms/km, the Captur dieselis in Band A for zero annualroad tax while in the ABI's 50category insurance ratings, itenjoys a lowly 12E rating.For anyone looking forpracticality, economy andstylish good looks, the Capturhas to be high on the list, notleast for its competitivepricing and above-standardwarranty cover. Withfive-star EuroNCAP crashprotection and a full comple-ment of safety featuresincluding six airbags, electron-ic stability control and hillstart control, the diesel rangestarts at £13,895.

RENAULT CAPTUR 1.5 dCi

Engine: 1.5 litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel;90bhp @ 4,000rpm;220Nm torque @ 1,750rpmDrive: Five-speed manualgearbox to front wheelsPerformance: 0-62mph(100km/h) in 13.1 seconds;max, 106mph (170km/h)Fuel on combined cycle:76.4mpg (3.7l/100km)CO2: 95gms/km; VEDBand A for zero annual car taxTrim: Dynamique EnergyPrice: £ 16,395Insurance: ABI (12E) groupWarranty: Four years, 100,000 miles; four years’ free servicing; fouryears’ roadside assistance; four years’ finance packageBenefit-in-Kind: 12%Euro NCAP: Five starAvailable extras: Metallic paint, £495; rear-parking sensors, £275;leather seats, £830

52 BUSINESS MONTH x January 2011

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HTC One (M8) smartphone,various contracts @ stockistsnationwideIf you feel a smartphone is oftenmore style over substance,you’ll be impressed with the lat-est HTC One (M8), which hasboth style and substance. Itsfeatures are off the scale and ithas everything you can possiblywant from a phone.

What stand out are the HTCSense™ 6 capabilities, whichmeans the device is able todetect movement, without turn-ing on the screen. A swipe willactivate the device, auto answerallows you to answer a call byputting the phone to your earwithout touching the screen.You can double tap the dot viewcase, in addition to checking thetime, new texts, emails and calls— without touching or revealingthe screen. What also comes inhandy is the extreme power

saving mode thatmakes yourbattery last40% longer.All this, andit’s pretty asa picture.

Casio GPW-1000 smartwatch, approx £500 @www.casioonline.co.ukAnother day, another smartwatch – or so it seems.Even celebrities are getting in on the act withWill.i.am launching one later this year.

Casio is taking a slightly different approach how-ever, and is looking at ways it can improve its exist-ing G-Shock range without going down the fullsmartwatch touchscreen route. This model is verymuch a watch at heart and I’d be very happy to beseen with it on my arm. It also has a useful batterylife that won’t leave you scrabbling fora micro USB lead each time youhead into the office or get home,which is often a problemwith smartwatches.

Casio has managed tocram a Sony GNSS (globalnavigation satellite sys-tem) chip inside, so wher-ever you go, satellitesinform the watch where it is.

Get Invited ticket service, pricing varies@ www.getinvited.toGet Invited is a local web service foronline ticket sales and event manage-ment. It enables event organisers to selltickets, promote events and performpost-event analysis.

With Get Invited you can send digitaltickets, delivered directly to yourcustomers’ smartphone; and manageattendees with ticket scanning andcheck-ins. Additionally, event organiserscan view social conversations, photos andvideosfrom theirevent inreal time.

ToneFone iPhone case,£22.90-£25.40 @www.desirablebody.co.ukIf you’re the type of person who wants to exercise, butdoesn’t have the time to get to the gym, this could be agizmo for you. The ToneFone is the world’s healthiestiPhone case, as it turns your iPhone into a dumbbell you can carry around and use. You cantake it with you anywhere and every time you pick your phone up you’ll be working out. Thecase is primarily constructed from steel, which is then wrapped in a protective layer of rub-ber. The heavier version replaces steel with lead to increase overall weight to 1.5kg.

GMcG

53x January 2011 BUSINESS MONTH

FASHION

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Grainne McGarvey

IF YOU want to dress to impress you can’t go wrong with asmart suit, but it can be tricky to get something suitablefor summer that is both comfortable and fashionable. Thesecret is to choose light grey or pastel colours, or evenwhite teamed with monochrome, which

is bang on trend this season. Lightweightfabrics such as linen or cotton will always beeasy to wear throughout the day. If you don’thave the budget for a Saville Row handmadenumber, there are some great

high-streetoptionswhich lookgood for afraction ofthe price.

Summer SSuuiittss

Cappedsleevelessyellow dress,£130 @FrenchConnection

Classic capri cottonjacket, £130 @French Connection

Strellsonsummersuit, £299@ Bogart

White waffle suit,£345 @ Reiss

Yemlinchecked suit,£400,@Bogart

Hammond & CoPrince of Walessuit, £299 @Debenhams

Saville Row-inspired suit£299 @ Marksand Spencer

Jacket, £75,and shorts,£35, @Wallis


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The emirate is a fabulous one-stop shop for travel, concludes Charlotte Hawkins,who is won over by the opulent hotels, glorious sunshine, fine food and great shopping

RIGHT up until the moment Iarrived, I'd dismissed Dubai forbeing a big show-off; for need-ing to have the biggest, tallestand grandest of pretty much

everything; for being an arrogant creatorof new islands, golf courses and even skislopes in one of the hottest countries in theworld. Before I arrived, I was convinced allthat man-made modern splendour would-n't be for me. Not at all.But, honestly, I couldn't help but beimpressed. First off, the spotless airportgleamed its welcome; a cleaner was busypolishing a surface that I could already seemy reflection in; there was copious glass,marble and gold. Then, a couple of hourslater, I encountered the beach. I have neverseen sand so clean. There was barely a peb-ble in sight and the crystal-clear warm bluewater made me wonder if the emirate wentso far as to sieve the sea itself.Before you begin to wonder whether Isimply have a mania for cleanliness, I wasconvinced of Dubai's merits because of theenticing combination of easy access fromNorthern Ireland and warm sunshine — adelicious respite from the uncertaintiesof our weather at this time of year andideal before the searing heat of theEmirati summer.This was to be a four-day trip, scarcelyenough time even to get around all theshops in Dubai Mall (the largest, byarea, in the world). It did, however, giveme just enough time to get a snapshot ofwhat one of the world's most lavish citieshas to offer.That driving urge to be the biggest andbest came at a price for Dubai. When theeconomic crash hit in 2008, it was badlyaffected: the cash dried up; cranes were lefthanging; building projects were shelved.But much of that now seems a distantmemory. Wherever you go, you're neverfar from a new development. Many of thesuspended projects are back on track, andnew hotels continue to spring up: a WaldorfAstoria on the Palm is the latest.My place of rest was Al Qasr, in theJumeirah complex, which rises like anintricate sandcastle out of the beach.Should you wish, you have no need to

venture further afield: everything youmight possibly need is here. If you gettoo hot while sunbathing they'll evenspritz you with cold water or bring icedtowels. But, after all the spritzing, perfectsand and sieved sea, you should reallyexplore a bit. Just to check out some moreDubai stats.Step inside The Burj Al Arab (the fourthtallest hotel tower in the world) andthe opulence immediately hits you. Thefiercely modern design is interspersedwith flashes of Arabian art. There's a laserfountain in the lobby, the suites havemarble staircases and obligatory Bentleys,Lamborghinis and Ferraris line up outside.Way up on the 27th floor, in the SkyviewBar, you get a sense not just of the scale,but the buzz of the city, your eyes drawn bya vista of twinkling lights.Unable to decide which of the restau-rants to dine in, I opted for the ‘CulinaryFlight’ experience which means you get tohave a course in each of them. The mostglamorous, Al Mahara, is set into the sideof an aquarium where you dine withsharks. There's not much chance of conver-sation: everyone remains transfixed by allthe sea creatures gliding before their eyes.But don't expect many locally caughtdelicacies in Dubai. This place is all aboutflying in the best of the best from aroundthe world. My dining experience at theseafood restaurant Pierchic, at the MadinatJumeirah resort, had a distinctly multi-national feel: French oysters, Scottishscallops, Canadian lobster, Norwegiancrab and Dover sole. Ludvik , the restau-rant manager, is French, while the headchef, Rosalind, hails from Surrey.Again, I decided that the only way tomanage such choice was to have a bit ofeverything (the seafood platter seemed tobe the perfect solution). Equally, the Asian-fusion menu in Buddha Bar at GrosvenorHouse demands that you be bold and runthe gamut from sushi and sashimi toAustralian wagyu beef.Dubai's brasher side is evidenced in thefact that much of the food that I ate hadflown even further than I had to be here;concerns about your carbon footprint areunlikely to be allayed in the middle of a

desert city. You can't dispute how good ittastes, but it comes at a price. Strict lawsgovern alcohol consumption in this Mus-lim land. You can expect to pay the samefor a glass of champagne in a restaurant asyou would pay for a bottle in London. Itdidn't surprise me that the world's mostexpensive wine has just gone on sale here.If you've a spare £122,000 you can pick upa balthazar of Chateau Margaux 2009.Rather cheaper is a litre of petrol. At 1.50dirham (30p), this means taxis are entirelyaffordable — handy, because despite the cityhaving emerged from the desert, you have todrive some way to catch a glimpse of a sanddune. I headed there for the obligatorydune-driving experience and all our hecticcommotionmade for a strange contrastwith the group of Bedouins that we spottedherding their camels in the far distance.My guide, Zeeshan, talked me throughDubai's recent history. The symbol ofDubai was once the horse, he said.Before the economic crisis a more accuratesymbol would have been a crane. Now,said Zeeshan, Dubai's symbol would haveto be the shopping mall.He's right about these shopping arcades.Dubai Mall may be one of many — but it'sthe biggest. It has more than 1,000 shops, a22-screen cinema, an Olympic-sized icerink and a giant aquarium with 33,000aquatic inhabitants. And it all stands in theshadow of the world's tallest building, thespiralling Burj Khalifa (830m).It would be easy to dismiss Dubai — as Idid — for being superficial and showy. Buthaving been there, I now wonder whetherDubai is, in fact, setting its sights on tryingto cram the best of travel into one place.After all, if we're doing tick-lists of whatyou can get from a destination, what's notto like about opulent hotels, glorious sun-shine, fine food and glamorous shopping?Sure, all those statistics can leave yourhead spinning — but sometimes it's goodto leave the quiet life behind and embracethe opulence of the emirate. When it comesto exploring Dubai, I feel like I've just hadthe starter.

Charlotte Hawkins is a presenter onITV’s Good Morning Britain

YOU SAY HELLO


I SAY DUBAITravel essentials

Getting thereFlights to Dubai are offered by Emirates (0844 800 2777;

emirates.com) from six UK airports, and from Heathrow byBritish Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com), Qantas (0845

774 7767;qantas.com), Royal Brunei (020 7584 6660;

flyroyalbrunei.com) and Virgin (0844 209 7777; virgin-atlantic.com).

Staying thereAl Qasr (00 971 4 366 8888; jumeirah.com) offers doubles

from AED2,113 (£350), including breakfast.

Visiting thereÉThe ‘Culinary Flight’ experience at The Burj Al Arab (00

971 4 301 7777; jumeirah.com) costs AED815 (£135) forlunch and AED1,020 (£169) for dinner.É Pierchic at the Madinat Jumeirah(00 971 4 366 6730; jumeirah.com).É Buddha Bar at Grosvenor House

(00 971 4 317 6000;grosvenorhouse-dubai.com).

É Dubai Mall (thedubaimall.com).

More informationdefinitelydubai.com

Dubai by numbers830 The height, in metres, of the Burj Khalifa. Reaching likea needle into the sky above Downtown Dubai, the 164-floorbehemoth is the tallest man-made structure in the world. A

visit to the vertiginous observation deck costsAED125/£20 (burjkhalifa.ae).

33,000 The number of marine animals on display at DubaiAquarium and Underground Zoo. Located on the groundfloor of Dubai Mall, it has the capacity to hold 10 million

litres of water and hosts more than 140 different aquaticspecies, including a collection of sand tiger sharks (the

dubaiaquarium.com).502,000 The area, in square metres, covered by DubaiMall. Not content with being the largest retail space in

the world, the 1,200-shop whopper is expanding in a bid tohit the one-million-square-metre mark and welcome 100

million visitors a year (thedubaimall.com).400,000 The number of fireworks used in Dubai’s record-

breaking New Year's Eve display to welcome in 2014. Thesix-minute show danced across the emirate’s sky and rock-

eted it into the Guinness World Records(definitelydubai.com).

7 The number of stars claimed by the Burj Al Arab hotel. Thesail-shaped, suite-only retreat offers 200 rooms with butler

service, nine restaurants, four poolsand a goliath spa. Helicopter transfers cost a mere

AED10,000/£1,637pp . . . one way (jumeirah.com).


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“IF it's good enough for apresident of the US — not tomention any friends we mighthappen to run into — it’s goodenough for us.” It’s a rule ofthumb which worked wellwhen we chose the Beech HillCountry House Hotel as aplace to stay during a flying,but still restorative, visit toLondonderry.

President Bill Clinton is oneof many famous figures tohave soaked up the hospitalityof the beautiful Georgian30-bedroom country househotel a few miles outsideDerry. Tradition, old friend-ships and Irish-Americanbonds are cherished here, asthe estate was used as the USNavy’s operating base duringthe Second World War.

It’s set in 32 acres ofmature parkland — includingthe beech tree which inspiredits name — and there arewaterfalls and ponds, withplenty of walks and mountain-biking opportunities. It’sfamily-run — by Patsy O’Kane,nee Donnelly, and members ofthe Donnelly family.

The house has a rich history,dating back to 1729 when itwas built by Captain ThomasSkipton. New wings and aporch have been added but itsinnate historic characterremains. Two quonset huts inthe grounds are a fascinatingreminder of its Second WorldWar history. Guests can readmementoes of that tumul-tuous chapter, such as a menufor Christmas dinner in 1942.

We are lucky enough to stayin an elegant master suitewith a garden view. A largesitting room adjoins our bed-room, which has a king-sizedbed, roomy en suite and walk-in wardrobe/dressing room.There are gilt-edged furnish-ings and an Irish lace table-

cloth on the coffee table.Such is the size of the suitethat we wonder, will we hearthe waiter’s knock when hebrings breakfast?

Every bedroom has beenindividually restored in aGeorgian-style, some withfour-poster beds. But eventhe hallways are dotted withantique dressers and book-shelves, adding to the old-country house atmosphere.

We are welcomed into thegrand bar area of the GalleryLounge ahead of our eveningmeal — grandeur itself, withhigh ceilings, cornicing and anopen fire.

We are eager to get startedbut this is not a place wheredinner is rushed. Instead, wesink into a sofa in the loungeto unwind before our order istaken — all part of the pleas-ing formality which makescoming here such a getaway.To our delight, we run in tofriends from home, who arealso up for the night.

If you manage to tearyourself away from theall-enveloping comfort, thehotel can arrange outdoorsyactivities in the area. And ifyou’re on a mission to soak upsome of Derry’s history, awalking tour from the five-star rated Martin McCrossanTours is a brilliant introduc-tion. The sprightly and knowl-edgeable Garvan Kerr takesus around the city’s historicwalls, bringing in events in itslong history from the Siege ofDerry in 1689, through thetragedies of the Troubles,including Bloody Sunday, toits presently growing vitalityas a cultural centre andtourist destination. Itscalendar year as UK City ofCulture may be up, but there’sstill plenty to capture yourattention in Derry.

Splendid proof life’s a Beech Hill


OUT AND ABOUT

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Appointments

THERE are few moreimpressive settings inBelfast for dinnerthan the HarbourCommissioner’s

Office. This 19th-century archi-tectural gem has been restoredto its full glory and was the set-ting for a dinner attended bythe board members of theBelfast Telegraph’s parent com-pany Independent News &Media, advertisers and politi-cians.Also in attendance wereprominent business peoplefrom around Northern Irelandand the LordMayor of Belfast,Mairtin OMuilleoir. Proceed-ings began with an introducto-ry speech from Leslie Buckley,chairman of INM plc, whopraised the Belfast Telegraphfor its excellent journalism andcontinued innovation, whilealso outlining the steps INMhas taken to grow its businessin a tough environment.Mr Buckley's praise for theTelegraph was echoed by theLord Mayor, who unavoidablyarrived late but more thanmade up for it with a rousingspeech. Mr O Muilleoir praisedthe Telegraph's campaigningjournalism and described it asan institution and essentialpart of the city's heritage andfuture.The wide selection of guestsalso included ProfessorDeirdre Heenan of the Univer-sity of Ulster, Rotha Johnston,entrepreneur and Pro Chancel-lor at Queen’s UniversityBelfast, and the legendaryDameMary Peters. Therewas praise as well forDr Len O'Hagan, chairman ofthe Harbour Commissionersand INM board member, forhosting the dinner in themagnificent surroundings.Other attendees includedSimon Brien of BTWShiells,

Our man about town was witness to a host of well-deservedawards, topped only by the Lord Mayor’s rousing speech

Tom Kelly, Stakeholder; Feargal McCormack, FPM; Lord Rogan; RichardMcClean, Managing Director, INM (NI); Dr Len O’Hagan, Chairman, BelfastHarbour Commissioners.

Paul Johnston has beenappointed as a consultant inlitigation and dispute resolu-tion at A&L Goodbody. Arenowned specialist in thedefence of catastrophicinjury, he has more than 35years of experience in litiga-tion and dispute resolution.

Lucy Cairns has beenappointed digital communica-tions executive at LighthouseCommunications. She will beresponsible for strategicallyplacing key messages onlinethrough social media chan-nels, blogs and news sites.

Graeme McCluskey hasbeen appointed businessdevelopment manager atEircom. He has over 20 years’direct sales and managementexperience in the telecomsand telematics industries.

Dame Mary Peters; Leslie Buckley, Chairman, INM plc; Ellvena Graham,Head of Banking NI, Ulster Bank.

with TheCHAIRMAN

ProfessorDeirdreHeenan, UU;Gail Walker,DeputyEditor,BelfastTelegraph.


Appointments

(l to r) Jacinta Parkhill, Claire Bonner and Moya Neeson of Morrow Communications

(l to r) Darren Lemon of Eircom, Sir Mike Rake, CBI chairman Colin Walsh and Adrian Doran of Barclays

Brian Ambrose of George BestBelfast City Airport, DavidDobbin of Dale Farm, EllvenaGraham of Ulster Bank, andFeargal McCormack, of ac-countancy firm FPM. JohnKnapton, his offices withinview across Belfast Lough, rep-resented the Northern IrelandScience Park at the dinner.Finally, there was a specialmention for Vincent Crowley,departing chief executive ofINM, for his work in bolstering

the company's financial posi-tion and leaving it in a positionof strength as he departs.

-----CBI Northern Ireland held its2014 Annual Dinner at TheRamada Plaza, Belfast, andThe Chairman was delighted toattend. He was enthralled byCBI chairman ColinWalsh’swords of wisdom as he urgedthe Northern Ireland Executiveto set aside political difficultiesand focus on tackling key chal-

lenges such as education andskills, public sector reform andenergy.The evening also included akeynote address from Sir MikeRake, CBI president, and chair-man of BT Group, deputy chair-man of Barclays, and a directorof McGraw Hill.Sir Mike and Mr Walsh dis-cussed the issues of the daywith Darren Lemon, general

Gavin Elliot has beenappointed director of capitalmarkets at CBRE. He will beresponsible for the disposaland acquisition of commer-cial property as well as assetmanagement and develop-ment.

Julie Cathcart has beenappointed senior surveyor atCBRE. Working within theprofessional services depart-ment, she will be involved inall aspects of landlord andtenant work.

Sean Doherty has beenappointed senior buildingsurveyor at CBRE. Workingwithin the building consultancydepartment, he will carry outa full range of professionalservices on dilapidations,building surveys and plannedmaintenance programmes.

Continued on page 60


THE CHAIRMAN

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manager of Eircom UK andAdrian Doran, Barclays headof corporate banking in North-ern Ireland. (In the picture onp59 The Chairman is out ofshot, plucking up the courageto ask Sir Mike on what a man’sgot to do for a knighthoodthese days). Also among thegreat and the good at the Ra-mada were Morrow Communi-cations’ Jacinta Parkhill,Claire Bonner andMoya Nee-son.Lord Rana, managing direc-tor of the Andras Group — ofwhich the Ramada Plaza is part— was chatting to Sir MikeRake, and The Chairman waspleased to run into GaryMc-Donald of the Irish News, as heusually does at these events.Davy Elliott was there, too —no, not the much-missed for-mer master of this publication,but Davy Elliott of AES.Mr Elliott posed for a picturewith fellow Davids, DavidWat-ters of RSMMcClure Wattersand DavidMills of Aon RiskSolutions — and having seen nopictures taken of a single Davidthus far, The Chairman wasamused to see three pho-tographed at once.

-----THEY say the road toCraigavon should be calledthe A1 — that's just howThe Chairman would describe

Canteen at the MAC management team are pictured celebrating two topyears, (l-r) Paul Gillen, Duty Manager, Sharon Wright, Director, Terry Reilly,Duty Manager and Sean Mc Cann, Head Chef.

Paddy Henry has beenappointed senior surveyor atCBRE. His main focus will beon service charge budgetingand implementation.

John Trethowan has beenappointed chairman atProgressive Building Society.For over 40 years, MrTrethowan has been involvedwith both public and privateenterprises throughoutIreland.

Barry McGrane has beenappointed chief financialofficer at Moy Park. He joinsthe company following acareer spanning over 20years with United Drug plc,where he held the position ofgroup finance director.

the Craigavon Business Awards.Organised by Craigavon Bor-ough Council’s DevelopmentDepartment, in associationwith Portadown Chamber ofCommerce and Lurgan Cham-ber of Commerce, the glitteringceremony, compered by thehardest working MC in thebusiness, Jim Fitzpatrick, washeld at the Craigavon Civic and

Conference Centre and saw 14awards handed out to compa-nies selling everything fromtasty meats to slurry tankers.One accolade was in memoryof The Chairman’s old friend,the late Sir AllenMcClay, oneof Northern Ireland’s finestentrepreneurs and founder ofthe Almac Group.That trophy was handed out

Dwaine Smyth, founder of The Meat Cleaver, was named the Sir Allen McClay Young Business Person of the YearAward at the Craigavon Business Awards. Lady McClay, wife of the late Sir Allen McClay, presented the award,while host Jim Fitzpatrick looked on.


Brian McDowell has beenappointed sales and market-ing director at HughesInsurance. He will be responsi-ble for the marketing strategyacross PR, advertising, affini-ty relationships and businessdevelopment.

Kieran Gilmurray has beenappointed operations directorat Hughes Insurance. He has afirst class MBA from Queen’sUniversity and 20 years’ expe-rience in business operations.

Ian Marshall has beenappointed president of theUlster Farmers’ Union. Hisappointment comes at animportant time within theagri-industry and he willwork on key areas such asCAP reform, Going forGrowth and farm safety.

International law firm Pinsent Masons has announced the promotion of three new partners to its Northern Irelandoperation, amongst 15 new partnerships globally. The new Belfast partners are Paul Gillen in the employmentdepartment, Laura Gillespie in litigation and regulatory and Richard Murphy in energy and natural resources. Thepromotions take effect from the start of this month

Appointments

to Dwaine Smyth, founder ofThe Meat Cleaver, as he wasnamed Young Business Personof the Year. LadyMcClay, wifeof the late Sir Allen, presentedthe award to Mr Smyth, com-mending his business philoso-phy and his efforts in puttingCraigavon on the business map.Mr Smyth and his team willnow receive valuable mentoring

from Almac and seven of itsbusiness partners.The Best New Business awardwent to Scallywags of Lurgan,New Forge House claimed theBest Green Business, JH Labelwinning the Most InnovativeBusiness Category while Bally-dougan Pottery were awardedTourism and Hospitality Busi-ness of the Year.

SlurryKat, often a winner,came away with three awardsincluding the 2014 CraigavonLegacy Award.Other winners on the nightincluded Icons Coffee (BestRestaurant or Food Provider),BNL Productions (Best CreativeBusiness), Funky Monkeys (BestMultiple Retailer) and SegwayNI (Best Rural Business).

Jayne Taggart, chief executive of Causeway Enterprise Agency (CEA) has been awarded the Queen's Award forEnterprise Promotion. She has been closely involved in promoting enterprise in the Causeway area since 1994when she joined Causeway Enterprise Agency


LEESON’S LAST WORD

with NickLeeson

IGOT a phone call last weekthat for many would havebeen disconcerting. Forme,apart from a slight increase inheart rate as I had to speak to

theMetropolitan Police, the subjectmatter did little more than raise awry smile. A UK-based journalisthas admitted trying to hackmyphone and as a consequence I amnow part of OperationWeeting,the hacking enquiry to follow theRebekah Brooks andNews of TheWorld trial.The call reminded me of twothings. Firstly, like the banks, howthe media world had completelylost the run of itself over thepast decade and was engaged inactivities that were winning themno friends. Agreed, it was onlycertain media and certain banksbut when you peel back the glossyveneer it exposes an underbellythat is often quite sinister.I’ve learnt over the years that itis easier to work with the mediarather than in any way try towithhold information so I’mamazed that the journalist inquestion didn’t just pick up thephone and call.It would have saved a lot of timeand money but maybe it wouldn’thave ratified his new hackingtechniques and justified thehandsome salary he was paid.The average banker is as dodgyas any used car salesman thatyou’ve ever met. Hot on the heelsof PPI, swaps, Libor and associatedrate fixing, we are now told thatthe FX rate fixing inquiry makesthe former look like kids’ play.Investigations are ongoing in NewZealand, Hong Kong, the US andvarious locations in Europe.Bankers currently on gardeningleave number in the hundredsand look sure to escalate further.How easy is it to manipulate amarket? In the very short term, ifyou have enough money at yourdisposal, the answer is not thatdifficult — but consistently fixinga rate is a coordinated, consoli-dated, consistent practice andneeds collusion. In short, fraud! Itcannot happen without collusion.

Does it end here? No, I’m reli-ably informed that the commodi-ties market is the next to comeunder the spotlight.The second thing that I wasreminded of was the power of themedia. Perception is not alwaysreality and the media and market-ing play a huge role in how cer-tain information is perceived andunderstood.Banks are fully aware of thisand while they have been thewhipping boys of the editorial forsome time now they are also thedarlings of the advertising pagesas they have big budgets to spend.We are told that banks are lend-ing. It’s not the first time we’veheard this. Three years ago wewere told that the number of newloans was increasing rapidly, butthe banks were simply massagingthe numbers by converting over-drafts to loans. AIB are supposed-ly approving four out of every fivemortgage applications at thesame time that they are front-page news in allowing mortgagewrite-down. Where do I sign up?Permanent TSB have renamed

themselves PT Yes B and UlsterBank are beating the street, ap-proving nine out of 10 mortgageapplications. Now, on foot of theTomlinson report and deliberat-ing engineering default, if UlsterBank has even seen 10 applica-tions, I’d be surprised. Everyoneis looking for the good news storybut manipulating numbers is fareasier than manipulating rates.Themoral of the story, don’t hackmy phone, just call — if I can help, Iwill. Secondly, bankers are givingused car salesman a bad name, butmost importantly don’t believeeverything that you see and hear inthemedia — only this article!

Phone hacking and rate fixing are very real activities which have revealed the sinisterunderbellies of banking and the media – but let’s not forget the distortion of reality

In short,fraud! It

cannot happenwithout therebeing collusion

business month may 2014

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