Business

Business Review of the Year - January 2017

Michael Wilson is leaving UTV after 12 years as managing director
Michael Wilson is leaving UTV after 12 years as managing director Michael Wilson is leaving UTV after 12 years as managing director

:: Applegreen confirmed that its second motorway service area on the city-bound section of the M1 between Sprucefield and Belfast would open in the first quarter, creating 120 jobs. It is will be the Dublin-based chain’s sixth location in the north, where it currently operates filling stations in Coleraine, Ballymena and Hillsborough, with a further two motorway service areas at Templepatrick and on the A1 between Hillsborough and Dromore.

:: Media veteran Michael Wilson said he would be stepping down as managing director of UTV in March after more than a decade at Havelock House. He had joined the broadcaster from Sky News in 2005, and said he would be sad to leave, but was proud of the company's achievements during his time running the business, which include the increase in audience of UTV's television news, the launch and performance of its website, app and player, the renewal of UTV's Ofcom licence, and also the launch of the subsequently much-maligned UTV Ireland, later acquired TV3's owner Virgin Media.

:: Financial services business FinTrU said it was creating 160 jobs in Belfast over the next five years as part of a multi-million pound Invest NI-backed investment, a move which would generate £4.2 million a year in additional salaries. The company, which is based in the Gasworks area, established its Belfast centre of excellence in 2014. It plans to expand by adding 60 experienced financial services staff and 100 graduate roles by 2021 to support its continued growth.

:: Deloitte's first-ever Belfast 'crane survey' showed that construction in the city is at its highest level since 2008, with 30 schemes under construction or recently completed, including four new educational facilities, seven new student accommodation projects, six office developments and eight new hotels. It revealed that 573,527 sq ft of office space is due to be completed by 2018 and more than 1,000 new hotel rooms to boost Belfast's tourism offer.

:: Developers were urged by Belfast City Council to bring forward their ideas for what should go on a 200-acre section of the sprawling 340-acre Giant's Park on Belfast's north foreshore. Among the possible future uses for the site, which was formerly a barren wasteland, could be shops, offices, hotels - and a possible sporting or concert venue. The southern section of the site has already been earmarked for an innovative cleantech hub and a £20 million film studio complex.

:: The Outlet shopping destination in Banbridge is finally getting a roof after its owners the Lotus Group unveiled a £4 million scheme to revamp the popular but recently neglected retail boulevard and create 100 more jobs. The investment will include the installation of a modern covering of the mall, made from a transparent plastic membrane similar to that used in the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Bayern Munich stadium in Germany.