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End to taxpayer support would be disastrous error: McFerran 
News 20/11/09A recommendation in the Barnett review to stop taxpayer support for northern firms wanting to expand would be “a disastrous mistake”, a business leader said last night Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce president Bro McFerran said the Stormont executive could have...
Social enterprise trio get awards in new contest
News 20/11/09Social enterprises that combine business acumen with community investment took centre stage at Parliament Buildings in Stormont last night as three organisations received awards for outstanding performance. The Bryson Charitable Trust, Colin Glen Trust and Out and...
Seminar told brand is key
News 20/11/09Northern Ireland business leaders were told to “wake up and smell the coffee” at the Buck the Trend breakfast seminar held yesterday in Belfast. Advice on how companies should use their brand to help buck the recession was served up at the seminar hosted...
£1m for broker’s expansion
News 20/11/09The northern-owned insurance broker Open + Direct has announced a £1 million investment package to support its ongoing expansion plans in the north. Prior to rebranding, the broker was known as Equity Insurance.
Land-use prize for Newry man
INBRIEF 20/11/09Newry-based entrepreneur Dr Gerard O’Hare has been recognised for his commitment to the ethical practice of land use by Lambda Alpha International. The Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics awarded the 2009 International Urban Affairs Award...
Jobs threat blamed on EU
News 20/11/09The threat to nearly 150 jobs at a Ballymena poultry processing company is being blamed on new European Union food production standards. O’Kane Poultry said rules coming into force next May that prohibit the sale of previously frozen poultry meat have forced it to review operations.
Dollar strength hits beer giant
News 20/11/09The world’s second-biggest beer producer SABMiller said the strength of the dollar had caused interim pre-tax profits to slide 26 per cent to $1.5 billion (£893 million). The Miller, Peroni and Grolsh brewer said underlying performance had been strong with adjusted...
Awards of Excellence open
News 20/11/09The Institute of Directors Lunn’s Award of Excellence will again seek out the outstanding business person of the year. Established in 2000 by the jewellery retailer Lunn’s and the Institute of Directors Northern Ireland division, the award is open to the entire Northern Ireland business community.
£6m profit for electronic tyre-pressure devices firm
News 19/11/09Schrader Electronics, the Antrim-based electronics company which counts Mercedes and BMW among its customers, made an after-tax profit of nearly £6 million last year. The firm, which employs around 900 people at sites in Carrickfergus and Antrim, has been on a...
Slashing jobs not the only option says Michelin boss
News 19/11/09Some companies “give up too easily” when it comes to exploring alternatives to slashing jobs, the head of one of Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturing firms said yesterday. He believes that the current economic climate presents a “window of...
More seek start-up advice than ever before
News 19/11/09Would-be entrepreneurs are responding to the recession by seeking advice on starting their own business in ever larger numbers, new government figures show. Invest Northern Ireland said its business information website registered a 75 per cent increase...
Accountant fined £30k, kicked out of institute
News 19/11/09A Co Antrim accountant has been fined €30,000 (£27,000) and kicked out of the profession’s chartered institute for a number of business breaches, it has emerged. The Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board imposed the penalties...
Poots stays silent over out-of-town retail plan
News 19/11/09The Department of Environment is refusing to say when the potentially explosive planning decision on Ireland’s biggest supermarket will be made public. The outcome of June’s public inquiry into a massive Tesco store at Bridgewater Park in...
£6m cost cuts on target says UTV
News 19/11/09UTV expects this year’s operating profit to match market expectations despite an 8 per cent decline in revenues since January. The all-Ireland multimedia group said it was confident of meeting its £6 million cost-cutting...
Positive diagnosis for Randox machine
News 19/11/09Antrim-based diagnostics firm Randox Laboratories will today unveil a revolutionary new cardiac machine in Germany which can detect heart problems in minutes rather that hours and which it claims has the potential to save lives.
Trade mission secures exports
INBRIEF 19/11/09A new diagnostic kit developed by Linnodee Diagnostics in Ballyclare has secured its first export business after participating in an Invest NI trade mission to India. It is supplying the kit for the detection of leptospirosis in humans to a customer in the...
Jobs generated at aircraft factory
News 18/11/09
Bombardier yesterday cemented its position as one of Northern Ireland’s most important employers when construction started on the building where wings for its new CSeries passenger plane will be manufactured.
Already some 400 engineering and support staff are involved in the design and development of...
EasyJet optimistic despite profits nosediving by 65%
News 18/11/09Budget airline easyJet saw profits fall 65 per cent in the year to the end of September but said it was one of the few carriers to make a surplus in the recession. The airline says it is gaining market share and expects profits to improve in the next year.
Law firm ranked among UK best
News 18/11/09BELFAST law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin (CFR) has once again ranked highly in the Chambers UK Guide, the independent review of leading law firms and lawyers. The company ranked top in 11 areas: environment, planning, banking and finance and administrative and public law.
IoD chair tells MLAs to think radically
News 18/11/09The Stormont executive has been urged to consider radical plans for funding major public investments. The Institute of Directors (IoD) is proposing the creation of a ‘Northern Ireland Infrastructure Bank’ in order to raise capital to fund the executive’s investment strategy.
PR guru offering expertise for free
News 18/11/09One of Northern Ireland’s most enduring PR professionals is marking her 25th anniversary in business by offering to work for free. Linda Beers, pictured, founder and managing director of Belfast-based Inform Communications, wants to help the...
Go ahead for £30m building scheme
News 18/11/09Environment Minister Edwin Poots has gran- ted planning permis- sion for a proposed £30 million housing scheme in Co Down. Newry-based Stoney Properties hopes to convert the former Lotus Factory on Banbridge’s Newry Road into 67...
Rise in firms increasing profits
News 18/11/09More than half of Irish businesses recorded a fall in turnover and profitability in the three months from July, according to a new survey. However, the same research shows that there has been a small rise in the number of firms reporting an increase in turnover.
Debenhams fires first shot in price war
News 17/11/09
Department store chain Debenhams threw down the gauntlet yesterday to its retail rivals as it announced a £250 million four-day sale and predicted a high street Christmas price war. The group said it would slash the prices of tens of thousands of items in a move it claimed would blow the starting...
Engineering firm cut hundreds of workers despite record trading
News 17/11/09Engineering giant FG Wilson plunged hundreds of workers onto the dole just weeks after closing the books on a record trading year, it has emerged. In the 12 months to last December the Mallusk-headquartered company, the largest diesel-power generator...
Gary scoops top business award
News 17/11/09Irish News business editor Gary McDonald has won one of Ireland’s foremost business journalism awards for the second consecutive year. Gary, who this year celebrated 25 years in journalism and a decade at The Irish News, scooped the Northern...
Enterprising publican’s star on the rise despite downturn
News 17/11/09Newspapers are full of stories on businesses complaining about how hard it is to get financing. But pub and hotel entrepreneur Bill Wolsey said he’s had no such problems. Yes, the banks are harder to please but they are still willing to back firms with a good track record and a sound business...
New marketing encompasses more than having bright ideas
Online Insight 17/11/09Fans of the HBO series Mad Men need no reminders of how old-style advertising seems dated in the internet age. For the uninitiated, Mad Men centres on a fictional 1960s New York advertising firm and charts the rise and fall of its hotshot executives, kings of the ‘big idea’.
Economy and tackling climate change should go hand in hand
Environmental Business 17/11/09At times I really don’t envy our executive ministers. Yes, I get as frustrated as anyone by some aspects of the way the administration works – or doesn’t work, as the case may be. And I do believe the executive could achieve so much more through a genuinely shared approach to dealing...
Prime-location development with £132k rental income sold
Commercial Property 17/11/09Library Court, a commercial development occupying a prominent position on Belfast’s Upper Newtownards Road, has been sold to a private investor. Situated on the corner of Eastleigh Drive and the Upper Newtownards Road, the property comprises eight retail...
£1.35m development land sold for NIHE
Commercial Property 17/11/09Property consultants Osborne King have sold land zoned near Ballymoney, Co Antrim, for residential development for £1.35 million on behalf of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE). A building firm in the area acquired the site at Carnany on the Ballymena Road...
Growing number of ethical investors
Personal Finance 17/11/09Although British prime minister Gordon Brown thinks next month’s Copenhagen Climate Change Summit could save the planet, others are thinking more about the potential benefits from investing in the growing ‘Green’ agenda.
VAT hike could be higher than expected
Personal Finance 17/11/09Northern Ireland consumers are bracing themselves for higher prices in the shops from January when VAT rises again. The rate had been temporarily cut from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent last December in a bid to stimulate consumer spending and combat the effects...
Poundnotes
News 17/11/09• The determination of households in Britain and Northern Ireland to save money has risen to its highest level since last December, the Nationwide BS Savings Index has said. However, this might reflect the determination of over-50s to take advantage of new...
New data expected to show rise in inflation
THE WEEK AHEAD 16/11/09ANOTHER busy week for economic data kicks off with the latest inflation figures for October out tomorrow. The Bank of England last week charted a higher course for inflation in the coming months in its latest forecasts which show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) coming...
Concern over banking plans
News 16/11/09PLANS for Europe-wide super regulation of the financial system are being rushed through and could end up as a “recipe for a muddle”, MPs are expected to warn today. The Treasury Select Committee said while it welcomed the general move to create better international...
Rolls Royce orders boost
News 16/11/09ROLLS ROYCE has unveiled a major boost to its order book after agreeing deals for new engines with Air China and Ethiopian Airlines. The Derby and Bristol-based company announced the orders – worth a combined $2 billion (£1.2bn) – on the first day of...
BA cabin crew to begin vote over strike action
News 16/11/09THOUSANDS of British Airways cabin crew will today start voting on whether to launch a pre-Christmas strike in protest at “far-reaching” changes to working practices. New employment contracts came into force today despite opposition from Unite, which warned that they...
Ten new firms set up each day
News 14/11/09Around 10 new companies are springing up every day in Northern Ireland, despite the recession, according to the latest figures.
During July, August and September there were nearly a third more start-ups registered in the north than in the same period last year – 892 compared to 692.
Seedcorn prize for software specialist
News 14/11/09The Belfast-based software specialist Sophia Search has scooped at least E25,000 (£22,400) in InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn competition after winning the Northern Ireland regional final
in the category of best high-growth company.
Driving initiative gets into gear
News 14/11/09A corporate responsibility initiative involving Northern Bank and the driver education company a2om has been launched to curb road deaths in Northern Ireland.
Union seeks job assurances from airline
News 14/11/09British Airways will have to overcome potential trade union opposition and pension problems if its proposed merger with the Spanish carrier Iberia is to go ahead, it emerged yesterday.
Industries offered help by councils
News 14/11/09Belfast and Lisburn city councils have launched a business development programme aimed at helping manufacturing industries.
Jobs cull sees BT slash costs by £900m in first half of year
News 13/11/09Telecoms giant BT confirmed yesterday that it had slashed its costs by more than £900 million after a jobs cull in the first six months of its financial year.
Asda sales up 5.6%
News 13/11/09Asda saw sales excluding Vat and petrol rise by
5.6 per cent in the three months to September 30.
Wages gap with Britain closes
News 13/11/09Average earnings in Northern Ireland are below those in Britain but the gap has closed, according to latest figures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
£1m profit for email ‘call centre’ company
News 13/11/09Gem, the email and telephone call-centre firm, made a profit of just under £1 million last year.
Latest annual accounts filed at Companies House in Belfast showed turnover was little changed in the year to the end of December at £17.6 million.
After-tax profits were £950,000, down from £2.5m in 2007.
Food and drinks turnover rises
News 13/11/09Turnover in the north’s food and drinks sector increased by an estimated 6.3 per cent between 2007 and 2008 – the equivalent of £176 million.
The increase to £2,975m was largely driven by the improved value of dairy products, which reached record price levels over the period in question.
Republic campaign urges shoppers to stay in south
News 13/11/09A campaign has been launched in the Republic to stem the tide of Christmas shoppers heading north and overseas.
Consumer council welcomes price probe
News 13/11/09The Utility Regulator’s probe into the recent rise in commercial electricity prices has been welcomed by the Consumer Council.
Recognition for social enterprises
News 13/11/09Six social enterprises have been shortlisted for the next stage in the Social Enterprise Awards for Northern Ireland.
North’s students top in accounting
News 13/11/09A number of Northern Ireland accountants have proved to be top global performers in ACCA’s 2009 professional accountancy examinations.
Inquiry launched into electricity price hikes
News 12/11/09
An inquiry has been launched to establish why business customers were given so little notice of last month’s record electricity price hikes. The Utility Regulator has announced that it will look at the manner in which suppliers told their customers about the impending tariff increases.
Support group creates 150 jobs at call centre
News 12/11/09A call centre in Derry is expanding its workforce for the second time in less than a month after landing a significant new contract with an unnamed telecoms client.
India-headquartered business support group Firstsource confirmed yesterday that it plans to recruit 150 staff immediately in addition to the 150 new jobs it announced last month.
INBRIEFS
News 12/11/09Centre opens new extension
AN extension was opened yesterday to Armagh Business Centre, providing an extra 13,485 square-foot of high-quality work-space suitable for a wide range of businesses.
The project – which has already leased 14 of the additional 24 units – could help to create 55 new jobs for the area.
INBRIEF
News 12/11/09Strike delayed to allow talks
Plans for a strike at Japanese IT giant Fujitsu have been delayed to allow further talks to be held to resolve a row over pay and pensions.
Unemployment static for first time in 20 months
News 12/11/09The rapid rise in unemployment, which has seen 22,200 join the dole queues in the last year, has slowed. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit remained flat last month at 53,700 – the first time in 20 months the jobless figure hasn’t gone up.
Media specialists launch PR business
News 12/11/09Two of Northern Ireland’s best known media and communications specialists have launched their new public relations business.
Tesco revise development plans
News 12/11/09Tesco submitted revised plans yesterday to redevelop Lisnagelvin shopping centre in Derry including building an entire new supermarket and retail units.
Company’s directors ‘confident’ over future despite losses
News 12/11/09The recession and the massive downturn in home building plunged Enniskillen-based wood products firm Balcas into the red last year.
Winter of discontent is predicted by economists
News 11/11/09It could be two years before Northern Ireland fully recovers from the grip of this worst recession in generations, economists have warned. Thousands more people in the north can also expect to lose their jobs in the coming 12 months, according to...
Conroy seeks Dublin listing
NEWSBRIEFS 11/11/09Professor Richard Conroy confirmed yesterday that he is to seek listings on the Dublin stock market for two of his exploration companies. Conroy Diamonds & Gold and Karelian Diamond Resources (which is searching for diamonds in Finland) are...
Job losses warning at Halifax call centre
News 11/11/09Staff at the Halifax call centre in Belfast have been warned of potential job losses. Up to 120 jobs in the mortgage operations at the Lloyds-owned facility will be affected by a major cost-cutting plan announced yesterday.
Debt woes begin to ease
News 11/11/09Barclays and HSBC gave hope yesterday that consumer debt woes were starting to ease as the banking giants reported sharp quarter-on-quarter falls in loan losses. Third quarter figures from the UK’s two top banks revealed a hike in underlying profits so far this...
New Chapter ‘will raise the bar’ for Belfast’s hotel trade
News 11/11/09Belfast will boast a hotel as good as any on the island of Ireland when a major extension to the five-star Merchant opens for business next summer. Building work is already well under way on a new seven-storey extension to the hotel called ‘New...
Row over Ulster Bank contracts deepens
News 11/11/09Ulster Bank is facing an embarrassing fall-out with the trustees of its staff pension scheme after failing to inform them about planned changes to workers’ benefits. The revelation is the latest twist in an increasingly acrimonious dispute between the bank and its...
House sellers ‘need to ask for realistic price’
Business Insight 10/11/09
Many house sellers in Northern Ireland have not adjusted to falling prices and are still asking too much for their properties, estate agents say. According to agencies, unrealistic pricing is a major stumbling block in getting the housing market moving...
Workers to strike at Fujitsu
News 10/11/09Workers at IT services firm Fujitsu’s offices in Belfast and Derry are planning to strike this week and next, it emerged yesterday. Nearly 100 of the company’s 700 Northern Ireland staff are expected to join the state-wide industrial...
University spin-out wins breakthrough US contract
News 10/11/09A Queen’s University Belfast spin-out has secured its first business in the potentially lucrative US market. i-Path Diagnostics, the Belfast-based pioneer in virtual microscopy, is providing its software for diagnostic pathology to researchers at Michigan State University.
Risk appetite remains relatively high
First Trust Bank Global Treasury Services Economic Outlook 10/11/09Despite Friday’s disappointing news of a further rise in the US unemployment rate to 10.2 per cent (the highest level for more than 26 years) risk appetite remains relatively high with the dollar suffering against other major currencies.
Energy firm’s new identity
INBRIEF 10/11/09Mutual Energy, the company previously known as Northern Ireland Energy Holdings, yesterday unveiled its new name and brand identity. The company has adopted the new name, Mutual Energy Limited, to better convey its purpose and key objectives...
Business Diary businessdiary@irishnews.com
News 10/11/09SOCIAL MEDIA
• Well-known social media expert and author Shel Israel is in Belfast today to advise graduates and businesses here on the use of social media to improve business performance. He has been...
Hi-tech sector in positive outlook
commercial Property 10/11/09Recent inward investment from blue-chip companies could be the sign that the north’s hi-tech sector is bouncing back, according to the Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP).
Tenants at NISP fall under five areas of business activity including high tech...
Firms ordering less as costs increase
News 09/11/09Northern Ireland firms are still seeing orders drop and costs rise. The prices they can charge for their goods are falling while many of them also expect their workforce to shrink in the months ahead. The good news to come out of the latest monthly survey of...
Credit card rates set to rise
News 09/11/09Credit card providers look set to hike their interest rates and introduce annual fees as they battle to survive, according to a new report. Lenders’ business models are “unsustainable” due to increasing bad debts, funding constraints and the toughest economic conditions for a generation, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said.
Market heavyweights set to publish trading updates
The Week AHEAD 09/11/09Market confidence will be put to the test next week as heavyweight firms, including HSBC and Vodafone, are due to publish trading updates. HSBC was the first of the banks to flag up the start of the credit crunch, given its huge exposure...
Builders’ workloads ‘still falling’
News 07/11/09The north’s construction sector remains firmly in the grip of a significant downturn despite improvement in the industry in Britain, according to a survey.
Airline plans to cut extra 1,200 jobs by next year
News 07/11/09British Airways is to cut an extra 1,200 jobs, taking the total reduction to 4,900 by next year, the company announced yesterday.
Quinn in green move
News 07/11/09THE Quinn Group has said it plans to create up to 800 ‘green’ jobs across Ireland in the next three years. The Co Fermanagh-based group, whose business...
Magic maths moments
News 07/11/09An initiative to improve numeracy levels among schoolchildren has been unveiled by the Cahoots NI theatre company in partnership with Northern Bank.
Award for new Croke architect
News 06/11/09
Omagh-born architect Des McMahon has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Opus Architecture & Construction Awards in Dublin.
Energy hikes adding to burden of doing business in the north
News 06/11/09Some of the north’s largest private sector employers are paying up to £10,000 a month more for their electricity following last month’s hike in business tariffs.
BoE ‘shows faith’ with £25bn in QE
News 06/11/09Rate-setters at the Bank of England elected to pump an extra £25 billion into the British economy yesterday in a further effort to pull out of recession.
Construction sector not improving – QPANI
News 06/11/09The body representing the north’s quarrying and construction materials employers says the sector is continuing to haemorrhage jobs.
Investment saves 700 call-centre jobs
News 06/11/09Nearly 700 specialist call centre jobs have been preserved in Northern Ireland after telecoms giant BT and Invest NI came up with the cash to fend off India and other global centres.
1,500 new homes offers hope to first-time buyers
News 06/11/09Around 1,500 properties in Northern Ireland will be available for sale under co-ownership over the next three years after Bank of Ireland and Barclays yesterday ploughed £48 million funding into the scheme.
Two new hotels with plan for more
News 06/11/09Andras House, the company which yesterday opened two new Ibis budget hotels in Belfast, has plans to open at least three more with Portrush, Enniskillen and Newry identified as likely locations.
