Two Derry brothers have said a proposed new hotel in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter will represent an investment of around £20m in the city. Lawrence and Brendan Duddy Jnr are part of the Propiteer Ltd business venture which bought the former Nambarrie Tea Factory for £2.5m last year. The company has now notified Belfast City Council of its intention to demolish the building and construct a new 151-bedroom hotel at the junction of Waring Street and Victoria Street. Moxy Hotel, part of the Marriott Hotel Group, is being lined up as operator.
Ryanair announced the cancellation of more flights from Belfast International Airport in 2020. The airline notified customers booked on the Alicante route for the summer 2020 season that their booking had been cancelled. It’s understood to be linked to delays in the delivery of a series of new Boeing 737 Max jets.
Comber agri-food firm Mash Direct revealed a financial hit of more than £600,000 after stock destined for shelves in America was written off. Fresh mashed potatoes and a range of other locally-grown vegetable side dishes were earmarked to go on sale at a number of supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania owned by a major US co-operative with $2 billion-plus annual sales. But one part of the supply chain kept postponing its launch over a period of a year and a half, and food sent from Comber was eventually handed out to the needy.
Councillors on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s planning committee narrowly voted to reject a bid to construct a major retail park on the outskirts of Newry. Co Down developer Laurence Breen’s proposal was defeated by just a single vote. Planning officials at the local authority had recommended refusing permission for the 244,000 sq ft retail venture on the former HMRC site at Carnbane. Business leaders including Newry Chamber of Commerce, said their analysis suggests a 29 per cent hit to retail in the city centre, should the new development go ahead. But Mr Breen argued that the £100m development could bring hundreds of jobs and an economic windfall for the area.
A major recall of dozens of veterinary injectable drug products earlier this year by Norbrook Laboratories wiped millions of pounds off its bottom line, latest accounts reveal. The company took the decision in May as a precautionary measure over concerns that the sterility of 34 products had been compromised, and their use could result in introduction of infectious agents to animals. Norbrook Holdings revealed that in the year to August, its revenues fell 11 per cent from £275m to £237m, while operating profit plunged to just £11m compared to £45.1m earned in 2018.
The north's unemployment rate dropped to a record low of just 2.3 per cent, well below the average for the UK (3.8 per cent), the Republic (5.3 per cent) and the EU (6.3 per cent).
UK unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 44 years in the three months to October, and the number of unemployed women hit a record low.
