MARCH
Invest NI suddenly shut down an equity fund aimed at pumping venture capital into start-up companies and small businesses in the early stages of innovation. The £65 million Crescent Capital IV Development Fund, which planned to offer companies within the technology, life sciences and manufacturing sectors investments of up to £2.5 million, was launched in October 2019. But the fund, delivered by long-established Belfast-based VC investment firm Crescent Capital, won't now proceed because the private sector funding can't be raised.
Bank of Ireland is to close 103 branches in Ireland by the end of the year, including 15 in the north, claiming Covid-19 had dramatically accelerated the trend towards digital banking. Branches in Ballymena, Banbridge, Crossmaglen, Downpatrick, Dungannon, Keady, Limavady, Lisburn, Lisnaskea, Portadown and Strabane will close along with the Strand Road branch in Derry and Belfast branches on the Lisburn Road, Ormeau Road and University Road. It will leave just 13 Bank of Ireland branches in the north.
The recently-completed Merchant Square office block in the centre of Belfast has been sold to a Saudi Arabian investment fund for £87 million in the biggest ever office deal done in Northern Ireland. It was sold by Oakland Holdings, controlled by Belfast businessman Gareth Graham, whose family is behind the Sean Graham bookmaking franchise.
Kelly’s nightclub in Portrush will close after 25 years due to the impact of Covid-19. Owner Peter Wilson said the business model is no longer sustainable in its current format. The complex will instead invest in a revamped leisure tourism and entertainment offering in the resort town. Kelly’s opened as a nightclub in 1996, hosting some of the world's biggest DJs and dance acts.
US-based global payment processing company Payroc becomes the latest inward investor to create exclusively home-based jobs in Northern Ireland. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Illinois, it will hire 75 technical and contact-centre staff.
Newry-based boiled sweets maker Crilco Confections has won its first significant export deal in Spain. The family-owned business, established in 1974 by Peter Crilly, will supply its premium range of traditional handmade sweets in bags to a distributor in Malaga for stores in the region. The deal follows an approach from the specialist confectionery distributor who had heard about the company’s popular range of boiled sweets.
Hughes Insurance has become the first major business in the north to commit to home-working on a permanent basis. Its 250-strong workforce will now be permitted work remotely, while also having the option to visit its Newtownards headquarters up to two days a week when restrictions are relaxed.
Financial technology consultancy Vox Financial Partners in Belfast commits to investing £1 million in its Service Delivery Centres (SDC) in a move which will lead to the creation of 30 jobs. Established in 2015 and whose chief executive is Omagh-born Terry Robinson, Vox also has a Poland-based project team in Ludz and is researching North American locations for a third SDC to provide time zone-aligned capabilities for clients in the US and Canada.
Caterpillar is to close its extensive administrative operation in west Belfast after putting the office buildings on the market for £3.5 million. The US giant first raised the potential sale of the Millennium offices building at Springvale Business Park in November 2020, when it announced plans to cut 700 jobs from its 1,600 strong Northern Ireland workforce.
Kingspan confirmed it plans to close its Springvale EPS facility near Ballyclare, putting 23 jobs at risk. The Cavan-based company, which bought the Co Antrim insulation specialist in 2011, said it will consolidate production of expanded polystyrene (EPS) at its site in Askeaton Co Limerick. The company said it launched a review of the operation on the back of declining sales.
