MAY
The entrepreneurial founder of artisan food producer Finnebrogue in Downpatrick died after a tragic accident involving a quad bike. Denis Lynn (63) built the company from scratch into a £150 million business with nearly 1,000 staff. He was described as "an innovator and a visionary with an infectious passion for delivering positive change for the planet and its people". He leaves his wife Christine and daughters Kerry, Clare, Tara and Ciara.
London technology company Igale, which specialises in bespoke software projects for the construction, aircraft maintenance and defence industries, announced plans to bring 100 new tech jobs to Belfast. It said it is in the process of establishing a technology centre in the Titanic Quarter with the help of the Catalyst innovation hub, with its initial goal being the recruitment of 100 highly skilled IT staff inside the first 12 months.
The highly sought-after four-storey 78,800 sq ft Danesfort Building in south Belfast has been put up for sale for £5.25 million. Constructed in 1959 and sitting on a generous 2.8-acre site with 350 car parking spaces, it was originally NIE’s headquarters complex before then being sold to Ulster Bank in 2002.
Enniskillen timber and renewable energy business Balcas is bought by sawmill group Glennon Brothers, a third-generation timber processing company with plants in Longford, Cork and Troon, bringing together two of the industry’s biggest players. The major shareholder in Balcas is Dutch-based SHV Energy, but Invest NI also holds around £1.2 million of shares in the company, which has had a presence in Co Fermanagh for 60 years.
One of the north’s biggest pig producers is behind plans to develop a £75 million automated pork processing plant in Ballymoney. The project is centred on the site of the former Malton Bacon factory in Agivey, which was destroyed by fire in June 1998. A proposal of application notice was submitted in the name of Bannside Foods, which is controlled by Co Armagh brothers Jim and Mark Wright of JMW Farms, and Andrew Irwin.
UK garden centre chain Dobbies announced plans to create 150 jobs in a new superstore at The Junction retail park in Antrim. The 110,000 sq ft outlet, expected to be ready by spring 2023, will become one of the largest in the retailer’s entire portfolio of 73 stores. The Junction’s Banbridge-based owner Lotus Property said £10 million will be invested in the project, which will be met by both the retailer and the property group.
Cambridge-educated Vicky Davies is to become the first female chief executive of Danske Bank in its 200-year history, replacing the retiring Kevin Kingston. She will be only the second woman to head up a major financial institution in the north. Welsh-born Ms Davies (45), mother of four young sons, has been part of Danske Bank’s senior management team since 2012.
Economy minister Diane Dodds hails the latest easing of the Covid-19 rules in Northern Ireland as “an enormous step forward”. Indoor hospitality and indoor visitor and cultural attractions reopened, and people can meet inside private homes again, limited to six people from no more than two households. And amid changes to the DUP leadership, Ms Dodds is replaced in the economy role by Paul Frew, who just weeks later is then removed as Gordon Lyons takes up the portfolio.
The north’s largest and fastest-growing indigenous telecommunications business Barclay Group is investing £2 million in its landline division as part of a major growth strategy which will create 35 jobs. An additional 20-seater call centre will also launch later this year at Barclay’s existing headquarters at Grove House in Donegall Pass.
