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Warrenpoint's Feargal McCormack has been elected President of Chartered Accountants Ireland at its 130th Annual General Meeting in Belfast.
Mr McCormack, who takes over as President from Shauna Greely, is Managing Director of PKF-FPM, a Chartered Accountancy and business consultancy practice with offices in Newry, Belfast, Dungannon, Dundalk, Mallusk and Balbriggan, Dublin.
Mr McCormack is the first Northern President of Chartered Accountants Ireland to come from outside of Belfast.
Addressing the Chartered Accountants Ireland AGM in Belfast Mr McCormack highlighted the current political and economic uncertainty on the island of Ireland and expressed his view that delivering political stability is the vital factor in securing a positive economic future on the island.
He said: “At present the uncertainty around Brexit and the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive are very challenging. Put plainly, businesses are unlikely to make significant investment decisions in an uncertain environment. This uncertainty is putting jobs, economic growth and prosperity are at stake.
“We must recognise that the one factor which will make the biggest contribution to the international competitiveness in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland is political stability. Stability should naturally incorporate an agreement on any Brexit arrangements going forward, given the evolution of the island economy and the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“We have recently acknowledged the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday/ Belfast Agreement which attempted to draw a line under the past and to set a vision for the future based on partnership, equality and mutual respect.
“Despite the best efforts of the Northern Ireland political parties and the British and Irish Governments, the reality is that the journey of implementation has been just a complex as Chairman of the peace negotiations, George Mitchell, envisaged they would be.
"Huge progress has been made, not only in terms of lives saved, but the economic and quality of life on the island has been transformed. Therefore, we must support and encourage our politicians to grasp the current opportunity to deliver political stability for the island of Ireland. We owe it to our, and to future generations, to ensure that political stability and mutual understanding are the norm.
“Looking to the future, I am confident that Chartered Accountants Ireland will continue to be a progressive and outward-looking organisation, dynamically engaged with its many constituencies and driven by a vision, not just for itself, but for the community it serves.”
Addressing his own objectives for his presidential year, Mr McCormack intimated that his overarching theme would be caring and people focused - in reality this would mean caring for members, staff, trainee students and the community.
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Newry headquartered MJM Group is marking it's 35th year in business in 2018 with a series of events and activities to recognise the people who have contributed to the businesses success.
Owners Brian McConville and his family have launched ‘MJM at 35’, a year-long programme of events and activities which will recognise their people, partnerships and position in the market.
From a small company in Rathfriland, MJM Group has grown to become a global brand, bringing quality, innovation and expertise in marine fit-outs to the world’s largest cruise and ferry companies.
From now till the end of July the company are carrying out a complete refit of cruise ship Azamara Pursuit in Belfast. To mark the significance of this it should be noted that It's the first time any cruise company has awarded complete project management responsibilities to an individual organisation.
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Newry based company Around Noon secured a finalist commendation in the prestigious Young Agri-Food Innovator award at the inaugural Henderson Wholesale Fresh Innovation Awards held during this years Balmoral Show.
The awards celebrate Henderson’s fresh food suppliers, farmers and growers and reward their product innovation, accessibility of goods and sustainable practices.
Neal Kelly, Fresh Foods Director at Henderson Group commented; “With the 150th anniversary of the Balmoral Show, we also wanted to make our annual celebration of our fresh food suppliers one to remember.
“The Fresh Innovation Awards have been fantastic, and we have received such a positive response from the suppliers we work with. We strive to ensure we are sourcing locally first and foremost as we have some of the finest produce in the world on our own doorstep. There is simply no excuse to be looking elsewhere."
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Newry's First Derivatives preliminary results for the year ended 28 February 2018 see revenue up 23% to £186M. Profit before tax was £12.1M down 3% from last year
The year has seen strong growth in software revenue, up 27% as a result of new contract wins and continued penetration of the existing customer base while strategic progression in their managed services and consulting activities resulting in revenue growth of 17%
Highlights
High-profile client wins include a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, a FTSE 100 gaming company and Aston Martin-Red Bull Racing, leading to inbound interest across a range of markets.
Strategic progression in their managed services and consulting activities resulting in revenue growth of 17%
The implementation and ongoing support of a third-party system for a New York-based bank, representing one of the largest contracts in their history
FinTech revenue up 22% to £142.9m (2017: £117.4m), driven by growth in recurring software revenue and an expansion of services provided to clients - MarTech revenue up 24% to £38.2m (2017: £30.7m), driven by growth in subscriptions for our Marketing Cloud platform, powered by our Kx technology
Enormous Market Opportunity
Seamus Keating, Chairman of First Derivatives, commented: “This has been another year where we have combined organic growth with selective investment in the business to realise the enormous market opportunity available to First Derivatives. Prompted by strong demand from our clients, we have continued to penetrate our markets enabling us to deliver our 21st consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.
"Our ability to capitalise on the investments we have made and the scale of our addressable software market provides us the potential for continued strong growth in future years. While we will continue to invest to stay at the forefront of our field, much has already been done to support our ambitious plans and our current structure is sufficient to achieve significant growth. Recognising that success always requires focus and effort, we nevertheless look to the future with confidence.”
New Contract Wins
Speaking of their year CEO Brian Conlon added "This year has seen exciting progress in our ambitious growth plans, with important new contract wins across all our markets, the strengthening of our technology lead and an expansion of our routes to market. Revenue increased by 23% to £186.0m and, following our investment to target new opportunities, adjusted EBITDA increased by 19% to £34.1m.
Our software revenue grew by 27% with the highlight being our continued progress in penetrating our vast addressable market. In FinTech, revenue was up 22% as our strong market presence translated into further market share gains. In MarTech, increasing awareness of the high return on investment that our solutions deliver, combined with the release of additional functionality, drove revenue growth of 24%. In other markets we remain in ‘launch mode’ with revenue growth of 41% representing a scratch on the surface of the market opportunity."
First Derivatives operates from 14 offices across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, including its headquarters in Newry, and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.
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Newry-headquartered food-to-go manufacturer, Around Noon has picked up another two national awards in London for new product development.
The fast-growing company, which now employs over 300 people, won two awards in the Sammies 2018 – the British Sandwich and Food-to-Go Association Awards. The company won New Sandwich of the Year category, defeating competition from supermarket retailers including Waitrose and The Co-Op. It collected the category award for New Sandwich of the Year – Hot and the overall New Sandwich of the Year award 2018.
These add to the three Sammies that Around Noon won in 2017. Around Noon successfully retained the Overall New Sandwich of the Year award for 2018.
The New Sandwich of the Year award is for a new pre-packed sandwich which has been successfully launched in a retail or catering environment.
The winning product, Around Noon’s Breakfast Toast includes black pudding, mushrooms, spring onions, goats’ cheese, cheddar, bacon and spicy house ketchup on sourdough toast.
Gareth Chambers, CEO of Around Noon, said “We want to position Around Noon as the UK and Ireland’s leading food-to-go manufacturer and to lead the way in innovation and new product development in the industry.
“We’re delighted to have one of our new products, the Breakfast Toast sandwich, recognised at The Sammies. This is just one of several new products we have brought to market in the past year with more exciting developments in the pipeline.
“The past year has been a very strong one for Around Noon, winning five Sammies, being named in the Sunday Times Fast-track 100 and acquiring a London-based business. We’re focused on growing our customer-base and manufacturing output across the UK and Ireland and are continuing to add new significant companies and brands to our existing customer-base. National awards like The Sammies are an important part of communicating to new and prospective customers the level of innovation and quality we want Around Noon to be synonymous with,” he added.
In April, Around Noon’s CEO Gareth Chambers won the Young Business Person of the Year award at the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, in partnership with Ulster Bank.
The 33-year-old was also recently announced as one of five NI-based entrepreneurs shortlisted for the 2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Ireland awards, now in their 21st year.
Widely considered the Oscars of the sandwich and food to go industry in the UK, The Sammies 2018 – organised by the British Sandwich and Food to Go Association – were held in the Nine Kings Suite, Royal Lancaster London Hotel on Thursday, May 10.
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Newry software business Fieldmotion is expanding its workforce in Newry as part of an investment targeting additional US sales.
The company is benefiting from Invest Northern Ireland assistance to recruit 14 new jobs, almost half of which are already in place. Fieldmotion has a growing network of UK and US based partners licensing its workflow and field management software, which was developed using R&D support from Invest NI.
Welcoming its progress and growth plans, Mark Bleakney, Invest NI’s Southern Regional Manager, said: “Fieldmotion has experienced encouraging growth in its target markets and this in an important investment that will help to accelerate its progress in the US. The 14 new jobs being recruited will generate £333,000 annually in additional salaries to the Northern Ireland economy and create valuable employment opportunities in the Newry, Mourne and Down area.
“This entrepreneurial tech company has worked closely with Invest NI from its inception and benefited from a range of support including mentoring on the Propel programme and technical advice to secure IP protection. Investing in R&D, marketing development and job creation has given Fieldmotion a solid competitive position to target new business outside of Northern Ireland.”
The 14 new jobs being recruited by 2020 include Sales, Digital Marketing and Technical support positions. Six of the roles are already in place. Invest NI has offered £99,500 towards the job creation.
Jim Finnegan, CEO of Fieldmotion, said: “The workforce management software market is growing and we see significant market opportunity to license our software globally. Our product provides a cloud based digital platform for field workers, allowing data capture in real time and facilitating effective communication, real time decisions, accountability and time management for businesses across any industry or sector.”
The company has also received £150,000 investment from the Growth Loan Fund to support its development. The fund is part of Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio and is managed by Whiterock Capital Partners.
“Invest NI’s ongoing support has been central to our progress to date and will help to accelerate our three year development plan. Recruiting 14 new staff will create the additional resources needed to continue to build our customer base and achieve our growth objectives.
“We are encouraged by the development of our partner network to date and will be focused on driving growth in the US as well as targeting prospective partners in Australia, Canada, QATAR, Kuwait and India,” adds Jim.
Neil McCabe, Senior Investment Manager at WhiteRock Capital Partners, commented: “Fieldmotion has a strategic plan in place to further grow its footprint in the US market. We’re delighted to be able to provide funding to help an innovative company reach its full potential.
“Jim has identified a gap in the market for a product that has global appeal to a variety of sectors. Indigenous companies such as Fieldmotion are the type of businesses the Growth Loan Fund is keen to support.”
Invest NI’s research and development assistance is part funded by European Regional Development Fund.
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Newry company STATSports lifted the title of Deal of the Year at The Irish Times Business Awards held in Dublin last week for it's recent £1 billion deal with US Soccer. On hand to present the award was Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
The sports tech firm’s deal with US Soccer – the governing body of the sport in the US - struck earlier this year fought off stiff competition from a number of other hefty transactions, including the flotation of AIB.
It will see millions of players in the US wearing its monitoring devices – the largest player data monitoring programme in the world - and is worth up to £1 billion.
The inaugural Irish Times Business Awards in association with KPMG took place at the Mansion House in Dublin last week.
STATSports Group Managing Director Jarlath Quinn said “It’s an honour to receive the Deal of the Year Award, especially when we were up against such prestigious competition. The US Soccer deal really is ground breaking for the company and rewards the hard work the team have put in over the last few years.
“Our APEX Team Series system lies at the heart of that success and has received a warm welcome, not just in the US but by some of the biggest sporting organisations around the world. Since that deal we’ve also signed up the Brazil Football Confederation and will supply the technology to all the Brazilian national teams within the federation.
“We’ve come a long way since starting up in 2007 and this award marks the next stage on our journey.”
This latest award comes hot on the heels of STATSports taking a runner-up spot in the Most Innovative Wearable category at the Sports Technology Awards in London. These prestigious global awards saw STATSports’ technology go head-to-head with the likes of Fitbit, only a matter of months before the Newry company’s own consumer product is released.
STATSports also picked up the Best SME Award at the Aer Lingus Takeoff Foundation awards last week, in association with Ulster Business.
STATSports’ suite of player development hardware and software provides coaches, high performance staff and players the ability to holistically analyse each player’s individual response to training sessions and games, through real-time feedback.
This ability will continue to remain a crucial element in enhancing performance on the field while also reducing the chances of players under-training or picking up injuries through over-training.
STATSports already supplies clubs in the English Premier League, including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and the Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and England football associations. NFL, NHL, Rugby Union, NBA, Track and Field and Hockey also use the company’s APEX Team Series GPS units which provide real-time data to players and coaches to drive improved performance.
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Sweet Things a Dublin bakery acquired by Newry's, Around Noon in 2016 has grown its workforce from two to 13 people in the past year and is currently recruiting for a further two roles – an innovation baker and a bakery supervisor.
The bakery now based in Newry has trebled its sales in the past twelve months to exceed the £1.5million mark, and it expects to double its sales again this year.
An artisan producer specialising in ‘scratch baking’ of bespoke, innovative, irreverent and luxurious products, it supplies a number of well-known high street retailers and independent stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Originally established in 2009 by Ciara Byrne, now company Commercial Director, and her partner, Ian Fowler, it began selling at farmers’ markets before being spotted and eventually bought by Around Noon CEO Gareth Chambers.
Now based in a dedicated bakery at Around Noon’s headquarters at Greenbank, Sweet Things supplies many of their existing customers, as well as other businesses.
Gareth Chambers, CEO of Around Noon, said: “We are delighted with the rapid growth that Sweet Things has enjoyed. After acquiring the business, we invested significantly in branding and marketing, as well as in new premises for the businesses. We’ve positioned it as a bakery that offers a bit of a ‘rock and roll’ take on bakery, and we did things like add the strapline ‘bad-ass bakery’.”
“It has been a strategic acquisition for us that really complements our existing offering. Our customers spend in excess of £10 million annually on bakery items, so there is real demand for the kind of products that we offer through Sweet Things. Our customers can now centralise their purchasing of food-to-go and bakery items, confident they’re receiving baked goods to the same exceptional standards they’re accustomed to at Around Noon.”
Around Noon employs almost 300 people, mainly in Newry, and manufacturers upwards of 60,000 products per day across more than 20 major brands, including hand-made sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, bakery items and 100 percent natural juices. CEO Gareth Chambers was named Young Leader of the Year at the 2018 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards.
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Best Property Services Commercial team have unveiled their first quarter results with transactions up 80% on last year and over £1M in property sold.
Lettings have performed much better than previous years, with industrial sector experiencing notable growth. Ciara Aiken Commercial Director explains: “The surge is driven by lack of supply driving up interest and therefore yields – in the first quarter of the year we’ve negotiated over 80,000 sq. ft. of industrial property with values set to continue to rise.”
“We’ve also noted a rising number of business owners indicating a willingness to buy land and design a purpose built unit/premises to their own specifications.
“This approach can be hampered by available land and will obviously be longer processes so ‘ready to buy’ is still the preferred option but with supply limited some businesses are open to the ‘buy and build’ route who wouldn’t previously have considered it.”
Looking to the other market sectors Office premises with parking is in premium demand while retail demand in the City remains steady. The Valuations department is also busy with bank finance and funding more accessible than it has been in the previous 12 months, Ciara adds.
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