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Blockbusters Environmental Services based in WIN Business Park, Newry have recruited six new staff with support from Invest Northern Ireland and has just won a new contract in Great Britain as a result.
The company who currently employ 18 staff will be providing its specialist drainage and environmental services to an award-winning UK construction and fit-out contractor for its London based construction projects.
Blockbusters specialise in drainage maintenance, civil works, oil contamination and no-dig pipe rehabilitation technology. The company provides a range of services to both private and commercial customers including CCTV drain surveys, septic tank and sewer cleaning, drain unblocking & repairs, and grease trap cleaning.
Speaking about the company’s rapid growth, Co-Owner Antoin Smyth said: “Hiring six additional staff increased our capacity to take on more work. We have been able to invest more time and energy into building relationships and following up leads among water and utilities companies in Great Britain. Without this additional workforce we would not have been able to secure this new business.”
The company’s success follows trade support from Invest NI which included meetings with potential buyers in GB.
“Working in partnership with Invest NI enabled us to explore opportunities in London and make valuable contacts which helped us win this new business,” adds Antoin. “The advice and guidance we are receiving, as well as financial support, is hugely important, helping us build our profile and maximise the opportunities identified in our target market.”
Invest NI has offered Blockbusters Environmental Services over £30,000 in the last three years towards job creation and market development activities. The company has also benefited from technical support to gain ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditations.
Mark Bleakney, Invest NI’s Southern Regional Manager added: “It has been a good year for Blockbusters Environmental Services and I’m delighted that the firm’s business development strategy is delivering results.
“Our support has helped the company create employment opportunities in Newry, Mourne & Down and pursue valuable sales opportunities outside of Northern Ireland. It’s a great example of how a company can use a range of our support to grow.
“The company is well positioned to build on this success and grow its customer base in Great Britain.”
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A Newry-headquartered firm has invested a quarter of a million pounds in a shared, community-driven and fully serviced Coworking office space initiative in Monaghan Street in Newry.
Flexi Work Space in Newry was officially launched today by property development and investment firm Parker Green International, following its major investment in the project. It is the developer’s second venture of this kind, following a fit-out of the Merrion Buildings in Dublin in 2016 for serviced office use also.
Located in the heart of Newry City, the space is at the centre of the busy Creamery Quarter and is within close proximity to a plethora of cafes, shops and local businesses.
Flexi Work Space’s members can take full advantage of a flexible working environment, world-class IT infrastructures and front of house support for as little as £75 per month.
Garrett O’Hare, Chief Commercial and Operations Officer, Parker Green International commented: “We are thrilled to launch Flexi Work Space in Newry, during a time when Coworking is growing rapidly across the globe.
“Flexi Work Space has been thoughtfully designed to deliver a modern, creative workspace that inspires our community of members, and sparks innovation and collaboration.”
The site also includes stylish break-out areas, privacy booths, complimentary artisan coffee and high-speed broadband. Furthermore, tech and business social meet-up events will take place at Flexi Work Space regularly, and attendance at these is included in the membership packages.
Mr. O’Hare added: “We have always been very focused on the psychology of how people interact, particularly when it comes to the built environment.
“We believe that people will deliver their best when they are given the opportunity to work in creative office accommodation, which is why we dedicated so much time to the design of Flexi Work Space, ensuring that we created an inventive, welcoming and vibrant space for our members.”
For more information, visit: www.flexiwork.space
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The newly published National Planning Framework (Project Ireland 2040) includes several references to the Economic Corridor between Newry and Dundalk regions and a recent meeting in Dundalk by the Joint Committee between Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Louth County Council discussed the strengthening of the cross border network.
Newry is mentioned ten times in the Framework with National Policy Objective 44 stating "In co-operation with relevant Departments in Northern Ireland, to further support and develop the economic potential of the Dublin-Belfast Corridor and in particular the core Drogheda-Dundalk-Newry network and to promote and enhance its international visibility."
The Joint Committee meets on a regular basis to monitor and discuss a range of development projects aimed at strengthening links between the two districts. Anthony Abbott King, Senior Planner from Louth County Council, provided a presentation at the meeting on key areas of the National Planning Framework and in particular cross border references.
Mr King informed the Committee that the framework will set the direction of growth for Ireland over the next 20 years, focusing on strengthening the infrastructure and attractiveness of urban centres. The government has provided a 10 year capital programme for implementation of these targets, which include resources to strengthen and support the Drogheda-Dundalk-Newry cross-border network.
Joint Chairs, Councillor McAteer and Councillor Corrigan welcomed the presentation. Councillor Corrigan commented, “The Project Ireland Framework has been published at a time of uncertainty with Brexit and a fluctuant economic climate. I welcome this framework, which has been well structured and look forward to its implementation which will support the Economic Corridor on both sides of the border.”
Councillor McAteer said, “It was very encouraging to see Newry featuring in the Project Ireland Framework. We as two Councils look forward to working up co-operation actions feeding into the Dublin-Belfast paired cities economic corridor and the marketing of this internationally.
“Both Local Authorities had liaised on the draft consultation document in November 2017 with each submitting a response to the Framework. This ensured that the content of submissions had a shared message, with both emphasising the value of promoting and developing the Border Corridor between Dundalk and the Newry areas.”
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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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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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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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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-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'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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