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Following yesterday's Executive’s decision on the reopening of hospitality, the Chief Executive Officer of Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, Colm Shannon has said that the local economy needs hospitality to return.
Mr Shannon has welcomed that the Executive is focused on reopening hospitality on 24 May, but thinks "it is disappointing that businesses won’t know for sure until 20 May, just 4 days before the planned reopening."
The CEO added “The hospitality sector needs to reopen on the 24th May. Thanks to the good work of the Health Service, the vaccine programme has been a success. Businesses have also made significant investment in safety measures and the training of their staff, to ensure their premises are safe.
“It is safer for organised events to be held in the controlled and safe environment of a hotel or restaurant, than large gatherings in the home.
“Our economy needs the return of hospitality. It is great to see our shops open and shoppers back, but we also need our cafes, pubs, restaurants and hotels open for a vibrant and successful Newry.”
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First Derivatives have announced their full year financial results for the year ended 28 February 2021.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, revenue was virtually identical to Feb 2020 results at £237.9m compared to £237.8m in 2020. Gross profit also was steady at £101.0m compared to £101.1m in 2020.
Highlights
Overall the company delivered robust performance despite the impact of COVID-19, in line with market expectations.
The company continues to invest in technology, product and people, reflecting confidence in the business and the market opportunity.
Multiple new contracts were won in key target markets, with examples across automotive (Williams Racing), energy (major US gas and electricity utility), manufacturing (semiconductor manufacturer), telecoms (leading North American telco) and FinTech (MUFG).
Acceleration of growth strategy and change in group structure has seen the proposed renaming of the Group as FD Technologies plc, comprising three businesses – KX, First Derivative and MRP – to enable each brand to communicate its distinct value proposition for its respective market and maximize its growth opportunity
KX is at the heart of their propositions with their goal to enable KX to become the market-leading technology for real-time streaming analytics, which would represent a $39bn addressable market by 2025 growing at 30% per annum.
Seamus Keating, CEO of FD, commented: “Using streaming analytics to inform and automate operational decisions is one of the most important growth areas in technology today, and KX enables this for our customers. During the past year we have positioned the business to scale rapidly to address this opportunity, by accelerating our technology roadmap, strengthening our leadership, developing our commercial strategy and putting in place enhanced systems and processes to scale the Group. By increasing our investment in the business we unlock the potential for rapid growth and for KX to become a key part of tomorrow’s technology ecosystem.”
First Derivative, which comprises their managed services and consulting business plus elements of their software services revenue, will benefit from sharper focus on target markets where it has the greatest in-depth expertise, and which are areas of key focus for FD clients.
Current trading and outlook
The Board is providing guidance for the current financial year which reflects the improved momentum across the Group’s business units, as well as the cost impact of the investment to accelerate growth
The Board anticipates that revenue for the year will be in the range of £255m to £260m, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of £31m – £33m.
Donna Troy, Chairman of FD, commented: “Following a detailed review by the Board, informed by growing market opportunities resulting from the increasing capabilities of our technology, we have concluded that now is the time for targeted investment that will accelerate our growth and establish KX as a world-leading horizontal technology for realtime streaming analytics. We are excited to announce this acceleration of our strategy and look forward to delivering enhanced value for our customers and shareholders.”
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Progressive Architectural firm, Gray Design, are celebrating after being awarded an impressive contract. The Newry based company have been appointed as lead consultants to a new £10m, 110,000 sq ft unit Dobbies Garden Centre which will create over 150 jobs.
The branch will be located at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park in Antrim. A public consultation on the plans will start in the coming weeks. Dobbies is the largest chain of garden centers in the UK with over 70 outlets. Currently they have only one Northern Ireland branch based in Lisburn.
Colin Dalton, Director, commented “We are thrilled to have been chosen for this major development. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and professionalism of our team who have secured this contract.
"We very much work in partnership with our commercial clients. Dobbies is the latest big-name brand that we have facilitated at The Junction. In recent years, we have successfully delivered various new projects catering for brand names like McDonald’s, Nando’s and Starbucks."
Craig Stewart from Lotus Property, who are the main developer behind The Junction redevelopment works, said “This is a very exciting announcement for everyone at The Junction. It is vitally important that the right team are brought on board to deliver construction projects of this scale and complexity, on time and on budget.
"We have a well-established relationship with Gray Design that has been built up over many years. They understand our expectations and the quality of their work, attention to detail and responsiveness has helped us ensure delivery of a number of successful projects across a range of sectors over the years.”
Gray Design have gained a reputation for delivering high quality work across various sectors. Commercial, Industrial, Bespoke Homes, Residential Development, Leisure and Interior Design. They have offices in Newry, Belfast, and Dublin.
For more information, visit graydesignltd.co.uk or contact their Head Office on 028 3025 1885.
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Newry Chamber of Commerce &Trade expressed cautious optimism for the local economy following the Executive’s decision to reopen hospitality.
Welcoming the Executive’s decision, the Chamber’s President, Emma Mullen-Marmion said “It has been a challenging period for the hospitality sector, and they can now look forward to rebuilding their trade and providing service and hospitality to their loyal customers. Our retailers and the hospitality sector have suffered a lot over the past year, and it will take time to rebuild trade in our city centre and our hospitality venues.”
Encouraging people to think local first she said “Everyone is now open; they know they type of service the people of Newry want and they are determined to provide it. Our shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, and hotels are at the heart of our community. They employ many local people who depend on these jobs to support their families. We would encourage everyone to think local first and to shop and dine locally.
“All our businesses have invested heavily in the safety of their staff and customers. Our shops and hospitality businesses are safe spaces to enjoy the experience of our city centre. Now everyone has reopened we look forward to everyone enjoying all that the Greater Newry Area has to offer.
Looking to the future she added “The pandemic has brought real change to the world of retail and hospitality. Now that everyone can reopen it doesn’t mean we are back to normal. The hospitality sector is still operating under significant restrictions and we look forward to the day when these restrictions can be relaxed. Our retailers will continue to face online competition and we need to look at creative ways to get people back into our city centre.
“As a Chamber we will work with our local Council and the Executive to ensure our businesses are supported and that there is renewed investment in our city and region.”
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Warrenpoint headquartered food-to-go company, DELI LITES has beaten off stiff competition to be named The Millitec Manufacturer of the year, 2021, organised by the British Sandwich and Food-to-Go Association (BSA). The innovative producer was also highly commended in the ‘Reducing our Environmental Impact’ category, and finalists in two categories of the Sandwich Designer Competition.
The only Irish-based winner in a line-up including high street names such as Co-op, Tesco, Starbucks and Pret A Manger, DELI LITES was recognised for its driven approach to innovation in exporting, operations, product development and delivering new solutions for customers over the last year.
Cathal McDonnell, Technical Manager for the company, commented: “In what has been a testing year for everybody, we have invested heavily in new working methods, new machinery and new processes. This is a real coup for the business and brand. The ‘highly commended’ award in the environmental category is an added bonus and reflects our commitment to policies and community initiatives that reduce environmental impact.”
With a strong focus on export markets export volumes have grown significantly for the company in recent years, and its products are sold extensively throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe and UAE.
Innovation is a cornerstone at DELI LITES, which launched its own e-commerce shop and delivery service during lockdown. The menu features a delicious range of corporate boxes including bespoke bowls, wraps, sandwiches, plant-based options and sweet treats. The delivery service extends to the island of Ireland and UK.
Cathal said: “It had always been a company goal to set up a web-shop and the lockdowns of the pandemic pushed forward our plans. It has been a great way to build relationships with customers near and far and we love delivering our products right to customers’ doorsteps especially during what has been a hard time for many people.
“As the only Irish winner in this year’s awards we are delighted our all-around efforts, innovation and resilience have been recognised. It’s a true credit to everyone involved.”
The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association represents those businesses where sandwiches form a core part of the Food To Go offer. Its Sammies Awards are all about recognising the achievements of the industry and honouring those who have worked to advance the UK sandwich and food to go markets.
The Manufacturer Award was sponsored by Millitec Food Systems Ltd who are world leaders in the design and technology of automation machines for the food production industry.
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A Newry company has become a prominent figure in the industry after initially conducting testing on the Réaltra Space Systems Engineering launcher Video Telemetry system that will provide on-board telemetry from a launch vehicle due to travel to outer space in 2022.
Resonate Testing based on Chancellors Road is a commercial test house for organisations in need of high quality testing and certification services within all industrial sectors.
Following the shutdown of global travel as a result of the pandemic, Réaltra was unable to carry out the required environmental qualification testing in the European test centres they had previously used. Requiring a niche, high quality testing campaign, the company reached out to Resonate Testing.
Resonate Testing did not have the capability to perform the complex SRS shock testing required but adapted its services and developed an in-house shock test capability in support of Réaltra and the wider space community on the island of Ireland
The growing sector poses huge opportunity for many SMEs across the Island
IT is a sector that is growing in popularity and demand, and one that will offer huge potential and opportunities for SMEs looking to enter the space industry across Ireland. That’s according to industry experts following the ‘Growing the Space Industry in Ireland’ webinar, hosted by the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space (ADS) Group earlier this month.
The space industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, with commercial sales by companies in Ireland soaring from €75m in 2015 to €133m in 2020. The Irish Government launched its first National Space Strategy for Enterprise in 2019 with the aim of doubling space industry activity by 2025, and the UK is launching their own strategy for Space in June, which aims to secure 10% of the total global market share by 2030.
Northern Ireland has also engaged in a Northern Ireland Space Strategy to create a firm and realistic foundation from which to grow the space sector and enhance the region’s standing in the space community.
With the increasing demand for products and services to support the growing industry, collaboration, in addition to innovation and knowledge, will be key to maximising the opportunities that are available and achieving the full potential of the space industry across the Island, as demonstrated by the recent webinar, which featured speakers from Airbus, European Space, Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI and companies from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Speaking about the collaboration, Danny Gleeson, Chief Commercial Office at Réaltra said, “During the global pandemic, we were faced with difficulties in accessing test facilities due to travel restrictions. We contacted Resonate Testing following a recommendation on their expertise and reputation for delivering high-quality testing at their Centre of Excellence in Newry, only an hour away from us in Dublin. Thanks to their knowledge and innovative processes, we were able to collaborate to complete the shock test qualification locally, maintaining the schedule to support our customer’s needs."
Danny continued, “Our experience with Resonate Testing has been excellent and we have now established a successful, collaborative and innovative test partnership on the island of Ireland, which is very important to our business going forward. In addition, Resonate Testing is investigating the expansion of their collaboration with Space Industry Skillnet to develop training and support to companies on the Island of Ireland to improve their success with test programmes. We are looking forward to continuing our work together in future projects.”
Tom Mallon, Managing Director of Resonate Testing said, “There is so much potential and opportunity within the Irish Space Industry Cluster, whether it’s in upstream or downstream products or services. Innovation is key to what we do and when Danny [Gleeson] approached us, we knew this was something that our team had the capability of doing, so we put a plan in place using our collaborative knowledge and the result was the successful implementation and execution of the testing service.
“This capability will assist space companies in shortening their development cycles from prototype tests to full space qualification test campaigns. We’re looking forward to being a part of this exciting sector moving forward and the opportunities that it will bring.”
Chair of ADS Space Special Interest Group, Robert Hill, who hosted the webinar, spoke about the benefits of collaboration as evidenced by Réaltra and Resonate Testing. Robert said, “The recent webinar was an excellent event enabling many companies to come together and hear what is possible when you work together.
“The collaboration between Réaltra and Resonate Testing has shown how the Island of Ireland can thrive when we work together. We want to do everything in our power to develop the Island as a globally recognised place for space sector innovation and creativity, and with companies like Resonate Testing stepping up to the mark to provide innovative solutions, we are well on our way.”
As of 2021, there are over 80 companies involved in the Space sector across the Island of Ireland. The growing interest in the sector was evident by the large number of attendees at the webinar - the first in a series looking at how to further develop the Space Industry across the Island of Ireland. It is hoped that the next event will take place in the Autumn.
For further information on the ADS Northern Ireland Space Special Interest Group please email;leslie.orr@adsgroup.org.uk
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La Dolce Vita and Donut Face in Newry have joined up with Belfast-based company loyalBe, as it launches its #WelcomeBackNI campaign to promote local businesses reopening.
The campaign aims to drive local recovery by encouraging businesses and customers to use the hashtag #WelcomeBackNI when posting about local products or services, to bring awareness to local businesses throughout the region, and drive sales.
The campaign is active on all social media platforms for people to get involved and start sharing their favourite purchases from local businesses. The campaign also extends to the loyalBe app, which rewards people for supporting local brands and businesses.
loyalBe founder and CEO, Cormac Quinn, said: “Our #WelcomeBackNI campaign aims to bring attention to smaller businesses who need public support. The past year has challenged every business, but the large retailers have had it easier than our local restaurants and shops. Many of our favourite places have permanently closed, and others are struggling to trade at a reduced capacity. We must continue to highlight local products and services to save our local communities.”
Cormac continued: “It’s important that we celebrate the reopening of businesses and show our support as the restrictions ease, by spending our money where it matters most. When you buy from a small business, you’re not helping a CEO buy a third holiday home. You are helping a little girl get music lessons, a little boy his team jersey, or a family pay their mortgage. Supporting local businesses like La Dolce Vita and Donut face is our main priority at loyalBe.”
As part of their campaign to celebrate businesses across NI reopening, loyalBe are offering their software to SMEs at £10 per month for their first three months.
Cormac said: “With loyalBe, we are driving sales and customer loyalty with local businesses, by rewarding customers for spending again. This special promotion is designed to help them get customers back through the door and help them thrive post-lockdown.”
Cormac continued: “With our offer, it’s a win-win for everyone. Customers are rewarded for purchasing from local businesses, and local retailers are attracting the public to spend in their stores or online. The #WelcomeBackNI campaign is having a real impact on everyone who gets involved and we want to drive that message.”
Businesses looking to join the campaign should include the #WelcomeBackNI hashtag in all of their social media posts and can find out more about loyalBe’s promotional offer on the LOYALBE website
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Translink is looking to attract local talent, recruiting 30 new Apprentices who will help shape Northern Ireland’s transport transformation for a greener economic recovery from Covid-19.
These roles cover a wide range of specialised areas including Bus, Rail & Track Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Plumbing and Joinery teams.
By joining one of Northern Ireland’s largest organisations, successful applicants will play a vital role in the delivery of Translink’s ambitious growth plans and support a £3billion transport decarbonisation plan over the next decade with a view to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040 and to become Climate Positive by 2050.
Translink currently boasts an 80 strong apprenticeship team and is committed to diversity and a culture of continuous improvement; new recruits will benefit from mentoring and guidance from experienced specialists to help them reach their full potential.
As well as providing on-the-job skill development, the programme will provide apprentices with the experience and qualifications to develop a dynamic and fulfilling career. Many Apprentices continue their careers with Translink and some senior managers joined the business using this same scheme.
Translink Deputy Group Chief Executive Gordon Milligan explained, “With a significant programme of works planned it is an exciting time to join the business.
“Our apprenticeship programme has the opportunity to transform futures, particularly for those especially impacted by the pandemic.
“With public transport essential, for the economic, social and environmental well-being of our society our Apprenticeship Programme offers a unique opportunity to work on major projects to attract more people to make the bus and train their first choice for travel today and for future generations.
“Innovative and leading edge projects include new stations, like the NI Executive flagship Belfast Transport Hub and our Climate Positive programme which has recently seen the arrival of the first zero emission hydrogen fuel-cell buses in Ireland along with new train carriages to boost service capacity.
“This is an excellent opportunity to fast track your career and contribute to the transformation of public transport connecting people, revitalising the economy and improving the environment delivering a brighter, more sustainable future for all.”
Ciara McIlroy, currently a third year Translink Apprentice, said: “The programme has really developed my engineering skillset. It’s been great to work alongside an experienced and supportive team whilst also gaining a recognised qualification. I’d strongly encourage anyone interested in pursuing a career in an Engineering or Technical field to take advantage of one of these great opportunities!”
Apprenticeships will start in September 2021 and last for 4 years. They will combine working on site in Translink for 4 days a week with one day spent at college or university working towards a recognised qualification.
The Translink Apprenticeship programme offers excellent benefits including: a professionally accredited qualification, practical on the job training delivered by experienced employees, career progression & personal development, competitive salary, attractive pension scheme, annual leave & public holiday entitlement and employee benefits scheme.
For further details and online applications visit WWW.TRANSLINK.CO.UK/WORKWITHUS
Deadline for applications is 17 June 2021.
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Celebrity Make-Up Artist and Social Media Influencer Caolánn McCauley is bringing his new flagship Make-Up Pro Store to the Buttercrane Shopping Centre with it scheduled to open later next week.
Caolánn has over five years of industry experience and is the leading male Make-Up Artist in the South Armagh and Newry District.
Caolán has an impressive portfolio of well known public figures and he partners with some of the World’s Leading Cosmetic Brands.
It's been an incredible journey so far for the 19 year old. It all started as a dream, and now the reality is the launch of his Pro Flagship Store to house his own Luxury Cosmetic Brand; McCauley Beauty along with leading Cosmetic Brands such as Doll Beauty, Tatti Lashes & CMB Cosmetics.
McCauley Beauty will open at 3pm next Thursday 3 June 2021 Store for McCauley Beauty in Buttercrane Shopping Centre. All safety measures have been put in place to protect both public and staff and you are asked to please adhere to safety guidelines when visiting the store.
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