NI Business News Round-Up - Week ending 16th June 2023
Our team has summarised the key developments for NI businesses in the news this week.
Business News
MRP: McAleer & Rushe property investment arm posts £32m pre-tax profit - The property investment and development arm of Co Tyrone construction group McAleer and Rushe has posted a pre-tax profit of just under £32 million for 2022. Newly published accounts for MRP Land show the Cookstown-based company recorded a 32 per cent increase in turnover to £110m in the year ending September 30 2022. MRP's profit before tax rose accordingly by 18 per cent to £31.8m for the year. (Source - Irish News)
Cookstown-based cement production business, Cemcor has completed £6 million in sustainability upgrades. (Source - Newsletter)
Plans for redevelopment of former Dungannon convent get green light (Source - BelfastLive)
Belfast restaurant Tedfords Kitchen to close after 22 years (Source - Belfast Telegraph)
Young Enterprise left in perilous state after its entire £550,000 public funding is slashed - After being name-checked by President Biden in April for being “on the cutting edge of the future”, education and enterprise charity Young Enterprise NI has received a letter from the Department of Education confirming its entire funding of £550,000 is being cut with immediate effect. (Source - Irish News)
Harland & Wolff Group Holdings has entered into heads of terms to create a UK consortium with a common vision to develop and build a zero emissions harbour and coastal tug. (Source - Invest in Belfast)
Deals
Lurgan food packaging business James Hamilton has been bought by the Irish-owned Zeus Group - The Co Armagh firm, which employs around 120 people at its site on Millennium Way, has annual sales of around £15.4 million. It’s the latest company snapped up by the rapidly expanding Dublin-based packaging group Zeus, founded 25 years ago by Brian O’Sullivan. James Hamilton Group supplies packaging, label production, office supplies, and personal protective equipment solutions across a number of sectors. Zeus said the acquisition is part of its 2023 growth strategy, that will see group revenues surpass €500m (£427m). (Source - Irish News)
Record year for equity investment in smaller NI firms - There was a near 40 per cent rise in the value of equity investment as smaller businesses across Northern Ireland raised £94m in 2022, despite the number of deals falling, according to new research. British Business Bank's annual Small Business Equity Tracker revealed there were 34 deals involving Northern Ireland firms in 2022, down from 41 in 2021 but still 21 per cent higher than 2020 when 28 agreements were completed. Across the UK's 12 nations and regions only four showed an increase in deal values compared to 2021 with Northern Ireland showing the second highest percentage increase in value behind Yorkshire & The Humber. (Source - Insider Media)
Economy
More ‘mortgage misery' looms as interest rates set to rise again - Some analysts are expecting UK interest rates to rise by another 0.25 percentage points on Thursday, and say there could be more hikes on the horizon. (Source - The Independent)
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