CONNECTED Business News
June 2016

“Airporter Summer Schedule now offers up to 20 departures daily connecting Derry/Londonderry to the Belfast Airports, with services through the day and night for holiday and business flights. Book online at www.airporter.co.uk “
Local accountants are officially recognised for being an inspiration to the world

Derry & Donegal based accountants K Phelan & Company have been named as one of the most inspiring accountancy practices in the world. They were awarded the accolade after being selected for inclusion in the new book, “The world’s most inspiring accountants”. Announcing their inclusion, chartered accountant Steve Pipe, the book’s author who led the research team said: “Over a hundred thousand accountancy practices from across the world were eligible, but after a rigorous 18 month research process only 57 of them from 10 countries made the cut. And in fact K Phelan & Co are the only firm in Northern Ireland to feature in the book, which is an extraordinary achievement." 

Huge congratulations to all at K Phelan and Company
Primrose ‘quay’ to riverfront business growth
Ciaran and Melanie Breslin, owners of Primrose on the Quay, say that opening their French style bistro in such an idyllic setting during Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016 is a “dream come true”.

Ciaran Breslin said: “The quay is one of the city’s biggest assets in terms of location and after spending a year looking for our second premises we stumbled across a vacant unit which was a former insurance office. Even though it had been lying empty for a year we started panicking in case someone grabbed it from under us. We always envisaged a French style riverfront bistro and already knew that we had found our dream location.

The Breslins, who opened their first Primrose Café on Carlisle Road four years ago, say the timing couldn’t be better to celebrate the Seas, Rivers and Loughs theme earmarked by Tourism NI in July for Year of Food when the Foyle Maritime Festival will be in full swing.

A total of 40 local people are employed in both Primrose outlets which the owners believe is a huge vote of confidence in the North West’s food producers. Handmade Breslin’s pork and leek sausages are just one of the specialities to tuck into on the menu alongside other familiar local provenance including award-winning cheeses from Tamnagh Foods named after local landmarks such as Dart Mountain in the Sperrins and ale washed Banagher Bold.

Mini-MBA
Increase your possibilities. Maximise your potential. Stand out from the crowd

Designed and delivered by the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, this intensive 5 day programme will give you an insight into the modern business world, what to expect and how to maximise your impact.

Mini-MBA Outcomes:
  • Understand the key factors that impact on business performance
  • Have a thorough understanding of business fundamentals
  • Become fluent in the language of business
  • You will have increased confidence and insight into the world of business and the role you will play in it
For more information or to book your place please contact laura.hanna@qub.ac.uk or telephone us on 02890 974 394
North West Architects Launch London Office at Westminster
 
Hamilton Architects, the North West’s leading architectural practice, have opened their new London offices with a VIP event at Westminster. The event was hosted by Partner Seamus McCloskey, who heads up the firm at 20 Queen Street, Derry~Londonderry, and Associate Partner George Brolly, who leads the new London office.
 
Keynote speeches were delivered by Vernon Coaker, Shadow Secretary of State NI, and Oliver Colvile MP, Chair of the APPG on Excellence in the Built Environment, to an audience of 60 construction, development and design experts.
 
Seamus said: “It is gratifying that Hamilton Architects, the North West’s leading practice since 1995 and, along with our Belfast office, one of the best known on the island, can attract such a high profile audience in a competitive environment like London.
 
“Our new offices at 55 Old Broad Street represent an investment of £750k as we embark on an ambitious 5-year growth plan which aims to boost turnover by 50% and increase staff to 65 over the next couple of years.”
 
Hamilton, who have already clinched a contract to provide social housing for Ealing Council, announced a strong start to 2016 by winning £30m of contracts in the education sector. At this month’s RICS Awards, Seamus, along with fellow Partners Mark Haslett and Paul Millar, picked up accolades for the SERC SPACE Building in Bangor and Seaview Hall at Glenarm.

Grafton Wins Most Effective Recruitment Strategy
Grafton Recruitment has been awarded 'Most Effective Recruitment Strategy' 2016 by CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) Northern Ireland. The award was given for the recruitment sourcing campaign for OneSource Virtual (OSV), a leading Texan based Business Process Outsourcing provider, who decided to open a European Hub to service and develop their European offering in Derry/Londonderry in late 2015.

As the exclusive recruitment partner, Grafton created a recruitment sourcing strategy that was collaborative and innovative, the solution reflected the culture and employer branding aspirations in the local market and this proved effective with the target audience. By understanding Gen Y’s preference for use of social media they maximised the opportunity to interact with prospective candidates right along the recruitment value chain.

Grafton delivered a high quality and commercially focussed solution within extremely tight deadlines and to an exacting specification from a knowledgeable client. Pete Feldman, Managing Director commented “We created the recruitment campaign within a tight timescale and delivered beyond the original specification.  So successful was our “attract" proposition for OneSource Virtual that we managed to secure an additional pipeline of prospective candidates for OneSource Virtual over and above that which was originally targeted.”
Zenith Learning are moving to new premises
 
On Monday 4th July, Zenith Learning will open their doors of new training & consultancy premises and will no longer be operating from Pennyburn Industrial Estate. 
 

Theo Duffy, Managing Director of Zenith Learning commented, “We are absolutely delighted to be making the move. We have expanded significantly over the passed few years” loyalty from customers and with our strong reputation has fueled continued growth, making a move to a new facility necessary.  We’ve outgrown our old premises and are making the move to bigger training facilities.  Our new training & consultancy centre is extremely well-located and will provide an excellent base for all your Health & Safety Training & Consultancy needs.
New Premises Address:
Zenith Learning
Unit 2 Springtown Business Park
Derry
BT48 0LY
Zenith Learning  Contact Details will remain the same
Tel:                  02871 361696
Email:             info@zenithlearning.com
Website:          www.zenithlearning.com               
Are you looking to do business in Australia?

The Irish/Australian Chamber of Commerce wishes to strengthen links with equivalent organisations in Ireland by providing help and support to any Londonderry Chamber member interested in doing business in Australia. For more information, contact Barry Corr, office@irishchamber.com.au 
Chamber sponsored by:
Copyright © 2015 Londonderry Chamber of commerce, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Londonderry Chamber of Commerce
The Old Fire Station
1a Hawkins Street
Derry, Londonderry BT48 6RD
United Kingdom