ireland-uk trade – irish times report

THE IRISHTIMESA Special Report byIRELAND-UKIRELAND-UK TRADE

Building businessrelationshipsbetween Irelandand theUK

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

FLY TO TCENTRLONDO(NOTTHE OUTOnly CityJet flies direct to London City Airportup to 6 times a day from €39 one way.

ONE WAY FARE INCLUDES ALL TAXES, IN-FLIGHT SNACKS AND 12kg HAND LUGGAGE. Check-in luggage not included, but purchase is optional in advance of departure via check-in or at the airport.Correct as of 4 February. Non-refundable, non-changeable. Bookings a minimum of 30 days pre-departure date are advised. Subject to availability.

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Allied Irish Bank (GB) is a trade mark used under licence by AIB Group (UK) p.l.c. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c.),incorporated in Northern Ireland. Registered Office, 4 Queen’s Square, Belfast BT1 3DJ, Registered Number NI 18800. Authorised and regulatedby the Financial Services Authority.

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Trading across the Irish Sea?Allied Irish Bank (GB) is a specialist business bank with a full range of banking servicesLondon |Birmingham|Brighton |Bristol |Cardiff | Edinburgh |Glasgow |Leeds | Liverpool |Manchester |Newcastle |Nottingham|Southampton |Wolverhampton

Talk to our British Irish Trade team today:Michael Collins, Senior Manager - New BusinessPhone: +44 (0) 207 776 3003 Email: [email protected]

www.aibgb.co.uk

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12LET’S GET TOGETHER The Gatheringcould be a game changer for the tourismindustry

GOOD EDUCATION A London-basedteacher’s smart approach to teaching Irish tochildren. Plus, a listing of the best andbiggest trade-related events of the year

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THROUGHTHEYEARSAIB’sheadofGBbusinessGerardO’Keeffetalksabutthebank’srootsinBritainwhichgobacktwocenturies.

GROWINGMARKETS Ireland’sfoodanddrinksexportstotheUKwereworthalmost¤38billionlastyear.AlisonHealyreports

THEGREENATTHECOREGreencore’sPatrickCoveneysaysmostofitssalesareinBritainbutthecompanyisverymuchrunfromDublin

SOCIALNETWORKNetworking,whileimportanthere, ismuchmorecrucial inBritainfortechcompanies,writesCiaraO’Brien

HOTPROPERTYLondonpresentsopportuni-tiesforstrugglingIrishpropertycompaniesbutit’sacompetitivemarket

THETAOISEACHONTRADEArthurBeesleyasksTaoiseachEndaKennythetoughquestions

GATHERINGFORACTIONHighlightsfromtheannualBritishIrishChamberofCommerceconference

WHOARETHEUKPLAYERS INIRELAND?JoannaRobertsreportsonhowIrelandoffersUKcompaniesmorethanjustfamiliarity

NORTHERNEXPOSUREFormanycompa-niesNorthandSouthcrossbordertradingisthefirststeptoexportingtoothermarkets

HORSETALESSinceGoffsmergedwithDoncasterBloodstocksales,there’sbeenagallopinsales.

THESTATEOFTHENATIONSAnglo-IrishtradeisprovingresilientalthoughchallengeslieaheadreportsMarkHennessy

LONDONCALLING It’sbeenatoughfewyearsbuttheUK’scapitalismanagingtostayonitsfeet.FionaReddanlooksattheopportunitiesthereforIrishbusinesses

CRACKINGTHEUKWhatIrishcompaniesneedtoknowaboutexportingtotheUK.AndwhatUKbusinessesshouldknowaboutIreland

THEPOWERGENERATION?DickAhlstromreportsonthepotentialforelectricityexportsfromIrelandandasksif it’sacommercialreality.

SIZEMATTERSFormanycompanies,growthmeansexpandingtheiroperationsbeyondthenationalborder

WHATLIESAHEADFionaReddanlooksattheprognosisfor2013

CONTENTS

KEEN ON KEENAN. Farmer Duff Burrelltalks toMark Hennessy about how Britishfarmers have had a tough time,

LONDON OPENINGS There areopportunities for Irish artists in London,the twin centre of the art world, writesGemma Tipton

EDITOR:Edel MorganPRODUCTION EDITOR: John LaneCONTACT: Special Reports Department, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2TEL: 01-675 8000 E-MAIL: [email protected]: 01-675 8585 E-MAIL: [email protected]

Every care has been taken in the compilation of this magazine to ensure accuracy at the time of publication. The Irish Times cannot accept responsibility foromissions, or alterations occurring after the guide has been published.

THE IRISH TIMES Ireland-UK Trade |February 13, 2013 |5

State of thenations

In statistics, as in life, only the past canbe understood, if even then. In thefirst 10 months of last year trade ex-ports from Ireland to the United King-dom were up by a billion euros, while

imports were broadly static. Given the eco-nomic clouds, the result is a creditable one,although the full-year trade figures and,subsequently, those covering imports andexports of services, from the Central Statis-tics Office have yet to be produced.

The figures hide a multitude of stories.For Enterprise Ireland, they show that the4,000 Irish-owned companies on their listwho trade in the British market have doneproportionally better. Equally, the num-bers show that exports from Irish-locatedmultinational-owned pharmaceutical com-panies are significantly up, accounting fornearly all of the rise in exports up to Octo-ber last year, according to Oliver Mangan,chief bond economist at AIB.

Most importantly, deep within the fig-ures – the success of companies such asMainstream, Collen Construction and oth-ers – is the evidence that Enterprise Ire-land intends in the year ahead to drivehome with greater vigour the need to pre-pare, prepare, prepare.

Last year, Enterprise Ireland’s Londonoffice spoke to successful companies “toask what they would do differently, if theywere to start again”, says Gavin McWhirt-er, Enterprise Ireland’s UK manager, KeyMarket Sectors.

“They hadn’t researched enough, theyassumed that it was pretty much the sameas Ireland,” he went on, “We intend tochallenge companies more robustly, moreaggressively. In the past we haven’t donethat enough, which hasn’t done the compa-nies any favours.”

“It is a strength as well as a weakness,”says McWhirter, “People feel very closeculturally to the UK. Populations get on ex-tremely well, broadly understand each oth-er. The Irish watch BBC TV so are in tunewith news and current affairs and popularculture, so there is a taking for granted.”

The most dangerous opportunity for anIrish company inexperienced in selling toBritain is the “bit of business in Liverpool,or somewhere like that” that turns up unex-pectedly, with little, if any effort, hewarned.

Fired up by the sale, companies believethere is a market in the UK, hire UK staffbut carry out no more research: “Two yearsdown the line they have spent £150,000(¤175k) on a salesman who for the first yearpromised the earth but didn’t deliver,” hegoes on.

“That investment doesn’t make it eco-nomically viable for them to continue. Thatis an extreme, but it has happened. Peopleexporting further afield would not dreamof just pitching up there and assuming thatthings were the same,” he says.

However, the story of Anglo-Irish tradeis broadly a story of success and potential,not disaster. Some 18 per cent of all Irish ex-ports go to the UK, while Ireland imports

more from the UK than it does from therest of the EU combined.

In 2011, ¤2.5 billion worth of Irish foodand beverage was sold to the UK, a fact thatwould probably not surprise many. Howev-er, the sale of ¤2 billion worth of insuranceservices, ¤4 billion of computer servicesand ¤2 billion worth of financial servicesmight surprise.

Taking up office in 2010, theConservatives/Liberal Democrats coali-tion seem genuinely surprised by the im-portance of Ireland as an economicmarket, which then appeared ahead of theso-called Brics: Brazil, Russia, India andChina.

In time, sales to the emerging marketshave grown. Today, Ireland remains theUK’s fifth-largest destination for exports -mostly oil and fuels, electrical goods,andmachinery and equipment.

The depth of the ties is illustrated by theinterest taken in Ireland by the UK’s big-gest 100 companies, who own, or partly-own, between them 771 businesses in the

Republic, points out Steve Aiken, the chiefexecutive of the British Irish Chamber ofCommerce.

Last year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny signedan economic declaration with BritishPrime Minister David Cameron, though, intruth, the desire to develop it into some-thing more meaningful is more central toIrish thinking, than it is to No 10.

Some interesting changes are afoot deepin the undergrowth. Late last year, Irishand British top civil servants met in theIrish Embassy in London: it was partly “aget to know you”, partly an examination ofthe areas where co-operation can be pro-gressed.

The most obvious area for co-operationlies in energy, particularly with the UK’sneed for renewable energy supplies – aneed that a succession of Irish firms areworking hard to meet, while Dublin andLondon prepare the legalities to make itwork.

Despite the controversy caused by thehorse-meat debacle, Irish food companiessee major room for growth, partly becauseIrish produce is “almost viewed as regionalin the UK, similar to produce from Walesand Scotland”, says Aiken. “Ireland produc-es enough food to feed 36 million people, afigure expected to grow to 50 million by2020. The UK has a food deficit. It con-

Ireland produces enough foodto feed 36m people, a figureexpected to grow to 50m by

2020. The UK consumesmore than it produces

“

Despite the storms of the global economy,Anglo-Irish trade is proving resilient,

although challenges lie ahead in 2013,writes Mark Hennessy, London Editor

Reaching for the sky: Skyscrapers inthe financial district of London.Right: British Prime Minister DavidCameron and Taoiseach Enda Kenny

OVERVIEW

6 |THE IRISH TIMES Ireland-UK Trade |February 13, 2013

sumes more food than it produces,” hegoes on, “The proportion of food consum-ed in the UK that is produced in the UK is60 per cent.”

The developing relationship betweenthe countries is best illustrated, perhaps,by Greencore, which is run from Dublin bya 50-strong team led by chief executive,Patrick Coveney, but employs 11,500people in Britain.

“We are also a very significantbuyer of Irish food as an ingredientfor our business in the UK. Wespend about ¤100 million on Irishbeef and dairy, principally. Thelargest providers of beef into ourready-meals, butter, cheese,cream, milk would all be from Ire-land,” he said.

Even though London’s Olym-pic days are past, Irish construc-tion firms are still winning busi-ness, partly due to the multibil-lion Crossrail project in Lon-don, where companies suchas Shay Murtagh have hadsuccess.

The boom in luxury houseand apartment sales offers po-tential, says McWhirter: “Thereare some extraordinary figuresin the south-east of England

alone. It sounds like a relatively niche area,but, in fact, is worth hundreds of millions, ifnot more than billions.”

Co-operation helps for companiesthat cannot do everything on their

own. Irish firm, Collen Constructionjoined with a Scottish counterpart,Redpath Construction in Scotland:

“It allowed them to move up to adifferent scale of bidding,”

says Enterprise Ire-land’s Christine Esson.

Equally, engineer-ing is back in favour,as British firms, on theback of “bad experi-ence, or higher trans-port costs”, becomemore wary of contract-ing all of their fabrica-tion work to lower-cost countries.

For the last fewyears, companies on

both sides of the IrishSea have coped as bestthey can with a widereconomic climate that

they could not control,though Irish exporters en-

joyed the blessings of astrengthening sterling.

Today, however, that may be about tochange: “Sterling bears watching – it hasbeen stable since last summer between 79cand 83c. But that rise was a flight to safety,rather than because of (the UK’s) underly-ing attractions,” warns Oliver Mangan ofAIB.

“Some of the pressure came off sterlingbecause the Euro faced bigger problems,but the more progress that is made to fixthe Euro the more sterling will be looked aton its own merits by investors,” he said.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Dav-id Cameron's EU referendum pledge hasbrought new instability, though for busi-ness the fears, perhaps, are less pro-nounced than they would be if Ireland wasin danger of losing its main trading partnerin the single currency. Nevertheless, thefears brought could well be done without.

Between 2009 and 2013, UK prices in-creased by 13 per cent. In Ireland, theydropped slightly. In the UK, wages in-creased by 11 per cent during the period.

In Ireland they fell by 3 per cent. In all,UK labour costs in their totality jumped by15 per cent. In Ireland, they dropped by 11.5per cent.The UK faces a striking loss ofcompetitiveness – an issue that has begunto exercise the minds of the Bank of Eng-land, judging by the tone of recent pub-lished minutes of its board’s meetings.


City slicker

London is still very much a globalcentre and while the rest of theUK economy might be strug-gling, the capital is managing tostay on its feet.

“While it was very difficult in the pastnumber of years, London is still the pre-mier centre of the world, and as such, anenormous number of decisions are made inLondon, and through London,and the cityis starting to show some signs of renewedconfidence,” says Gavin McWhirter, UKmanager, key market sectors, at Enter-prise Ireland in London.

With a “relatively vibrant” economy,Enterprise Ireland is focusing on fivesectors in London and the wider UK:construction; engineering and electronics;enterprise software; power, cleantech andrenewables; and financial services andbusiness process outsourcing.

Indeed while Ireland’s financial-servicessector might be in turmoil, it is undoubted-ly one of London’s biggest growth sectors.While it may have suffered in recent timesin line with the sector globally, is remainsnonetheless the world’s biggest centre forforeign-exchange trading, cross-borderbank lending and has more internationalfirms than any other financial centre.

While the biggest threat to the contin-ued development of the City might be theuncertainty caused by British primeminister David Cameron’s assertion thathis party will look for a referendum onwhether or not the UK should stay in or outof the European Union, for now it is start-ing to recover some equilibrium – albeit ata much lower level than pre-crisis.

But for Ireland’s law firms, the vibrancyof the City is a big draw.

McCann Fitzgerald was one of the firstIrish law firms to capitalise on the opportu-nities the London market offers, when itopened an office there in 1986, ostensiblyto serve its then client, aviation leasing gi-ant GPA. Several moves later, the law firm

is now based in the old Nat West Tower,with two full-time partners on the ground,as well as a number of support staff.

"Traditionally, Irish firms would havehad a financial services bent with regardsto operations in London," notes chairmanJohn Cronin, adding that McCann Fitzger-ald's office services the "full panopoly ofcapital markets activities" including loanbook sales and restructuring activities.

But it's not just financial services that areproviding a growth area. The energy sectoralso presents some opportunities.

"There has been quite a considerable in-terest in wind farms, the sale of state as-sets, unbundling of utilities. A lot of inter-est in the energy sector generally,"addsCronin, who notes that McCann Fitzgeraldrecently placed a corporate lawyer on theground in London, with extensive experi-ence in this area.

"Making it" in London however, is not aseasy as it might appear, despite theplethora of opportunities.

"One of the bigger challenges is that it'sextremely competitive. From an Irishcompany's perspective they're likely to en-counter a lot more competitors in London,than they would domestically in Ireland,"says McWhirter, adding that some find thelevel of competition "surprising".

It's also expensive, although as McWhirt-er notes, there is assistance available,through outlets such as the London Devel-opment Agency.

In this respect, McWhirter advises thatLondon might not be the most natural fitfor many companies.

"It can be very appealing to look at theLondon market, but there may be strongercultural connections with other parts ofthe UK. If geographically London is not soimportant, then there may be better placesfor you to start your business," he says.

If however, London is where you want tobring your business, then networking canmake the transition that little bit easier. If

the nearest Irish pub offered the chance tofind a place to stay, pick up a job or hirestaff in days gone by, times have changed.Now, formally established networking or-ganisations are fulfilling that role for expe-rienced professionals, offering introduc-

tions, guidance and support to those look-ing to break into the London market.

The London Irish Construction Networkfor example, was formed in 2009 by agroup of Irish businessmen who areinvolved in the construction sector in

London is showing signs of renewed confidence,but making it there isn’t always easy,

writes Fiona Reddan

FINANCIAL SERVICES


Imagist isabrandingandidentityconsultancyIsetupinLondoneightyearsago.Weworkwithestablishedcompa-niestorepositionandrebrandthembutalsoworkwithstart-upstocreateidentitiesfromscratch.Istarted inpackagingdesign

inCork,whichIreallyenjoyedbutafteracoupleofyears,andfartoomanybutterpackets, Idecidedtomoveon. IchoseLondonbecauseit’soneofthedesigncapitalsoftheworld.The

creativecommunityhereisreallydiverseandinspirational,andthere’ssomuchvisualculturetoabsorb–it’stheperfectplacetobeadesigner.Webeganworkingforasmall

numberofclientsinSpitalfields,EastLondon,andfromthatwegotourfirstbigcontract–withIrishpropertydeveloperBallymore–torebrandtheiconicOldSpitalfieldsMarket.Wenowworkwith internationalclientssuchasUnileverandNike.

Londonisfiercelycompeti-tivebuttherearealsohugenumbersofopportunities. I thinkbeingIrishdefinitelyhelpedus

tobreakintothemarket.ThereisasenseofacommunityhereamongtheIrishandweareverykeentohelpeachotherout.NetworkssuchasIIBN(IrishInternationalBusinessNet-work)wouldbemyfirstportofcall if Iwasstartingoutagain.Idon’t thinkwe’rethat

differentculturally. I thinkthemaindifferenceisscale.Londonisahugeplacebutafterawhileyourealisethatit’s justabigcollectionofsmallcommuni-ties.Soit’snotthat intimidating.

Threeyearsin,ClearCurrency,aforeignexchangecompanybasedinDublinandLondon, isthriving,helpedpartlybytheturmoilthathasaffectedIrishbankssincetheeconomiccrisis,believesitsfounderBarryO’Neill.Beforesettingupthecompany,

O’NeillhadworkedforAnglo-Irish’streasuryoperationinLondonforthreeyears.“Treasuryserviceswentdownagooddegree.AnglocloseditsbusinessinLondonandcustomerswentbacktotheirclearingbanks.“Wesawitasanopportunemoment

tosetuponourown,”saysO’Neill.“Alotofcorporatesarenotputting

alloftheireggsinonebasketanymore; iftheycangetabetterforeignexchangerateelsewhere. Inmanycaseswearesavingthemasignificantamount:fromhalfto1percent.“Wepurchasethecurrencyinthe

inter-bankmarket,asthebanksdo.Butwedon’thavethesameover-heads,”hesays.Thecompany’ssmallestclientbuys

¤50,000-a-monthofforeigncurren-ciesforitsoperations,whilethelargest–unnamed,too,becauseofthedangerthatcompetitorswillpoach–buys¤1millionaday,hesaid.“Wecallexporterswithup-to-date

info.Thatgoesdownwellwithcustomers,becausewearetheireyesandearsonthemarket.Theyrelyonyouthen.Managingdirectorsandfinancedirectorsareextremelybusypeople;thetimethattheyhavetodecidetoFXisminimal.Unlikebanks,ClearCurrencycan

offercreditfacilitiesonforeignex-changetrades,hesays:“SomehealthycorporatesinIrelandarebeingturned

awayforthatbythebanksbutweareabletounderwrite.”Sofar,seven-in-10ofthecompany’s

clientsareIrish,aproportionthathasremainedconstantasithasgrown:“WearegrowingtheDublinofficesignificantly.Wehopetohave12peopleworkingforusbytheendoftheyear.”ByMarch,O’Neillhopestohavea

pre-paiddebitcardavailabletocompa-niesandindividuals.“Thatwillsavepeopleafortuneonbankcharges.AlotofUKcompaniesaredoingitalready,butwewillbethefirstinIreland.“Itwouldbeperfectforstudents

goingtotheUSforthreemonths,orthosegoingtoAustralia,businesstravellers,oreventhosewhogoregularlytoPremiershipmatches. IwasstaggeredwhenIsawthosenumbers,”hesaid.

MARKHENNESSY

London , while the Irish InternationalBusiness Network (IIBN) has a broaderappeal. It was set up in 2006 to facilitatecommunication amongst Irish people witha view to identifying and exploiting newbusiness opportunities. It currently has

900 members, spread across three branch-es in Dublin, New York and London , withmembership for the London arm costing£145 a year.

According to Fionuala Pender, execu-tive director at IIBN, while the networkmay have been slow to get going, it has real-ly taken off in line with the recession backin Ireland .

"We always had support but it's been dif-ferent since the recession, as we've been in-undated with people from Ireland," shesays, noting that membership of the net-work runs the full gamut, from entrepre-neurs and business professionals, to legaladvisers, bankers, and venture capitalists.

So if Ireland is a difficult environment togrow a business in at present, then a quicktrip across the Irish Sea might be your an-swer.

TRADESTORIES ColmRoche,Imagist

Clear Currency founder Barry O’Neill

Manufacturing:Midlands

Oil andgas:ScotlandandpartsofEastAnglia

Digitalmedia:Manchester,Bristol,Brighton

Lifesciences:Liverpool,Birmingham,Glasgow

Foodprocessing:Leeds,Manchester, southwest

Clear Currency:Right on themoney

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT LONDON:OTHER HOT-SPOTS IN THE UK


Crackingthe UK

For Irish companies thinkingabout dipping their toe into theexport market, a country thatshares a common language, aland border, excellent transport

links and similar regulatory and legalsystems is the obvious place to start.

“For indigenous small to medium busi-nesses, the UK is often their only marketoutside of Ireland,” says John Whelan,chief executive of the Irish Exporters’Association. “It’s a major industrial andconsumer market on our doorstep. Thereare no visa, transport or language issues.It’s like an extended home market.”

He says the most obvious issue forexporters is the fluctuating euro-sterlingexchange rate. “The challenge is to protectyour margins in terms of rate movement. Ithas been volatile because of the Bank ofEngland quantitative easing so we’readvising businesses to lock in theirexchange rate for as long as possible andlock in a margin.”

However, treating the UK market like abigger Ireland except with a differentcurrency is a mistake many companiesmake, according to Gavin McWhirter ofEnterprise Ireland’s UK office. “It’s afundamental problem that companiesunderestimate the differences in themarket. You’re at a disadvantage if youthink you’ll have the same competitors,can build your network in the same way,and reach your customers in the same way.It’s not a quantum leap, but it is different.”

Suzanne Browne, director of babyproducts company Clevamama, says shefound the UK market harder to crack thanexpected. “We’re exporting seven or eightyears now, and the UK market is one of thetoughest for us. It’s slow and steady,increasing year on year, but didn’t happen

for us overnight. We were bigger in SouthAfrica initially.”

She says there are many different factorsin this, including competition for shelfspace, onerous procedures and red tape, aprice-conscious consumer base, and thelonger buying cycles imposed by a largermarket.

There’s also a difference in businessculture. “The approach is very differentfrom dealing with Irish retailers, whichsurprised me in the beginning becausethey’re our closest neighbours,” she says.“There’s definitely a more formalapproach. They’re more conservativewhen it comes to business.”

Browne says the UK market is based veryfirmly on products, not personalities.“We’ve probably been given an easier ridefrom the Irish retailers because they knowus. In the UK, they don’t know us. Theproduct is what sells, not who’s behind theproduct.”

Gillian Swain, programme managerwith Bord Bia in London agrees. UK retail-ers, she says, “don’t want to take risks; theywant to make sure your product does whatyou say it will. You need to have a qualityproduct and be close to the market. UK buy-

ers are under more pressure than they arein the Irish market. I think it's a little bitmore formal because of that; you have toset agendas, keep to time, make sure youfollow up.”

Gavin McWhirter, UK manager for En-terprise Ireland in London, advises Irishcompanies to rein in the banter until thedeal is done. “Some companies can beguilty of informality and a relaxed ap-proach to business meetings,” he says. “It’snot just about getting the right guys in aroom and getting on with them. But afterthe first bit is right – once you've won thecontract – they love working with Irish com-panies and there’s a huge potential to main-tain the business.”

Differences in behaviour aren’t confinedto the conference room. “UK customersare a lot more thrifty and they’ll take thetime to shop around,” says Browne. “Takethe baby mat. In Ireland during the CelticTiger it wasn’t unusual to see one at the topof the stairs and one at the bottom. Butsome UK retailers wouldn’t stock it be-cause sure you can change a baby on yourknee.”

A major consumer trend affecting ex-porters to the UK is the move towards local-ism. “There’s a noticeable swing back toBritish branding; companies trying to use

Union Jack on products and trying to sup-port local products,” says John Whelan.“That’s not specifically anti-Irish as it disad-vantages all imports, but it’s a trend.”

However, the tendency of the British toview Ireland as closer to home than otherEuropean countries can be an advantagewhen competing with imports from else-where. Georgia Scott, director of Georgiain Dublin, which sells fashionable rain gearfor female cyclists, says, “I’ve had peoplesay to me, ‘Ah you’re only across the water– that’s fine.’ They love it when things aremade in the UK but they tend to include Ire-land in that too.”

How you choose to enter the UK marketwill depend on your product. For Scott, ex-porting to the UK happened by chance.“We were approached by a bike shop inLondon – Velorution – which were exactlythe boutiquey kind of shop we wanted. Wedecided not to go for a main distributor be-cause distribution eats into your margins,and we have a problem enough with that be-cause of the currency.”

She says trade fairs are an invaluableway to create a presence and build familiari-ty with UK buyers. “They like to see you asecond or third time because they knowyou’re in it for the long haul. They like tosee you coming out with new things and

It’s a major industrial andconsumer market on our

doorstep. There are no visa,transport or language issues.

It’s like an extended homemarket

“

Overseas markets are vital to any Irish firmexpanding beyond a certain size. Fortunately, vast

demand awaits nearby in a place of culturaland commercial similarity, writes Joanna Roberts

EXPORTS


growing. Now we’re in about 25 stores inthe UK. This year, we're going to do thingsslightly less organically and give it a bitmore welly.”

John Whelan says thatcompanies looking to

adopt a more aggres-sive approach

shouldn’t be daunt-ed by size. “If youcan crack a multiplehere, you can do itover there. The or-der sizes are bigger

and you may have tocomply with thingslike electronic stock-ing systems. But youusually wouldn’t gointo the market with-out the capability toscale.”

He says compa-nies should also con-

sider the online retailroute. “Use the inter-

net to get straight intothe British market. Come

up with an online salesmodel and use social me-dia.”

However, Suzanne Browne says thatwhile Clevamama invests heavily in its web-site and social media, it’s not always neces-sary to have your own e-commerce site.“Online sales is one of our biggest growthareas in the UK. A lot of retailers are gear-ing towards that. We don’t sell our prod-ucts online ourselves and retailers like thatbecause you’re not competing with them.”

It’s also important to remember that theUK is not a homogenous entity but a collec-tion of different regions, some of whichcould provide bigger opportunities thanothers. “The northwest has a huge Irish di-aspora in Liverpool and Manchester,” saysGavin McWhirter. “There are also similari-ties between Ireland and the north of Eng-land, for example Yorkshire.

“Actually Scotland can be a good place tostart. There are cultural affinities: there’snational pride, a storytelling heritage,they’re family-oriented and all about con-nections. There are fewer competitors. “

Adaptingyourbusinessapproachtosuitthecultureofthemarketyouareinmaybegoodadvice,buttherearetimeswhenitcanbeoverdone.RebeccaWardell,deputydirectoroftradeandinvestmentattheBritishEmbassyinDublin,says:“PeoplewillsometimesadoptGaelicphrasesinanefforttobepoliteandtoadapttotheculture. Ihavetotellthemitdoesn’tgodownwell.”Ingeneral,Wardellsays,theIrish

marketholdsnomajorchallengesforUKcompaniesandis, infact,anidealfirststepintotheexportmarket.Differences,wheretheyexist,tendto

besubtle:acasual, late-startingappoint-menthere,abusinessprecededbyprotractedconversationaboutsportsresultsthere.RobGrisdaleischiefexecutiveofficer

ofGrandScheme,aNewcastle-basedcompanythatsetsupbike-sharingschemesthatarecost-effectiveandlightoninfrastructure.Lastyear, itwasawardedacontractto

implementabikeschemeatNUIGal-way,whichwillbeginnextmonth.“It’sourfirstcontractoutsidetheUKandit’sasafewaytodiptoesintheinternationalmarket,”hesays.“It’sbeenprettysmoothsofar.”Inparticular,hesays,hefoundthe

tenderprocesslessrigidthanathome.“IntheUK,theytrytogeteverythingrightfirsttime;everything’sintherefromthebeginning.WiththeIrishone, itwasamuchmorefriendlyprocess.Therewereone-to-onediscussionsandworkshops;itwasmuchmoretwo-waythanintheUK.Ilikeit. I likeworkinginpersonratherthansittingatacomputer.”GavinMcWhirterfromEnterprise

Ireland’sUKofficesaysthathavingexperienceofdetail-driventenderingprocessescouldgiveUKcompaniesaslightadvantageinwinningcontracts.“Irishcompaniesarenotnecessarily

asrigorousandcanloseoutinformalprocesseswhereyouneedtogiveevidence,”hesays.McWhirteralsobelievestherecanbe

atendencyinIrelandtovalueforeigncompaniesmorethanIrishones,particu-larlyinpublicprocurement.AndwhilelearningphrasesintheIrish

languagemaybetakingitasteptoofar,UKTradeandInvestment’sDoingBusiness in Irelandguidedoesadvisepeopletoboneup.“Meetingsshouldcommencewitha

periodofsmalltalk–thisiswhentherapportisbuiltandisascrucialaslaterdiscussions. It isadvisabletohavesomeknowledgeofrecentnationalnewsorsportspriortothemeeting.”

JoannaRoberts

Robert Grisdale (left) and Jack Payne,founders of Grand Scheme Bike Share, withtheir new Byker (TM) rental system;Georgia Scott and mother and partnerNicola Orriss of Georgia in Dublin; and, left,Suzanne Browne of Clevamama.

TIPS FOR EXPORTINGTO THE UK

Getabankaccount in sterlingsoyourcustomersdon’t have toworry about

euro transactions

Set yourprices to takeaccountofcurrency fluctuations

Beprepared forhoop-jumpingandformalprocesses

Makesureyouknowwhyyourproductdiffers to thoseofyour competitors

IrishcharmWILLwork,butafter you’vesealed

thedeal

Ireland:An idealfirst step into theexportmarket


Taoiseach Enda Kenny tells ArthurBeesley why trade with the UK is

crucial to Ireland’s economic recovery

AN TAOISEACH

Tradebetween IrelandandBritain iscentral to theeconomy.Whatarethemain challenges right now?Ireland and the United Kingdom haveremained very strong trade partnersover the years with growing andcritical interdependencies betweenthe two economies.

The UK is Ireland’s largest exportmarket, whilst Ireland absorbs a fifthof UK exports. ¤1bn of trade in goodsand services flows between the twocountries every week, supportinghundreds of thousands of jobs on bothsides of the Irish Sea.

Fostering and deepening theeconomic relationship is, therefore,essential to Ireland’s economicrecovery and something to which mygovernment is devoting considerabletime and resources. Businesses facechallenges in this regard, includingaround competitiveness and the costof transport, as well as the particularrisks involved in trading in a differentcurrency.

Irish businesses have restored costcompetitiveness over recent years,making our exports better value, andcontributing to our export-ledrecovery.

Is thereanyspecific action theGovernmentor theCameronadministrationcan take togrow

tradebetween IrelandandBritain?Both Prime Minister Cameron and Iare strongly committed to enhancingrelations for current and futuregenerations on both islands. This hasbeen reiterated in the Joint Statementwe released in March last year, wherewe identified key areas with thepotential to deliver growth, prosperityand jobs across these islands.

Since then, there has been anextensive programme of follow-upand implementation, including thecommissioning of an independentJoint Economic Study, which is duefor completion in March 2013.

An important part of the Study isconsultation with companies, to helpthe governments identify wherewe can best direct our efforts andresources for the maximum returnacross fundamental sectors of theeconomy.

The outputs from this study willcontribute to the evidence basesupporting policy development in bothcountries through highlighting areasfor further joint action and closercollaboration. Both Prime ministerCameron and I will have a furtheropportunity to assess the progress thatis being made in this area at our annualmeeting in London in March.

Britishbanksand retailerswere

badlyburned in the Irishcrisis.Will that experiencecurtail Britishinvestment in Ireland?I don’t believe it will. The UK’sassistance in providing Ireland withbilateral loans demonstrated the UK’scommitment to Ireland. This helpedagainst further deepening of the crisiswhich would have been severely felt byboth jurisdictions.

The Government has workedrelentlessly to rebuild Ireland’sinternational reputation. The highlevel of interest from internationalinvestors in our recent bond issuancesprovides a clear indication thatinvestors have confidence in the Irishstory. I am very optimistic regardingBritish investment in the Irisheconomy into the future.

Political relationsbetween IrelandandBritainhaveneverbeenbetter.However,DavidCameron’spush fora referendumonEUmembershipcastsuncertaintyoverBritain’splace in theunion.Does thisdebatethreaten tradebetween IrelandandBritain?It is, of course, a matter for the Govern-ment and the people of the UK todetermine their relationship with theEuropean Union, but I personally hopewe will see the UK continue to play afull and active part long into the future.

It is a two-way street: the UK bene-fits from its membership of the EU,and the EU is better off with the UK asan important member making avalued contribution. Also, from anational perspective, having the abilityto work together within the Union onthe many issues on which we are of likemind – the single market, trade and soon – amplifies the impact of our excel-lent relationship generally.

I don’t think there is a leader thatsits around the table at the EuropeanCouncil that thinks that the Union isperfect and couldn’t be improved inany way – if there are things we can dobetter, let’s look at that and see whatneeds to be done. But let’s do it in acareful, considered way.

As we have grown larger, we havealso become more flexible – not every-one is in the euro or participates inSchengen. But we need to ensure thatflexibility doesn’t become fragmenta-tion – in designing banking union, wehave been careful not to erect barriersbetween those inside the euro area andthose outside. We have also beencareful to protect the single market.

That must continue to be ourapproach in the future. We can’t tailormembership to individual demands.However, we can work together for abetter stronger union, and that is whatI’ll be pressing for.

“Investors haveconfidence in

the Irish”


Gatheringfor action

The first annual conferenceof the British IrishChamber of Commerceheld in the Aviva Stadiumin Dublin on January 24th

and 25th attracted a crowd of over300 people.

They heard contributions fromministers from the five governmentson the two islands and a host ofbusiness leaders (see below right) onthe theme of delivering joint busi-ness opportunities for Britain andIreland in 2013.

The conference focused on the¤54 billion trading relationshipbetween the islands and the keybusiness sectors of food and agri-business; culture, arts, sports andtourism; energy; and small andmedium enterprise (SME).

The key importance of the SMEsector to future economic growthwas acknowledged and a means ofsupporting it was the focus of somedebate. An initiative to foster newbusiness talent was also announced.

This is the establishment of an Ex-ecutive Leaders Forum to bring to-gether future leaders from withinthe chamber membership, both inBritain and here in Ireland. “Thiswill give them a foretaste of workingat the non-executive director levelwith many of Britain and Ireland’stop business leaders and will help de-velop the future of the chamber aswell,” said Steve Aiken, chief execu-tive officer of the chamber.

Among the high points of theconference was the signing of theMemorandum of Understanding onEnergy between the British and Irishgovernments. The agreement af-firms the two states’ commitment to

maintaining a strong partnership onenergy issues, achieving closerintegration of electricity markets,and maximising the sustainable useof low carbon renewable energyresources. It will also facilitate theexport of Irish wind power to the UKgrid.

“Trading power with Irelandcould increase the amount of greenpower in our energy mix andpotentially bring down costs for UKconsumers,” said UK secretary ofstate for energy and climate change,Edward Davey. “The Memorandumof Understanding marks thecontinuation of a close workingrelationship between our govern-ments on the potential for energytrading.”

Fergal Naughton of Glen Dimplex,who is president of the chamber, saidthe signing of the Memorandum ofUnderstanding on Energy was notonly a significant step forward forthe energy sector but also for rela-tionships between the two islands.

“At a time of unprecedented goodrelations between the two countries,there are also unprecedented risks interms of economic recession and interms of trade. And with what’s hap-pening with the UK in Europe, thereis a definite gap for the chamber andconferences like this to fill.”

The conference concluded withSteve Aiken reaffirming thechamber’s strong support for theUK’s continued membership of theEU. “Having polled our members webelieve that Britain’s continuedmembership within the single Euro-pean market is vital for all our futureplans for investment over the com-ing years.”

FIACHMacCONGHAILTheAbbey“Myindustryisastrangehybrid.WeworkinaparallelrealityasiftherewerenodifferencesbetweenDublin,Belfast,London,Cardiff,Edinburgh,andsoon.ButweareSMEsaswellandwehavetakentheleadinmanywaysinthatsense.Butintermsofculturethereisverylittledifferencebetweenthetwoislands.TherearesomefascinatingnuancesthereandwehavelearnedalotfromScotlandforexample.WhenTeamScotlandgoesouttotheworldtheybringculturewiththem.“I’mabusinessman,aparliamentarian,and

IworkintheculturalsphereandoneofthegreatthingsabouttheBICCishowitbringsbusinesses,politiciansandtheculturalcommunitytogethertosupportwhat’shappeninginNorthernIreland.”

ANDYKINSELLAMainstreamRenewablePower“It’softensaidthatBritain’sdifficultyisIreland’sopportunity.I’dliketoturnthatonitsheadandpointoutthatourmutualdifficultiesrepresentmutualopportunities.TheMemorandumofUnderstandingonEnergysignedbetweenthetwogovernmentsatthisconferenceisanexampleofthat.DavidCameron’sspeechmayturnouttobeoneofthecleverestmovesbyaBritishpoliticianinalongtime.I’vebeendealingwiththeUKformanyyearsandIhaveneverfoundanestab-lishmentsoopentodoingbusiness.ThatmakesmebelieveheistryingtodealwiththeEuropeanissueandgivecertaintytoBritain.”

NICOLABYRNE11890DirectoryEnquiries“AllIheardyesterdaywasthatIhadfiveyears

The first annual conference of the BritishIrish Chamber of Commerce had an

impressive line-up of speakers,writes Barry McCall

CONFERENCES


togetreadyfortheprospectofBritainleavingtheEUandthatwecouldhaveborderpostsonthewaytoNorthernIrelandagain.Itscaredthehelloutofme.“Thismeanswehavetobuildtherelation-

shipsbetweenbusinessesonthetwoislands,dotheworkandbepreparedforwhatmighthappen.SMEsneedtogetmoreengagedintheprocess.IrelandneedstobeonthebigstageandIrishbusinessesneedtobeinthetwomarkets.It’stimetosaythatBritainisournearestneighbour,weshareDNAwiththem,andweshouldbedoingbusinesswiththem.”

CARWYNJONESWalesFirstMinister“IrelandisWales'secondbiggestexporteconomy,worth£1.5billion,andcrucialtotheWelsheconomy.WalesandIrelandshouldstrengthentheirbusinessrelationshiptodrive

recoveryandaccelerategrowth.“We'reveryproudofoursuccessfultrack

recordofattractinginwardinvestmentacrosssectorssuchasfood,manufacturingandenergy.Walesisperfectlylocated–weareclosetoIrelandandoffergreataccesstotheUKmarket.“Despitetheextremelychallengingtimes

weareexperiencing,ItrulybelievethatbycomingtogetherunderthebanneroftheEUandthesinglemarketwewillcomethroughthesestormywaters.Byfocusingonstrengtheningthebusinessrelationshipbetweenourtwonationswecandriverecoveryandaccelerategrowth.”

DAVIDREDFERNGlaxoSmithKline“ThesinglebiggesttrendIhavewitnessedoverthepastfiveyearshasbeentherapid

deteriorationinthecompetitivenessandinnovationcapacityoftheEuropeansideofthebusiness.“Thereareallsortsofreasonsforthatbut

thesinglebiggestisprobablytheausteritywhichhasresultedinarelativedeclineingovernmentspendingonhealthcare.ThatmightseemagloomypicturebutthereareopportunitiesthereforIrelandandtheIslesonthemanufacturingside.Inourbusiness,whichissofocusedonquality,thereisahugeopportunitythere.ThelabourdifferentialisdiminishingandifIrelandandtheIslescanstayfocusedonqualitythereareopportunitiesinmanufacturing.”

NICOLASTURGEON“DeputyFirstMinisterScotlandAnindependentScotland–befittingofacountrywhosediasporacanbefoundineverycorneroftheworld–willbeoutwardlookingandinternationalist.Ofcourse,ourclosestrelationshipswillbethosewithournearestneighboursacrossotherpartsoftheUKandwithyou,ourfriendsinIreland.“TheRepublicofIrelandisacountrywith

whichwesharemanycommoninterestsandlong-standingbonds.Youareoneofourkeytradingpartnersandoursixthlargestinterna-tionalexportmarketwithyearlyexportscloseto£800million.TheScottishgovernmentfirmlybelievesthatindependencewillen-hanceScotland’seconomicandbusinesslinkswithIreland;itwillpresentnewopportuni-tiesforourtwocountriesintermsoftradeandinvestment;andIhopewillleadtoevercloserco-operationtotheadvantageofbothourpeoples.”

PATRABBITTEMinisterforCommunications,energyandnaturalresources“ThisisIunderstand,onsomemethodofcalculation,thefirstsucheventin98years.Italsohappilyconfirmsanewandfruitfulrelationshipbetweenourislands.Aftersomuchabsorptionintheissuesthathavedividedus,itisappropriatetoconcentrateonwhatwehaveincommon.“Specifically,theseislandsareglobally

focused,outwardlookingandexport-driven.Wesharecultural,legalandbusinessvalues.Wehaveonelanguageincommon,anoccasionaltouringrugbyteamandweareallofustiedtogetherbyfamily,friendshipsandcountlessotherlinks.BritainisstillthemarketoffirstresortfornewIrishexporterswhoaretryingtogetafootholdbeforetakingonfurtherchallengesaroundtheglobe.Similarly,manyBritishandIrishcompaniessetupoperationsontheotherisland,notbecauseofgrantsoragenciesandsoforth,butbecauseitmakesbusinesssensetodoso.”

VINCECABLEUKBusinessSecretary"ItwouldbecompletelywrongtobelievethatIrelandwouldbenefitifBritainweretotakethatstepandleave[theEuropeanUnion].IthinkitwouldbetheexactoppositebecauseyouwouldhavegreateruncertaintyaroundtherelationshipbetweentheUKandIreland,whichcurrentlyrestsonalltheassumptionsoftheSingleMarketanditwouldposeparticu-larproblemsforNorthandSouthofIreland–thingshavegotprogressivelybetterandthelastthingweneednowistodisruptthat.“Soyoumightconceivablygainopportunisti-

callyfromanoddinvestorbutthathastobesetasideagainstamuchbiggerlevy.Idon’twanttodramatisetheproblembecauseIthinkatthemomentthereisquiteapositiveoutlook.TheAnglo-Irishrelationshipissignificantlyimproved,tradeflowshaveimproved,andthereisalotofpotentialforIrelandtobenefitfromthat.”

Clockwise from far left: Fiach Mac Conghail,Nicola Sturgeon, Vince Cable, DavidRedfern, Nicola Byrne and Carwyn Jones


Next-doortrader

The Irish market has long beenone of the most important desti-nations for many UK businesses,thanks in no small part to geo-graphical proximity and histori-

cal ties.In spite of its relatively small size, Ire-

land is the UK’s fifth most important trad-ing partner, with 6 per cent of total UK ex-ports coming here. In 2011, the UK export-ed £16.2 billion (about ¤19 billion) worth ofgoods to the Irish market, a year-on-year in-crease of 5 per cent.

In some sectors, such as food and drink,and clothing, fashion and footwear, Ire-land is the UK’s biggest export market. Ire-land is the world’s largest importer of UKfood and drink products, with imports in2011 totalling £3.1 billion (¤3.6 billion).

Talk of the UK exiting the EU is potential-ly damaging. “I don’t think Britain is goingto leave the EU,” says Steve Aiken, the Brit-ish Irish Chamber of Commerce chief exec-utive. “The business community is very de-termined that the UK should stay in the sin-gle market. But now the question has beenraised, it’s creating a degree of uncertainty.Our call is very clear: stay engaged with theEU.”

Many of the big UK players in Ireland arehousehold names, particularly in the retailsector: Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Bootsare a common sight on many Irish highstreets. Tesco Ireland alone employs morethan 14,000 people in the country and post-ed a turnover of ¤3.1 billion in 2011.

UK companies are also well representedin the financial services sector, with HSBC,Barclays, Experian, Aviva and StandardLife among the biggest names. Other ma-jor UK investors include Diageo, Glaxo-SmithKline, Scottish & Southern Energy,and Unilever.

Despite Ireland’s financial woes and the

wider euro-zone crisis, there are signs thatinvestment by UK companies is continuingapace. In 2012, BSkyB announced the crea-tion of 800 jobs over two years in Dublin,while Aviva announced they were expand-ing their Galway operations by recruiting220 people.

2012 also saw smaller UK companiessuch as Diaceutics (pharmaceuticals), iM-osphere (healthcare IT), Envelope SupplyCompany (manufacturing) and LaffertyGroup (publishing) creating jobs in Kilken-ny, Dundalk, Westport and Limerick re-spectively.

The benefits of Ireland both as a destina-tion for exports and as a place for UK com-

panies to expand overseas are clear: a com-mon language, good transport links, a simi-lar regulatory and legal structure, a famil-iar business environment and EU member-ship. But Ireland offers UK companiesmore than just familiarity and conven-ience, according to Aiken.

“ Look at the other FDI companies, thehuge number of multinationals here. Ire-land is a gateway to North America and toEurope.”

The strongest sectors for UK companiesare food and agribusiness, energy, bankingand regulation and business support servic-es.

One company that has already seized theopportunity to invest in Irish infrastruc-ture is UK-based Geo, which specialises inbuilding and running data networks madefrom optical fibres.

Its expansion into the Irish market hastaken a more literal form than most withthe construction of a new optical fibre un-der-sea loop linking Dublin to Holyhead.This new facility, which went live in Decem-ber 2012, provides Irish companies with asecure and resilient data connection be-tween Ireland and the UK.

Typical users of Geo’s infrastructure in-clude mobile operators, online companies,financial institutions and large data cen-tres. Chris Smedley, the company’s ceo,says the abundance of such businesses inDublin was a key factor behind the decisionto invest in the subsea route.

“Dublin has established itself as a very at-tractive market for ICT and online players.There’s an attractive corporation tax rate,a skilled but not expensive labour force,and it’s an attractive location for data cen-tres because of the natural cooling effect ofthe climate.

“I was struck by how much of a realisa-tion there is in Ireland of the importance of

The business community isvery determined that the UKshould stay in the single mar-ket. Our call is very clear: stay

engaged with the EU

“

There are signs that UK investment in Ireland is continuing apace,writes Joanna Roberts

INVESTMENT


After25yearsworkinginthedrinksindustryintheUK,Isetupmyowndrinkscompa-nyin2011.Wemakelightlysparklingnaturalfruitpresses,ablendoffruitjuicesandsparklingnaturalspringwater.Inourfirstyear

wesoldhalfamillionbottlesintheUKandhavebegunexportinginsevenexportmarkets,includingThailand,HongKongandBurma.Mostofthatbusinesscameasaresultofenquiries. ItwaswhileIwasstandinginahotelinHongKongitoccurredtometowonderwhyIwasoutheretryingtoselldrinkswhenIhadn’tevenap-proachedtheIrishmarketyet?

TherearemanyreasonswhytheIrishmarketwasthelogicalfirststep.OurdrinksareverysuitedtothepubtradeandtheIrishandUKpubtradesaremorealikethanthoseofanyothercountry.Ontopofthatyouhavealltheobviousadvantages,suchasthesharedlanguageandthefactthatwehaveatradinghistorygoingbackaeons.ConsequentlyI

tookpartinaUKtradedelegationtoIrelandinSeptem-berand,onfootofthat,amcurrentlyin

veryactivenegotiationswhich, Ihope,willsee2013astheyearIbeginexportingtoIrelandtoo–particularlyasmymotherisaHickiefromDublin.

the UK as an adjacent market, which Idon’t think has always been the case.”

If ConnectIreland has its way, such suc-cess stories will become more common.The organisation was set up in March 2012as part of the government’s “Succeed in Ire-land” initiative, with the aim of using theIrish diaspora as a means to identify newsources of inward investment. Its objectiveis to bring 5,000 jobs to Ireland within thenext five years.

Individuals register as “connectors” andalert ConnectIreland if they become awarethat a company is considering overseas ex-pansion. ConnectIreland then contacts thecompany with the aim of persuading themto invest in Ireland. Should this happen,the original connector receives ¤1,500 foreach job created, up to a maximum of¤150,000.

The UK currently has the third-largestnumber of registered connectors, withabout 500 (Ireland is number one and theUS number two). In total, 76 UK compa-nies have been identified as being on thetarget list, although of the three companiesthat have so far made the move to Ireland –and created 70 jobs in the process – noneare from the UK.

For some, the benefits of operating onthis side of the Irish Sea become most ap-parent when there’s a stark choice be-tween the UK and Ireland.

Richard Barnwell is the founder of Digit,a game development company he set uplast year. “Initially the plan was to set up inthe UK; I’d already started the process andwas looking for premises.

“However, we started talking to a fewpeople in Ireland, specifically in the invest-ment scene and Enterprise Ireland. Westarted to realise there may well be an op-portunity to consider opening the compa-ny in Ireland as an Irish company.

“Since we launched in May 2012 we’vecreated over 20 high-level jobs, with plansto dramatically increase that in 2013.We’re creating new technology, new IPand new jobs. We also created a new incu-bator inside our offices which houses twosmaller Irish games startups.”

He says some of the key factors in his de-cision were an open culture, an exceptionalstandard of graduates, opportunity to influ-ence the games industry, start-up friendlytax structures and a good global outlook.However, there is a downside.

“The main disadvantage is purely downto the country’s size. There are not enoughpeople to fill the jobs. Although we alwaystry and hire Irish based first (we’re 75 percent Irish), for certain roles we have to goelsewhere. I hope this will change.”

TRADESTORIES JulianSollom,FounderStoryBrands

Richard Barnwell, founder of gamedevelopment firm Digit. “We’re creatingnew technology, new IP and new jobs”


Allied Irish Bank (GB)has levels of customer

satisfaction thatother banks can only

dream of. Head of GBBusiness Gerard O’Keeffereveals the secrets of the

bank’s success

COMMERCIAL PROFILE

Allied Irish Bank’s strongposition in the UK market isgrounded in a history that

goes back almost two centuries.“Our roots in Britain go all the way

back to 1825,” says head of GBBusiness with Allied Irish Bank (GB)Gerard O’Keeffe. “But it has reallybeen since the 1970s that we havegrown and developed into what we aretoday. We were in Britain back thenwhen a significant number of Irishpeople were coming over here to dobusiness and we grew with thatcommunity opening branches in areaslike Kilburn in North London and laterin the major cities around Britain.”

Over the years, it developed into aniche business bank primarily servingthe British-Irish business community.

“We developed a reputation forbeing approachable, for having acan-do attitude and being a good bankto do business with, ” says O’Keeffe.

“Over time we started doing busi-ness not only with Irish companiescoming into Britain, but also with thecompanies they were trading with. Wewere voted Britain’s Best BusinessBank on a number of occasions as aresult of the reputation we earned forourselves back then.”

The economic downturn broughtthis growth to a temporary halt. “Ithink you could say we went intohibernation for a few years, but wehave been very much open for businessagain for the past year or so. However,we kept our customer base intactduring that period and surveys

carried out on our behalf by BrunswickResearch indicate extremely highlevels of customer satisfaction.”

Indeed, 93 per cent of customersexpressed strong satisfaction with thebank and more than two-thirds saidthey would recommend Allied Irish toothers, while half of those had alreadydone so.

These results are well ahead ofbanking industry averages and arereflected in the bank’s shortlisting forBusiness Bank of the Year and BestService from a Business Bank in the2013 Business Moneyfacts Awards. Ittook the Best Business Fixed AccountProvider Award last year.

O’Keeffe attributes this success to acombination of exceptional serviceand a full range of business products.“We have 21 branches around Britainand all of them have very experiencedmanagers and staff,” he says.

“There is a lot of autonomy in our

branches and the staff have built uprelationships with their customersover a long number of years. It’s notlike the volume banking service of ahigh street bank – the quality of servicewe offer is more traditionally associat-ed with corporate banking.”

He also believes it is due to thestrong representation of Irish peopleamong the staff. “We have a very goodmix of Irish and British staff,” he says.“Irish people have a very good busi-ness reputation, people like doingbusiness with us. We have a genuinepassion for customer service and wemake sure things are done properly.We go the extra mile to help our

customers and that is very muchappreciated – the service mentality isin our DNA. And we need this, we haveto be better than our competitors tosucceed – and we are.”

The bank’s role in supporting theIrish economy through its promotionof the trading relationship with Britainis also important. “Britain is Ireland’ssingle biggest trading partner by far,”says O’Keeffe. “For example, there aremore Irish directors of companies inBritain than any other overseas nation-ality. It is useful for Irish companieslooking to expand into Britain to haveAllied Irish there. For instance, if anIrish firm wants to start doing businessin Manchester they can go to ourbranch manager there and be intro-duced to the local business communityand helped make the contacts theyneed to get off to a good start.”

In many ways, the bank’s branchnetwork acts as a free support servicefor Irish business in Britain . “It alsoworks in the other direction. The vastmajority of first- and second- genera-tion Irish businesses here in Britainwant to do their bit to help Ireland. Weare helping them do business inIreland in areas like sourcing rawmaterials and other supplies fromIrish companies. “We are also veryactive in promoting cross-Border tradeon the island of Ireland through ourFirst Trust Bank in Northern Ireland.”

The bank has established a dedicat-ed British Irish Trade Desk to supportthis activity. “We want to facilitate andpromote business between the twocountries. The British Irish Trade Deskco-ordinates our activities in thatregard and every branch has a staffmember dedicated to working onBritish Irish trade. This helps Britishfirms do business in Ireland and assistsIrish firms coming here. We offer thefull range of banking services and weput our market knowledge and linkag-es at the service of our customers.”

Gerard O’Keeffe, head of GBBusiness with Allied Irish Bank (GB):“Irish people have a very goodbusiness reputation, people likedoing business with us”

93 per cent of customersexpressed strong

satisfaction with thebank and more thantwo-thirds said theywould recommendAllied Irish to others

“Centuriesof successacross the

water


Energy BridgeA once in a lifetime opportunityMainstream Renewable Power is leading the revolutionaryEnergy Bridge which will see Ireland exporting 5,000MWof surplus wind energy to the UK starting from 2017.

For Ireland, Energy Bridge means 2.5 billion euroeach year in export revenues for 25 years as well as thepotential to create thousands of jobs in development,construction, operations, maintenance andmanufacturing. It will generate 34 million euroevery year in council rates and 12 million euroeach year in tax revenues.

We have a team of more than 170experienced staff dedicated to windfarm development, construction,finance and transmission.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunityfor Ireland.

And we are committed to making it happen.

Bridge Energyopportunity lifetime a in once A

revolutionary the leading is Power Renewable Mainstream5,000MW exporting Ireland see will which2017. from starting UK the to energy wind surplus of

euro billion 2.5 means Bridge Energy Ireland, Forthe as well as years 25 for revenues export in year each

development, in jobs of thousands create to potentialand maintenance operations, construction,

euro million 34 generate It will manufacturing.euro million 12 and rates council in year every

happen. it making to committed are And we

Making it happenwww.energybridge.ie

Allied Irish Bank(GB)’s long-standing

partnerships with CareyGroup and Powerdayhave allowed the UKfirms to grow from

small beginnings intomajor companies

CAREYGROUPOne of Allied Irish Bank (GB)’s longeststanding customers in the UK is CareyGroup. The companywas established in1969 inNorthLondon asa groundworkscontractor by Careys’ Chairman JohnCarey Snr and his two brothers Pat andTom.AccordingtoJohnCarey,theyhadasingle vision – to build an exceptionalconstruction business which deliveredon its promises and produced qualityworks safely, whilst not losing sight oftheirstrongpersonalethicsandvalues.Forty two years on and the Carey

Group is still a family business with thesecondgenerationofCareysnowcomingtotheforefront,asJohnJnr,TommyandJasonCareyhaveallworkedtheirwayup

tobecomedirectorswithin thecompany;which operates across the UK and Ire-land.Civilengineeringisstillverymuchatthe heart of the business, but the grouphasexpanded itsareasofexpertise to in-clude demolition, house building, wastemanagement and the construction ofmajorconcretestructures.“Onedecisionwhichhasstoodthetest

of time was the appointment of AlliedIrish as our bankers,” says John Carey.“They have supported us for over 40

years, through good and difficult times.Theyhaveprovideduswithexpertadviceduring that time, which has beeninvaluable to the growth and stability ofCareys. We are also very proud to haveplayedamajorroleinthedevelopmentofthe roads and infrastructure of MiltonKeynes for the Milton Keynes Develop-mentAgency.“From our first contract in the early

1980swerecognisedthattherewasenor-mous potential for us to expand our in-

volvement there. Our attention to detailandthequalityofourservicewassubse-quentlyrecognised,andwehavebeenre-wardedwithrepeatbusinesscontractsinMiltonKeynesforover30years.”Thecompanyhasalsodevelopedlong-

standingrelationshipswithmanyleadingUK retailers, including Ikea, Tesco, Asdaand Sainsbury’s. “We won our first con-tract with Sainsbury’s back in 1989 andhavesincegoneontodeliverover400civ-ilengineeringanddemolitionprojects.”Carey attributes much of the compa-

ny’ssuccesstothequalityanddedicationofitsemployeesandconstructionteams.“Werecruit talentedpeopleand invest

significantly in the development of theirtalents and skills, providing them withchallenging and rewarding careers,” hepoints out. “In return, many of themdedicate their entire careers to Careys.“Wealsoplacegreatvalueonthedevelop-ment of strong business relationshipswith companieswhohave inherent busi-nessethicsandfocusondeliveringaquali-ty service. “We appreciate the supportand loyalty of Allied Irish over themanyyears we have worked together and arelooking forward to continuing ourrelationshipwiththeminthefuture.”

COMMERCIAL PROFILE

POWERDAYNext timeyouseeLondon Irishplay inanEnglish Premiership rugby match orpossibly in a future Heineken or AmlinCup fixture, you’ll see the namePowerday proudly emblazoned acrosstheir shirts. The name may not meanmuch in Ireland, but it is a very Irishcompanyindeed.Powerday is a family owned recycling

and waste management companyfounded in 1980 by Irishman MickCrossan.Itownsandoperatesthelargestmaterials recycling facility in southernEnglandandoneof thebiggest stocksofskips in London. Using the latesttechnology to recycle and recover asmuchaspossible, it providesanalterna-tive to landfill, delivering 100 per centrecovery from waste to customersacrossLondonandbeyond.“The firm was originally started by

Mick Crossan’s father back in the late1970s as a labour hire company andgradually expanded into plant and skiphire”, explains sales and marketingdirector Simon Little. “Since then, MickCrossan has taken the business andcompletely transformed it into a wastemanagement firm. We generate high

quality recyclables and renewable fuelsand provide innovative, environmentallyresponsibleandcustomer focused recy-clingandwastemanagementsolutions.”Whilemaintaininganenvironmentally

responsible approach, the firm hasgrownsignificantly,doublinginsizeinthepast threeyearsand increasing turnoverfrom£12million to £35million over thepastfiveandnowemploys200people.“Weare long-standingclientsofAllied

Irish Bank (GB) and they have been verysupportive of us as we have grown the

business throughMickCrossan’s invest-mentovertheyears,”saysLittle.“We have a very strong belief in

responsibilitytotheenvironmentandourlocal community andhave invested verysignificantly in plant and equipment tomaximise recycling and produce a fuelfor energy recovery from residualwaste,” says Little. “We also ensuretraceability with virtually all materialsremainingintheUK.”

Thecompanyalsousesenvironmental-ly responsible transport links. Its currentmain site in Willesden in North Londonsits on a 26-mile lock-free section of theGrand Union Canal between Camdenand Slough and is situated at a keyrailway junction and has its own sidings,enablingittotransportmaterialsthrough-outtheUKusingtherailnetwork.“We are proposing to develop a new

state-of-the-art materials recoveryfacility at the former railway sidingsknown as the Old Coal Depot offTavistock Road in West Drayton whichwillhandleupto950,000tonnesofwestLondon’swastematerialperyear,”Littlesays.The company is very proud of its Irish

links and its sponsorship of our rugbyexiles.“The company sponsors London Irish

all the way up from the under-six juniorteams to the senior professional team.Webecameprincipalsponsorof theclubin 2011 in a three year deal havingsupported the amateur club and thehugely successful academy over manyyears.ThisispartofPowerday’sandMickCrossan’sway of giving something backtothecommunity.”

Jason Carey, Operations Director atCarey Group

Powerday boss Mick Crossan

Relationships that are built to last


The Irish and British electricity markets areconverging, creating challenges and opportunitiesfor all. ESB is at the forefront of this transformationbringing sustainable and competitive energysolutions to all our customers.

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Our Goal in London?To help you achieve yours.In 1986McCann FitzGerald became the first major Irish law firm to establish a permanentpresence in London. Since then, we’ve provided our Irish and international clients with thehighest quality legal advice and representation, and the tax, regulatory and commercialinsight essential to doing business in The City. Now, more than 25 years later, our Londonteam is larger and stronger than ever before. To find out how our experience and expertisein London could help you attain your business objectives, please contact:

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Our island status may be a majordownside when it comes toexporting our food and drinkbut if we had to choose an idealcustomer on our doorstep,

Britain would tick all the boxes. The UKfood and drink market is the world’s ninth-largest grocery market and the fourth-larg-est European market. And it looks acrossthe Irish Sea for a lot of its produce.

We are the third-biggest food and drinkexporter to the UK after the Netherlandsand France. Last year, our food and drinkexports to the UK were worth almost¤3.8 billion, compared with ¤3.5 billion in2011 and ¤3.3 billion in 2010.

This market now accounts for42 per cent of our food and drink exports.

But this trade moves both ways and Ire-land is the most important export marketfor food and drink from Britain. We takemore than ¤2 billion worth of its food anddrink every year.

Bord Bia’s director of markets, MichaelMurphy, says the food industries of bothcountries have become increasingly inter-twined in recent years with companiessuch as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Icelandand Compass having a major presence onboth sides of the Irish Sea. Many food man-ufacturers also have plants and subsidiar-ies in both countries.

So what were our star performing foodsin the UK last year? The biggest successstories involved beef, seafood and dairyproduce, but pig meat and horticulturealso did well.

Irish dairy exports topped the league interms of value last year. Dairy products andingredients generated ¤960 million, which

was a 5 per cent increase compared with2011. Cheese was the strongest performerin the dairy category, with products such asCheestrings faring particularly well.

More than half of Irish beef exports, or230,000 tonnes, went to the UK last yearand were worth ¤910 million. Ireland hasmaintained its position as the leading beefsupplier to the UK market, with a 60 percent share of total imports.

The UK market is still our single biggestdestination for prepared foods, taking40 per cent of processed products such aspizzas, snacks, confectionery and bakeryproducts. According to Bord Bia, last yearwas a difficult year for this sector in Britainwith ongoing price pressure and strongcompetition but the strengthening of ster-ling against the euro helped exports in thelatter half of the year.

Murphy said snacks and pizzas did partic-ularly well in Britain with pizza exports upby 10 per cent for the first 10 months of theyear. So, while total ready-meal sales in theUK suffered last year, Irish exports actual-ly gained market share.

The UK took 43 per cent of our pig meatlast year and again we increased our mar-ket share. Shipments rose by more than

6 per cent to 78,000 tonnes and they pro-duced 265 million worth of trade.

Our nearest neighbour took almost85 per cent of our poultry exports last year,resulting in business worth ¤175 million.Sheep meat exports to the UK increasedlast year to reach 11,000 tonnes and wereworth about ¤40 million.

The UK also takes the majority of our livecattle and sheep exports, and this trade

was worth ¤170 million last year. Our shareof seafood exports destined for the UK alsoincreased, accounting for ¤70 million,with sectors such as shellfish and oystersdoing well.

There was a growing interest in Irishmushrooms abroad last year with the UKmarket growing by 4 per cent both in valueand volume. Brown mushrooms and valuepacks of mushrooms showed the greatestgrowth.

It was a tougher year on the drinks frontwith strong competition and economicpressures. Nevertheless, the UK was stillour biggest customer in this sector, ac-counting for 35 per cent of total drink ex-

Growingmarkets

More than half ofIrish beef exports, or

230,000 tonnes, went to theUK last year and were worth

¤910 million

“

FOOD

Irish food and drink exports to the UK were worthalmost ¤3.8 billion last year. That’s a lot of beef,

pizza and Cheestrings, writes Alison Healy

TheUKmarket nowaccounts for42per cent of Irish food and drinkexports,with dairy exports topping theleague in terms of value last year


ports. The beverage sector exported drinksworth ¤435 million to the UK last year.

The best-performing drinks were creamliqueurs, whiskey and non-alcoholic bever-ages such as mineral water. However,cider suffered due to increased competi-tion and the poor summer weather.

Looking ahead, this year is expected tobe challenging in the UK because of the eco-nomic climate but Murphy says long-termgrowth prospects remain positive. He sin-gles out meat, dairy and seafood as havingthe greatest potential. "We also expect tosee some potential growth in preparedfoods," he says. "Overall I would expect ex-ports to the UK to continue to grow."

ForIrishfoodcompanies,theUKisoftenthefirstportofcall: itsretailfoodmarketof £100 billiondwarfstheRepublic’s¤8 billionmarket.“It’sasignificantopportunity.Justtoget

onelistingintheUKcandoubletheturnoverofacompanyovernight,”saysMichelleButler,managerforBritishandIrishmarketswithBordBia.ButgettingalistinginaUKsupermarketis

noguaranteeofsuccess.TakeRumblers,anon-the-gosnackproductfromDonegalCreameries.ItfirstenteredtheUKmarketin1998,

whenitwasstockedontheshelvesofTesco.AmarketingcampaignwithCoronationStreet followed,butaccordingtoSheilaGilroyCollins,Rumblers’salesandmarket-ingmanager,successdidn’tfollownaturally.“Thedifficultyintheearlydayswasthat

[Rumblers]didn’thavethebreadthofdistributionithasnow,”shesays,addingthattogetrecognitiontheproductneededwouldhaverequireda“prohibitive” investmentinmarketing.“Alisting,whileitisagreatachievement, is

justthestartoftheactualwork.You’recompetingeveryday,withnewproductlauncheseveryday.Snackingtrendscontin-uetochangeregularly,”shesays.SotherelationshipwithTescocametoanend–butitwasn’ttheendofRumblersintheUK.Fifteenyearsonandit’saverydifferent

storyfortheproductthere.Rumblersisstockedthroughoutthecountry,withnation-allistingsinCo-op,BootsandMorrisons–andsinceSeptemberlastyeartheyhavebeenbackontheshelvesofTesco.TheUKmarketnowaccountsfor95percentofsalesofRumblers –nosurprisegiventhesizeofthepopulation.“Distributionismucheasier,asthereisa

smallerareatocoverintermsofsizeofpopulation,andit’smuchmoredevelopedintermsofcentraldistribution,”saysGilroyCollins,addingthat,forRumblers,amajorstepinenablingittogrowintheUKwastheadventofsocialmedia.“Thebiggestchallengeforuswasthe

marketingoftheproductintheUK.Beforesocialmediaitwasalotmorechallengingforasmallercompanytocompete,butonlinemarketingmakesitmucheasierforacompanytopositionitself.It’smorecost-effectiveand allowsmoretargetedtalkto

consumers,”shesays.Sohowtoensuresuccess?ForButlerit

comesdowntoafewkeypoints.“HaveatrueUSP”–uniquesellingpoint–“understandthecostofsupplyanddistribution;andremem-ber,you’renotjustsellingaproduct:you’resellingaservice,andyouhavetodemon-stratethat.”And,remember, it isaverycompetitive

market.“IntheUK,buyersareveryreluctanttotaketheriskoftakingonanewsupplier,particularlywhenit’sjustaboutstealingsalesfromacompetitor.That’sjustaracetothebottom,andit’snotaddingsomethingtotheircategory,”saysButler.“Itneedstobesomethingnewanddifferent.”Distributionmodelscanalsoworkfororagainstyou.Optingforsmaller,specialistfoodstorescanmitigatetheneedforanexpensivemarketingcampaign,butitbringsitsownchallenges.“Therearechallengesingoingtothe

premiumfoodhalls;volumesaresosmallthatyoucannotgeteconomiesofscaletomakethelogisticswork,”saysButler.Butperhapsthebiggestadvantageofthe

UKmarketliesinitssimilaritytotheRepub-lic’s.“Inalotofwaysit’svery,verysimilar,asfromaconsumerperspectivetrendstendto

bequitesimilarinourparticu-larcategory,”saysGilroyCollins,addingthatIrishcompanieslookingtoentertheUKmarketshouldtalktootherIrishcompanies,which,shesays,are“verysupportiveof othercompa-niestryingtopenetratenewmarkets”.

FionaReddan

HUNGRY FOR GROWTH: HOW RUMBLERS ATE INTO THE UK MARKET

Dairy:¤960mBeef:¤910m

Prepared food:¤540mDrinks:¤435m

Ediblehorticultureandcereals:¤220mPigmeat:¤265mPoultry:¤175mLivestock:¤170mSeafood:¤70mSheepmeat:¤40m

Sheila Gilroy Collins: “You’re competingevery day, with . . . launches every day”

IRISH EXPORTSTO THE UK 2012


The greenat the core

Patrick Coveney, the chief execu-tive of Greencore, can tell everymark on the floors of the arrivalsand departures halls of most Brit-ish airports. They are as familiar

as home to someone who spends up tothree days of every week in Britain.

Travel is important. The company is runfrom a business park in Santry, convenientfor Dublin Airport: “Dublin – and thismight surprise you – is a pretty convenientlocation from which to run a fragmentedset of assets in the UK.

“You can fly to everywhere, second onlyto London. It is networked into the UK: Not-tingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol, Bir-mingham, plus London. I am in all of thoseairports probably once a month,” he says,nursing a winter cold in a London hotel.

Just 50 people work in Santry, directingthe operations of 11,500 others throughoutBritain, and, increasingly, in the US.

“Our team runs the business from Dub-lin and our board is based there. Two out ofthree of our executive directors are basedthere.”

Two years ago, Greencore and Cov-eney’s ambitions suffered a major blowwhen a bid to buy Northern Foods wasthwarted, but recovery has come sinceGreencore bought Uniq, a food companythat grew out of the Unigate dairy.

Purchased for £130 million (¤151 mil-lion), Uniq has “added about 40 per centto our business”, says Coveney. In additionto its desserts and salads operations, thedeal brought with it the contract to supplyMarks & Spencer with sandwiches.

Greencore supplies 400 million sand-

wiches every year and M&S is its biggestcustomer. It also supplies to Sainsbury’s,Tesco, Asda, the Co-Op and Morrisons;and in addition to sandwiches it providespanini, sushi and ready-meals.

“We would be much less known than oth-er large food companies with large opera-tions in Britain because everything we sellis under the brand names of our customers.It is all private-label food,” he says.

“If you buy a ready-meal in Tesco, a sand-wich in Marks & Spencer or Sainsbury’s, ora cake in pretty much any retailer in theUK, there is a pretty good chance that wemade it,” he says. Every week, 20 millionpeople eat Greencore’s wares.

Bereft of once monopolistic profits gen-erated by Irish sugar, Greencore, which isnow listed on the London Stock Exchange,is now bigger than it was before the EU re-form, but only about ¤60 million worth ofits business comes from Ireland.

More than ¤1.2 billion of its revenues aregenerated in Britain. “We have a more mod-ern company than we would have had, butsugar was a very good business for a verylong time; as most monopoly businessesare, by the way,” says Coveney.

Once the decision was made to end sugarproduction, other sell-offs in Ireland had tohappen, he says. “We had a whole series ofother businesses that hung off the fact thatwe had a sugar business, including special-ist sugar machinery, feed, fertiliser opera-tions.”

The road to life after sugar had begunwell before the closure of the Carlow andMallow sugar factories, with the purchaseof Hazlewood Foods, the foundation today

for the company’s British business. Thishappened in 2001, before Coveney movedto Greencore from McKinsey.

Today, Greencore buys approximately¤100m of Irish beef and dairy to include inits UK-manufactured and sold products:“We are a very significant buyer of Irishfood as ingredients for our business in theUK. Butter, cheese, cream and milk wouldall be from Ireland.”

“That is something that is actually in-creasing as we have grown,” he says, add-

ing that often raw ingredients are shippedfrom Ireland, processed in the UK and thenshipped back to Ireland for consumption asfinished foods.

However, the rigours of the ready-mealsmarket make Irish production impossible:“All our products are short shelf-life, freshproduct. In Warrington we have one of thelargest ready-made factories in Britain.

Each of the company’s British plants is aspecialist: one produces the salads, anoth-er the sushi, others do cakes, desserts and

Most of its sales are in Britain, as are most of itspeople and its factories. Yet Greencore, under

Patrick Coveney, is very much run from Dublin,writes Mark Hennessy, London Editor

INTERVIEW


MybrotherNiallandIcreatedourhospitalitysoftwareproductSynergySuiteinDublinin2002.Abusinessintelligencetoolforpubandrestaurantchains, itwasapioneerofthesoftwareasaservicemodel.Nowadays,everyoneistalkingaboutthecloud,backinthosedaysIrelanddidn’tevenhavebroadband,butweknewSaaSwasthewaytogo.ImovedtoLondontosetupa

UKsalesofficein2009.Today85percentofourrevenues–andwehaveaturnoverofinexcessof¤1

million–comefromexport,withtheUKaccountingforthree-quartersofthat.TheUKappealedtousbe-

causeithadmuchbiggerpubandrestaurantchainsthanwereavailableinIreland.Ourfocushasbeentoworkwithexisting,complementarypartnersintheUK,suchascash-registercompanies,tosellourproduct.Theexperiencegainedinthe

UKhasmadesellingfurtherafieldeasier,withbusinessnowalsocomingfromNorway,the

NetherlandsandGermany.Ourcompany,whichemploys10softwaredevelopersinIrelandandthreesalesstaff intheUK,isactuallybenefitingfromthedownturn,intheUKandIreland.Duringtheboom,restaurants

didn’tcareaboutcosts.Nowa-dayseverybodyiswatchingthebottomlineandthefactthatourproductcangoinwithoutanybigcapitaloutlaybutrather,onapayasyougobasis,anddoesn’trequireanytrainingtouse,hashelpedus.

quiches. Another handles soups. One pro-duces 450 million Yorkshire puddings ayear.

“That is one of the reasons it is a problemfor us having a manufacturing plant inIreland. You get positive economics out ofhaving one specialist facility operating at anational scale with 60 million possible cus-tomers in a way that would be difficult to doin Ireland,” says Coveney.

“We do two-thirds of all of M&S sand-wiches, two-thirds of those in Sainsbury’s,

we do all of the sandwiches in Morrisons,Asda, Co-Op and WH Smith, and abouthalf of the sandwiches in Boots,” he says.

Time is the key. The company’s productsare often eaten within 24 hours of beingmade, though Greencore is taking an in-creasingly direct hand in making sure thatstores have what they need, both to im-prove profits and to reduce waste.

“Sandwiches are a bit like fresh flowersin that you have to run with certain levels ofwaste in order to have good availability,”he says. The judgment lies between havingtoo much that will have to be thrown out, or“big spaces in stores and missed opportuni-ties”.

Greencore’s Manton Wood plant in Not-tinghamshire has 3,000 people working atpeak levels producing sandwiches. Thistakes account of all the added automationthat has been introduced since the plantwas built 12 years ago, to very advancedstandards.

A good weather forecast, rare last year inBritain, will influence production. “It isquite seasonal. People will get out of the of-fice and eat in parks in good weather. Typi-cally, you will get a jump of 10 to 15 points ingood weather,” says Coveney.

For now, Greencore is beloved by mar-ket analysts, who regard the company as a“buy”, believing that the ready-meal mar-ket will grow, while the company’s Britishset-up helps ‘to deter new entrants and se-cure pricing’, in the words of one.

In the words of another, Greencore’sstock is being undervalued in a worldwhere ‘high-quality private-label’ foodranges have become ‘an increasingly im-portant point of differentiation’ for the ma-jor supermarket groups.

Yet another, Investec believes the UKsandwich market could ‘if we are right atleast double in size’ as customers abandon

making them at home for better-made, butalso cheaper product on the supermarketshelves.

Further savings can be squeezed out ofthe operations taken over when Uniq wasbought, analysts believe, while tax lossesthat company had accrued before it was tak-en over will be useful in reducing Green-core’s own tax bill in coming years.

Coveney is confident about the compa-ny’s business model. “There is a trendtowards convenience [with] food that iseasier to prepare, or easier to source. Someof what we do makes forms of scratch-cook-ing easier; we provide sauces and compo-nents.

“But, equally, we’ll have ready-meals towatch the football on a Monday night,” hesays, adding that the future lies in private-label products for supermarket giants, notin branded goods – except for the Coca-Co-las and Nescafés of the world.

“Ten years ago, about 25 per cent of allfood was private label. It is about 40 percent today and forecast to be between50 per cent and 60 per cent by 2020. Retail-ers are competing harder and harder. ForNescafé, Coca-Cola or Dolmio it doesn’tmatter, but secondary brands are suffer-ing.

“We benefit from that. We run with a low-er-margin business than the branded busi-nesses, but we have less invested in it aswell. We don’t have any advertising or mar-keting costs.

“Our return on sales is around 6 percent, but our returns on capital would be12 per cent or more,” he says.

Given its hybrid existence, Greencorenow gets help from both the Irish and Brit-ish governments as it “builds business inthe US that has its roots in Ireland, but thatdoes most of its business in the UK”, saysCoveney.

“Sometimes people say to me, ‘Are we anIrish company or a British company?’ I say,‘We have a Greencore culture. We all comeat it from different places. There arebrilliant strengths that come from an Irishheritage.’ ”

TRADESTORIES SuzanneKeane,SynergySuite

Patrick Coveney, chief executive ofGreencore: “Dublin is a pretty convenientlocation from which to run a fragmentedset of assets in the UK”

FriskycowsonBritishfarmsareprovidingagoodmarketforaKerryfirm.TheMooMonitor–anecklacemadebyaKerrycompanyDairymas-ter–wentonsaleinBritaininthelastyearandsaleshavenowbegunto“sky-rocket”,accordingtothecompany’schiefexecutive,DrEdmondHarty.“Typically,farmersobservethe

cowsandseewhichofthemismoreactive,whatcowsaremountingeachother–verylabour-intensive.Theriskofmissingsomethingishuge.Weuseelectronics,softwareandnanotech-nologymoreaccuratelytomeasurewhatisgoingon,”hesays.TheMooMonitorhasbeenonsale

inBritainsincelastyear,followingadistributionagreementwithaBritish-basedbreedingcompanyCogent:“Itisarealgame-changer,”Hartysays.“Ifyoulookattheeconomics, it

costsabout¤250foreachtimeafarmermissesthatacowisinheat.Thatcanhappenwitheachcoweverythreeweeks.Thecowcalveslater, ifyouhaveahigherdegreeoffertility,youlosethevalueofaheifer.“Subsequently,production[of

milk]islessandthatcowinvariablyendsupgettingculled,sotherearehugeeconomiclossesinthat,”saysHarty,wholeadsateamofnearly300staffatthecompany’splantatCauseway.Operatingsince1968,whenthe

companywassetupbyhisfatherNed,DairymasterbegansellingintheUKin1990.Today,itsUKbaseatBromsgrove,nearBirmingham,hashalf-a-dozenstaff,butislookingtorecruitmore–themajorityofitssalescomethrough20dealers.

MarkHennessy

THE MOO MONITORNANOTECH FOR A COW


For thousands ofBritish farmers,

equipment madeby a Carlow firm isa vital ingredient inthe farmyard, writes

Mark Hennessy,London Editor

PROFILE

Duff Burrell, a blunt-speak-ing Northumbrian beeffarmer from Alnwick, is aman who wastes little timeon flattery, but if some-

thing is good, then it is good. By thatyardstick, equipment bought over adecade from Keenan Systems are wor-thy of praise.

Farming 1,000 acres, Burrell has afour-year-old Keenan feeder-wagon,along with the Borris, Co Carlow-based company’s PACE feeding sys-tem, which measures and records eve-rything fed to his herd.

“PACE is marvellous, saves me a lotof time in costings. I can check exactlywhat the wagon is doing. It just givesone such control without having to sitthere all day watching what a man is do-ing,” he says over the sound of machin-ery.

Six thousand British farmers are us-ing Keenan equipment, says the com-pany’s chief executive, Gerard Keen-an, who came back from working withJohn Deere in Germany to join the com-pany after his father set it up in the late1970s.

From the off, the company wasabout exports, with Britain the first-stop: “Not the biggest market that wehave now, but it is the second-biggest.France would be our biggest now, 90per cent of what we do is exported.”

Last month, it won a prestigiousprize from the 70-year-old Oxford

Farming Conference and Royal Agri-cultural Society of England for work ithas done with scientists to boost milkproduction with less feed.

Farmers using its Mech-fiber Sys-tem increased production by 1.74 litresper cow per day, using 0.64kg less feed– a 10 per cent increase in the conver-sion of food into milk, or a gain for thefarmer of 2p per litre of milk.

British farmers, once prosperousand comfortable, have had a toughtime, says Keenan: “Thirty years ago,you went onto a farm with lovely hous-es and they had a lifestyle. A lot of thathas disappeared, they have had itrougher than almost anywhere I haveseen.”

Natural and man-made disasters,such as foot-and-mouth and BSE, havenot helped, but, nor, has the fact thatagriculture in Britain has rarely had apolitical voice in a country used for twocenturies to importing food to supply it-self.

However, politicians are finally wak-ing up to the need to guarantee food se-curity in coming decades, while ever-competitive supermarkets have begunto realise that British suppliers must bepaid enough to survive, says Keenan.

“It has been a process , but this gov-ernment sees farming as more impor-tant than it did before and retailers andprocessors realise – not in a wide-eyedway, but in a realistic way – that thisthing needs to work through the

chain,” he says.In some places, the industry is al-

ready practically dead. In northeastScotland, dairying is all but finished be-cause the processing plants have gone.“Little supply, no processor. By defini-tion the remaining farmers have todrop out,” he goes on.

Last year, British farmers took to thestreets to protest about milk prices:“You finally saw the quiet British farm-ers break out. In other countries theydon’t need to be pushed to the line toshow their teeth. British farmers are astoical, tolerant group. That has nowchanged.”

Higher prices were offered, but notenough to guarantee longer-term sur-vival.

However, the actions of supermar-kets will not alone decide the future. Be-sides getting higher prices for theirgoods, farmers must become more effi-cient.

Already, the future is beginning toform. Supermarkets such as Tesco andSainsburys are forming their own sup-ply-chain. In Tesco’s case, 1,000 farm-ers supply it with milk, while Sains-burys has 400 on its books. Equally, su-permarkets, not farmers are begin-ning to pay for the cattle put out ongrass.

“In a sense, that sounds negative,like dependency, or that farmers areacting as agents, but on the other hand,if they are profitable and successful

they will be happier and they will beless risk for them. I think you will seeothers step in and take the risk.

“Banking will get tighter. That iswhy retailers are beginning to step inand putting cattle on farms, I don’tknow how big it is, but it is happening.Morrisons and Tesco are doing it,”says Keenan, who describes the chang-es afoot as ‘some of the most exciting inthe world’.

“Our business is moving from sellinghardware to creating integrated valuein collaboration with others. We havelearned how we can produce morebeef, more milk from less feed. I thinkthe food supply chains that will happenin Britain will lead the world.”

Internationally, the world has to pro-duce a third more food, with a thirdless resources: “Feed efficiency is a bitlike selling energy efficiency 20 yearsago. Everyone likes it, but sometime inthe future. Most businesses are basedon throughput and output, but not effi-ciency,” he says.

Now selling a fifth of its productioninto Britain, Keenan Systems – with250 people in total and 160 in Ireland –regards it “like a home market”.

Back in Alnwick, Burrell, a customerof Keenans for over a decade, sees theCarlow company playing a role inbringing farmers “near to profit, or,better, into it”, he says with all the di-rectness of a Northumbrian: “Nobodyelse in the same class,” he says.

Duff Burrell:beef farmer fromNorthumbriauses feedequipmentmade inCarlow

In aclassof itsown


The IrishTimesTop 1000Companiesis available online at www.top1000.ie,a newwebsite fromThe IrishTimes.

www.top1000.ie IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

Portrait ofa city

When the capital city of yournearest neighbour just hap-pens to be one of the twincentres of the art world (theother being New York), the

opportunities for Irish artists are obvious.But how does the relationship between Ire-land and the UK work in practice for art-ists, and for those who make their living inthe art business?

A thriving network of exchanges be-tween arts organisations – from artists’ co-operatives to major museums and galleries– enables travel, exhibitions, studio residen-cies and dialogue between artists in the twocountries. Nevertheless, while UK artistsdo come and live in Ireland (the Irish tax ex-emptions on income from artistic work area lure), artists here who want to get to thenext stage in their careers should explorethe openings London offers.

This is because over the past two dec-ades, London has re-established its pre-em-inence in the art world and as a centre ofthe global market for art, driven primarilyby the Tate (tate.org.uk), and by the emer-gence of the Frieze Art Fair (friezelondon.com), which takes place each October inRegent’s Park. In 2012, more than 55,000people visited Frieze, to see art from 175galleries from around the world. Giventhat these visitors included groups fromthe Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenhe-im, and the Whitney (all New York), plusthe Art Institute of Chicago, the CentrePompidou Paris, and the Kunsthistor-isches Museum in Vienna, it is clear thatFrieze is now one of the key sites at whichthe art world does its business.

Regular Irish attendees at Frieze are Ker-lin Gallery (kerlin.ie), who see the event asa way of bringing the artists they represent

to another level, as much as a selling oppor-tunity.

“As a business, our product is less in de-mand in Ireland as a result of the reces-sion,” says Kerlin director Darragh Hogan.“So it’s important to get our artists out to awider audience. It’s also culturally impor-tant for them to be there.”

Hogan cites artist Dorothy Cross’s forth-coming show at Turner Margate this Octo-ber as being partly “a result of the visibilitythat being seen at Frieze has given her”(turnercontemporary.org).

The price of an artwork in the contempo-rary market is a complex thing, driven andsupported by a range of factors includingthe prominence of the gallery representingthe artist, critical reception in key publica-tions, the exhibitions and museum showson the artist’s CV, and who else has pur-chased their work. All these are rangedalongside the aesthetics and content of thework itself, so it becomes clear why galler-ies such as Kerlin are prepared to invest the£10,000 (¤12,400)-plus it costs for a standat Frieze in support of their artists.

Culture Ireland can provide funds to gal-leries and organisations wishing to show

the work of Irish artists abroad (cultureire-land.ie).

With the work of more than 2,400 artistson show at Frieze, it’s hard to believe thatthese are actually a minority – not all artistswill get representation, and not all galler-ies will attend the art fair. So what can art-ists themselves do to access the UK artworld? Joy Gerrard has been based in Lon-don since 1999, when she went to take anMA at the Royal College of Art. She saysthat London-based MA courses at the lead-ing art schools are vital, not only for devel-oping your work, but for making connec-tions and meeting people. The Arts Coun-cil in Ireland (artscouncil.ie) offer bursa-

ries for post-graduate study, as well as sup-ports for making work, while the individualart colleges have bursaries on offer too.

Gerrard lists the leading MAs as those atthe Royal Academy, the Royal College, theSlade, Goldsmiths and Chelsea. There isalso a network of art residencies across theUK, where artists have the opportunity todevelop work (see isendyouthis.com for de-tails). These are useful, too, to meet cura-tors, gallerists, writers and other artists,and maybe find UK gallery representation,as artists with Irish galleries may also berepresented elsewhere (Alice Maher, forexample, is with Green on Red in Dublin,and Purdy Hicks in London).

Gerrard’s own largest recent commis-sion is a major piece of public art at the Lon-don School of Economics. The projectcame through a longlist/shortlist competi-tive tendering process, run by the Contem-porary Art Society. “I wouldn’t have been

In the boom, people could sellanything, and did. Now the

market is crying out for qualityand estimates must be

realistic

“

There are many opportunities for Irish artists tostudy and to sell their work both in the UK and

further afield, writes Gemma Tipton, andLondon is a good place to start

Joy Gerrard stands under Elenchus/Aporia,at the London School of Economics. Photo-graph: Nigel Stead

ARTS


MybrotherDavidandIsetupMcCaul’sGoldsmithsinLondon’sExeterMarketin2009.WecametoLondonbecausetherewasn’treallyamarketforthekindofhigh-end,contemporarydesignwedobackhomeinDublinatthetime.HavingbeenhomeforChristmas,Ithinkthatmightstillbethecase.Ithasgonereallywellforus.Wewere

profitablewithinsixmonthsandarehittingallourgrowthtargets.Thereisarecessionheretoo,butit’snotasbadasathome.Lastyearwasourbestyearyet.Wedon’tdoasmuchtradebusiness

nowasweusedtobutonethingwehavenoticedishoweasyitistogetpaidhere,comparedwithwhatcolleaguesathomearetellingus.Here, it isveryraretohavetoremindsomeone.Paymentcomespromptlywithin30days,andnormallyyougetachequeonthespot.Inanycase,nowthevastbulkofour

businesscomesfrompeoplecominginoffthestreetandtheypayupfront.It isaneasyplacetodobusiness,not

verybureaucratic.Oneday,we’dliketoopenastorebackhome,butitwon’tbeinthenearfuture–it’smoreofalongtermplan.

on the list if I hadn’t lived and worked inLondon; so the curators had seen my workin group shows and made studio visits.”Currently she is working on a large studio-based drawing project, the first stage ofwhich will be shown in London and NewYork, early next year (joygerrard.net).

When art sells for record figures, it is usu-ally at auction, and when it comes to theIreland/UK market, there are two schoolsof thought. Sotheby’s maintain an Irish of-fice and a network of consultants in Ire-land, but, despite holding viewings in Ire-land (and New York), they sell Irish art aspart of a British and Irish Art sale, twiceyearly in London.

“London gives us access to a much big-ger market, and we can reach out to our in-ternational clients more effectively fromthere,” says the head of Sotheby’s Ireland,Arabella Bishop.

Sotheby’s next Irish art sale is on May

23rd, and consignments are accepted untilthe beginning of March (sothebys.com).

Sotheby’s holds the record for the high-est total for an Irish art sale worldwide,with £7,152,337 (¤8,360,110) reached in2001. In 2002, Sotheby’s also achieved thehighest price for a single Irish artwork atauction, for Sir William Orpen’s Portrait ofGardenia St George with Riding Crop for£1,983,500 (¤2,317,790). The Sotheby’sIrish sales figure for 2012 was £1,538,375(¤1,797,564).

“In the boom, people could sell anything,and did,” says Bishop. “Now the market iscrying out for quality and estimates mustbe realistic.” She cites Paul Henry as an art-ist whose prices have held up well.

Bishop says that in 2012, 80 per cent ofbidders at the Irish sale were based outsideIreland, although it is difficult to decipherwhich of these are Irish but living abroad,and which are “genuinely” international

At Adam’s, director James O’Halloranoutlines a different approach. Adam’s didhave a link up with Bonham’s in the UK, col-laborating on Ireland/UK sales. Thisceased in 2010. Now, Adam’s researchfinds that Irish pictures are mainly boughtby Irish people, living in Ireland, as well asby the Diaspora.

While they have an active website, Ad-am’s also accesses UK buyers by “tradition-al means, sending huge numbers of cata-logues to the UK. Personal contact is alsokey,” says O’Halloran. The UK is also astrong source of work for the auctionrooms at Adam’s – O’Halloran estimates be-tween 10 and 12 per cent of vendors are UK-based. The reasons these vendors chooseto sell in Ireland are, O’Halloran believes,practical. “Ireland is where 99 per cent ofthe buyers are,” he says. Adam’s next Irishart sale is on March 26th (adams.ie).

O’Halloran says the art world is local-ised, pointing out that the market for con-temporary British art is very “hot” rightnow in London, but very few French peopleare buying it. Similarly the strongest mar-ket for Danish art is in Denmark and so on.

So,the message for Irish artists lookingto explore the UK is to site yourself in Lon-don, and work as a contemporary artist,rather than a contemporary Irish artist. Atthe top level, nationality is less significantthan location. The competition there isfiercer, but the market is massive.

TRADESTORIESBarryMcCaul,McCaul’sGoldsmiths

Theimportanceoftheartstobusinesswasoneoftheareasunderdiscussionatthe

GatheringForActionConferencelastmonthintheAvivaStadium.

ApanelincludingAbbeyTheatredirector,SenatorFiachMacConghail;MinsterforArts,HeritageandtheGaeltachtJimmy

Deenihan;StuartMcLaughlinfromBusinesstoArts;HugoMacNeillfromGoldmanSachs;andTimO’Connor,chairmanofTheGather-ingdiscussedthewaysinwhichbusiness

supportfortheartsfeedsbackintocommuni-ties,andhowartnurturescreativityandsuccess.TheConferenceworkinggroupisalsolookingtodevelopstronganddispassion-ateanalyticsandresearch,inordertoinvestigatethebenefitsofartssupports.

britishirishchamber.com.

BUSINESS ANDTHE ARTS


Ireland has the potentialto export ‘green’ energy

to Britain to meetits shortfall but it willbe no small endeavourwrites Dick Ahlstrom,

Science Editor

ENERGY

Acomplex interplay of commer-cial, strategic and political in-fluences is at work in the ener-gy sector, something thatcould bring profound change

to our electricity supply in the future.Ultimately, it will lock our own electrici-

ty grid into that of Britain and also into thewider European Union, most likely viaFrance, to help deliver the goal of a unifiedelectricity grid for Europe.

The pursuit of this ambition took animportant step forward for Ireland onJanuary 24th with the signing of a memo-randum of understanding between Irelandand Britain on the export of “green” ener-gy. The agreement now opens the potential– rather than the commercial reality – forelectricity exports from Ireland.

The financial and business side of achiev-ing an ambitious export target of5,000 megawatts is complex and mustnow be worked out to see if it makescommercial sense . But on the face of it thisis achievable.

The memorandum commits the two gov-ernments to working together to open uptrade in renewable energy, in particularwind power generated in Ireland. The planis helped along given Ireland will havemore wind energy than it needs to meet anEU directive on renewable energy while“Britain is heading for a shortfall in its EUtargets”, explains Pat Doherty, chief execu-tive of the Electricity Supply Board.

Ireland can help bridge this gap if itmakes commercial sense to go after a mas-sive ramping-up of wind energy produc-tion up to the 2020 EU deadline.

However, it would be no small endeav-our. Britain has the potential to take 5,000megawatts from Ireland to meet its targetsfor renewable energy supply. This is morethan the current peak electricity demandfrom all of the Republic of Ireland duringthe coldest months of the year, said Mr Do-herty. And this is all meant to be “green”electricity generated by wind, or if it be-come commercial wind plus wave/tidal.

An investment of ¤10 billion is requiredto make it happen. Irish wind energy pro-

ducers would have to seek planning permis-sion for and purchase about 1,500 3.5MWwind turbines to reach the target genera-tion levels for export. Then there is the on-shore cabling linked to a huge new5,000MW under sea interconnector to getthe power across and plugged into the Brit-ish electricity grid.

This interconnector would have10 times the carrying capacity of the recent-ly energised 500MW interconnector thatlinks north Co Dublin with Wales, enoughto provide power to about 3.5 millionhomes,There would be rewards if a com-mercial deal, or collection of deals, couldbe closed. The target export level would beworth ¤1.6 billion a year and the construc-tion phase could employ 28,000, the gov-ernment believes.

It would also gel with the EU’s ambitionsfor the future supply of electricity. “There isan EU drive to increase interconnectivity,”said Mr Doherty. This was being pursued bylinking regions together and ultimately thewhole of Europe. The 5,000MW intercon-nector would represent an initial regionalconnection and the potential for an inter-connector to northern France would giveus a link to a unified grid.

Opening these links could mean ofcourse that electricity could flow in both di-rections. There would be times, for exam-

ple if winds were slack, when power wouldbe flowing towards rather than from Ire-land.

For this reason the ESB had taken a “stra-tegic” initiative to ensure there was a mixof electricity supplies here including coal,hydro, wind and several different forms ofgas to help protect our home market. TheESB has also invested in its own UK-basedelectricity supplies so that it has a presenceon the far side of the Irish Sea. This ensuresthat the company would still be a player inpower generation should things change inthe future. Wind represented “an integralpart” of the energy mix, he said.

There now begins a series of meetings in-volving the two governments and potentialinvestors/suppliers in order to deliver thetarget 5,000MW. These will be extremelycomplex, said Mr Doherty. It will includeissues such as siting, building and integra-tion of turbines and the application of windenergy subsidies paid to suppliers becauseof their extra costs.

Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte hasmade it clear that he does not want a situa-tion where the Irish taxpayer ends up foot-ing the bill in some way, and so the govern-ment will avoid becoming a high stake in-vestor in the venture. And yet the govern-ment is committed through the memoran-dum to helping to make it all happen.

Britain’s secretary ofstate for energy EdwardDavey with Minister forEnergy Pat Rabbitte atlast month’s signing ofa memorandum ofunderstanding to exportgigawatts of greenenergy to Britain.Photograph: David Sleator

Can Ireland bridge the energy gap?


Economiesof scale

When it comes to markets,size matters. Which is why,for many companies,growth means expandingtheir operations beyond

the national border.A small domestic market, such as that in

Ireland, tends to limit competition possibil-ities due to the ease of market dominanceby firms. Businesses in Ireland are also con-strained in growth because of the size ofthe market. For a business in Ireland tohave 50 employees, it needs to reach amuch higher proportion of the domesticmarket than a company in the UK or Ger-many.

To expand, businesses need to look to-wards the export market – which brings dif-ferent challenges.

Ian Barrett, co-founder of solar solutionscompany Joule, said while there are a lot ofGovernment bodies such as Enterprise Ire-land and county enterprise boards to ad-vise businesses on exporting, nothing canprepare for the reality.

“We discovered wehad to tailor our productfor different markets.The solar products wesold in Ireland weren’tsuitable for the UK mar-ket even though theyhave the same sys-tems as us, as there isdifferent productspecifications re-quired there whichwe didn’t realise.”

However, he be-lieves the UK mar-ket is hugely im-portant for IrishSMEs.

“We supply30,000 solar units each

month in the UK, but only 5,000 a monthin Ireland. We had to branch into othermarkets as the domestic market is so small.We have 70 per cent of the market hereand that’s about all we’ll get too. It’s notenough.”

Barrett said he found the transition frombeing a micro-enterprise with just two em-ployees (Barrett and his co-founder RonanGinnell) to a medium-sized business with55 employees was difficult.

“The company recently acquired its Irishcompetitor, retaining that company’s 15staff.

“When we started to get really busy, wehad no choice but to expand out staff. Werealised if we wanted to grow we wouldneed a management team.

“I’m not a very good delegator but I’vehad to delegate.”

Patrick Burke, a partner with GrantThornton, says he believes small business-es find it difficult to transition to medium-sized ones due to a reluctance to give up

control.“People feel they have given

birth to a baby and they don't wantto hand it over to a babysitter. JackWelch, the former chief executive

of General Electric said‘anyone can run a busi-

ness . . . getting fromsmall to large is wherethe art is’ and I think thatis very true.”

He echoes Barrett’sview that the UK marketis very different to theIrish market, saying

SMEs have to researchthe UK market carefully

before exporting, and un-derstand consumer behav-iour there is very different

to Ireland.

“More people in the UK bought stuff on-line on Christmas Day 2011 than went tochurch. Consumer behaviour there haschanged dramatically, especially when itcomes to shopping online.”

While Burke says Ireland ranks very

highly on league tables as a place to locate abusiness due to the ease with which theycan be set up here, he believes it is not thebest place to do business if you are solely re-liant on Irish consumers.

“There is downward pressure on Irishconsumers due to bank loans and debt.”

However, with SMEs accounting for two-thirds of private sector employment in Eu-rope, business leaders say it is importantfor Government officials and agencies not

Expansion is limited in a small market. ThankGod for overseas, writes Pamela Newenham

ENTREPRENEURS

“Getting from small to large is where theart is”. Ian Barrett (left) with Ronan Ginnell,founders of solar-solutions company Joule


Wehaveanonlinebusinessdirectoryofdry-cleaners,witharound90percentofdry-clean-ersinIrelandonit.ThebusinesswassetupinIrelandbyJonathanO’Brienfiveyearsago,andIcameonboardlastyeartooverseeamoveintotheUK.JustbeforeChristmaswe

launchedamobileapplicationthatallowsdry-cleanersusepush-notificationmessagestoprovidespecialofferstocustom-ers.Itwillmakeourproductavery

effectivemarketingtoolfordry-cleaners.Weareintheprocessof

launchinganelectronic-pay-mentsserviceaspartoftheofferingtoo.Fourmonthsagowemadethe

movetotheUKwithaviewtodevelopingthemarkethere,basingourselvesinManchesterSciencePark,aninnovationcentre.Themainreasonbehindthe

movewasthesimplefactthattherearefivetimesasmany

dry-cleanersintheUKasthereareathome.It isprovingaveryeasyplaceto

dobusiness,too:dry-cleanersherearemuchthesameasathome–mainlyfamilybusinesses–buttheyaremoretechsavvyandopentonewtechnology.Farmore,forexample,have

websitesandareonTwitter.Theyarealsomorelikelytobeaheadofthecurveonmobilepayments.WechoseManchesterbe-

causeitisamanageablesizeintermsofgettingdry-cleanershereonboard.OncewesucceedhereitwillmakeitmucheasiertowininLondon.

Withmorethan4,000staff in45officesin29jurisdictionsacrossEurope,theMiddleEast,AsiaandNorthandSouthAfrica,Evershedsisanexampleofalegalfirmthatoffersafullrangeoflegalservicestointernationalclientswithbusinessopera-tionsinIreland,theUKandfurtherafield.“Wehaveaninternational

mergersandacquisitionsgroup,aninternationalHTgroup,andaninternationalfoodanddrinkgroup,”saysmanagingpartnerAlanMurphy.“Weofferaproject-managementapproach.ClientscanaccessalloftheservicestheyneedfromtheEvershedsInternational

networkthroughonepartnerwhomanag-eseverythingontheirbehalf.“Werecentlystartedworkingforan

internationalclientwhorequiredaserviceacross25jurisdictions.Inthemajorityofcases,thesewereEvershedsofficesandin

sometheywere‘bestfriends’offices–partnerfirmsweuseincountrieswherewedon’thaveadirectpresence.Thiswasallorganisedthrougha

singlepointofcontacthereinDublinwhomanagedanddeliveredeverything.”TheserviceofferingtoIrish-based

clientsintheUKisalsoimportant.“AroundhalfofourstaffarebasedintheUKandwehaveaverystrongpresenceintheBritishregions,”saysMurphy.

to neglect them in their endeavour to at-tract foreign direct investment and largemultinationals.

SMEs have the ability to spearheadwealth generation and provide a sustaina-ble source of employment, according toMark Fielding, chief executive of the Irishsmall business group Isme.

“There is a perverse view from Govern-ment that we should look after the high-growth potential and large multinationals.

“It’s like a gardener only looking afterthe well-growing plants and not plantingany seedlings for the next year.”

Mr Fielding said a lack of bank financeand credit resulting from the downturnand banking collapse was stifling the ex-port growth potential of SMEs.

“We only have four million people, com-pared to the likes of the UK where there are60 million people.

“Thus there is a strong need for business-es to expand into other markets and be ableto export.”

He said the Government needed to cre-ate an environment where it is easier to setup a business.

Red tape is still a major issue for manycompanies in Ireland, though the recentlypublished Companies Bill will go some wayto lessen it.

Changes included in the Bill will meanthat many of the 12,500 private companieslimited by shares which are established eve-ry year will be able to incorporate more eas-ily, resulting in average savings of ¤1,200in professional fees in each case.

It will also be possible for such a compa-ny to have only one director.FrankO’Keeffe, partner in charge of the Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award,said it is imperative the Governmentdoesn’t neglect medium-sized enterprisesin their endeavour to attract foreign directinvestment and global technology firmssuch as Google and Facebook.

“For example, we have 310 entrepre-neurs in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurof the Year alumni. They are mostly medi-um-sized companies, yet between themthey employ 140,000 people and generat-ed a turnover of ¤15 billion last year. Thatshows the power of medium-sized business-es in Ireland.”

He says while the UK is renowned for be-ing one of the most mature and dynamicmarkets in the world, Ireland is fast catch-ing up.“Per capita, we are on a par with theUK for entrepreneurs. Our inherent abilityas Irish people to sell, talk and explain real-ly helps us.”

TRADESTORIES ShaunNewman,TheDryCleanerOnline

Irelandmaybesmall,butit isalsooneofthemostentrepreneurialcountriesintheworld,accordingtoPaulaFitzsimons,co-authoroftheGlobal Entrepreneur-shipMonitorreport,theworld’slargeststudyofentrepreneurship.TheGEMreportranksIreland’s

entrepreneurialactivity14thintheOECD,with2,200peoplesettingupnewbusinesseseverymonthin2011,accordingtoFitzsimons.Whilemuchofthatentrepreneurial

spiritmayhavecomefromnecessity,IrelandisstillhighlyentrepreneurialandaheadoftheUKintermsofstart-upbusinessesestablished.“It ischeapertosetupabusinessin

IrelandthanintheUK,especiallyinthetechsector,”saysJohnEgan,chiefexecutiveofficerofArchipelago,thelargestcommunityofentrepreneursinIreland.“It’salsoeasiertogetinternation-alattention,asyoucanreachthetopof

thepilequickerinIreland–apopulationoffourmillionpeople–thantheUKwherethere’s60millionpeopletocompetewith.”However,Eganbelievesthetax

incentivesforstartingabusinessintheUKarebetterthaninIreland,asisthefundingforstart-upcompanies.“Irelandismoreabouttaxbenefitsfor

already-establishedbusinesses.Wehavealowcorporationtax,butthatonlyhelpscompaniesthatareupandrunningsuccessfully.Thereshouldbetaxincen-tivestosetupabusiness.”Egan,the2013recipientoftheDavid

ManleyEntrepreneuroftheYearaward,saidhebelievestheattitudetowardsentrepreneursinIrelandhaschangedconsiderablyinrecentyears.“Unlikeothercountries,entrepreneursinIrelandforyearswereseenaspeopleonthedolewhoweretooproudtoadmit it. Itwasn’tacceptabletobeanentrepreneur.”

Eversheds: Almost everywhere

AMONG THE GREATEST ENTREPRENEURS IN THE WORLD


There will be plenty ofopportunities in Britain

in 2013 despite itsrecent difficulties,

writes Fiona Reddan

FORECAST

It’s our closest trading partner, but un-fortunately for Irish companies, theUK has experienced its own challenges

over the past few years. Excessive publicdebt, weak consumption and investment,and a knock-on effect from the Europeansovereign debt crisis, have all conspired tomake it a difficult time for the UK econo-my.

Improvement may lie ahead, however,with the European Commission predictinggrowth of almost 1 per cent for the UK econ-omy this year. While moderate, it wouldmake the UK the fastest-growing of Eu-rope’s five biggest economies.

“Our position on the UK market is that itcontinues to be the primary market forSME exporters, who would have tended tohave the UK as their only export market,”says John Whelan, the chief executive ofthe Irish Exporters Association.

However, the economy has been goingthrough a recession and Irish exportershave also struggled with the exchange ratedifferential, as the Bank of England’s quan-titative easing strategy has kept sterlingweak, he says.

This eased towards the end of last yearand “we gained about 7 per cent favourablemovement in exchange rate” notes Whe-lan, but the concern is that “the Bank ofEngland will intervene again and take thatsmall advantage out”.

Nonetheless, for many Irish companiesthe UK is where it’s at, says Michelle But-ler, who for five years has been helpingIrish food companies to enter the UK mar-ket in her role as manager for British andIrish markets with Bord Bia.

“Before, coming into the UK was a luxu-ry some suppliers were looking at. Now it’sa necessity as the domestic market is con-tracting and in Ireland the market is signifi-cantly smaller than it used to be,” she says.

So where are the opportunities?For Whelan, it’s not in sectors that are

fully exposed to the plight of the British con-sumer. “That’s where the market is tough-est,” he says.

Despite the recent furore over someburgers produced in Ireland, the food sec-tor offers potential for growth. Given the

duplication of retailers on both sides of theIrish Sea, Butler says food suppliers can lev-erage on their relationships with stores,such as Tesco and Lidl, to get into an over-seas market.

Going by export statistics, indigenousIrish business is all about food these days,with exports continuing to reach newhighs. And for Irish food companies, theUK is often the first port of call with a retailfood market of £100 billion (¤115 billion)that substantially dwarfs Ireland’s ¤8 bil-lion market.

“It’s a significant opportunity – just toget one listing in the UK can double theturnover of a company overnight,” saysButler, though she concedes that getting alisting in a British supermarket is no guar-antee of success.

The energy market also presents a sub-stantial opportunity, as Ireland gets readyto export into the UK. As Ireland ramps upits renewable energy development underthe 2020 strategy, an inter-governmentalagreement will allow exports of wind-gen-erated electricity from the Republic to Brit-ain.

Irish companies will also find opportuni-ties in the waste and environmental sec-tors, where they have a strong record, saysBill Toomey, head of the British-Irish tradeteam at AIB in the UK.

“Increasing land fill costs, tax costs andGovernment initiatives to improve recy-

cling performance have created a demandfor improved technology and processes,”he says.

Two-way trade between the two coun-tries stands at about ¤1 billion a week, andIreland is the UK’s fifth largest export mar-ket and the UK’s largest export market insectors such as food and drink, clothing,and fashion and footwear.

While large retail companies of the likesof Tesco and Marks & Spencer have tradi-tionally been very strong in Ireland, giventhe economic difficulties on both sides ofthe Irish Sea this has weakened in recentyears. This is evident in the uncertain fu-ture facing music retailer HMV.

Nonetheless, the business-to-businesssector is seeing growth. Toomey says Ire-land offers a lot of potential for UK compa-nies, noting that more than 50 per cent ofhis division’s customers are British.

There is another significant threat tothis relationship on the horizon: the UK’sapparent ambivalence with regards to itsfuture in the European Union.

“Business really needs certainty and it’sone of the concerns we’ve had as a cham-ber,” says Steve Aiken, the chief executiveof the British Irish Chamber of Commerce.

In the short term, however, while a slowreturn to growth for the UK economymeans that this is likely to be another chal-lenging year for businesses, opportunitiesin niche sectors will remain.

Two-way tradebetween Irelandand the UK stands atabout ¤1 billion a week

For Irish foodcompanies, the UK

is often the firstport of call with aretail food market

of £100 billion(¤115 billion) that

substantiallydwarfs Ireland’s ¤8

billion market

“

Sterling deals still to be done


Northernexposure

Cross border-trade currently supports 10,000 jobs on the island ofIreland, but the differences between the rates of corporation tax north

and south needs to be addressed, writes Francess McDonnell

InterTradeIreland’s latest quarterlyBusiness Monitor – which surveyed1,500 businesses in the north andsouth – found that more than half ofsouthern businesses were either in

survival mode, contracting or windingdown, while 44 per cent were in the sameposition in the North.

Despite this, there are still manybusinesses showing strong resilienceaccording to Aidan Gough, strategy &policy director of InterTradeIreland, “andit is evident that these are firms who areparticipating in cross-border trade orexporting further afield”, he says.

For many companies cross-bordertrading is the first step to exporting toother markets. “Once you become an ex-porter across the island, it is much easier tobecome an exporter off the island.Thereare so many more opportunities today forcross-border trade because transport linksare so improved from north to south, thereis an infrastructure in place and a marketright on the doorstep,” he says.

Research carried out by InterTradeIre-land found the total value of trade fromsouth to north was more than ¤1.1 billion in2011.The latest manufacturing sales andexports survey carried out by the Depart-ment of Enterprise, Trade and Investment(DETI) in Northern Ireland shows thattotal cross-border sales to the Republicincreased by £52 million to £1.3 billionover 2011/2012. At their peak, total salesfrom north to south were estimated to be£1.6 billion.

The DETI said this survey shows that theRepublic of Ireland remains NorthernIreland’s single largest export market andlast year's figures reverse a previous trendof annually decreasing sales.

But after adjusting for price changesthroughout the year, the latest sales fig-ures for 2011/2012 show an increase of 3.5per cent in real terms.

InterTradeIreland estimates that crossborder trade currently supports in theregion of 10,000 jobs on the island. One ofthe driving forces in this job creation hasbeen the success of the cross-border agri-food sector, which was estimated to be

worth a total ¤1.2 billion in 2011. The sectoraccounts for around 8 per cent of GDP.

According to Bord Bia, the weakening ofthe euro relative to sterling helped inparticular to boost trade to the UK andNorthern Ireland last year.

Like many other business leaders inNorthern Ireland, Nigel Smyth of theConfederation of British Industry in theNorth has concerns about proposals by theBritish Prime Minister David Cameron tohold a referendum on whether the UKshould remain in the European Union.

Any change to the current status quocould have major implications forNorthern Ireland from a trade perspective.

“The future of the UK's position withinEurope is of critical importance toNorthern Ireland. We are the only regionwithin the UK with a land border with an-other member state and Ireland is our larg-est export market with over £1.2 billion ofsales in 2010/11 representing over one fifthof our total manufacturing exports,” hesaid

Eamonn Donaghy, who is involved withGROW NI, the umbrella group of NorthernIreland business, and head of KPMG’s taxpractice in Belfast said the impact of theUK leaving the zone would make tradingwith Europe more difficult. In relation toNorthern Ireland, he said that would not bea good thing for “a small region at the edgeof Europe, Nor will it be helpful in attract-ing foreign direct investment which wantsto gain access to the EU market place,” hesaid.

He said the proposed UK referendumand the question mark it raises over thefuture relationship between the UK andthe EU would not change the campaign inNorthern Ireland to secure a lower rate of

corporation tax for the region.“The benefits of a low corporation tax

rate to Northern Ireland are verysignificant and this will not change signifi-cantly whether the UK is in or out of theEU,” he added.

It has been estimated that if the rate ofcorporation tax in the North were to belowered from its current main rate of 24per cent to 12.5 per cent, it could lead to thecreation of 90,000 new jobs.

The disparity between the rates ofcorporation tax on the island has long beenviewed as a major disadvantage for North-ern Ireland when it comes to attractingnew inward investors because they have tocompete directly against the Republic'smore favourable rate of 12.5 per cent.

It is a debate which many businessleaders in the North hope will be settledone way or another before the G8 Summitcomes to Northern Ireland in the summer.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Once you become an exporteracross the island, it is much

easier to become an exporteroff the island.There are somany more opportunities

today for cross-border trade

“

Aidan Gough, strategy & policydirector of InterTradeIreland


TherearenotmanypeoplewhohavetheIrishweathertothankforabusinessopportunity.ButMelCampbellisone.ThefounderofLisburn-basedPlayServicesIrelandsetupin2009,happilyacknowledgesthattheofteninclementIrishweatherhasbeenacross-borderbusinessboonforhisfirm.Aplayconsultancy,thecompany

advisesonthedesignanddevelop-mentofnewplaygroundsandindoorplayfacilitiesandprovidestailoredplaygroundsafetyinspectionservices.Italsomaintainsandrefurbishes

playareasandtrainsprivateandpublicplaygroundoperatorsonhowtoregularlyinspectplaygroundsandsoftplayareas.Indoorsoftplaycentreshave

becomeincreasinglypopularandthesehaveproventobeamajorsourceofbusinessforPlayServicesIreland.Campbellsetuphiscompanyin

2009afteracareerinboththepublicandprivateplayindustry.Twoyearsonhesawthepotential

forbusinessgrowthoutsideofNorth-ernIrelandasaround15percentofhisturnoveratthattimealreadycamefromcrossbordersales.HesoughtadvicefromInterTradeIre-

land,andsignedupforitsElevatesalesdevelopmentprogrammewhichprovidesfinancialassistancetocompaniestohelpthemidentifycrossbordermarketsandcustomers.AccordingtoCampbellasaresultof

takingpartintheprogrammehewonnewbusiness,wasabletodoublehiscompany'sactivityinthecrossbordermarketandaddtwomoreemployeestohisteam.HisadvicetootherNorthernIreland

companieswhoarecurrentlylookingattheRepublicofIrelandmarketistogoforit iftheywanttogrowtheirbusiness.

HarryParkinson(right),themanagingdirectorofCloseBrothersCommercialFinance,seesatfirsthandthedifficultiesfacedbybusinessestryingtosecurenewfinancearrangementsonbothsidesoftheborder.CloseBrothersCommercialFinance

isacross-borderbusinessbutalsoworkscloselywithfirmsnorthandsouthtohelpthemgrowtheircross-borderbusinessandexpandtheirmarketopportunities.Thecompanywhichhasofficesin

BelfastandDublinprovidesassetandinvoicefinance.AccordingtoParkinsonthecross-

borderdymanicofCloseBrothersCommercialFinanceisabsolutelyessentialtoitssuccess.Hesaidthecompanyhasseen

evidenceinNorthernIrelandofarecoveryincertainsectorsandthatwhiletheeconomyinthesouthstillfacesmajorchallengesthereisageneraltrendofimprovement.“Weareopenforbusinessnorth

andsouthbecauseacrosstheislandthereisalackoffundingbeingmadeavailable,particularlytosmalltomediumsizedbusinesses,whowanttogetintonewmarketsontheirdoorstep,”hesays.

Play Services:Whateverthe weather

Close Brothers Commercial Finance:The Belfast-Dublin connection


I’mfromKanturkinCoCork,andafteraBComminUCCIwenttoGoldenValeasatraineeaccount-ant,followedbyajobinStrong-bowinDublinworkinginfilmandTV.ThatledtoacareerinmediamanagementintheUK,includ-ingwithFinancialTimesTelevi-sion,ITNandHachette.TenyearsagoIsawagapinthemarket

betweentheneedsofseniorexecutivesandprofessionalsandwhatwasonofferfromheadhunters,humanresourcespeopleandcareercoaches.Idevelopedapieceofintellectualpropertythathelpspeopletomanagetheircareersasiftheyweremicrobusinesses.SincethenI’veworkedwith

seniorexecutivesandprofession-alsfromaroundtheworld.MybookMindYourBusiness isaboutthefactthatorganisationsarenowacoalitionofmicrobusi-nesses.Thesocialcontracthasbeenbrokenandanewdynamicisatplay.Mybusinessisbasedin

LondonandIliveinBrighton.I

thinkthereareperhapspersonali-tydifferencesatplayinthebusinessculturesofIrelandandtheUK.Irishpeopletendtobegregarious,openandcandidabouttheirfeelings.ButIthinkallnationalitiesrecognisetheconceptofmicromanagingtheircareer,particularlysincethecrash.

The bloodstock tradeis galloping back

after a heavy slumpin the downturn, writes

Sandra O’Connell

MERGER

The name Goffs has beensynonymous with Irish blood-stock sales for 140 years, withthe Kildare-based business

known as the country’s premier salesring for thoroughbred horses. In theUK, Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Ltd(DBS) has been performing a similarrole since 1962.

In 2007, thanks to personal contactsbetween the principals of bothbusinesses, the two were mergedunder the Robert J Goff & Co banner,with Henry Beeby of DBS becominggroup chief executive.

Goffs is Ireland’s leading bloodstocksales company while DBS is the second-largest (to Tattersalls) in the UK. Thisis combined with a shareholding in theleading French Sales company Arqa-na, the group is committed to becom-ing the leading company in Europeanbloodstock sales.

The UK/Irish merger has enabledconsiderable synergies for both sides,according to Henry Beeby.

“Our Irish and our UK businessescomplement each other perfectly. Theethos of both was always very similar.On top of that it made sense because

the bloodstock business in the UK andthat in Ireland is really the onebusiness: you see the same vendors andpurchasers travelling back and forth allthe time,” he says.

Goffs employs 22 people at itsKildare base, while DBS employs 16.Last year Goffs sold ¤68 million worthof horses, compared with £25 millionsold by DBS.

The Irish side of the business has had

challenges to contend with in terms ofthe collapse of the Celtic Tiger econo-my. Goffs’ peak year was 2007, when itsold ¤122 million worth of horses. Thatfell dramatically as a result of the down-turn, to ¤45 million in 2010. But sales

have been growing since at a rate ofaround 25 per cent a year, with sales of¤ 68m million recorded last year.Whilethe Irish side of the business isprofitable it is undergoing a cost cut-ting programme resulting in the loss of25 per cent of its staff in redundancies.

This rebound does not surpriseBeeby. “There is no getting away fromthe fact that what we deal in is a luxuryitem, but the bloodstock market is re-markably resilient in so far as it is quickto fall but quick to start moving back upagain too.”

Horse prices have fallen but so toohas supply. “The Irish bloodstock indus-try was suffering from an oversupplyand that is a problem that has been cor-rected as a result of the recession.Breeder numbers have fallen.”

The fact that Goffs, which is ownedby 500 shareholders, sells to an interna-tional market helped cushion it fromthe worst of the domestic downturn athome. “It helps that Irish bloodstock isthe best in the world, so we are sellingthe best of the best.” Goffs is owned bysome 500 shareholders, the biggest ofwhom, with a 40 per cent stake, is theAga Khan, followed by Moyglare Stud,which has a 27 per cent share.

Like every other business in thecountry we have had to work hard onour costs. As a result we achievedaround ¤4 million in cost savings,” saysBeeby, who is optimistic for the future

“A lot of the people who came in as aresult of the Celtic Tiger era are gonesays Beeby. But that means we are backto dealing with lifetime professionalsin the bloodstock industry, like myself,who will never stop.”

Our Irish and our UKbusinesses complementeach other perfectly. Theethos of both was always

very similar

Henry Beeby: “A lot of the peoplewho came in as a result of the

Celtic Tiger era are gone”

“

TRADESTORIES CiaranFenton,Fenton&CoLLP

Back ontrack


© 2013 KPMG, an Irish partnership and a member firm of theKPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMGInternational Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. TheKPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registeredtrademarks of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”),a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. (102537)

Doing businessin Britain?

For Irish companies looking to export and grow,doing business in Britain is the obvious next step.

With a market of over 60 million people,the attractions are obvious – and the

challenges sometimes less so.

We advise Irish companies doing businessin Britain by providing the audit, tax

and advisory support they needto help them succeed.

To find out more contactAndrew Gallagher in Dublin

on +353 1 410 1550 [email protected] or

Eamonn Donaghy in Belfast on+44 (28) 9089 3839 or

[email protected]

kpmg.ie

CID No. 3090691 KPMG Advert Jan 2013 102537102537 British Irish Supp Jan2013 indd 1 1/31/13 10:47 AM

Realising yournet worth

Doing business in Britain has al-ways made sense for Irish com-panies. Ireland’s domestic mar-ket has always had some limita-tions for most companies with

an eye on bigger growth, even before theeconomic downturn. The limited marketopportunities in Ireland, coupled with thenow difficult economic conditions havemade the UK an attractive prospect.

Electronics and electronic equipment –along with pharmaceuticals, meat, machin-ery and organic chemicals – is among thetop five export categories from Ireland toBritain, and at ¤1.53 billion a year, it is beat-en only by organic chemicals.

The UK market is the next logical stepfor many Irish firms who want to expandtheir business further afield. Our closestneighbours, the cultural similarities be-tween the two business communities hasmade it slightly easier for Irish firms to es-tablish a foothold in the market. Frequenttransport links, a common culture and lan-guage all make it an ideal starting point.

Remote monitoring firm Netwatch’smanaging director David Walsh describedthe move outside Ireland as inevitable.

“The Irish market is relatively small so itwas always an inevitability that we wouldexport internationally,” he said. “Initially,a number of our customers in the Irish mar-ket who had operations in the UK ap-proached us, they loved the service wewere providing in Ireland and wanted us toprotect their businesses and homes in theUK also. It was a natural progression andgave us a good starting point to expan-sion.”

However, Irish technology businesseswishing to make that jump shouldn’t take itlightly. Although there are many similari-ties between the UK and Ireland, compa-nies should still do their homework beforeestablishing a UK base.

Interactive billing company Brite:bill is arelatively new entrant to the market, set-

ting up its London office just over a yearago. But chief executive Alan Coleman al-ready had extensive knowledge of the mar-ket, having lived in Britain for some time.

The move made sense for Brite:bill; thecompany provides customised billing serv-ices to the large mobile operators here, butwanted to spread its net wider.

Because the market is exponentially big-ger, Coleman said, it means dealing with en-tities that are larger and more complexthan companies may be used to dealingwith. “It can take some time to understandhow they organise themselves, becausethey are larger organisations with morecomplex decision-making processes,” hesaid.

Familiarity is an advantage in Ireland,where companies often have some form ofcontact with each other, or can provide in-formation on who key decision-makers arewithin companies.

“In Ireland, it’s much more familiar andintuitive and you can understand how deci-sions are taken. You also have much lowerdegrees of separation,” Coleman said. “It’smuch more difficult in the UK because youdon’t have the same level of connectednessto the market. That connectedness can pro-vide you with vital context.”

As such, the networking culture, whileimportant here, is much more crucial inBritain, CBE chief executive Gerard Con-cannon said.

Many companies are effectively trying toestablish a new brand in the market, whichcan be like starting from scratch, building areputation locally. And there is a bit of ashift in thinking too, when it comes to get-ting the right company representatives infront of the right clients.

Mayo-based CBE supplies EPoS scan-ning solutions, cash registers and point-of-sale systems. It has been doing business inthe UK for five years, and began focusingmore intently on expanding its businessthere as the economic downturn hit Ire-land, investing more in the UK business.

“CBE is a strong brand here in Irelandbut was relatively unknown in the UK and ittook a lot of networking with the right peo-ple to get them to know us and have confi-dence in our products,” Concannon ex-plained.

Gaining that confidence can be a longprocess. Concannon said it took CBE long-er than it initially thought to gain customertrust but the payoff has been a thriving busi-ness in Britain.

The company has noted a few differenc-es in how things are done.

“In Ireland senior people – decision-mak-ers – in a company are quite willing to dealwith junior people or middle management;in the UK, senior people only want to dealwith senior people.”

However, once the differences havebeen tackled, there are benefits to bereaped. Access to different skills is also anadvantage of moving into new markets,and that is no different in Britain.

In Brite:bill’s case, the company gainedaccess to different design talent.

“There are some great and creative de-signers in Ireland, but there were some spe-cialities that I needed to get access to and alot of those were based in London,” Cole-man said.

The UK market can also yield benefitsfor startups. Software company Effectivehas made the UK an equal priority from the

outset.“When we launched our product, we tar-

geted the UK with our initial web advertis-ing campaigns at the same time as welaunched in Ireland,” said managing direc-tor Darragh Geoghegan.

“Until recently, we conducted all UKsales direct from Ireland. We have nowhired directly within the UK, but initiallytrying to identify local area leads and pro-motion opportunities was difficult.”

The company has linked in with the cur-rent move towards cloud service, provid-ing software to help firms manage theirhealth and safety requirements, cuttingtheir administrative costs in the process.

Even as a startup, accessing the Britishmarket didn’t require a prohibitive outlay.

“We supply a software as a service solu-tion so 95 per cent of our business and sup-port is all conducted online but even theUK local availability was also an issue,”said Geoghegan. “Availability of serviced

It’s much more difficult in theUK because you don’t have

the same level of connected-ness to the market. That con-nectedness can provide you

with vital context

“

Growing your market and brand in the UKrequires diligent research. But the pay-off canmake it well worthwhile, writes Ciara O’Brien

Netwatch managing director David Walsh:says move outside Ireland was inevitable

TECHNOLOGY


Thebusinesswassetupin2001andIjoinedin2005astechnicaldirector,becomingCEOin2009.Wesellagilebusinessintelligencesolutions.Ourtoolsprovidedataanalysisandreport-ingacrossactivitiessuchashumanresourcesmanagement,finance,payrollandsoon,tohelpbusinessmanagersmakebetterdecisions.Weemploy15peopleandhaveaturnoverofinexcessof¤1million.Upuntil2010wehadbeenfocused

mainlyontheIrishmarket. Inthatyearwemadeabigpushintoexportsandjustthreeyearslaterexportsaccountfor60percentofourrevenues.WehaveclientsintheUS,CanadaandHollandbuttheUKaccountsforthelion’sshare.Referencingiseverythinginour

businessandthefactthatwepickedupsomeverybig,bluechipUKclientsveryquicklymadeahugedifference.Wesellacrossthreesectors–public,educationandcommercial.WehaveclientssuchasPlymouthUniversity,JohnLaingConstructionandUKgovernmentdepartmentsbuyingoursoftware,andthat,inturn,opensthedoortomoresales.IfindthatintheUKyougetavery

directyesorno,ratherthanthe‘slowno’yougetathome,whichcanbefrustrating.Youcandoallthedeskresearchyouwantwhenitcomestobreakingnewmarketsbutthere’snosubstituteforshoeleather. It’sactuallygettinginfrontofpeoplethatcounts.

offices, virtual offices and internationalVoIP numbers allowed us to give the im-pression of international structure whilewe were growing and still not quite at thatstage of development.”

Companies who want to follow in thefootsteps of successful firms should be pre-

pared to put in the effort, with research ofthe market pinpointed as a priority beforeinvesting heavily in attempting to growyour brand in the British market.

“It sounds obvious but is often some-thing overlooked by many companies,”said Geoghegan.

And just because the market is familiar,it doesn’t mean it will be easy.

“Be prepared for the long haul,” saidCBE’s Concannon. “Be prepared to investmoney and the time of experienced peoplein developing your brand. The good news isthis investment is worth it.”

TRADESTORIESMauriceLynch,NatheanTechnologies

RemotemonitoringcompanyNetwatchhasbeenoperatingintheUKforfiveyears.Thecompany,whichisbasedinCoCarlow,specialisesinremotevideosurveillance,aimingitselfmainlyatcommercialproperties.Establishedherein2003,ithas

grownovertheyearstoemploy100peopleinIreland,with20staffoutsidethecountry.FormanagingdirectorDavidWalsh,expandingintheUKwasas

muchaboutbuildingtherightteamthatunderstoodtheNet-watchcultureasitwasgettingtogripswithhowtodobusinessintheUK."Thebiggestchallengewas

certainlyfindingtherightpeopletointegratetheUKculturewithourinternalNetwatchcultureandwe’vebeenreallyluckytohavebuiltsuchateamthere,”hesaid.Crucialtothecompany’ssuccessintheUKwasbuildingupanet-

workofinstallerswhowouldallowNetwatchtoofferthesamelevelofserviceresponseasitdidinIreland.ThiswaskeytoNet-watch’suniquesellingpoint.“ThesecurityindustryintheUK

isextremelydifferenttothatinIrelandasithasbeencommodi-tizedtotheextentofprovidingaverylowlevelofservice,”Walshsaid.”Assuch,themarketwas

extremelyreceptivetoNetwatch’s

high-valuepropositionparticularlythecompletemanagedservicesolution.”IthaspaidoffforNetwatch.AnditssuccessintheUKhashadknock-onbenefitsfortheCarlowoperation.Thecompanyiscommittedto

creatingjobsatitsCarlowbaseand,regardlessofwhereitsbusinessexpandsinto,theservicefulfillmenttakesplacethroughitsspecialistsinitscommunicationhub.

WalshadvisesthoseconsideringenteringtheUKmarketthatwherepossibletheyshouldworkwithexistingcustomersinIrelandwhohaveoperationsintheUK.“Theywillalreadybefamiliarwithyourproductorserviceanditwillprovideyouwithasofterintroduc-tiontothemarket,”hesaid.“Network,listentoandtakeadvicefrompeoplealreadyexportingtotheUK,thereisagreatnetworkofIrishexportcompanies–useit!”

Netwatch: a successful merger of two cultures


Developing a future overseas

Since the downturn, a string of Irisharchitectural and engineeringfirms have set up shop in citiesacross the UK. These includeReddy Architecture – headed up

by Tony Reddy, a founder member of theLondon-based Academy of Urbanism – andO'Connor Sutton Cronin (OCSC), an engi-neering firm targeting the Londonresidential market.

They join a clutch of Irish firms with well-established UK practices, such as Scott Tal-lon Walker, which entered the UK in 1974;John Sisk and Co and Bennett Construction– both of which moved to the UK in the1980s – and multidisciplinary PM Group,which set up in Birmingham in the 1990s.

The latest figures from Ireland’s CentralStatistics Office reveal that the value ofconstruction output dropped 2.9 per cent inthe second quarter of 2012, a 7.1 per centdrop from the same period in 2011.

The Construction Industry Federationhas estimated that total constructionoutput in Ireland will be around ¤8.4 billionfor the whole of 2012, representing a drop of¤30 billion since 2006.

As a result, gross exports from compa-nies targeting the UK construction sectorwill exceed ¤1 billion by 2016, predictsbusiness support agency EnterpriseIreland.John Hunt, the agency’s senior mar-ket advisor on construction, says: “The pastfive years have seen significant growth inthe number of exporting companies, and

the number of exports to the UK. This isimpressive when we consider the inherentdifficulties of winning new work andsustaining new clients.”

Hunt says Irish firms with an industrialengineering capability have prospered at atime when investment in power distribu-tion, rail infrastructure, data centres and,more recently, London’s prime residential,has held firm.

The development outlook for primeresidential in London is certainly healthy:the pipeline of luxury schemes alone isworth £39 billion, according to consultancyEC Harris. It is no surprise, then, that firmsare jostling to snap up lucrativeopportunities across the Irish Sea.

But to succeed in what has become a high-ly competitive market, they mustdemonstrate a unique offer and strongtrack record.

“The UK is a tough market,” says John

O’Connell, managing director of PM GroupUK. “With the economy as it is there are farfewer opportunities. The volume of workhas halved and the number of firms goingfor one contract is huge.”

PM Group employs 1,800 people acrossthe world, 300 of which are UK-based. Itscore business is providing architectural,engineering and project managementservices to the biopharmaceutical and foodmanufacturing industries. When it enteredthe UK in the mid-1990s, Birmingham wasits first port of call as that was where manyexisting clients were based.

“The challenge was to grow our businessin a mature market already served by a largenumber of competitors,” says O’Connell.“We focused on our strengths; one or twobusiness areas where we knew we could pro-vide a world-class service, and, at first, didnot diversify much outside that.”

PM Group’s big break came in 2007,when it acquired London-based DevereuxArchitects, one of the UK’s top 20 architec-tural firms. The company operates across arange of sectors, including healthcare,education, research, and commercial andresidential development. PM Group’s otherUK employees are located in Birmingham,Southampton and Manchester.

Now, around 15 per cent of the group’s to-tal income comes from the UK – around£20m – and it is currently working on a hugemasterplanning project for the Adenbrookbiomedical campus outside Cambridge.

PM Group is not the only Irish firm tohave bought into a UK practice tostrengthen its offer. John Sisk & Co movedto London in 1980 and expanded itsbusiness in 2004 by acquiring Bideem, a£33m-turnover civil engineering contrac-tor from Bristol.

However, Eoin O’Morain, a director atScott Tallon Walker, says few Irish practic-es can afford to buy out a UK business. Hesuggests partnering with well-known firmson specific projects. “It is possible to workwith established firms on one-off projectsthat are not large enough to base a practiceon but require a local practice to navigatethe UK’s complex regulatory system,” hesays.

Reddy Architecture is one practice thatarrived in the UK at a decidedly shaky time,in 2010, but is snapping up high-profileresidential work from big-name developerssuch as Barratt and Berkeley.

The firm was seeking new sources ofwork as the Irish market becameincreasingly depressed, says Reddy’s UKmanaging director Calbhac O’Carroll.However, the firm, which already hadoffices in Russia, the US and the MiddleEast, also saw London as a good base fromwhich to expand its global reach. “So manyinternational investment decisions aremade from London,” says O’Carroll.

Two years later, it has five architects inthe London office but no plans to open inthe regions. “London is where theinvestment activity is, driven to a largeextent by money abroad,” says O’Carroll.

He admits it has been challenging tobreak into the UK, particularly at a timewhen things are far from booming. Firmsneed reserve capital to cover the high costs

The development outlook forprime residential in

London is certainly healthy:the pipeline of luxury schemes

alone is worth £39 billion

“

While the Irish construction industry remains bleak, firms are jostling tosnap up lucrative opportunities across the Irish Sea, writes Sarah Townsend

CONSTRUCTION


of doing business in London – rent, travel,business rates – and fund a typical three-year marketing period.

He says the London market is “highlysegmented and specialised”, with hundredsof rivals depending on the size and nature ofthe project. Fees, in particular, arecompetitive. “Architects back in Irelandwould take the view that fees are horren-dously low at the moment, but they’re notmuch better in London.”

While a handful of firms are clearlymaking headway in breaking the UK, not all

have succeeded. Last March, Irisharchitects Austin-Smith Lord shut itsLondon office and all seven staff were maderedundant.

Later, HKR, once Ireland’s biggestarchitectural practice, went intoreceivership and closed three of its sixoffices, including Manchester. The Londonoffice remains open.

Hunt says the number of new companiestargeting the UK was at an all-time highbetween 2008 and 2010, but this has tailedoff in the past two years.

He says: “Today, Irish companies aremost likely to target UK construction withsoftware or energy management solutions;a sign, I believe, that companies who cameto the UK during Ireland’s most difficultdays either conquered with a world-classoffer or failed to adapt.”

SarahTownsend isprofessionalandlegaleditorofPropertyWeek

OneofthebiggestbusinessnamesinIreland,SiskGroupisafifth-generationfamilybusiness.FoundedinCorkin1859by22-year-oldplastererJohnSisk, ithasgrownintoaninternationalconstructioncompanywhichhasdiversifiedintohealthcare,consumerproducts,stonequarriesandpropertyinIreland,theUK,theMiddleEastandbeyond.Thoughthebusinessspansthreecenturies,andemploysinexcessof2,000

people,thefamilymaintainithasstayedtruetofounderJohnSisk’svisionofprovidingexceptionallyhighlevelsofconstructionexpertiseandcustomerservicebyemploying,trainingandmotivatingcapablestaff.ThebuildingfirmJohnSiskfoundedremainsatthecoreofthenow

internationallyandsectorallydiversifiedgroupofcompanieswhichmakeuptheSiskGroup. ItsUKbusinesswassetupin1984withoneofitsfirstjobsa£2millionofficeblockinWoking.By2000,theUKbusinesswasturningover£100millionandtodayitisa£350million-plusbusiness,employingaround450staff.SiskhastwomainoperationalbasesontheUKmainland,atStAlbansand

Solihull. ItalsohassatellitebasesinCardiff,Bristol,ManchesterandGlasgow.ThisyeartheUKwillaccountforoverhalfofJohnSisk&Son’sturnover.TheUKbusinesshasgrownorganicallywithcoreexpertiseinthehoteland

residentialsectors. IthasbuiltupstrongrelationswithkeyclientssuchasDerwentandQuintain.FlagshipschemesincludehotelprojectswithinCountyHall,severalOlympicprojectsandvenues,WembleyArenaandthedeliveryofLondon’shighesthotel.Withsignificantlyreducedpipelinesofworkathomeandasurplusofspecialist

expertiseatitsdisposal,thecompanyrespondedbyaddingnewbusinessstreamswithintheUKinenergy, industrialprocessandcivilengineering.Thesecomplementeditsexistingcorebusinessesandsignificantlyincreased

Sisk’spresencewithintheUKconstructionindustry.Thefirstsuccessfromthisinitiativecameintheformofa£40millioncontractatPembrokeinwestWalesforacombinedgas-poweredenergyplant(picturedabove)toservetheequivalentofathreemillionpopulation,acontractawardedbyanexistingclientfromitsIrishbusiness.Sisk’sperformanceatPembrokeledtoafurther10awardsoverthepastthreeyearsgenerating£250mofrevenueacrossCCGT(combinedcyclegasturbine),wastetoenergy,windfarms, industrialprocessanddatacentres.AnotherSiskskill-settocrosstheIrishSeain2008wascivilengineering,

whereadifferentmanagementapproachwastaken,thistimebyformingjointventuresintheUKwithprovenpartners.Theflagshipawardresultingfromthisinitiativewasthe£450millionCrossrail

contractbeingdeliveredinjointventurewithSpanishcontractorDragados.This21kmtunnellingprojectisshortlyduetocommence.SiskhasalsosecuredmajorroadworksschemesinScotlandandWalesinpartnershipwithRoadbridge.CurrentprojectsatSiskintheUKincludethefittingoutthehighesthotelinWesternEurope,thefirstdesigneroutletcentrewithintheM25,a£35millioncoffeeproductionfacility inDerbyshireanda£75millionwastetoenergyschemeinManchester.

SandraO’Connell

Top: Bexhill High Academy, a secondaryschool designed by PM Group-acquiredcompany Devereux Architects.Above: University College London HospitalProton Beam Therapy Centre, designed byScott Tallon Walker Architects, one of thearchitects involved in a ¤250m schemedue to be delivered in 2017

AIB TRADE CHAMPIONSISK


That whisperin the blood

If the Gathering draws the extra325,000 visitors that Ireland hopesto attract this year, tourism chiefs arepredicting it could be a huge game-changer for Ireland’s tourism indus-

try. There are more than 2,600 Gatheringsdue to take place throughout the countryand the year got off to a star-studded startwith a Gathering organised by Daniel Day-Lewis last month.

The English-born double-Oscar winner,who lives in Wicklow, persuaded the starsof his latest film Lincoln ,including SallyField and the director Steven Spielberg, togather in Dublin to celebrate the Europeanpremiere of the film and help raise funds tobuild a hospice in Wicklow.

While the thousands of other Gather-ings taking place up and down the countrymight not attract quite as much publicity,they are collectively creating a wave of ex-citement about the initiative which aims tobe a “festival of festivals”.

According to Tourism Ireland, theorganisation responsible for promoting Ire-land overseas as a holiday destination, over-seas tourism business accounts for ¤3.5 bil-lion, or 59 per cent of all tourism revenue.

The reason why so much rides on it beinga success is that tourism is the largest indig-enous industry on the island; it accountsfor more than 4 per cent of GNP and em-ploys around 200,000 people.

More than half of all overseas visitors toIreland come from Britain, and the indus-try is hoping that they will come in theirdroves for the Gathering. An estimated sixmillion British people claim some form ofIrish descent , so it remains to be seen if thelure of the old country is strong enough.

But it could be a difficult sell, particularlyas Ireland has lost half of its tourism busi-ness from Britain over the past five years,according to the Tourism Recovery Task-force. The most recent tourism figuresshow there was a sharp fall in the number

of British tourists to Ireland in the threemonths to November of last year. Overallvisitor numbers fell by 3 per cent to673,700.

According to the Central StatisticsOffice, this coincided with a rise of nearly6 per cent in the number of visitors to Ire-land from other European countries. Amer-ican visitors were up slightly too to269,500, during the same period.

The number of Irish people visiting Brit-ain has also fallen consistently in recentyears from a high of more than 2.9 millionin 2007 to just over 2.5 million last year.

This drop is unlikely to cause much upsetin the industry there as, thanks to theOlympic effect, Britain is set to reach itsforecast of 31 million visits last year.

The fall in the number of British holiday-makers to Ireland, however, has alarmedthe hospitality industry.

Niall Gibbons, the chief executive ofTourism Ireland, says one of the factors Ire-land has to compete against are British stay-at-home destinations. The fall-off in Britishtourists to Ireland last year also in part re-flected where the country’s economy wasand the low consumer confidence that pre-vailed in Britain.

Gibbons says market research also sug-gests a perception among some British holi-daymakers that Ireland has remained anexpensive location to visit despite the gen-eral demise of Celtic Tiger prices .

But will the Gathering imbue the estimat-ed six million people in Britain who claimsome form of Irish roots with a fresh desireto visit their ancestral homeland?

“The relationship between Britain andIreland has never been better, the Irelandbrand is very strong and I do believe thatthe Gathering is a great opportunity forus,” says Gibbons.

“We’ve also got a new plan this yearwhich will help us get our compelling mes-sage across about what we have to offer in

Ireland. We aim to grow the number of Brit-ish holidays by 5 per cent per annum to2016.”

Tourism Ireland research shows thatBritish holidaymakers view Ireland as ashort-break destination but that it scorespoorly on many of their key holiday motiva-tion factors.

One of the barriers it needs to overcometo convert potential British holidaymakersinto visitors to Ireland is that there are “sim-ply other places they would rather go”.

“Ireland can offer all the experiencesthey want. We just need to tell British holi-daymakers that Ireland has what they wantand we are going to do that by identifyingpotential visitors by particular groups andmatching their needs and interests,” hesays.

These groups include the Social Energis-ers (young, fun-loving urban adventurers),the Culturally Curious (over-45s who wantto broaden their minds) and Great Escap-ers (younger couples who want to get awayfrom it all).

Some 85 per cent of British tourists fly toIreland and in recent years fewer than20 per cent travelled by sea or broughttheir own car. But perhaps the Gatheringwill change that.

The relationship betweenBritain and Ireland has neverbeen better, the Ireland brandis very strong and I do believethat the Gathering is a great

opportunity for us

“

The Gathering could be a game changer for Irishtourism – but will British tourists come in their

droves? Francess McDonnell reports

TOURISM


IsetupRivieraTravelin1984.Wespecialiseinescortedtours,haveaturnoverof¤100millionayearandaUKstaffof74.Acoupleofyearsagowenoticed

that,particularlyforlong-haultours,anawfullotofthepeopleonthemwerefromIreland.Theywerejusthoppingonaplaneandjoiningusbecauseourpricesweresogood.In2011weopenedanofficeinDublin.BecauseofthesizeofourUKmarket

weareabletodothingslikecharterourownrivercruisersforsixmonths–thingsyouwouldn’tbeabletodoinIrelandbecausethenumbersjustaren’tthere.ItmeanswecanofferverylowpricestotheIrishmarket.Thedownturnmeantwewereable

tostaffourDublinofficewithpeoplewhoareexpertintheIrishtravelmarket.Therearejustthreestaffthereatthemoment,butthatwillgrow.I’mIrishmyselfandmycustomer-

servicemanagerisIrish,soinrelationtorecessionweknewthattheIrishmightbedownbuttheyweren’tout.TheIrishliveonacold,darkisland, justlikepeoplefromtheUK,andtheywanttheirholiday.Wethoughttoothatthetimetoget

intoanymarketwaswhenthingsareattheirtoughest,andbethereforwhenthemarketcomesback.Wewereright:ourIrishbusinesswasprofitableinitsfirstyear.

Tim Fenn, chief executive of the Irish Ho-tels Federation (IHF), believes the Gather-ing will re-energise Irish tourism “but it isabout much more than that. The Gather-ing will also give people an opportunity torestore lost connections and create a newsense of community,” he said.

“We do need to give holidaymakers newreasons to visit Ireland and we need to getthe right message across that Ireland isgreat value, especially to visitors from Brit-ain. There was a time when Ireland mightnot have been as competitive as it is now,”he said.

The IHF also believes the initiative couldhelp boost corporate bookings, which areshowing signs of recovery particularly inthe Dublin area.

“There is a huge business connectionbetween Ireland and Britain, and that ishelping to underpin the recovery in busi-ness-visitor numbers that we are seeing.

The close relationship between the twoeconomies is definitely driving the recov-ery in business travellers,” says Fenn.

A spokesperson for the Association ofIrish Professional Conference Organisers(AIPCO) says feedback from its memberssuggests the Gathering in itself will notboost attendance levels at professional con-ferences this year .

She said at a purely corporate level itmay encourage some organisations tothink outside the box and host specialevents but believes the Gathering is moreconsumer orientated.

“Generally important conferences areplanned three to four years in advance so Idon’t think it will be of massive impor-tance,” she said.

However a number of companies includ-ing Google, Facebook, KPMG and PwChave confirmed they intend to hold interna-tional alumni events in Ireland, which

could bring 1,000 international visitors.But not even these promise to rival the

Gathering hosted by Daniel Day-Lewis inDublin with his Hollywood friends. Hisevent shone a glamorous spotlight on theinitiative and might also have inspiredsome of his fans in Britain to look at Irelandwith a view to visiting for the first time or re-turning.

As Day-Lewis said:“By answering that whisper in the blood

and returning to the source, they shall alsobe investing in the future of this uniquelymagnificent country.”

TRADESTORIESMichaelWright,RivieraTravel

Film director Steven Spielberg, head of FoxFilmed Entertainment Jim Gianopulos andactors Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field atthe Irish premiere of Lincoln at the SavoyCinema, Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke


www.teagasc.ie

Leading the Development of Ireland’sFarming and Food Industry

Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, supports science basedinnovation in the agri-food sector and the wider bioeconomy to underpin profitability,competitiveness and sustainability.

Through Research (food and agriculture) and Knowledge Transfer (education andadvisory) Teagasc delivers six programmes:

Teagasc Goals:■ Improve the competitiveness of agriculture, food and the wider bioeconomy■ Support sustainable farming and the environment■ Encourage diversification of the rural economy and enhance the quality of

life in rural areas■ Enhance organisational capability and deliver value for money

Food Programme■ Food Bioscience■ Food Safety■ Food Technology

and Quality■ Technology Transfer

to Food Companies

Education Programme■ Further Education

and Training Courses■ Higher Education

Courses■ Agriculture■ Horticulture■ Equine

Advisory Programme■ Business and

Technology■ Environment and

Technology■ Rural Development■ Growth and Efficiency■ Competitiveness

Animal and GrasslandProgramme

■ Animal and Bioscience■ Grassland Science■ Livestock Systems■ Dairy■ Beef■ Sheep■ Pigs

Crops, Environment andLand Use Programme

■ Crop Science■ Environment■ Horticulture■ Forestry

Rural Economy andDevelopment Programme

■ Agri-Food Economics■ Rural Sustainability■ Farm Surveys■ Farm Management■ Rural Development

LearningPoolhelpsorganisationsthatneedtotrainlargenumbersofpeoplequicklyandcosteffectively,sotheycandeliverbetterservicestotheircustomers.I’moneoftheco-foundersofthe

business,whichwesetupinLondonin2006andthenmovedtoDerry,becauseIwaslivingthereatthetimeandmybusinesspartnerwaslivinginDonegal,soitmademostsense.Todayalmost100percentofour

clientsareintheUK,inbothpublicand

privatesectors. It justmademostsensetotargettheUKbecauseofthesizeofitspublic-sectororganisations.OneofourclientsisBirminghamCityCouncil,whichhas57,000employees. Itmakessensetofocusyoureffortsonplacesyouarelikelytogetthebestreturn.Wehaveaturnoverof£3.5 million[¤4.1

million]andastaffof55, includingfourpeopletakenonsincethenewyear. It’sfairtosaytherecessionhasn’thamperedourbusinessatall.

Peoplestillneedtrainingfortheirstaffbutarekeenerthanevertogetitascosteffectivelyaspossible,sotherecessionhasprobablyhelpedus.Thatsaid, I’vebeenbacklivinginLondon

forthepastyearnow,andthere’sverylittleevidenceofrecessionthatIcansee.Itseemstobebooming.Wehaveasmallamountofbusinessin

Ireland,andI’mhopingtogrowthattoothisyear,withacoupleofpublic-sectorcontractsinthepipeline.

A London-basedteacher has developeda fun way to teach Irish

to children, writesMark Hennessy

EDUCATION

Claire O’Gorman works as asupply teacher in south Lon-don, filling gaps in schools’timetables. In the evenings inher Clapham flat, she works to

build a business back in Ireland that willhelp to teach children Irish through boardgames.

The germ of the business idea cameduring time at the blackboard in St Mary’sNational School in Blessington, Co Wick-low.

“I found that children found Irish quiteboring and they weren’t that interested.

“The more I played games with them the

more interested they were, and they got soexcited and looked forward to doing Irishif you made it a bit more fun. Then I wentlooking for resources, but there weren’tany around,” she says.

The idea remained dormant untilO’Gorman moved to London to teach inSeptember 2011, when she decided to“seriously” look into developing SmartyCat Games, soon bringing a local graphicdesigner on board to help draw up the10-game box-set.

The first run of “Cluichí Gaeilge”, madein Ireland and covering the 10 themescovered in the national curriculum forIrish in schools, was produced last June.“Schools were very interested,” she says.

The second production run was manu-factured in Asia, because O’Gorman couldnot then afford to pay for the quantitiesneeded by the Irish printers.

“But it took a lot longer than I hadhoped. I only got them in November. Sofar, so good.”

The box-set sells for ¤150, thoughO’Gorman is working to develop sellingthe games individually to make it moreaffordable for parents to buy one and helptheir children with their lessons at home.

For now, direct selling is her chosenroute. She was put off by the marginssought by retailers.

If the games can successfully help toteach Irish to Irish kids, then variationscould be used to teach other languages. “Iwould love to change it into differentlanguages. Sell English ones to China, forexample. There are so many places to takeit.”

Claire O’Gorman. Her students gotinterested when she made lessons fun

TRADESTORIES MaryMcKenna,LearningPool

February26thBreakfastSeminar,Dublin:InsolvencyRegimesinBritain&IrelandsponsoredbyRSMFarrellGrantSparks.Toregistercontactconor.hynes@britishirishchamber.com

February27thBreakfastSeminar,Dublin.AQuestionofTalent?-WomenonBoardsinIrelandsponsoredbyO'[email protected]

March6thUKTIInboundMarketInsightvisittoDublinatBallsbridgeHotel.

Seeukti.gov.uk

March11thBritishIrishChamberSpringLunch,[email protected]

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April10th-12thCorkmeetbusinessgathering.Formoredetails,seecorkmeet.ie

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