People

Richard Gillan, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton Northern Ireland We all know it. The importance of people in an organistion. But in professional services firms, people aren’t just important – they are, just about, “everything”. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the economic lockdowns that followed brought obvious difficulties – not just for our people, but for…

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R&D tax relief

Leading business advisory firm Grant Thornton has helped local firms recoup more than £10 million of tax relief from ‘Research and Development’ (R&D) spending in the past 18 months. And it is expected to increase significantly throughout 2021 as companies explore new ways to improve cashflow as the economy emerges from restrictions brought about due…

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Mental health

Northern Ireland’s leading organics recycling firm Natural World Products (NWP) has joined with a Co Down charity for a project to improve mental health and wellbeing through gardening. The Let’s Grow Together initiative, delivered by Mind Your Mate and Yourself (MYMY) based in Newcastle and supported by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, will benefit…

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Green Recovery Forum

The UK’s Net Zero Business Champion is to join the Institute of Directors Northern Ireland (IoD NI) to launch a new platform that will support local businesses to harness the opportunities presented by the green economy. The Green Recovery Forum, in association with NIE Networks, will hear from Andrew Griffith MP, during a live webinar…

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M&A

Charlie Kerlin, Director, Corporate Finance Levels of M&A activity are 18% higher than the same month last year, according to the latest statistics (February 2021). At first glance this appears remarkable, given the potential uncertainties around COVID-19 and legacy Brexit issues. This month-on-month increase has been a trend since the middle of last year, with…

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Consumer spending

By Andrew Webb, Chief Economist, Grant Thornton I prefer to shop locally, and with three children who seem to get taller every night, the recent reopening of shops was a big relief (to them at least). We sat out the immediate rush on the Friday thinking the bank holiday Monday would be a bit quieter.…

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Aer Lingus Regional at Belfast City Airport

Stobart Air, operator of Aer Lingus Regional routes, has announced plans to strengthen its route network from Belfast City Airport this summer with a service to Cardiff. Flights to the Welsh capital will commence on 28th June and will operate up to four times per week, providing frequent connectivity between Northern Ireland and Wales. The…

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Digital transformation

By Thomas O’Hagan, Managing Director, b4b Group Such has been the pace of change, there have been greater advances made in digital transformation and the adoption of new technologies in the past 12 months than in the previous 12 years combined. That may seem a bold statement but we’ve all got used to describing the…

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Green recovery

By Kirsty McManus, National Director, Institute of Directors (IoD) Northern Ireland The world has been approaching a climate crossroads for some years and as leading scientists and naturalists issue increasingly impassioned warnings on the future health of our planet, it appears we may soon (without action) reach the point of no return. There are difficult…

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