- NUMBER ONE (published November 12)
Top Belfast golf club asks members for £1,000 loan to stave off administration
One of the north’s most prestigious golf clubs asked each of its members for a £1,000 ‘loan’ to raise enough cash to stave off potential administration.
In November it emerged that Balmoral Golf Club in south Belfast was also considering flogging its clubhouse and greenkeeper’s sheds and even reduce the course to nine holes as it continues to service a £1 million-plus debt on which is it paying tens of thousands of pounds a year in interest.
The club, founded in 1914 and which is most famous for its association with Fred Daly, the first Irishman to win The Open in 1947, wrote to its 450 members in October to lay bare its precarious financial situation.
The letter also gave three stark options to its membership (they already pay an annual subscription of around £1,400) as follows:
Option one - Immediate appointment of an administrator;
Option two - Members each lend the club £1,000 to cover the immediate cash shortfall; or
Option three - Immediately sell around 25 acres of land to a third party developer.
In correspondence with members, seen by the Irish News, the club admitted it has been burdened with “very high levels of debt from legacy projects”, and the requirement to service that debt has hindered its ability to invest in the course and its facilities.
(In December it emerged that members agreed to move to a plush new 149-acre championship course on the Ballylesson Road in Drumbo, designed by former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley).
- NUMBER TWO (published September 2)
Portrush beachfront complex sold just days after being listed for £3m
A luxury beachfront apartment and restaurant complex in Portrush has been sold just days after it was listed on the market for £3.1 million.
The Causeway Street development, which overlooks the Arcadia Beach, features two three-bedroom penthouse apartments, while its lower levels are home to the 55 Degrees North restaurant and café.
The property has been sold by the Wilton Group, headed by Australian property investor Justin Quirk.
Mr Quirk, who has lived in Northern Ireland for 23 years, did not disclose the value of the deal or identify the buyer, but said the owners are involved in the hospitality trade.
He expects the restaurant on the site to remain open, but under new ownership.
Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council granted planning permission last year for a proposal to turn the restaurant space into four apartments.
- NUMBER THREE (published November 13)
New owners of Londonderry Arms to change name of historic 176-year-old Co Antrim hotel
Plans to revamp the historic Londonderry Arms in Carnlough will involve changing the name of the 176-year-old hotel.
The Co Antrim coastal venue, once owned by Sir Winston Churchill, was bought over in the summer by a group of three businessmen who plan to establish it as the island’s first whiskey hotel.
As part of the major revamp they also plan to change the name to the Harbourview Hotel. The move however has divided opinion and sparked dozens of comments on social media.
Many have labelled it “a mistake”, while others welcomed the fresh investment for the popular coastal village.
One user claimed it “shows no respect for the heritage”, while another said it was “a shame to change the name of such a historic place”.
However, one local woman hit out at critics, suggesting many had complained in the past about the lack of investment in Carnlough.
“These people are bringing a lot more than just a name change to the area,” she said.
Others have said the hotel will always be known to locals as “The Derry”.
Built in 1848 as a coaching inn by Frances Ann Vane Tempest, the Marchioness of Londonderry, the property was passed down through her family, and was eventually inherited in 1921 by her great-grandson, Sir Winston Churchill.
The original Londonderry Arms signage remains in place at the Carnlough venue, but its new owners have confirmed it will be rebranded as the Harbourview Hotel.
- NUMBER FOUR (published July 22)
Belfast woman awarded £305,000 in historic equal pay victory
Belfast woman Shona Boyle, an employee of Caterpillar NI, has been awarded more than £305,000 in compensation in what is believed to be the highest individual equal pay claim in Northern Ireland’s history.
The landmark ruling is being seen as underlining the importance of gender pay equality and sets a precedent for future claims.
Ms Boyle initiated her claim against the US multinational in July 2018, after discovering significant pay discrepancies between herself and three male colleagues who were performing the same job.
Despite raising the issue directly with her employer, and receiving unsatisfactory justifications for the pay difference, she firmly believed that her lower pay was due to gender discrimination.
An employment tribunal overwhelmingly determined that Ms Boyle was performing the same job as her male colleagues who were paid more and that the pay disparity was due to her being a woman.
The employment judge concluded that the claimant was engaged in like work to her three male comparators, and any differences were not of practical importance un relation to the terms and conditions of employment.
It said Caterpillar did not prove that the variation between Ms Boyle’s contract and those of her comparators “was genuinely due to a material factor which is not tainted by sex”.
Consequently, she was awarded back pay for the period she was underpaid and ensured equal pay and benefits moving forward.
With interest added on from the outset of the tribunal, the total settlement came in at £305,719.
- NUMBER FIVE (published March 25)
Tyrone GAA legend Peter Canavan on his plans for former Kelly’s Inn
In the world of Irish sport, Peter Canavan’s name travels far and wide. And now the Tyrone GAA legend’s name is firmly attached to the front of the former Kelly’s Inn premises on the A5 roadside in his home parish of Errigal Ciaran.
A teacher by profession, the Allstar footballer turned TV pundit has gone into the hospitality trade, partnering with Derry men Stephen Doherty and Martin Strawbridge to take over one of Tyrone’s best known businesses.
Their plans to revamp the Garvaghy venue are well under way with a new expanded front bar completed and the launch of a new food menu.
In the coming months, they plan to develop the venue’s function space and upgrade the on-site accommodation to attract larger weddings and events. Punters can also expect plenty of live music and events.
While he still hasn’t given up the day job at Holy Trinity College in Cookstown, Peter is quick to dispel the notion that his involvement in Canavan’s ends with his name.
“I wouldn’t be putting my name on it if I wasn’t going to invest a bit of time in it.”
He said the three business partners each have an equal share.
“I have been asked in the past to get involved with this and that, but I decided to stay away from the bar game.
“But Kelly’s has been very good to me and to the people in Errigal here, and with Stevie, I trust his expertise in the hospitality game, so I would be pretty confident that it should do well.
“It’s another challenge, it’s something different that I’m ready to embrace.
“I’ve been teaching in Holy Trinity for 31 years and hopefully we’re not far off getting our new school. But this is much closer to home.”
- NUMBER SIX (published January 2)
Liquidators appointed to Lisburn-based aerospace engineering firm
Liquidators have been appointed to a Lisburn-based aerospace company. Causeway Aero Limited, previously known as Belfast Aircraft Stress Engineers (BASE), is to be wound up owing around £1.5 million to HMRC and creditors, according to documents published by Companies House.
The company, which specialised in the manufacture of aircraft interior components as well as engineering design and stress analysis, is a subsidiary of the Causeway Aero Group, which also has sites in Sligo and Bristol.
Liquidators from Belfast-based Interpath Advisory were called in as part of a voluntary winding up move.
It followed a resolution passed by the company’s board on the same date, which said that owing to its liabilities, the firm could not continue its business.
The aerospace engineering services specialist was originally set up in 2000, but was acquired by the Causeway Aero Group in 2018, which relocated its 16-strong design, stress and technical team from Dundonald to a 39,000 sq ft facility in Lisburn. It was renamed Causeway Aero Limited in November 2018.
The last set of accounts filed by Causeway Aero Limited show it had 28 staff in 2022. Documents published on Companies House show it ceased trading in December 2023 owing just over £400,000 to HMRC and £1.1 million to unsecured creditors. That includes £835,000 owed to its parent group as ‘intercompany creditor’ and £236,722 owed to dozens of businesses.
- NUMBER SEVEN (published April 8)
Belfast company established to recover Quinn family’s overseas assets is being wound up
A company set up in Belfast to recover the overseas property assets belonging to the former billionaire Seán Quinn and his family is in the process of being formally wound up.
QIPG Refinance Limited was established in 2012 as part of the efforts by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) to go after the Quinn International Property Group (QIPG) assets.
IBRC, which was formed in 2011 from the merger of the failed Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society, is expected to be wound up by the end of this year.
The liquidation of IBRC was originally announced in 2013.
The wind down process is well underway in the north, with Interpath Advisory formally commencing the legal process of liquidating the asset recovery operation for the Quinn international properties during Easter week.
The former Quinn assets, which included office blocks, shopping centres and logistics warehouses, were once valued at around €500 million and used as collateral against loans from the former Anglo Irish Bank.
The IBRC moved to seize the properties in 2011 as part of the effort to recover some of the €2.9 billion Mr Quinn owed Anglo.
Many of the properties, including the 20-storey Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow, are located inside Russia and Ukraine.
While QIPG Refinance and IBRC are not the property owners per se, they own the right to any proceeds from the sale of the assets.
But selling the assets has been significantly hampered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- NUMBER EIGHT (published February 9)
Meat Wagon: RUC Land Rover used to promote barbecue-themed restaurant in Belfast
Belfast restaurant company Stix & Stones has opened a new barbecue food venture in the city centre, creating 20 jobs.
Meat Wagon has opened on Wellington Place, next to the Stix & Stones butchery and just around the corner from Stix & Stones’ main restaurant on Upper Queen Street.
Stix & Stones has been promoting Meat Wagon by taking an old RUC Land Rover on the road around Belfast in recent days.
The hospitality company, which also operates an East Belfast Stix & Stones restaurant in Ballyhackamore, is owned by John Trainor and Joanne Mulligan.
Rory Lee has been appointed head chef at the new Meat Wagon restaurant, which will offer a diner-style barbecue experience with slow and low-cooked meat.
His menu includes house-smoked brisket, baby back ribs, chicken wings, and smash burgers.
“Stix & Stones Meat Wagon has been designed to offer customers a mix of intimate table settings and booth dining that’s perfect for a relaxed get-together with friends and family to enjoy mouth-watering and tasty barbecue food lovingly smoked by our pitmasters,” said the chef.
“With the creation of 20 new jobs, and more on the horizon, we want to share our love for great barbecue, as we feel we have created something truly special here for meat lovers across the region to enjoy over and over again.”
- NUMBER NINE (published January 19)
Long-established Lurgan department store Houstons to close
Long-established regional department store Houstons will close its outlet in Lurgan later this year, with more than a dozen jobs under threat.
The group was founded in Banbridge 1950 by brothers Kennedy and Robert Houston, and trades from seven stores in Northern Ireland, employing more than 100 staff.
But managing director John Houston confirmed that its branch at High Street in Lurgan, which has been trading since 1983, will shut imminently.
He praised the Lurgan staff “who have been magnificent through thick and thin” and said some may choose to relocate to other nearby Houston stores in Portadown, Newry and Banbridge.
Mr Houston blamed the closure decision on a combination of many economic factors, including losses to his company after the Arcadia Group went into administration.
He said: “Since Brexit was introduced, it has complicated our supply chain and caused numerous increased costs to goods and added huge administration costs.
“A global pandemic certainly didn’t help the high street, and the resulting uptake of both working from home and online shopping continues to reduce footfall in town centres.”
He added: “When Arcadia, which included Dorothy Perkins, went into administration, I knew it was going to be a challenge to replace it and rebuild the store profitability.
“Arcadia owed us and many other similar stores money, which has also impacted our stores’ profitability.”
- NUMBER TEN (published May 29)
Pubs boss will close Belfast bars early ‘to avoid another Temple Bar’
Two of Belfast’s most iconic bars will call last orders early from now on - because their owner fears the area could become “another Temple Bar”.
Legislation allows hostelries in areas like the city’s bustling Cathedral Quarter to stay open until 3am.
But in a shock move, Willie Jack has revealed that he will be pulling down the shutters at the Duke of York and Harp Bar by midnight.
He and fellow directors of Commercial Court Inns Ltd, whose other venues include the Dark Horse and the Friend at Hand whiskey museum, have set out their position in an open letter published in today’s Irish News.
They insist their decision will work in favour of customers, staff, and also the integrity of the area, which is rich in history and culture, has a strong connection to the arts, and is known for its live music, street art, and good food.
And they say it is part of a collegiate shared vision among neighbouring businesses to ensure the Cathedral Quarter does not become another Temple Bar, where some terrified business owners in the Dublin district say violence in the streets is now out of control.
“We have decided that both our public houses will call last orders every day at midnight, or possibly even earlier,” says Mr Jack.
His letter goes on: “We have noticed a shift with many of our clientele deciding to come out earlier and leave earlier, enabling them to access better public transport, and this is a culture we would like to encourage and promote.
“Whilst we appreciate some venues may wish to avail of the opportunity now available for extended opening hours, it is not a business model we wish to follow, nor do we think it would be sensible for all licensed premises to stay open until 1am, or even 3am.”