10 May 2016
Enterprise Week May 13- 20, 2016
Bank of Ireland UK today launched its latest Enterprise Week programme which will run from May 13 – 20, 2016 and is themed ‘Let’s Connect NI for Growth.’ The highly successful initiative will see the Bank host a week-long series of events to facilitate networking, showcase innovation and inspire new thinking among SMEs.
Announcing details of its thirteenth Enterprise Week initiative, the Bank said it had recently opened the 4,000th new small business account for small business growth and start-up businesses since the packages with discounted fees and other benefits were launched in 2015.
Sean Sheehan, Regional Director, NI Consumer & Small Business, Bank of Ireland UK, said: “Enterprise Week is taking place at a time when we are seeing both resilience and a measure of confidence in small businesses, despite a climate of uncertainty. After a number of challenging years the size of the business market is growing as evidenced in recently published research* and the increase in our small business account numbers is consistent with this recovery. Bank of Ireland opened nearly 20% more small business accounts in 2015 compared with the previous year.
“Our week-long initiative will focus on providing businesses with new and innovative ideas. For example, we’re supporting the first ever digital mobile event on the island of Ireland. ‘Run a better Business on your Mobile’, in Omagh, will see local innovators share their knowledge, experience and insight of using mobile apps to improve their sales and marketing or run a more profitable and efficient business.
“Small businesses are essential to delivering Northern Ireland’s export growth ambitions and we will be hosting a roundtable with industry experts*2 and business customers to explore the challenges businesses are facing and the supports they need.”
The Bank’s Show Your Business initiative, which enables small businesses to display their goods and services in Bank branches will make a welcome return with local businesses signed up to participate already. Businesses on either side of the border will be able to use branches in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland as a shop window.
Sean adds: “We’re opening our branches and have a packed programme of more than 30 events to suit ambitious small businesses and start-ups right across Northern Ireland.”
Over the last five years, some 10,000 small and medium sized businesses across Northern Ireland have been involved in more than 400 Enterprise programme events where they’ve received practical support and guidance to help their businesses to grow.
One example of a small business Bank of Ireland UK is supporting as it invests in growth is Works Services, based in Belfast which was set up by Paul Flanagan and co-founder Michael Cullen. They identified a gap in the market for a specialist snow ploughing and gritting business for customers in the public and private sectors and established Saltworks Ltd in 2011.
Business thrived in harsh winters but Paul and Michael wanted to develop into a year round sustainable company offering existing customers complementary services. As a result Cleanworks was born in 2015 – providing dedicated cleaning services while Groundworks was added to the portfolio earlier this year to offer landscaping and grounds maintenance.
Philip Tasker, Business Development Manager at Works Services says: “It would have been very difficult to grow as we have over the last couple of years without the support of Bank of Ireland UK. Commercial Finance has had a massive impact on cashflow and it’s been critically important to our growth and success. With Commercial Finance we can operate effectively and efficiently and have even expanded into servicing cross-border contracts.
“Yet our deciding factor in choosing Bank of Ireland UK was having a dedicated Business Manager, David Ramsey, who is always available to us with a host of specialist teams in the background ready to be called on should we need them. We deliver a high level of customer care and we expect the same, and David’s advice and support has been invaluable and the service we receive is very personal. With a current headcount of 35, we’re now looking to increase both our operations and sales team in 2017 and we couldn’t be in better hands.”
Pictured is Sean Sheehan, Regional Director, NI Consumer & Small Business, Bank of Ireland UK with Philip Tasker, Business Development Manager at Works Services.
#LetsConnectNI
For more information head to bankofireland.co.uk/business
Ends
Media contact
Sarah McGinley at Smarts Communicate
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E: Catherine.agnew@smartscommunicate.com
Notes to editors:
- *NI Chamber in partnership with BDO Quarterly Economic Survey Quarter 1, 2016
- *2 Ann McGregor, CEO NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Aidan Gough, director of Strategy & Policy, Intertrade Ireland; and Michael McQuillan, Director of the Business Institute, Ulster Business School.
Highlights of Bank of Ireland UK’s Enterprise Week events include:
- Small Business Export Roundtable – 13 May
- Young Enterprise Annual Awards – 12 May
- North West Business Awards – 13 May
- Pitch to determine top 12 finalists in INVENT 2016 – 19 May
- Digital Omagh: run a better business on your mobile -20 May
- Belfast Business Awards – 26 May
- Ballymena Show – 28 May.
- ‘Meet the Buyer’ Event with NI Chamber of Commerce – 25 May – forms part of the NI Chamber of Commerce Connecting for Growth Programme. The event will be held in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry providing the opportunity for interested customers to gain access to 15 large businesses, including Coca-Cola, Tesco, Glen Dimplex, Ulster University,