Foreign markets beckon for NI fit out firms

One of those firms doing well outside NI is McCue – the Albany in Belfast (pictured) was completed by the Carrickfergus firm at the end of the summer.

Many locally-based fit-out firms in the hospitality and leisure sectors have busy order books, but it seems that increasingly, those contracts will be located outside Northern Ireland, writes Russell Campbell…

The news that Antrim-based construction and fit-out firm, Mivan, was to close recently with the loss of more than 240 jobs was an unexpected blow and one which throws the spotlight back on the fortunes of an industry that has suffered more than most from the rigors of recession.

Few could have predicted Mivan’s demise – twice named UK Construction Firm of the Year, the company had worked on prestigious contracts all over the world, including many high profile fit-outs in the leisure and hospitality sector – most of them in the ‘four-star plus’ market. Previous contract wins have included the luxurious Radisson Edwardian Hotel in London and Edinburgh’s Apex Hotel and it had recently finished work on a £3.5m fit-out of the ME Hotel at Aldwych in London.

All of which makes its closure that little more difficult to fathom, since it seems that increasingly, success for Northern Irish firms in the hospitality fit-out market depends on an ability to penetrate markets in GB and the Republic of Ireland.

Richard Carron, formerly head of business development for Portadown-based fit-out specialists, The Deluxe Group, now works as an independent consultant helping NI-based fit-out firms break into lucrative markets outside the province. And speaking to LCN recently, he confirmed that many in the industry are now finding it more profitable to look further afield for their business:

“If you fly out from Belfast on a Monday morning, you can see the number of sub-contractors who are going out of NI to work,” he said. “There are some very successful contracts going on in the hospitality sector in London at the moment.”

It’s not difficult to find evidence of the trend that Richard is referring to. Take Carrickfergus fit-out firm, McCue, which has been busy in recent months strengthening its presence in the British and Irish hospitality markets. The firm is best known locally for its work at the new Albany bar on the Lisburn Road in Belfast and the Harp Bar in Cathedral Quarter, but among the £20m-worth of orders that it completed last year were significant contracts for up-market hotels in London – The Savoy, Claridges and The Berkeley – and top Dublin eatery, Cleaver East.

And the Irish hotel group, Tifco, recently selected another Northern Irish firm to handle the fit-out of its latest project at Clontarf Castle Hotel in Dublin. That project, which should be completed by the end of this month, involves refurbishment of multiple function rooms, associated public areas and the installation of new washroom areas.

Richard Carron said that he believed the sheer numbers of people in cities such as London, Manchester and Dublin, was a key factor in explaining the growing need for leisure and accommodation facilities.

That may well be the case – the number of visitors to Ireland was up by nearly eight per cent between July and September last year, having risen by a 7.6 per cent the previous quarter. And those statistics were evident in the considerable activity which characterised the Irish licensed and hotel sectors.

A staggering total of 20 Irish hotel properties went under the hammer in just the first nine months of 2013, totalling more than €105m in sales.

Further confidence among foreign investors in Ireland’s leisure market was evident at the start of this month when US property billionaire, Donald Trump paid €15m for the trouble Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare.

Acknowledging the high degree of overseas investment in the Irish market at present, Richard Carron says that it’s hardly surprising, therefore, that there is an increased demand for building and refurbishment expertise:

“All of this creates many more opportunities for fit-out work”, he added, “and many of these venues are very high-end so they are working with big budgets. And that’s all the better for local sub-contractors who are selling the skills that these investors need.”

And the level of that expertise is considerable, says Richard. According to him, it’s the competitive labour rates, the work ethic and the quality of Northern Irish workmanship that are responsible for much of the success his clients enjoy in markets outside the province.

Richard works closely with his clients in the construction and fit-out sectors to explain how best to pitch for these lucrative contracts. He helps them fine tune their management systems and present themselves in the best light to potential employers in GB and in the Republic. He also helps them access the help that is available from agencies such as Invest NI and InterTradeIreland.

He believes that in the future, the amount of work available outside Northern Ireland for locally-based fit-out firms will increase:

“All of the firms here have solid reputations and their work is very competitively priced, so I think it’s likely that this trend will only continue,” he added.