This week has been a real ‘mixed bag’ in business for want of better words. We have seen some good news and some bad news. It does not help that our fragile political situation has been cast into the spotlight again when we should all be focussed on the job at hand.
Thankfully the Covid related deaths continue to be low but every single one, is one too many. The unemployment figures posted are dire, with BBC’s John Campbell saying the outlook is ‘heading back to the 1980’s’. Danske Bank’s Quarterly Forecast predicts that the Northern Ireland economy will contract by around 11% in 2020 and then grow about 7% in 2021. This does not look good for any of us.
There are more than 200,000 people in Northern Ireland on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme with more than 21,000 of these in Newry, Mourne and Down. The applicant rate for the small business grant in Newry and Armagh was second only to Belfast South. In Northern Ireland there was the highest rate of uptake in the UK for the self-employed Income Support at 73% with the highest number of claimants in Newry, Mourne and Down.
I am not sure what this means for our micro economy? Did we act quickly, avail of all the support possible to allow us to recover quicker or are we particularly exposed and will take one of the biggest hits when these schemes run out? I hope it is not the latter, but it is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Continuing with the ‘mixed bag’ theme we have seen the continued plight of many people including self employed people and small business directors who have fallen through the cracks for this Government Support. The news during the week that Stormont’s business grant schemes have an underspend of £53m should, in theory, help to alleviate some of this pressure. Present political situation aside, we need to see continued support for the local economy.
It was great to see some of our local hospitality sector safely reopen this week. It is not easy for businesses who rely on volume and throughput to adapt to the new ways of working. I hope that over the next few weeks we will see more and more businesses coming back to life, with a minimal level of casualties. Newry BID has been encouraging people to share good service stories on their Facebook page so we can all show our support for these local outlets who are providing employment and services in our area.
I was sad to see the announcement about The Boulevard Restaurant closing down. I wish the owners and staff all the best for the future in their new ventures. While this is not great news, there has been some fantastic business news in our city recently. Up and coming young business Connex Offsite owned by the entrepreneurial Doherty family won a £3 million contract in London for their modular bathroom pods. Tony McKeown, Silverwood Smart Marketing launched his Marketing School in association with Belfast Marketing School; Carlingford Ferries resumed their cross-border service; and Emma Marmion launched her new business, EMerald HR.
On Monaghan Street Aine Crilly and the team at The HR Elephant celebrated one year in their premises on Monaghan Street. Aine has been busier than ever this year helping companies navigate through Covid related HR issues; while over on Hill Street I got a quick tour of Jack Murphy Jewellers new, extended premises, which is absolutely stunning. I was also delighted to see former CEO of NMD Council Liam Hannaway appointed to the Board of the Arts Council. This is great news for our local arts sectors, another area which has largely fallen through the cracks for Government Support. I also congratulate another local entrepreneurial family the Reel/Reids with Brian Reid from Deli-Lites being shortlisted for Director of the Year at the Institute of Director Awards.
It is very much a ‘mixed bag’ but sometimes you need to dig through the bag a little to find the positives instead of always focussing on the negatives.
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