When the dust finally settled in the early hours of a chilly sunny morning, Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK’s political make-up looked considerably different than just a few hours beforehand.
With a strong Labour victory at a UK level, to political stalwarts losing their seats here locally after a family reign of more than five decades, there were plenty of headlines and splashes to peruse and interpret in the days which followed.
But while the political situation remains something largely fluid – a changing of the guard at a national and local level – Northern Ireland’s private sector remains a robust, steadfast and core part of our wider society.
This year’s Ulster Business Top 100 Northern Ireland Companies, in association with KPMG, once again highlights the sheer level of diversity, longevity, and ingenuity of the companies which employ ten of thousands of people based right across the region and beyond.
Sales were once again very strong – reaching record highs – but pre-tax profits fell for the first time in several years of the leading business list, dropping by around 8%.
But of those 100 companies, just nine posted a loss.
There’s been some chopping and changing at the top, with Moy Park retaining the number one spot and director Justin Coleman saying the firm is certainly eyeing cracking that £2bn ceiling at some stage in the near future.
There was also a stark change for what was formerly Northern Ireland’s most profitable company, Randox.
It posted a couple of years of stunning and hefty pre-tax profits, including £189m in its previous set of accounts, buoyed by a significant workload and involvement amid Covid-19 testing.
But in its recently published accounts, ending June 2023, the company flipped to a £39m loss.
However, it said the results were “entirely expected and, operating with a strong balance sheet, is a position within which the directors are entirely comfortable”.
We also have new companies making the list this year, following strong performances.
That includes Charles Brand – a construction company part of the overall Lagan Specialist Contracting Group. It made this year’s Next 200 but thanks to surging turnover came in at the number 75 spot.
Meanwhile, Kingsbridge Healthcare Group has also landed on the list for the first time, thanks to turnover of £104.6m and pre-tax profits of £11.4m.
It’s a business which is continuing to expand here and elsewhere, including opening a new diagnostic and treatment centre as well as selling off a majority stake in the business for a reported £300m.
It remains to be seen what potential impact the wider political changes will have for us here in Northern Ireland, and whether some of the things businesses have been calling out for, at a devolved level, or at Westminster, will be examined closer with seemingly a bit more stability – at least for the time being.
But businesses out there all know about the swathes of challenges which face them – some of which are largely out of their hands, such as a rising input costs, and others, such as planning reform or focusing on filling the skills void in some sectors, which can be dealt with.
Planning is the big one. Planning reform and the reform of the appeals process is something which this current Executive must address.
It’s key to private and public sector development right across Northern Ireland, and most importantly in the current landscape, is an essential part of getting us towards an almost total ability to generate power through renewables and eventually head to net zero.
We hear the buzzwords emanating from our politicians in regards to the importance of us hitting our 80% renewable target by 2030, but very infrequently about the actual ability of feasibility of this happening.
In this edition, I report that around 50 new renewable energy schemes must be ready to break ground by 2026, otherwise Northern Ireland will not hit its key green power targets.
The local renewables sector is calling for “urgent action” to expedite planning applications and appeals to get enough wind, solar and battery developments operating to meet the ambitious 80% green electricity generation target by 2030.
RenewableNI says around 2.5GW of extra capacity is needed in order for Northern Ireland to generate enough power to reach the target set by the Stormont Executive.
But those schemes, whether its wind, solar or battery storage, need to be expedited and getting into the ground well before we head towards that 2030 deadline, which is now less than six years away.
Northern Ireland is also facing a struggle across different sectors in getting the right people. On paper, almost full employment looks like we’re in a strong place. But speaking to manufacturers, construction firms, and others, it’s clear that companies here are struggling to fill roles.
We’re also in a precarious position when it comes to housing – something which is being felt in other jurisdictions, also.
We aren’t building enough homes – both private and social. House prices remain strong and there’s currently no indication they will fall in the near future. But rental prices have doubled or tripled in some cases in recent years – you’ll likely be eyeing £1,200 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in Belfast city centre.
And we’re back at planning, once again. I spoke with Conor Mulligan of Lagan Homes, for this edition. It’s a firm which is expanding outside of Northern Ireland, in part, due to the lack of opportunities here and the speed of our planning process. It’s something we all need to pay closer attention to.
“When you’re in the boardroom and I’m telling people it’s taking two years for a change of house type, when the guys down south are getting planning approvals in six months – where do you put your money?” he says.