North Western Regional Office

Located at Timberquay on Strand Road in Derry~Londonderry, our North Western Regional Office works with businesses, entrepreneurs and stakeholders across the Causeway Coast & Glens and Derry City and Strabane District Council areas.

We offer advice and support to potential entrepreneurs and start-ups in the region aiming to develop innovative, export-focused businesses.

We also assist businesses looking to sell outside Northern Ireland for the first time, with a particular emphasis on markets in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Between 2020-2021 and 2024-2025 we offered £49m of support to 543 local and international businesses in the borough. This support resulted in 1,661 new jobs and has the potential to realise investment of £332m.

What we do

We work with businesses from a range of sectors, most notably:

Advanced manufacturing and engineering
Agri-Food
Creative technology
Life and health sciences
Tourism

Council areas covered by the North Western Regional Office

Derry City & Strabane District Council

We have a long-standing relationship with Derry City & Strabane District Council and are an active partner in supporting the delivery of the Inclusive Strategic Growth Plan.

As part of this we work closely with the council to promote the area to potential investors, along with helping local companies grow.

In the Derry City & Strabane District Council area in the last five years (2020-2021 to 2024-2025) we offered support of £35m to 261 businesses. This support, combined with company investment, has the potential to generate £237m of investment in the area, and support the creation of 1,111 jobs.

You can find more detail on the business make-up of the area and our specific support in the Invest Northern Ireland council briefing for Derry City & Strabane District Council area (PDF).

Our support included almost £313k of Local Economic Development funding to the council to develop a range of key programmes to meet local business needs.

Council-led programmes include:

Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council

As a Statutory Partner in Causeway Coast and Glens Community Plan, we are committed to working in partnership with Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council to help businesses grow and compete globally.

Between 2020-2021 and 2024-2025 we offered support of £14m to 282 businesses based in the Causeway Coast & Glens Council area. This support, combined with company investment, has the potential to generate £95m of investment in the area, and support the creation of 550 jobs.

More information on the borough and detailed support can be found in the Invest Northern Ireland council briefing for the Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council area (PDF).

Our support included almost £435k of Local Economic Development funding to the council to develop a range of key programmes to meet local business needs. This support was part funded by ERDF, under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.

Council-led programmes include:

North Western Regional Manager

Des Gartland has over 20 years’ experience working with Invest NI and became North Western Regional Manager in 2008, supporting growth, innovation, and investment. His expertise spans multiple sectors, including technology, manufacturing, and services. He has built strong relationships with local public and private stakeholders to support and drive economic development in the region.