Southern Regional Office
The Southern region covers the three council areas of Newry, Mourne and Down, Lisburn and Castlereagh and Ards and North Down.
Our office is located in the restored Drumalane Mill in Newry right in the heart of the city. It acts as a pivotal hub for all of our activities across the region.
Successes
Between 2014/15 and 2018/19 we have provided support of over £99m to over 4,280 business projects. This support has helped secure almost £529m of investment and is helping companies to create 5,013 jobs.
The region has a successful financial and professional services cluster and is home to First Derivatives, a global provider of trading and risk management software systems and a strong employer in the area. It also has a strong food and drink sector with high quality and speciality producers.
Support for local companies includes:
- Clandeyboye Estate – invests £2million in new factory and 13 new jobs in Bangor
- Crebisol - £560,000 investment creates 10 jobs to meet the increasing demand for its product
- StormHarvester – develops new green technology to help reduce environmental pollution with R&D support
- Connected Care – secures Wales deal for innovative ETHEL smart hub technology
- Hillyard House - £3million investment to develop a four-star Licensed Guest Inn
Exports
Our Southern regional office has worked with many companies in the region to help them achieve export success such as;
The region has also attracted inward investment from companies including:
Working in partnership
We work in partnership with local stakeholders to drive economic activity in this region.
Local stakeholders we work with include:
Community Plans
As statutory partners we are proactively contributing to the community plans which will play a central role in developing the economy of this region. The plans will ensure that the region aligns its efforts to make the most of sectors with high growth potential that will help attract investment and growth to the area. Once implemented, the community plans will play a central role in helping to develop the economy of this region.
Regional Manager
Mark Bleakney is Invest Northern Ireland’s Regional Office Manager for the southern Regional office. He has been in the role since 2004 and has extensive knowledge and experience in economic development and international business. He started his career in a global manufacturing business as an Industrial Engineer and has particular experience in the plastics, light engineering and heavy engineering sectors.
Council Briefings
