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:
- Camlin - Creates 298 jobs as part of a £28 million expansion
- STATSports - Global sports technology firm creates over 200 new jobs in Newry
- Finnebrogue - Investment in nitrite-free bacon will create 125 jobs
- Around Noon - announces 94 new jobs in significant investment
- Creative Composites - Invests £11m in state of the art manufacturing facility creating 132 jobs
Exports
Our Southern regional office has worked with many companies in the region to help them achieve export success such as;
- Eyekiller - expands team in Bangor and secures new business in New York City
- Trace First - secures Texan export deal for CoreOne for Labs product
- Blockbuster Environmental Services – 6 new jobs lead to new business for Newry environmental services firm
- BM Steel – Major export deal to Holland and Great Britain helps double workforce and triple turnover
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.
