Gareth is Young Leader of the Year ‘ 17
McKeever Hotel Group buys Dunadry Hotel
Gareth is Young Leader of the Year ‘ 17
John Mooney , Felix Mooney previous owners of the Dunadry Hotel , with Eugene McKeever MBE and
M
Catherine McKeever . cKeever Hotel Group has added to its portfolio of hotels with the acquisition of the Dunadry Hotel for an undisclosed sum . The addition of this 80 bedroom hotel with health , leisure and spa facilities now brings the company ’ s hotel collection to five as the McKeever Hotel Group successfully owns and operates ; Corrs Corner Hotel , Newtownabbey ; Dunsilly Hotel , Antrim ; Adair Arms Hotel , Ballymena and Dillons Hotel , Letterkenny . It was bought from well known hotelier family , the Mooney Group , who has owned it since 1986 .
This expansion cements the Group ’ s commitment to continued investment in the tourism and hospitality industry in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Eugene McKeever MBE , managing director of McKeever Hotel Group said ; “ The Dunadry Hotel is a great fit for the McKeever Hotel Group and given the buoyant tourism sector , we are delighted to add it to our collection .“ At the core of our business is our family ethos to provide consistent quality and service to our guests . “ We know our market well and we are constantly investing and reinvesting in the business to ensure we meet the needs of our customers .
“ We will continue to work hard and provide the high level of comfort and tradition that is expected in all of our hotels .“ Our hotels are very much at the heart of the local communities in which we operate .
“ As such we will continue to meet the demands and requirements of the local patrons of the Dunadry Hotel and it will be very much business as usual .”
G
areth Chambers , CEO of Around Noon Ltd , has been announced as the winner of the 2017 Herbert Smith Freehills
Young Leader of the Year Award .
Over the last five years , Gareth has led Around Noon ' s sandwich business from £ 2M to £ 20M in sales and his story demonstrated to the judges the key qualities of a great leader , including achieving performance levels beyond expectations , motivating and inspiring people around him to accomplish more , and demonstrating a commitment to improving himself and others .
Gareth has a vision for Around Noon to be the UK & Ireland ’ s leading manufacturer of ' food on the move ' and has developed a five year plan , “ To the Moon 2021 ”, with the aim of growing turnover to £ 100M .
Around Noon was founded by Gareth ' s parents in 1989 , and Gareth was appointed CEO in 2012 at the age of just 27 . He rebranded Around Noon by launching quirky food brand Scribbles , attracted brands like Starbucks , Aramark and Spar , and created a new 25,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Newry . In moving to the new site in 2014 , Around Noon created over 100 new jobs , and has since grown its headcount to 235 .
Landmark 40th year for Crossgar ’ s JN Wines
orthern Ireland wine merchant , JN Wine , is celebrating 40 years in
Nbusiness supplying selected wines to Northern Ireland ’ s best restaurants with a £ 300,000 investment in the company .
Widely recognised as one of the most experienced wine merchants on the island of Ireland , the Crossgarbased company has recently developed and implemented a bespoke online ordering and delivery service , enabling the 30strong team of highly trained staff to service wine connoisseurs and hospitality clients across the UK and Ireland .
Established in 1977 , James Nicholson started business delivering wines to restaurants in his Ford Cortina . In the days before a wine drinking culture had been fully embraced , James was selling bottles from personally selected vineyards , making recommendations on wine purchases and sourcing new suppliers .
Identifying a gap in the market from the outset , James focussed his attention on the wholesale side of the business , and his unique
8 www . businessfirstonline . co . uk approach to the business in personally visiting vineyards across the world and carefully selecting wines , has been replicated over the years .
40 years on and the company is widely acknowledged as a market leader in the wine industry , scooping the prestigious
International Wine Challenge ‘ Regional Merchant of the Year ’ award for Northern Ireland a record 24 times .
Now based in a stateoftheart headquarters , JN Wines employs 30 staff , including Jane Boyce , the only Master of Wine working in Northern Ireland .