Gavin Walker
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Articles by Gavin Walker
Northern Ireland most expensive region for insurance for young drivers
Young drivers in Northern Ireland are now facing higher car insurance costs than anywhere else in the UK, according to new data. The latest figures from car insurance experts at CompareNI.com reveal drivers aged 17-24 here are forking out an average of £1,432 on their annual premiums – around 25% more than the national average for that age group. Premiums for young motorists rocketed by 10% in the three months to September 2026, seeing NI overtake London as the most expensive UK region.
Stena Line sails away with Best Ferry Company award
Stena Line has been awarded the accolade of Best Ferry Company at the 34th North Ireland Travel & Tourism Awards held at the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle. Representatives from every sector of the Northern Ireland travel industry attended the high-profile event hosted by comedian and BBC presenter Paddy Raff at which Stena Line was named Best Ferry Company.
Armagh’s Georgian Festival returns this November
Armagh is set to return to the elegance of the 18th century, as the city’s annual Georgian Festival returns from Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 November 2026. Featuring costumed characters, festive markets and immersive historical experiences, the four-day festival will revisit a bygone era, bringing the sights, sounds and characters of Georgian Armagh to life. Drawing visitors from across Ireland and beyond, the festival has become one of the island’s most distinctive heritage and festive events.
Power NI plants seed of change for young people
Young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Newtownards will play their part in tackling local food poverty with help from energy provider Power NI. Awarded to the Food Poverty Project through Power NI’s Brighter Communities initiative, the money will cover the cost of essential resources, including equipment, seed and soil.
Power Dressing, Pre-Loved: Sustainable Style Comes to Groomsport
Sharp suits, tailored jackets and boardroom-ready pieces from leading labels will be on the rails this October as Sustainable Style arrives at The Stables, Groomsport, from 29 to 31 October. Created by Donaghadee local Heather Hamill-Vaughan, the three-day pop-up brings together sellers offering high-end pre-loved business and smart casual wear for men and women, at a fraction of the original price.
Report demonstrates Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is improving access to finance
An ‘Early Assessment Report’ has found that that the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland is helping to improve access to finance for local smaller businesses, supporting ambitious firms to grow, innovate and scale. By September 2025, the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland had provided £28.2m of investment to 46 businesses, helping to address local finance gaps and increase the availability of funding for smaller businesses.
Power NI helping homeowners take control of their energy future
For households in Northern Ireland, energy independence is increasingly about having greater choice over where electricity comes from, how it is used, and how much it costs. As technologies such as solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicles become more accessible, households have more opportunities to take an active role in managing their energy consumption while preparing for a smarter, more sustainable future.
Millicent Pharma NI Announces Multimillion Pound Larne Investment
Millicent Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on women’s health, has announced a multimillion pound investment in its Larne manufacturing facility and the creation of 20 plus new local high-quality jobs at its Larne facility. The investment will support automation and productivity improvements at the Larne site, strengthening the company’s manufacturing capabilities, innovation and enabling it to respond to growing demand for its products.
Marks & Spencer to recruit more than 450 colleagues across Northern Ireland this Christmas
Marks & Spencer has announced it will recruit more than 450 new colleagues to support its store teams across Northern Ireland this festive season. The new colleagues will support store teams during the busiest weeks of the year, helping M&S deliver brilliant service and high standards for customers. The roles are fast-moving and hands-on, with colleagues working together to make sure customers get the very best of M&S at its busiest.
AbbeyAutoline Shortlisted for Two Prestigious UK Investors in People Awards
AbbeyAutoline, Northern Ireland’s largest insurance broker, has been named a finalist in two distinct categories at the UK-wide Investors in People Awards. Selected from top-performing organisations across the UK, AbbeyAutoline has been shortlisted for UK Employer of the Year (Silver, 250+ employees) and Best Apprenticeship Programme. The Investors in People Awards celebrate organisations across the UK that set the standard for workplace culture, leadership, development, and wellbeing.
How an Automated Laboratory Works
An automated laboratory uses equipment and software to transfer liquids, move sample plates and take measurements. Some laboratories automate one operation; others connect several into a coordinated workflow. Take a liquid-handling robot preparing a plate for analysis. Its movements are only part of the work: staff choose the method, software coordinates the run, and quality checks help establish whether the output is usable.
Jet2 scores hat-trick at NI Travel & Tourism Awards
Jet2 soared high at the 34th annual Northern Ireland Travel & Tourism Awards flying off with THREE awards at the prestigious ceremony in the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, County Down. Guests and VIPs from across the travel and tourism industry gathered for the annual industry ‘Oscars’, hosted by local comedian Paddy Raff, and once again Jet2 were big winners on the night.
Enjoy a Getaway with Jet2holidays, Jet2CityBreaks and Jet2Villas
Jet2holidaysis the UK’s leading tour operator to many leisure destinations across the Mediterranean and Canary Islands and provides great value package holidays you can trust to more than 600 resorts, all secured with a low £60pp booking deposit. Customers have a choice of thousands of 2-5-star hotels, with Jet2.com flights, an industry leading 22kg baggage allowance, 10kg hand luggage and airport transfers included.
Choice Housing welcomes new cohort of talent for Student Placement Scheme
Choice Housing has officially welcomed its latest cohort of seven placement students for the 2026/27 academic year, offering university students from across the region hands-on, professional experience in the social housing sector. The placement programme reflects Choice’s ongoing commitment to supporting young people at the early stages of their careers, with an award introduced in 2020 in memory of former Choice colleague, Brian McKenna.
Upstream ABL backs Belfast Royal Academy Medallion rugby team
Belfast-based Structured Asset-Based Lending (ABL) specialist, Upstream ABL, has strengthened its community commitment by sponsoring Belfast Royal Academy’s Medallion team as it prepares for the start of this year’s Medallion Shield rugby tournament. The partnership will see the Upstream ABL logo proudly displayed on the team’s new training kit as players, coaches and supporters prepare for the season ahead. Belfast Royal Academy has a long-standing connection with the Medallion competition.
Priory Singers Celebrates 40 Years and Calls for Former Members to Join the Celebration
One of Northern Ireland’s best known and longest established choirs, the Priory Singers, is celebrating 40 years of music in an anniversary concert to be held in Saint Mark’s Church, Dundela, on Saturday 17 October. The choir, which sang at the service in Saint Anne’s Cathedral, attended by the King following the death of his mother, is also calling for former members to join them for parts of the concert.
PSNI holiday pay judgment provides clarity on claims affecting more than 3,700 staff
A long-running legal case concerning the calculation of holiday pay for more than 3,700 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) police officers and civilian support staff has moved to the next stage following the latest judgment, which provides greater clarity on how the claims are to be calculated.
WWomen in Business & Finance group launches first Northern Ireland conference
Women in Business & Finance (WIBF), an organisation that supports members from many of the UK’s biggest business firms is launching its first conference in Northern Ireland next month, bringing 300 professionals from across the region’s thriving financial and professional services sector together for the first time in Belfast.
Gilbert-Ash celebrates Silver Diversity Mark reaccreditation
Construction and fit-out company, Gilbert-Ash, is proud to have achieved its Silver Diversity Mark reaccreditation. The Diversity Mark scheme was introduced to help organisations in the UK and Ireland build more diverse and inclusive workplaces, where every individual feels not just included, but truly welcome. Today, almost 200 organisations across the UK and Ireland – representing over 200,000 employees – are working towards, or proudly maintaining, their Diversity Mark accreditation.
Jet2 responds to early booker demand by launching its Summer 2028 programme from Belfast
Jet2 has put its Summer 2028 programme from Belfast International Airport on sale earlier than ever in response to customer demand, with many holidaymakers already looking ahead to fun in the sun for 2028. The airline and tour operator is the first to launch Summer 2028 getaways, giving customers and independent travel agents the chance to plan ahead and secure their preferred destinations, dates, accommodation and rooms.
Re-Gen appointed to support delivery of deposit return scheme
Exchange For Change, the industry-led organisation delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) across the UK, has announced the creation of a new UK recycling infrastructure that will support the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme from October 2027. The Deposit Return Scheme will see a 20p deposit applied to all single use PET plastic, aluminium, and steel drinks containers between 3L and 150ml. Consumers will get their deposit back when they take their drink containers to a return point.
McCoy’s packs Super Bowl trip AND £5k into mega prize
Northern Ireland snack lovers could win an all-expenses-paid trip to the 61st Super Bowl in California next year, thanks to crisp brand McCoy’s, the Official Savoury Snacks Partner of the National Football League (NFL) in the UK and Ireland.
How to Start a Peptide Company in the UK in 2026
Starting a peptide company in the UK involves much more than finding a supplier and launching an online shop. The business needs a clearly defined market, documented product quality, reliable fulfilment and an accurate understanding of the rules that apply to each product. The first decision is what the company will actually do. Supplying laboratory research materials, selling peptide-containing cosmetics and developing medicines are different business models.
Sustainable Energy Communities NI secures major funding
Sustainable Energy Communities NI (SEC NI), established to support a community-led model of energy action in Northern Ireland, has secured Great British Energy funding to support the delivery of its Sustainable Energy Communities Programme. The £20million Great British Energy Fund offers grant funding to aid community organisations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to test, develop and build community-owned clean energy assets.
Ribbon Cut by Aldergrove’s Day One Colleagues as Transformed M&S Store Opens
M&S has officially opened the doors to its transformed Aldergrove store following a major transformation which has seen the store increase in size by 50% and bring more M&S Food products and services to the local community. Four colleagues, who have been part of the Aldergrove team since the store first opened in 2017, Betty O’Neill, Caroline McGarry, Dawn Thornton and Maggie Jeans, took the honours of cutting the ribbon to mark the occasion.
Larchfield Estate at 20: how Northern Ireland’s first non-hotel wedding venue grew into an events and accommodation destination
When Gavin and Sarah Mackie opened Larchfield Estate to weddings in 2007, Northern Ireland had never seen a venue like it. Twenty years and around 1,500 weddings later, the 425-acre Georgian estate near Lisburn, just under 30 minutes from Belfast, is a wedding and events venue, an overnight accommodation destination and a model for how a historic house can earn its keep. In 2007, if you wanted to get married in Northern Ireland, you got married in a hotel. That was simply how it worked.
Large group accommodation near Belfast: why families, corporate teams and incentive groups are choosing Larchfield Estate
Best known as one of Northern Ireland’s leading wedding venues, Larchfield Estate near Lisburn offers large group accommodation for up to 43 guests in heritage cottages on a private Georgian estate. Gavin and Sarah Mackie explain why family reunions, corporate retreats and incentive groups from as far away as New York are booking the whole estate. Finding somewhere in Northern Ireland where a large group can stay together, privately and in real comfort, is harder than it should be.
Think Storage Lisburn named Independent Store of the Year
Think Storage, the self-storage facility created from converted agricultural sheds on Larchfield Estate near Lisburn, has been named Independent Store of the Year at the FEDESSA Industry Awards 2026. The award was presented at the FEDESSA Awards Dinner in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Thursday 24 September. The dinner closed the FEDESSA Conference & Trade Show, the main annual gathering of Europe’s self-storage industry.
How Med Spas Can Build Patient Trust Before the First Consultation
Imagine someone comparing three local med spas. All three offer the treatment they are researching. Each has an attractive website, an enquiry form and a selection of positive reviews. What helps that person choose? Price might play a part. Location and availability matter too. But there is another question running through the decision: which clinic would I feel comfortable trusting? A med spa’s marketing should help answer that question.
Dementia Friendly Tea Dance returns with support from Choice Housing
Choice Housing has successfully launched a new series of Dementia Friendly Tea Dances in Derry-Londonderry, bringing older residents and people living with dementia together for an afternoon of music, dancing, and community connection.
European Regional Airlines Association touches down at ICC Belfast
Northern Ireland has welcomed leaders from major airlines and some of world’s top aviation businesses this week, as ICC Belfast hosts the European Regional Airlines Association (ERAA). The conference and exhibition on 7-8 October is being attended by representatives from many of the ERAA’s 58 airline members along with delegates from over 220 businesses across the aviation ecosystem. The event programme is focused on what’s next for regional aviation.
How to Sell Gold Coins for a Fair Price: What Buyers Look For
Selling gold coins may seem simple, but getting a fair price takes a little preparation. The value of a gold coin depends on more than the price of gold. Its weight, purity, condition, rarity, and buyer demand can all affect what someone is willing to pay. If you plan to sell gold coins, knowing how buyers judge them can help you avoid accepting less than they are worth. Know What Your Gold Coins Are Worth Before contacting a buyer, identify exactly what you own.
Flogas/Budget Energy proud to be headline sponsor of NI Chamber’s Festival of Business
Flogas/Budget Energy was proud to be the headline sponsor of Northern Ireland’s biggest business networking event, NI Chamber’s Festival of Business. More than 1,200 people from across Northern Ireland attended the event at St George’s Market, on Wednesday September 16.
The Agency: Best Overall GoHighLevel Agency UK for AI
Most GoHighLevel agencies set up the software and hand you the login. The Agency builds the team that runs it. The award-winning AI marketing agency builds custom AI agents and its own AI technology for each business, trains them on that business, and runs the whole thing through GoHighLevel. Your CRM stops being a tool your staff have to work. It becomes the system doing the work.
Ian McElhinney backs new campaign ‘Calling for Connection’ as research reveals the hidden reality of loneliness in Northern Ireland
A phone booth will appear in Belfast’s Victoria Square and selected Lidl stores across Belfast and Derry~Londonderry this October as part of Positive Ageing Month, drawing attention to the hidden loneliness experienced by older people in Northern Ireland.
Dairy Council manifesto seeks to secure future of local dairy sector
The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland’s (DCNI) 2027 manifesto is calling on the incoming Executive to deliver a coordinated programme of support for local dairy farmers, processors and the wider agrifood supply chain. Entitled A Pathway to Success, the manifesto sets out the action needed to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness, support sustainable investment, and provide greater certainty for businesses across the province.
Re-GEn strengthens its operations team with new GM
Re-Gen has appointed experienced operations leader, Kieran McPolin, as its first MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) General Manager. Bringing more than 25 years’ experience in operational leadership and management across manufacturing, FMCG, and the agri-food sector, Kieran will oversee Re-Gen’s MSW operation. His primary focuses will be on operational efficiency, health and safety, productivity, compliance, people development and continuous improvement.
Enjoy a Getaway with Jet2holidays, Jet2CityBreaks and Jet2Villas
Jet2CityBreaksis Jet2holidays’ dedicated city breaks product launched in May 2015. Jet2CityBreaks provides Jet2.com flights and handpicked hotels in more than 30 of Europe’s most popular cities, all secured with a low £60pp booking deposit. Jet2Villasis Jet2holidays’ dedicated villa holiday offering launched in May 2017.
Harryville Men’s Shed Membership More Than Doubles Due to Funding from The Gallaher Trust
Harryville Men’s Shed has expanded its services following a £45,000 funding injection from The Gallaher Trust in 2023. “Joining Harryville Men’s Shed has enhanced my life in so many ways. I have made new friends, learnt new skills, developed my confidence and self-esteem, which has all had a positive effect on my mental health.
Expert explains how to select prop firms
Finding a prop firm is not only about picking an account with a large balance or a high profit split. Traders also need to know how the challenge works, how much they can lose, when they can request a payout, and which trading platforms are available. There are plenty of prop firms to choose from, and going through one by one can be tiring. A simple comparison can make the process easier.
Winners of CIPD Awards in Northern Ireland 2026 announced
Eleven of Northern Ireland’s top employers and leading HR talent have been recognised for shaping better jobs and workplaces after winning accolades at the CIPD Awards in Northern Ireland 2026. The awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of HR professionals and people teams who play a leading role in investing in their workforce and delivering initiatives and strategies to improve the workplace, and support business performance.
Jet2 puts Christmas market programme on sale from Belfast for Winter 27/28
Jet2 has put its Winter 27/28 Christmas Markets programme on sale from Belfast International Airport, giving Northern Irish customers and independent travel agents the chance to book festive flights to Krakow and Vienna.
New five-year partnership with Galgorm Collection keeps Ballymena Runners on track
Award-winning hospitality group, Galgorm Collection has announced its continuing support for local sports club, the Ballymena Runners. The new five-year partnership will see Galgorm Collection as the main sponsor of the popular all-female Ballymena Belles Race in April 2027, with the company’s logo featured on all club members’ quarter zip tops. Initially established around 35 years ago and based at the Seven Towers Leisure Centre in Ballymena, the club boasts 370 members of all abilities.
Lough Neagh Partnership welcomes progress under Minister Muir
Lough Neagh Partnership has welcomed the programme of work advanced by Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir MLA, to address the environmental challenges facing Lough Neagh and establish a long-term framework for its recovery. Since taking office, Minister Muir has advanced measures to address declining water quality, nutrient pressures and recurring blue-green algal blooms.
Derry Chamber President Calls for North West to Seize ‘Strongest Economic opportunity in a Generation’
Londonderry Chamber of Commerce President Steven Lindsay has said the strength of businesses being built and grown in the North West is giving the region real grounds for confidence as it enters a period of significant economic opportunity, in a speech at the Chamber’s 68th Annual President’s Dinner. Sponsored by NIE Networks, the evening brought together business leaders, civic representatives, political leaders, and guests from across the region.
Why Integrated Security Fuels Business Growth
Business security affects far more than loss prevention. How a company manages sites, staff access, and operational data can affect productivity, customer trust, and its ability to expand. Disconnected systems often create duplicated work, inconsistent procedures and gaps in visibility, especially as an organisation adds locations. An integrated security strategy brings these functions together.
Feast Day of St Vincent de Paul Celebrated in Ballymena
A large congregation of St Vincent de Paul members from across the North Region gathered in All Saints’ Church Ballymena to mark the Feast Day of St Vincent de Paul with a special Mass honouring the mission, values, and tireless dedication of members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP). The celebration paid tribute to the organisation’s volunteers and highlighted the essential support they provide to individuals and families in local communities throughout the North Region.
Roll-out of £63 electricity support payment to begin
Budget Energy household customers across Northern Ireland will begin receiving a one-off £63 discount on their electricity from next week. The support is part of a government-funded initiative The Household Electricity Discount Scheme, to assist households with rising energy costs, which is being rolled out generally from Tuesday October 6. The discount will be automatically applied and it will be available to all households regardless of their energy usage or household income.
The Digital Investments That Will Help Your Business Grow
Growing a business today often means making smart choices about where to invest digitally. It is no longer enough to simply have a website and a few social media accounts. Customers expect businesses to be easy to find, simple to interact with and capable of delivering a smooth experience across multiple digital channels. The good news is that you do not need to invest in every new piece of technology that appears.
Bill confuson and lack of switching chould see homeowners out of pocket
Broadband has become essential amongst UK households, as 94% of UK adults now have home internet access – adding another bill to the pile of spiralling household costs.* As the first of the utility bills look set to increase this autumn, with the announcement that energy prices will rise by 4% in October, it’s important for broadband customers to get familiar with their contracts and know what they’re paying for and how to find savings.
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