Belfast Harbour reports record cruise ship visits and rising turnover

Plus: Luxury 145-room hotel planned at site of Belfast bar [Belfast Telegraph]( Tuesday, 02 July 2024 [Weekly Business Digest]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Belfast Harbour reports record cruise ship visits along with rising £83m turnover in 2023](   [Margaret Canning] Margaret Canning Business Editor Welcome to this week's Business Telegraph. Belfast Harbour has reported [record cruise ship visits]( and rising turnover and profits in 2023 despite a challenging global environment. The sales of The Quays Shopping Centre in Newry and a former Randox site were the bright spots in a quiet first half of the year for commercial property deals, a [report from Lambert Smith Hampton]( has said. A Belfast bar is planned to be turned into a 145-room hotel as part of a [£50m development of the site](. The Tipsy Bird on Ann Street in the city centre is part of the plans from the hospitality company Glendola Leisure Group. Medical testing firm [Randox has reported a loss of £38m]( following pre-tax profits of £189.8m last year but says the results were "entirely expected" following a strong performance during peak demand for its Covid-19 testing. [Robin Mercer of Hillmount Garden Centre]( talks to James McNaney about coping with disappointing weather, the history of the business and his interesting hobby. And we hear from [Fatoumata Tall of OCO Global]( on why investment opportunities in the Middle East are attracting an increasing number of smaller British and Irish firms, while [Lisa Wilson of Neri]( talks about whether flexibility is always a positive when it comes to measuring job quality. Thank you, and see you next week. Margaret Top Stories [premium] [NI shopping centre sale leads mixed investment report](   [Luxury 145-room hotel planned at site of Belfast bar](   [Risk of ‘damage’ if Spirit AeroSystems is broken up after Boeing deal](   [Randox posts £38m loss and sales drop in wake of strong Covid-19 pandemic results](   [Entries open for 2024 Belfast Telegraph Property Awards](   [premium] [Caution needed with flexible working practices to protect wellbeing of staff](   [Why Middle East investment opportunities are increasingly attracting smaller British and Irish firms](   --------------------------------------------------------------- ADVERTISMENT --------------------------------------------------------------- Big Interview [premium] [Owner of popular NI garden centre on his hot air balloon, predicting the weather and continuing a family tradition](   Opinion [premium] [Global industry deals highlight how powerless we are](   And Finally... [premium] [Popular NI business to open spin-off shop in London’s plush Mayfair](   What do you think of this email? [Positive]( [Negative]( [belfasttelegraph]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Follow us on Facebook]( This email is from Belfast Telegraph part of Mediahuis UK Ltd. You received this email because you have signed up for the Belfast Telegraph Business Newsletter. [Contact Us]( | [Privacy Statement]( | [Cookie Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in browser]( Copyright - 2024 - All Rights Reserved