Details of Invest NI Investments in County Down Revealed
Invest NI secures £85m of investment and 400 jobs in Newry, Mourne & Down District Council area
Invest Northern Ireland performance results for 2025/26 show that its support has helped secure £85m of business investment in the Newry Mourne & Down District Council area.
The agency offered nearly £16m of assistance to help businesses in the area innovate, increase productivity and create new jobs.
400 new jobs will be created in the area as a result of this support.
Speaking about the results, Alistair Quinn, Head of Southern Regional Business, Invest NI, said: “Our support in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area was twice that of last year and as a direct result business investment in the area has nearly doubled and more new jobs will be created.
“The 400 new jobs are good quality jobs, with over 80 per cent paying wages above the Private Sector Median.
“In particular we saw a strong increase in investments by businesses in the Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing sector, which accounted for half of the investment in the area, and nearly half of the new jobs.
“For example, we provided support to McGuiness Mechanical Engineering to double its workforce with 28 new jobs as part of a £3.5m investment plan to increase its exports to the Republic of Ireland.
Also in the sector, we’ve worked closely with Pronto Engineering, Sheaney, Versaffix, and Viltra to improve operational efficiencies, strengthen leadership, and increase digitalisation. They are now increasing their workforce with a combined 24 jobs to help grow sales outside Northern Ireland.
“And in Crossmaglen, mobile crushing and screening equipment manufacturer, Roco, has already seen impressive export sales growth in the last year with our trade support. This has led to a £2.5m company investment in a factory expansion and 30 new jobs in the area.
“We also saw a significant increase in the amount of investment in R&D and innovation – a ten-fold increase on last year. This is very encouraging as it shows more companies are realising the importance of innovation to staying ahead of the competition and ensure the long-term viability of their business.”
DeliLites in Warrenpoint is investing £19m in innovation and automation to broaden its ‘heat-to-eat’ product range with Invest NI support, and create 130 new jobs. And Dundalk-based SeaPark Consultancy is driving digital innovation in data management from Newry, where Invest NI has helped it to establish its new Data and Analytics team.
“We are working with more companies in the area than before, thanks to our programmes Ambition to Grow and Business Innovation Grant,” added Alistair.
“These programmes are helping us reach small businesses that previously would not have been able to access Invest NI support. We have helped 55 entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Newry, Mourne & Down District Council area innovate, create good jobs and increase external sales through these programmes to date.
“Our strong relationship with the Council also ensures businesses engaging with council programmes that have export potential get referred to Invest NI.
“In conjunction with the Council, we held a regional business advice clinic in Warrenpoint to help businesses access expert guidance, explore opportunities and connect with other local business owners.
“We also ran Business Breakfasts on access to finance, export advice, R&D, skills and productivity in the local area to engage with businesses, helping them understand what support is available and how we can support them.”
The Newry, Mourne & Down District Council Briefing has now been updated and includes data on Invest NI support over the past five years (2021-22 to 2025-26).
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Invest NI support invests £11M in Ards and North Down Borough Council area
Invest Northern Ireland performance results for 2025/26 show that its support has helped secure £11m of business investment in the Ards & North Down Borough Council area.
The agency offered £3m of assistance to help businesses in the area innovate, increase productivity and create new jobs. 50 new jobs will be created in the area as a result of this support.
Speaking about the results, Iain Joannides, Head of Eastern Regional Business, Invest NI, said: “We have helped 73 companies in the Ards & North Down area implement projects that will help them grow their business.
“For example, McWhinney’s Sausages in Bangor is investing £2.2m in new equipment to increase productivity and automation with support from our Agri-Food Investment Initiative.
“The 50 new jobs to be created in the area are good quality roles, with over 80 per cent paying wages above the NI Private Sector Median. After taking part on our FounderLabs programme, Trade Harmonizer is creating 13 of these jobs as it develops a new AI tool for customers across the UK, Europe and US.
“We also saw a significant increase in the number of businesses in the area getting investment and support through our Access to Finance funds – 16 businesses accessed much needed finance.
“We are working with more companies in the area than before, thanks to our programmes Ambition to Grow and Business Innovation Grant,” added Iain.
“These programmes are helping us reach small businesses that previously would not have been able to access Invest NI support.
“We have helped 27 entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Ards & North Down area innovate, create good jobs and increase external sales through these programmes to date.
“Our strong relationship with Ards & North Down Borough Council also ensures businesses engaging with council programmes that have export potential get referred to Invest NI.
“In conjunction with the Council, we held a regional business advice clinic in Bangor and an Ambition to Grow drop-in clinic in Downpatrick to help businesses of all sizes access expert guidance, explore opportunities and connect with other local business owners.”
The Ards & North Down Borough Council Briefing has now been updated and includes data on Invest NI support over the past five years (2021-22 to 2025-26).
