A County Antrim independent retailer is set to create up to 40 jobs with an investment of over a quarter of a million pounds supported by Ulster Bank.
Red Grocery is opening a new 4,000 sq ft Centra store and filling station in Carrickfergus with the help of a loan of over £230,000 from the bank through the Funding for Lending Scheme.
The Ulster Bank-backed investment by the company also includes the complete refurbishment of Red Grocery’s existing Centra store at Ariel Road in Antrim.
Ulster Bank’s Head of Northern Ireland, Ellvena Graham, welcomed the investment: “The Funding for Lending Scheme has proven a useful way of supporting a wide range of companies across Northern Ireland to invest and generate employment. We have lent over £100million to over 800 Northern Ireland companies through the scheme, and are pleased to support companies like Red Grocery as they expand and grow.”
Red Grocery is owned by Robert and Dympna Millen. Commenting on the investment, Dympna Millen said: "We were looking for an opportunity for a second site to add to our already successful store in Antrim and felt that Prince Andrew Way represented a good retail opportunity for a convenience store.”
“With help from Ulster Bank and Musgrave Retail Partners, we are thrilled to be able to create this impressive new facility for local people and provide employment in the area.
Twenty-two full and part time positions have already been filled in readiness for the opening and we anticipate that this will rise to 40 in due course,” she adds.
Roisin McAlister, Ulster Bank Business Manager, says: “We have worked closely with Dympna and Robert Millen and have been extremely impressed with the way they run their business and the efforts they have put into their new project. We are very pleased to support them in their exciting new venture.”
Other local companies to be supported by Ulster Bank through the Funding for Lending Scheme to date include the Old Schoolhouse Inn in Comber, which secured funding of £140,000 to completely overhaul its long-standing premises to include a new lounge, refurbished 50-seat restaurant and nine hotel bedrooms.
Annaghmore Mushrooms, based in Craigavon, also secured finance from Ulster Bank through the scheme. The company, which grows, markets and distributes mushrooms across Northern Ireland and throughout the UK, used the finance to build impressive bespoke packaging and storage facilities to help further expand their operation.
Further information on Ulster Bank’s lending products, including details on eligibility and criteria is available at: www.ulsterbank.com/ni/business/products/business-loans-and-finance/loans-and-overdrafts/funding-lending-scheme.ashx
