NEWS

Gordon Cruikshanks, Regional Managing Director at Lidl Northern Ireland. Lidl Northern Ireland has announced a second major pay increase for staff in 2026, investing a further £756,000 into wages for frontline workers and Deputy Store Managers across its Northern Ireland operations. The latest increase, which came into effect on 1 May, will see hourly-paid colleagues earn at least £13.30 per hour — comfortably above the UK National Living Wage of £12.71 — while Deputy Store M

TV and radio presenter Dermot O’Leary filming in Ballycastle for the second series of ‘Dermot’s Taste of Ireland’. A major new television series showcasing Northern Ireland’s coastline is set to reach millions of viewers this weekend, as broadcaster Dermot O’Leary returns with a second series of his hit travel and food programme exploring the island of Ireland. The new series of ‘Dermot’s Taste of Ireland’ will begin airing on ITV1 and streaming platform ITVX on Saturday, 2 M

Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket, Belfast A Belfast supermarket has been fined £100,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety offences linked to a fatal workplace accident involving one of its employees. Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket was sentenced at Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday 1 May 2026 following the death of warehouse operative Mr Wei Wang, who died days after sustaining injuries in a fall at the premises. Fatal workplace accident The incident occurred on 15 Au

Official opening and ribbon cutting with Kate Sherry, Chief Commercial Officer, Belfast International Airport; Patrick Ntareme, General Manager, Flax & Soda, SSP UK & Ireland; Alistair Caldwell, Operations Manager, SSP UK & Ireland; and Richard Attwood, Director of Business Development, SSP UK & Ireland Passengers travelling through Belfast International Airport are being offered a new all-day dining experience with the opening of Flax & Soda, a major new restaurant at the he

Image of the proposed new M&S Foodhall Marks & Spencer has submitted a planning application for a new flagship Foodhall at Lakelands Retail Park in Enniskillen, signalling a significant retail move that would see the brand relocate to a larger, purpose-built site while retaining its existing workforce. The proposal, lodged with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in partnership with Elm Grange Ltd, forms part of M&S’s wider store rotation programme and is aimed at modernisin

Centra Frosses Road – Exceptional Performance in Food Safety (L-R) Catherine and Oran McCloskey, owners of Centra Frosses Road with store manager Cathie Carton, Joanne Bertenshaw Musgrave NI Food Safety & Quality Retail Co-ordinator, and host Pete Snodden. Retailers in Cloughmills, Kells, Ballymoney, Toomebridge and Larne have been placed firmly at the centre of this year’s Musgrave Northern Ireland ‘Store of the Year’ Awards, as nine County Antrim stores were recognised for

Marks & Spencer has begun work on a significant transformation of its Aldergrove store, with plans to double the size of its Foodhall, introduce thousands of new product lines and create up to 25 new local jobs. The redevelopment, which is now underway, will see the existing store expand into the adjoining service station, delivering a larger, modernised retail space designed to meet changing customer demand and enhance convenience for shoppers in the area. Store expansion un

Marks & Spencer has cut the price of 19 vegetable staples and moved 22 everyday items into its value ranges, in a direct bid to win more family shoppers who want healthier food without paying more. The move, announced as part of the retailer’s wider growth strategy, comes amid clear evidence that UK households are prioritising health in their weekly shop while remaining highly price-conscious. Price cuts target everyday essentials in weekly shop The retailer confirmed that mo

Members of the Dougies Goodies team with staff from Applegreen Ballymena A26, marking a 100 retail store partnership across Northern Ireland A Ballymena launch has marked a major milestone for one of Northern Ireland’s best-known local bakery brands, with Dougies Goodies officially opening at Applegreen Ballymena A26 as its 100th stockist location across Northern Ireland. The opening represents a significant moment for the fast-growing business, which says it is “thrilled” to

(All photographs: Ewan Harkness) A brand-new The Food Warehouse store has officially opened in Ballymena, with 77 eager shoppers already waiting in line before the doors opened on Tuesday morning. The much-anticipated new store, located at Braidwater Retail Park, Ballymena, Antrim, BT42 3AG, welcomed its first customers on Tuesday 14 April, marking a major retail expansion for the town and delivering 23 additional jobs for the local community. In scenes that underlined the le

L-R: Martin McGrogan, Managing Director of MMG Contracts Ltd and Gordon Cruikshanks, Regional Managing Director for Lidl Northern Ireland at the site of the new public house Lidl Northern Ireland has begun construction on a landmark new public house and associated off-sales beside its long-established Dundonald store in County Down, marking the retailer’s first venture of its kind and bringing its full award-winning range of wines, beers and spirits to the local community for

Ballymena shoppers are set to get a major new retail addition next week as The Food Warehouse opens its doors at Braidwater Retail Park on Tuesday 14 April, bringing an expanded range of grocery and household products, a jobs boost for the area, and a series of opening-day giveaways. The new large-format store, part of Iceland Foods, is expected to create 23 additional jobs for the local community and marks a significant expansion of the retailer’s presence in the town, wher

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has written to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland warning that rising agricultural input costs, driven by renewed global instability, are placing increasing pressure on farm businesses and could threaten food production across Northern Ireland. Representing around 12,000 farm families, the Union said ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are creating fresh volatility in the cost of essential farming inputs,

Winnie with her three daughters pictured outside Winnie’s 1975, in Broughshane. A much-loved Broughshane café and gift shop is entering a new chapter this week as the family behind Winnie’s 1975 prepares to hand over the keys after ten years at the heart of village life. In an emotional statement issued today, Wednesday 1 April, Winnie, owner of Winnie’s 1975 on Main Street, confirmed that the family has made the difficult decision to step away from the business, with new ow

Inset: North Antrim MP Jim Allister North Antrim MP Jim Allister has formally intervened in the planning process surrounding Ballymena’s proposed new Lidl store, writing directly to a planning officer at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to urge that the application be refused. In a strongly worded letter addressed to senior planning officer Kyle Patterson, Mr Allister said he was writing to “endorse the opposition of local residents” to the proposed St Patrick’s Link Road

Marks & Spencer has reaffirmed its long-standing support for Northern Ireland’s farming community, announcing its return as Platinum Sponsor of the Balmoral Show — a move that reinforces the retailer’s deep ties with local producers and the agri-food sector. With more than 25 years of backing behind it, the partnership signals continued investment in an event widely regarded as the heartbeat of rural life in Northern Ireland, bringing together farmers, food producers and thou

Pictured are the four UK farming union presidents, Andrew Connon, NFU Scotland, Tom Bradshaw, NFU, William Irvine, UFU and Abi Reader, NFU Cymru pictured at today’s Summit. Geopolitical tensions thousands of miles away are now hitting home for UK farmers — and the consequences could soon be felt on dinner tables across the country. Farming leaders from across the UK gathered in Newry for urgent talks, warning that escalating global instability — particularly in the Middle Eas

L-R: Declan McAleer MLA, Deputy Chair of the AERA Committee; Robbie Butler, MLA, Chair of the AERA Committee; Kathleen McBride, CEO of Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co‑Operative Society; Michelle McIlveen MLA, AERA Committee member and Dr Janice Thompson, Committee Clerk. The scale of the crisis engulfing Lough Neagh was laid bare this week as Stormont committee members heard stark warnings from local fishers who say their industry is “dying” amid environmental decline, collapsing

(L&R) Trevor McCrum, General Manager Hovis; Kevin Duffy, Chief Commercial Officer, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland. The unmistakable arrival of hot cross buns on supermarket shelves has been given a distinctly local flavour this Easter, as Lidl Northern Ireland and Belfast-based Hovis celebrate a £7 million partnership that has quietly shaped breakfast tables for more than a quarter of a century. At the heart of the deal is a long-standing relationship that stretches back t

Twilight Coffee & Bunkhouse, Carnlough A Carnlough couple behind a popular coffee shop and bunkhouse have issued a stark warning about the future of Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry, saying rising costs and a 20% VAT rate are pushing independent businesses to the brink. Robert and Tiffany McKay, owners of Twilight Coffee & Bunkhouse on the Antrim Coast , say many cafés, restaurants and pubs are now operating with “practically non-existent” margins — forcing difficult d