Trading Up

A Bangor company shifts four million hairbrushes a year on Amazon. The Denman brush was made famous by celebrity stylists such as Vidal Sassoon and could be spotted on sale in shops across the globe.  Kevin McNamee is an accountant by trade. But he’s also one of the world’s biggest sellers of hairbrushes.  Today, Denroy, the Bangor-based company that makes the brushes and Kevin lead...

John McEvoy's story is the remarkable tale of a real Irish unicorn. A unicorn is the title conferred on a start-up company that achieves a billion dollar valuation. Newry-based John McEvoy was previously Global General Counsel at a Dublin-based pharmaceutical company - a job he landed before he was 30 - where played a key role in its rapid acquisition-led growth and Nasdaq list...

Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by Belfast boutique hotelier Melanie Harrison who uses powerful storytelling to win business, engage her guests and create a unique experience. According to Conde Nast Traveller "This is an entrepreneurialism untainted by the boardroom or design studio. It is local, individualistic, committed and often witty.”  From 16 rooms opened in the midst of the pandemic,...

Jim is joined by Mark Gribbin of Setanta Construction who built the top four floors of Claridges Hotel at his Mid Ulster factory before shipping it to Mayfair and installing within one day.  His family-owned firm has a mission to revolutionise how we build homes and how we live: specialising in modular housing, made off-site and constructed in days; and passive housing with the highest levels...