IT MAY still be a fledgeling company given it celebrates only its fourth birthday this autumn but Shannon Group’s positive imprint is already deeply embedded at a regional and national level.
If there was a ‘Rich List’ equivalent for businesses that have the ability to influence national economic development, Shannon Group would get prominent positioning.
It’s the proverbial sum of all parts and parts that add up to a single entity that has no rival in any other region of Ireland.
The mix is, indeed, the envy of other regions; a critical catalyst for economic growth that comprises Shannon Airport, Shannon Commercial Properties, Shannon Heritage and the International Aviation Service Centre (IASC).
It adds up to something very impressive as a recent Economic Impact report on its activity highlights.
The study by independent consultants found that Shannon group supports 46,000 jobs, generates an economic impact of €3.6 billion per year and contributes €1.1 billion in Exchequer returns.
Central to this economic impact is the business and tourist connectivity provided by the airport; the business accommodation by Shannon Commercial Properties and the visitor attractions offered by Shannon Heritage – elements that are critical to the region’s ability to attract foreign direct investment, indigenous industry and tourism.
The lynchpin in all of this is Shannon Airport – Ireland’s second-largest long-haul airport, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and providing direct air links across North America, Europe and the UK.
“The transatlantic connectivity that Shannon Airport provides for the Mid-West and the West is a critical enabler of economic development,” says Shannon Airport Managing Director Andrew Murphy.
“This is borne out by the fact that over 40 per cent of US FDI companies are within the airport’s catchment area and every single FDI announcement in the Mid-West in 2017 cited Shannon Airport as a factor in their investment decision.”
2018 will see Shannon operate across eight transatlantic destinations with six different carriers – its best year on transatlantic almost since the turn of the millennium.
This year it has a new direct service to Toronto with Air Canada, an expansion by American Airlines of its Philadelphia service, while Norwegian Air International has doubled its frequency to four flights a week on its Providence Green Airport, Boston service and increased New York Stewart International Airport to a daily service.
Closer to home, it has new services this year to Barcelona-Reus, Bristol and Liverpool, as well as an extension to its Manchester service. Last week saw an announcement that Ryanair’s Alicante service is to go year-round.
It’s very evident at the airport that the Joie de vivre that was so synonymous with it over the decades is back since it was separated from the state airports’ group in 2013.
There’s a freshness about it, driven largely by an ongoing capital investment programme that saw €20 million spent alone in 2017, heralding new executive lounges, shopping and dining facilities as well as a €15 million upgrade of the airport runway.
Another wing of the Shannon Group family, Ireland’s leading operator of commercial tourism attractions Shannon Heritage, is also taking flight again under Shannon Group.
It manages seven-day visitor attractions, three evening entertainment venues and three standalone retail units, with visitor numbers soaring in the likes of Bunratty Castle and King John’s Castle.
“Shannon Heritage’s ability to attract visitors to the region is an important driver for the tourism sector, which is a key employer for our rural economies”, says Shannon Heritage Managing Director Niall O’Callaghan.
“Since 2012, total visitors to Shannon Heritage attractions almost doubled to 905,000 in 2016. It has the ability to generate 253,000 bed-nights annually for the region. That’s a very significant impact.”
Another jewel in the Shannon Group crown, and one also very much supported by the connectivity provided by the airport, is Shannon Commercial Properties. It owns and manages one of Ireland’s largest property portfolios, with eight business and technology parks and in excess of 1,500 acres of development land in 15 key locations across counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry.
One of its best-known is the historic Shannon Free Zone (SFZ) – a park that has the largest concentration of North American companies in Ireland outside of Dublin.
“The Shannon Free Zone is one of the region’s core assets,” says Ray O’Driscoll, Managing Director of Shannon Commercial Properties.
“It’s already home to 160 companies employing over 7,500 people, and the investment programme we have underway will bring significant new advanced manufacturing, warehousing and office space solutions to support the IDA-led drive for inward investment in the region.”
SCP is currently undertaking a significant investment programme to deliver new advanced manufacturing units, warehousing and Grade A office space, which will enable more FDI and the growth of indigenous companies. Between 2015 and 2018, Shannon Group will have invested €40 million at Shannon Free Zone.
It’s an investment programme that is bearing fruit, attracting the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, which recently announced 150 jobs.
True to its legacy as one of the world’s great sources of innovation for the aviation/aerospace industries, today Shannon is home to Ireland’s largest aerospace cluster, with close to 60 companies employing about 2,600 staff, under Shannon Group’s ‘International Aviation Services Centre’ (IASC) brand.
IASC is influencing from grass-roots up, from its ‘Propeller Shannon’ programme that supports early-stage start-ups in the sector right through to its aircraft hangarage and maintenance activities.
Highlighting the Group’s ongoing commitment to drive economic growth, chief executive Matthew Thomas said: “Our €150 million investment plan to 2021 is a statement of our determination to maximise the Group’s impact. Strong regions and regional cities make for a strong national economy and we are doing our part to achieve this. Investment in the Atlantic corridor from Galway through Shannon, Limerick and onto Cork is hugely important to deliver strategic and focused regional development. This is critical if we are to help balance the national economy.”
This article is part of the Limerick Post Mid-West Industry special, you can read more articles and interviews from the special feature here.
