Thomas Harpur is a retired bank manager who currently sits on the Board of Enniskillen Business Improvement District (BID) and Fermanagh Enterprise. Originally from Dundonald, he relocated to Fermanagh in 1998. He talks to Impartial Reporter Business about the savviness of border business people and the need for Northern Ireland’s political institutions to get back up-and-running.

IR: Tell us about your career.
TH: “I had a 36 year career with Ulster Bank: 28 years in retail banking and eight years in corporate banking. I was a branch Manager in Fermanagh and Tyrone, I was Regional Director for the southern region and my final posting was Head of the Corporate Markets Academy.
After the downturn in the economy in 2010 a lot of downsizing took place and my role was no longer there. I could have moved into another role, but I decided to take an offer and leave.”
IR: How and why did you become involved with Enniskillen BID?
TH: “Because I had a relatively high profile within the business community in Fermanagh, I was approached by members of Enniskillen Business Partnership who felt very strongly that Enniskillen should be a BID area. For that to get up and running, they needed to form a task team. I was asked to become a member of the task team.
“At that stage I knew nothing about BID and I wanted to do a bit of research on it.
“That coincided with a trip to Canada with my wife, Eleanor. We visited Banff, which is a BID town. I had a chat with a few businessmen about BID. In the hotel lobby I came across a booklet that had been produced by the Banff BID team offering various discount vouchers to visitors. That sold it to me. I was a visitor to their town and it appealed to me.”
IR: How do you convince the businesses which still do not want to pay their BID levy?
TH: “You make them aware of the difference that BID is making. A simple initiative we did in the Autumn was to put on a shuttle bus when the bridge to Erneside was closed. That shows the business community that BID is providing a practical solution to a practical problem.
“For a lot of business customers who were reluctant to see another bill in the form of the BID levy coming through – whenever we made the contribution towards CCTV and the Christmas lights in the town – those were a couple of bills that they no longer had to pay and therefore the BID levy was small.
“We need to continue to engage with those people on a one-to-one business, but also to give as high a profile as we can to the initiatives that are taking place.”
IR: How would you describe the current economic situation in Northern Ireland?
TH: “We reached a low in 2010 with the downturn of the economy. There are signs that things are beginning to improve. The two big uncertainties are the lack of political institutions in Northern Ireland at the minute and Brexit.
“I’m not a political person but there’s no doubt that [the lack of a functioning government] creates uncertainty for the business community, it creates uncertainty for would-be inward investors and while we are still in this stalemate, it will continue to have a negative effect on the local economy.
“There remains uncertainty around Brexit. This is very much unprecedented territory. If I was still a bank manager dealing with customers across the counter and they asked me about Brexit, I would encourage them to devote time to see how Brexit would affect their business, to engage with their professional advisors and draw up some sort of a Brexit plan.
“Recovery will take time. There will be additional clarity once there is clarity around Brexit and once our political institutions get up and running again: those things are key.”
IR: House prices in Fermanagh and Omagh are up 8.1 per cent since last year, compared to just 3.9 per cent in Belfast. What does this tell you?
TH: “Fermanagh was hit very badly by the downturn in house prices because, for some reason, house prices had went sky high in Fermanagh and when the collapse came, it was felt in Fermanagh a lot more than it was in other areas of NI.
“The fact there is some sign of recovery will hopefully encourage some movement in the housing market, particularly in the first time buyer market. That will hopefully provide work for the construction industry and those industries that are dependent on the construction industry. That in turn will put more money into the local economy, perhaps providing employment. If there’s more money being generated locally, people will begin to spend again.
“House prices are an important economic indicator because home ownership is important in this part of the world – if young people in particular feel they are able to buy their first home, it gives them confidence and a secure base to move forward on. 
“What drove the rise in house prices pre the collapse was investors as opposed to home owners. It’s important that, if there is going to be a recovery in property prices, it’s based on home ownership, rather than investor activity.”
IR: What trends have you noticed in banking over the years?
TH: “When I started working, the local staff and local bank manager knew their customers and the customers knew them. The days of walking into a bank and asking for the manager are gone. A lot of banking was conducted on a relationship basis. That has changed. The decision-making process has been centralised in banks.
“Another major change which has happened since I left is the move to automated banking. That has resulted in a lot of bank closures. If the banks are going to continue with their strategies of closing banks, they need to make sure there are alternatives in place for customers who still need to transact across counters. I know they are doing that with Post Offices etc but they need to ensure they don’t leave certain customers stranded.”
IR: How can businesses raise finance?
TH: The initial source of finance is injecting their own finance into it themselves.
“The banks are still open for business. However, in order for a customer to raise finance from the bank, or any lender, they need to present a very convincing business plan which covers all eventualities and addresses the key risks that business faces and demonstrates how those risks are being mitigated against.
“For the vast majority of local businesses, the first port of call is still the High Street Bank.”
IR: What can Fermanagh offer inward investors?
TH: “An educated workforce, an entrepreneurial spirit and a business community with a high work ethic.”
IR: What have you noticed about Border entrepreneurs?
TH: “Over the course of my career I’ve worked in towns all over NI, including two Border towns: Enniskillen and Newry. Unquestionably, there is a savviness within the business community that isn’t as evident the further away you get from the Border. For example, a number of local businesses in this part of the world have operations on both sides of the Border. That’s a business adapting to its local circumstances.”
IR: What piece of advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
TH: “I would tell him not to be as cautious, to take risks and not to take myself so seriously.”
IR: What are your hobbies and interests?
TH: “My wife Eleanor and I have been very fortunate to have travelled all over the world. I enjoy walking in the fresh air. I do a lot of photography.”