Four leading companies shortlisted for Irish Times Local Business Award

A leading Kerry fish restaurant, a natural yoghurt maker in Wexford, and two Dublin-based businesses have been shortlisted for a new category that will form part of The Irish Times Business Awards next month.

Wexford-based Greenvalley Farms Ltd, Bizquip in Sandyford, Dublin, the Fish Box restaurant in Dingle, Co Kerry, and Mail Metrics in Dublin have all been shortlisted for the award by Bank of Ireland, which is sponsoring the category at this year’s event.

Greenvalley is the company behind the award-winning Killowen Farm range of live yoghurts. Situated at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains in Co Wexford, Killowen Farm has been in the Dunne family for 200 years.

Owners Nicholas and Judith Dunne took over in 2004 and 2005, and moved the yoghurt production to their own dairy farm in Enniscorthy. In 2022 the business unveiled a €4 million expansion that added 25 new jobs and enabled it to grow its cream cheese production.

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BizQuip has been in business for 40 years and specialises in commercial interiors, workplace technology (including video conferencing) and office supplies.

It has built up a base of more than 9,000 customers, who are a mix of large multinationals – including Airbnb, Deloitte, Cairn and BNP Paribas – and local SMEs. It was founded by Jim Leyden, who brought his children, Michelle and James, on to the management team to ensure a planned succession.

Run by the Flannery family in Dingle, The Fish Box restaurant, otherwise known as Flannery’s Sea Food Bar, is a local institution.

It was founded in 2018 by Michael Flannery and his brother Patrick. Their mother Deirdre is the head chef. Almost the entire menu comes from the day’s catch from the family’s trawler which docks in Dingle. The family has been fishing the waters around Kerry for more than 100 years.

In a strategic move, the family undertook a significant expansion initiative during the pandemic, transforming their 25-seater restaurant into a 120-seat establishment. This has positioned the restaurant for sustained growth in the post-Covid era. It will soon venture into the realm of food trucks to both increase brand visibility and assess market opportunities beyond Dingle.

Mail Metrics was founded in 2013 and has developed a technology solution to help organisations operating in highly regulated sectors to outsource and digitally transform their regulatory and customer communications.

It handles millions of communications each year ranging from renewal notices, claims correspondence and billing information to general transactional communications.

Revenue at Mail Metrics has gone from €1 million in 2019, to an estimated €40 million by the end of 2023. A recent acquisition of paper-based communications player Dafil marked another milestone for the business, increasing the number of employees from 110 to 151, and expanding its base of client companies.

The winners of the award will be announced at a ceremony to be held on February 22nd in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin.