Lidl to mark Dundonald return with new concept superstore

[BelfastTelegraph.co.uk](#) Business Headlines Tuesday 8 January 2019 Today's top story [Lidl is closing in on 40 NI stores]( [Lidl to mark Dundonald return with new concept superstore]( German supermarket chain Lidl is preparing to build its 39th store in Northern Ireland in a total investment of nearly £7m. Main Headlines [Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said car dealers here ended 2018 with "subdued sales volumes" as 52,533 new cars were sold, down 3.35% from 2017's sales figure of 54,356 (stock picture)]( [New car sales drop 3.35% in 2018 as consumer confidence buffeted]( By Emma Deighan New car sales in Northern Ireland fell by almost 3.4% over the past year due a "perfect storm" of issues facing motorists. [Martin Walsh, manager of Rushmere shopping centre, has reported that Christmas 2018 saw its busiest festive trading since it opened in 1976]( [NI shopping centre enjoys its busiest Christmas trading in 42-year history]( By Margaret Canning Co Armagh shopping centre Rushmere has said Christmas 2018 was its most successful festive trading period in its 42 years, with a 15% jump in shopper numbers. [Niall Casey (left) of Invest NI with Howard Hastings]( [Hastings pledges £2m in four-year training plan across hotel group]( By Emma Deighan Hastings Hotels is investing almost £2m in tailored staff training over the next four years across its seven hotels in Northern Ireland. [A painting depicting a workman chipping away at a star on the EU flag by artist Banksy in Dover, England, this month]( [What 2019 could hold in store for economy of Northern Ireland ...]( By Conor Lambe, chief economist, Danske Bank At the beginning of a new year, the question most asked of economists is what does the next 12 months have in store for the economic, political and business environment? [Dublin]( [View from Dublin: rise in Vat rates raises the question of inequalities]( By Richard Curran From Tuesday, the price of a meal or a coffee in the Republic should be going up a little as the old 9% Vat rate, in place for several years, ends as the full 13.5% rate kicks in. [Dale Farm CEO Nick Whelan]( [‘We have massive opportunities for growth ... but Brexit is still a worry’]( Nick Whelan took over at the helm of Northern Ireland’s largest dairy co-operative just as the UK decided it wanted to leave the world’s largest trading bloc. [Portland 88 by Barnett Developments won the Belfast Telegraph Innovative Use of Smartphone Technology Award. From left: Pamela Ballantine, Ryan Dougan, Guil Nascimento, and James Burleigh]( [Awards show vibrant NI property sector]( By Susan Mason, Acting Regional Director, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) I had the pleasure of being one of the judges of the Belfast Telegraph Property Awards recently. It was a pleasure, in part because it highlighted to me that the property sector in Northern Ireland, which for so long was at the sharp end of economic challenge, has got much of its vibrancy back. [Co Tyrone country singer and Dancing with the Stars contestant Cliona Hagan]( [Tyrone fake tan firm star-struck by TV deal]( By Emma Deighan A Tyrone cosmetics firm has been chosen as the tanning provider for RTE's Dancing with the Stars for the third year running. [INM]( [Contact us]( | [Privacy Statement]( Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twiiter]( [Google Plus]( Get more [belfasttelegraph.co.uk/newsletters]( [Digital Edition >>]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL This email is from BelfastTelegraph.co.uk part of Independent News & Media PLC. You received this email because you have signed up for the BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Weekly Business Digest Newsletter. To unsubscribe from the Weekly Business Digest Newsletter, please [click here](. Copyright - 2019 INM Ltd, | Belfast Telegraph House | 33 Clarendon Road | Clarendon Dock | Belfast | BT1 3BG | Company number 1908967 All Rights Reserved