Kinsale-based accountancy practice Fitzgerald & Partners is enjoying and benefitting from the more positive vibes emanating around Cork in the last year, particularly among the SME sector. Principal Cormac Fitzgerald says that the region has much to offer businesses and employees setting up there

How has business been for you in the last 12 months?

We have seen growth in our payroll outsourcing in particular, especially with PAYE modernisation. It suits SMEs to outsource this aspect of their business so that they can focus on business development and growth in their own areas of expertise. Our free tax app has also been very well received.

You are planning a new guide to doing business in kinsale for 2019/2020. What will this new edition add to the picture?

Our Doing Business In Kinsale 2019/2020 will have a focus on sport and the arts. We have some global brands and the project has been shortlisted for CSR Initiative for the Year for the Irish Accountancy Awards 2019.

There has been very positive feedback from this publication, which can be read in e-book format anywhere in the world. We also have hard-copy editions, and we have collaborated with all the stakeholders in the area to promote business and tourism for Kinsale town nationally and internationally.

The project has also been raised in the Oireachtas as something that could be rolled out into every town in Ireland to support rural business.

Are you having success in promoting Kinsale as a location for UK firms concerned with Brexit?

We certainly are. We have a specific Brexit advisory package developed for the UK SME sector and we are getting a lot of enquiries.

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Kinsale is a very suitable location, with its proximity to Cork Airport. It means that UK directors can travel to the location quite easily and it has always been a popular location for them.

Brexit poses many threats to different sectors and a lot of UK SMEs are planning for Brexit relocation. In a recent report, it was suggested that nearly one in three British businesses are planning to relocate some of their operations abroad and have already shifted them to cope with a hard Brexit.

We are working with this sector to help them in their Brexit planning, which involves an advisory service and assisting them to set up in Ireland.

What pleases you most about the current Cork business landscape?

Having come through a very deep recession, the business environment is much more positive in Cork. There is now a focus on business development, growth strategies and there is good collaboration between the stakeholders.

There have been lots of recent positive announcements in the Cork area, with vital links for tourism and businesses such as Cork Airport growing year on year.

The success of the Wild Atlantic Way has been a huge game changer in terms of tourism in the area, which shows what joined-up thinking can do. Kinsale is the start of the Wild Atlantic Way, which positions it positively in terms of tourism.

What are the biggest advantages and challenges of doing business in Kinsale/Cork?

The biggest advantage really in the Kinsale/Cork area is that it is a good location for business in terms of top-class education being available locally, a safe environment to live in and there is a pro-entrepreneurial culture.

The biggest advantage clearly for Kinsale is being the start/finish of the Wild Atlantic Way. Cork also has lots of positives: it's one of the friendliest cities in the world, it has three Michelin-starred restaurants and approximately 1.7 million tourists visited there in 2018.

In terms of a challenge currently facing the region, the supply of rental accommodation for staff is problematic. This could be alleviated by the current proposed changes in the Airbnb sector. The uncertainty around Brexit is certainly another challenge facing the area.

+ Cormac Fitzgerald is Principal of Fitzgerald & Partners