With more than 82,000 jobs, retail is Northern Ireland’s largest and fastest-growing private sector with predictions of the creation of a further 12,000 new jobs by 2012 – despite the prevailing credit crunch and faltering house prices.
The arrival of the multimillion-pound Victoria Square in March, which followed hot on the heels of Ikea in Belfast, the Bridgewater Outlet Centre in Banbridge and Junction One in Antrim, marked a tipping point in Northern Ireland’s retail outlook, dramatically increasing consumer choice and boosting the expectations of significant retailers in Belfast. With this increased investment has come a plethora of opportunities for law firms specialising in the retail sector.
