Design + Display

15/05/2026

Got the van through its MOT with minimal expense.
So I celebrated with some new clothes for the van! Thanks to the folks Design + Display

04/05/2026

Best in the West 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦
Local, Trusted & Original

🫶 Signage done right with Design + Display
☎️ CONTACT 028 9096 1655
✉️ EMAIL [email protected]
📮 ONLINE www.designandisplay.com

𝘗𝘎 𝘔𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘈 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴

03/04/2026

We are delighted to once again be sponsoring the event to support in our local community.

You can sign up here 👇
https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/OutOfTheDarknessAWalkOfHope2026

Bold designs, even bolder support from our community champion Design & Display.

We would love you all to walk with us to support in our community.

Register here: https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/OutOfTheDarknessAWalkOfHope2026

29/03/2026

𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦
Local, Trusted & Original

🫶 Signage done right with Design + Display
☎️ CONTACT 028 9096 1655
✉️ EMAIL [email protected]
📮 ONLINE www.designandisplay.com

𝘗𝘎 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 - 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨

12/03/2026

Looks great! Thanks guys for the shout out! Good luck with the opening tomorrow

A wee sneak peak before opening on Saturday

Hope to see you all there, open from 1pm to 4pm

Shout out to Design+Display for getting our sign sorted and ready for our opening...

28/01/2026

Thanks for the order and the shout out Corpus Christi Youth Centre, new signage looking great👍

28/01/2026

25/01/2026

We took this picture 10 years ago feeling soo excited and exhilarated at the prospect of opening our own business and wouldn’t normally use my social like this but I ask the question below ⬇️

How Is This Sustainable for Local Businesses?

This year, the Fullerton Arms was hit with a 455% increase in our Net Annual Value for rates purposes.

Yes 455%.

This comes after years of rising costs since 2019: COVID, inflation, energy crises, higher wages and higher taxes.

At the same time, the economy isn’t what it once was.
Footfall has declined steadily since 2019, with fewer people coming through our doors each year.

While sales may look higher on paper, that’s only because we’ve had to raise prices just to survive, purely to absorb relentless cost inflation.

To put this into real terms:
• Electricity: £27,600 (2019) → £51,360 today
• Gas: £21,000 (2019) → £47,000 today
• National Insurance & PAYE: up £50,000 in two years

And now on top of all of that a 455% rates revaluation.

This year we’re supposed to be celebrating 10 years in business.

Instead, we’re being asked how we’re supposed to keep going like this.

Because the truth is simple:
no small hospitality business can sustain this.

If this continues, I honestly don’t see how we’re still here in two years’ time.

This isn’t just about one pub.
This is about the future of hospitality and small businesses across Northern Ireland.

Something has to change

A not so excited about the future

Sean & Geraldine

Discover Northern Ireland North Antrim Alliance Cara Hunter Sdlp Mla Timothy Gaston Jim Allister Hospitality Ulster Philip McGuigan MLA Sian Mulholland MLAStephen Nolan

25/01/2026

Our recent business rates revaluation has come in! 😱

Our annual rates have increased from £51,900 to £85,000 — a rise of £33,100, or 63%. (Despite this, we don’t even receive bin collections, so we also have to pay an additional £13,000 per year for waste removal.)

Our gas and electricity costs have risen significantly too, increasing from £28,000 in 2019 to £45,000 in 2025 — a 60% increase.

Last year, changes to National Insurance thresholds and rates, combined with wage increases, added £60,000 to our wage bill. While we did introduce some price increases, we absorbed a portion of these costs as it simply wasn’t realistic to pass them all on.

This April, our wage bill will rise by a further £25,000 per year.

At the same time, food and drink suppliers continue to increase their prices.

We’re proud to offer outstanding value, with two courses for £15, and we’re committed to maintaining that price point. Drink prices will have to increase but we aim to keep those rises to a minimum.

Thankfully, we remain busy, and for now the jobs of our amazing staff our safe.

We do, however, worry for other businesses facing the same pressures.

Support your pubs. Use them or lose them.

We look forward to welcoming you all and providing you with the best value we can in these difficult times in hospitality.

25/01/2026

I don’t often talk about the ‘business’ of Ben Madigan’s on our social media. We try to keep our page, lighthearted and fun, our customers have enough going on in their own lives and we try to keep their minds off the serious stuff. However it has to be said, running a local bar in has never been harder.

Yesterday’s increase in business rates comes at a time when hospitality is already under serious pressure.

For Ben Madigans, this means a 61% increase in our business rates. For our neighbours at Seatons of Sailortown, it means a staggering 282% increase.

These rises come on top of:
•Employers National Insurance increasing from 13.8% to 15%
• A lower NI threshold so we pay employers NI from a lower level (an extra £40k increase in our wage bill this year when coupled with NMW increases)
• Rising utility bills
2021 - £25k
2023 - £43k
2025 - £53k
• Higher food and drink costs

These aren’t luxuries — they’re the basic costs of keeping local businesses open. Unfortunately increases like this simply can’t be absorbed. Margins are being squeezed at every opportunity and unfortunately prices will have to rise, more than we would like.

On some quick back of the envelope calculations I worked out that the Government take over 6 times more from our business in taxes than we are left with profit. Through VAT, National insurance, PAYE, Employers National Insurance, Business Rates, Corporation Tax, and Dividend Tax among others.

Our industry has become glorified tax collectors.

Behind every bar and hospitality venue throughout the country, there are real people: local staff, families and suppliers who depend on hospitality for their livelihoods.

We’re proud to serve our North Belfast community and we’ll continue to do everything we can — but the reality is that the cost of doing business is rising faster than most people realise.

Hospitality doesn’t need sympathy — it needs fairness, understanding and meaningful support. It needs action from our elected representatives, and that action needs to be taken NOW, not tomorrow, or next financial year or at the time of the next election.

👉 If you value local pubs, local jobs and local communities, please support your local hospitality businesses when you can — and let your local representatives know that hospitality matters.

Every visit, every pint and every share truly makes a difference ❤️🍻

Kelvin Collins
Director

Hospitality Ulster John Finucane MP Carál Ní Chuilín MLA Nuala McAllister MLA Brian Kingston MLA Phillip Brett MLA Gerry Kelly MLA