McCue Fit-Out worked on Urban Outfitters in Oxford Street, London

STRATEGIC expansion and a string of deals with retail and hospitality heavyweights have helped McCue Crafted Fit retain its place among Ireland’s top performing firms for a second year.

The local fit-out specialist joined a number of other Northern Ireland businesses on Deloitte’s list of Best Managed Companies on Friday in Dublin after it excelled in 2013 and secured orders worth more than £20m.

In the last year, McCue completed projects for luxury London hotels The Berkeley and The Savoy as well as The Albany and Harp Bar in Belfast among many others.

The all-island awards are now in their sixth year and assess each area of business performance and evaluate the calibre of management abilities and practices.

Regarded as a symbol of organisational success and achievement, local companies added to this year’s list include Henderson Foodservice Ltd and Tyrone based firms Anaconda Equipment International and TES (NI) Ltd.

Les McCracken, Managing Director of McCue Crafted Fit, said retaining the title was a reflection of the company’s progress in developing a successful export-led strategy:

“The Best Managed Awards reward vision and leadership and we are proud to be again rubbing shoulders with some of Ireland’s most dynamic and innovative companies. Making the list for a second time is a huge achievement for us and shows how our long-term strategy is paying off. In a challenging time for the construction sector, we’ve worked hard to not only sustain the business but to gain a foothold in lucrative new markets.

“We’re now competing for and winning, highly sought after contracts in our industry both at home and overseas. We are in a good position to continue growing and increase our presence in a number of markets.”

Brendan Jennings, Managing Partner, Deloitte and judging panel member said: “As the Irish economy continues to strengthen the outlook for the winning companies is extremely positive. They have all demonstrated an exceptional ability to innovate and grow and are now excellently positioned to benefit as the outlook for Ireland Inc continues to improve.”

Best-known in recent years for award-winning work on shops, bars and restaurants; McCue Crafted Fit directly employs 130 people at its Carrickfergus headquarters. It adds the Best Managed Company Award to a list of honours secured in recent months including the Irish Fit-Out Awards’ International Fit-Out Project of the Year title for its work with The Savoy.

Last month the company unveiled plans to enter into the cruise ship and ferry fit out market and boosted its top team with the appointment of senior industry figure Stephen Mills as Business Development Manager in its Marine division.

The Best Managed Companies Awards Programme was created to recognise the overall success of a company, including management strength, ability to innovate, strategic initiatives and financial performance – all the elements that contribute to a Best Managed company. The ’Best Managed’ designation is an important marketing tool for the winning companies – but, perhaps most importantly, the award provides a reason to celebrate the efforts of the entire company.