New all-electric car ORA Funky Cat is coming to Charles Hurst Belfast as first GWM ORA retailer in Northern Ireland
The new GWM ORA showroom will open exclusively at Charles Hurst in March at its 40-acre Boucher Road complex
Charles Hurst, Northern Ireland’s biggest car retailer, has today confirmed a new partnership with pioneering electric car brand GWM ORA.
As the first Dealer Group in Northern Ireland to team up with the GWM ORA brand, Charles Hurst will initially offer exclusive stock of the brand’s new all-electric car, ORA Funky Cat, to customers across Northern Ireland. Charles Hurst will open a state-of-the-art GWM ORA showroom at its Boucher Road site this spring.
Charles Hurst is the third dealership within parent company Lookers’ network to take on the new brand, with Lookers sites in Wolverhampton and Braintree kickstarting sales last year.
Jeff McCartney, Group Operations Director at Charles Hurst, said:
“The ORA Funky Cat First Edition is a game-changer for the EV market, and we’re thrilled to become the first dealership in Northern Ireland with the chance to showcase it.
“Our state-of-the art dealership here in Belfast offers the very best in class for the EV market from electric vehicle charging and access to trained electric vehicle specialists who are on hand for free, expert advice as well as excellent aftersales services for all our customers.
“The ORA Funky Cat brings a fantastic new development to the world of electric driving, and we’re delighted to be among the first in the UK and Ireland to showcase its arrival.”
Customers will be able to book a test drive and place orders for their ORA Funky Cat at the Charles Hurst GWM ORA showroom from Monday March 6.
Jeff McCartney added:
“This is an exciting time for the EV market, and we’re looking forward to helping even more of our customers make the all-important step towards electric driving. The ORA Funky Cat is a great way to start that journey.”
The ORA Funky Cat First Edition is a high-spec launch vehicle, available with a 48kWh battery offering a WLTP range of 193 miles.
Among the car’s impressive features are wireless phone charging, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree cameras, voice recognition, reversing camera, LED headlights and 18” alloy wheels.
The ORA Funky Cat also features comprehensive charging capability with Type 2 single-phase AC and three-phase AC charging as standard. It will also feature DC rapid charging and come equipped with a CCS socket as standard.
Home charging will take around five to six hours, based on 15% - 80% charge status, with time cut drastically to around three to four hours when moving up to three-phase AC on-street charging. In addition, rapid charging will take users around 43 minutes.
The Funky Cat First Edition will be available in a choice of four colours, with the vehicle presented as standard with a Nebula green exterior paint finish and a black interior.
The car will be backed by a comprehensive five-year vehicle, unlimited mileage warranty with cover on the battery for eight years or 100,000 miles. Service intervals are scheduled every two years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.
A Top 100 NI company for several decades, Charles Hurst operates across eight sites in Northern Ireland and two in the Republic of Ireland, representing more than 20 of the world’s top global car manufacturers, including leading premium and luxury brands.
Hubflow targets global expansion after successful London rollout
31.01.2023
Hubflow targets global expansion after successful London rollout
Belfast start-up Hubflow plans 100 new London locations and sets sights on global expansion over next five years
Workspace innovator Hubflow is spearheading a rapid expansion of its bespoke office network across London as part of a major launch to take its successful brand and model to cities across the world.
The pioneering office space trailblazer has already successfully launched a suite of at-capacity office locations in the UK capital after bringing its bespoke serviced offices to the former Rolls Royce headquarters just minutes from London Victoria station and to Midtown Holborn.
It now plans to open 100 new London locations as part of a targeted five-year campaign which it calls its ‘HH’ strategy (Hundred Hubflows).
Sporting heroes get in the game to deliver Lidl Northern Ireland’s Sport for Good Schools Programme mental health workshops
25 winning schools across Northern Ireland secure coveted place on retailer’s established Mental Health Athlete Mentorship programme delivered by the region’s sporting legends
Lidl Northern Ireland has selected 25 secondary schools across the region to benefit from a dedicated Mental Health Athlete Mentorship programme this academic year as part of the retailer’s award-winning Sport for Good initiative, with each school also scoring £1,000 worth of brand-new sports equipment.
This week, the retailer announced 25 winning schools – hailing from towns from all across the region – who were selected for the programme following a call out for competition entries in October and were nominated by local shoppers.
A team of Northern Ireland’s best-known athletes have been selected and specially trained by the Youth Sport Trust, the UK’s leading charity improving young people’s education and development through sport and play, to run a series of workshops targeted at secondary school pupils, with a focus on boosting young people’s social skills, self-esteem and body confidence through sports participation.
Representing a strong cross-section of sport and boasting an impressive array of achievements, the stellar line up of NI sports stars delivering this year’s mental health workshops include four-time Paralympic athletics champion Michael McKillop MBE, Olympic steeplechase athlete, Kerry O’Flaherty, Olympic hockey heroes, Shirley McCay MBE and Eugene Magee, Northern Ireland netball international and Armagh ladies' Gaelic footballer, Caroline O’Hanlon, and female rugby union international and Olympian, Ashleigh Baxter.
Wirefox acquires prime Belfast city centre office building
20.12.2022
Wirefox acquires prime Belfast city centre office building
Leading investment firm Wirefox confirms acquisition of ‘35DP’ ahead of The Paper Exchange launch in early 2023
Leading investment and development company Wirefox has acquired 35-47 Donegall Place in Belfast city centre for an undisclosed sum.
The former bank building, known as 35DP, is a prominent five-story retail and Grade A office space, encompassing 80,000 sq ft, which fronts on to both Donegall Place and Fountain Street, and is located just seconds from Belfast City Hall.
Consisting of three retail units on the ground floor, including flagship store Boots which has occupied the building for 55 years, and four upper floors of distinctive, flexible and modern air-conditioned office accommodation, the property recently benefited from an extensive repositioning and refurbishment by GRAHAM Interior Fit-Out ahead of its sale.
Main tenant Boots signed a new 10-year lease for the building in 2020.
Wirefox said its ownership of 35DP will complement its new state-of-the-art Grade A professional office development known as The Paper Exchange on nearby Chichester Street.
Work started on the landmark 11-story 200,000 sq. ft building, which has been designed by Wirefox and TODD Architects, in February 2020 and is due to be completed early in the New Year. Around 150,000 sq. ft of the mixed-use scheme is office accommodation.
Both 35DP and The Paper Exchange are being marketed for lease by Savills and Colliers International in Belfast.
Primark’s newest UK store opens to the public at Rushmere Shopping Centre
16.12.2022
Primark’s newest UK store opens to the public at Rushmere Shopping Centre
Rushmere’s latest new store openings create more than 170 new jobs and promise more variety and value for excited shoppers as Primark and Poundland arrive in time for Christmas
Popular fashion retailer Primark officially has officially opened its doors at Rushmere Shopping Centre, thrilling thousands of visitors who streamed through its doors for a first look at the stunning new store.
Primark confirmed it was locating its new store at Rushmere Shopping Centre in March and following a major refurbishment of a 30,800 sq. ft space in the former Debenham’s unit as part of a £6 million investment, it finally opened at 10am on Friday.
The new Primark Craigavon-Rushmere store follows the retailer’s recent announcement to invest £140 million in its UK business over the next two years, by growing its store estate in addition to store upgrades and refurbishments planned for existing stores across the UK.
Hundreds of shoppers queued in the dark to front the long queues for the official opening which was attended by senior representatives from Primark, the Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Councillor Paul Greenfield, and Rushmere Shopping Centre Manager Martin Walsh.
Charles Hurst announces new partnership with iconic British performance car brand Lotus
29.11.2022
Charles Hurst announces new partnership with iconic British performance car brand Lotus
Belfast’s Boucher Road showroom will be the only outlet for Lotus within Northern Ireland
Charles Hurst, Northern Ireland’s biggest car retailer and part of motoring giant Lookers PLC, today confirmed an exclusive new partnership with iconic performance car brand Lotus.
It will see the company open a brand new state-of-the-art Lotus showroom at its renowned Boucher Road site. Set to open its doors to customers in early 2023, the premier new showroom will be the only outlet in Northern Ireland for Lotus.
Designed to exacting standards, the showroom will benefit from a bespoke premium fit-out featuring the latest Lotus visual identity. It will also incorporate the latest technology to support the move to electric vehicles, plus a range of innovative features to provide customers with a high-end showroom experience.
With order books already open, the highly anticipated range of new and used Lotus vehicles available through Charles Hurst will include the all-new Lotus Emira sports car and the all-new and all-electric Lotus Eletre hyper-SUV.