Working as a bank cashier in a Border town was the impetus behind Billy Mulligan’s career change when he hit his forties.

After two decades running the family bar on Enniskillen’s Darling Street, Mr. Mulligan decided to leave the licensed trade and become a foreign exchange provider.

His move paid off and, for the last 10 years, he has operated a successful Bureau de Change in Enniskillen. A second bureau was opened in Lisnaskea in 2008 and a third bureau has just opened in Omagh, his first in a non-Border town.

“Northern Ireland is very unique in terms of its border. Our business works here but it may not work in a similar sized town in England or 100 miles south of the Border,” Mr. Mulligan told The Impartial Reporter.

The Enniskillen man recalls that when he sold Mulligan’s Bar in 2003 he “didn’t really have a plan”. 

He had grown up in the Darling Street premises bought by his parents Stanley and Susan when they came to the town from Derrylin in 1962. Initially named ‘The Harp and Crown’ after Stanley’s cap badge from his time in the Royal Ulster rifles in WWII, the bar was later named Mulligan’s Bar. Mr. Mulligan attended Portora and worked for his father, before taking up a position in the Ulster Bank for four years. In 1984, he went into partnership with his father and the pair renovated the building. When Stanley retired, Mr. Mulligan held the reins at Mulligan’s Bar, during which time it hosted live music, a nightclub called ‘Jewels’ and a snooker hall. 

His father passed away in 1994 but not before he had seen his son come home with a plaque celebrating their Bushmills Northern Ireland Bar of the Year award. “It was gratifying that he was alive to see me walking in with the big plaque. We won it again in 1996, which was very satisfying,” Mr. Mulligan commented.

In the same year, Mr. Mulligan carried out another extensive renovation and opened a restaurant headed by an extremely talented French chef, who “put the place on the map.” A few successful and enjoyable years followed, until the chef moved on and the restaurant made various attempts to replace his high standards.

“When I turned 40 I took a look around me on a Saturday night and realised that there were very few people about that I knew. I ceased to enjoy it so I began to think about getting out of the licensed trade. I didn’t like staying up to 3am any more, not unless it was on my terms!” said Mr. Mulligan.

His mother passed away in 2003 and, at that point, he “took the plunge” and sold the business. 
“It didn’t annoy me because it had served its purpose as a business. My father didn’t grow up in that premises. He entered it and he exited it and I entered it and exited it. When my mother died in 2003 I felt no more loyalty to the premises. I had no qualms or guilt about moving on,” Mr. Mulligan explained. “Nobody ever gets what they want to get, but I got the going rate at the time and I was very happy that I did it then because if I was doing it now it would be a different story.”

He is “saddened” to see the building in its current condition, commenting: “Sadly the people who bought it from me, for whatever reason, seemed to run out of motivation or money within a short time.”

Mr. Mulligan “harked back” to his days in the bank, remembering how a customer coming in with 100 punts would receive 70 pounds and the next customer wanting to buy 100 punts would be charged 75 pounds.  He thought: “I wonder is there any mileage in this?”

Following discussions with trusted contacts and trips to the Border towns of Newry, Armagh and Strabane, Mr. Mulligan realised that “there were quite a few stand-alone, independent bureaux de change in those towns.”

A bureau de change “looks at the particular exchange rate in a bank or post office and in order for us to do business, we have to offer a better rate.” Mr. Mulligan explained: “It is quantity driven. Changing currency is all we do. On the other hand, banks offer infinitely more services and have to focus on loans, mortgages etc. We are more streamlined.”

He emphasised that he is a foreign exchange provider rather than a currency trader. “The exchange rates and trends are there to be seen by everyone every day. We watch them carefully and we don’t try to second guess it. A trader will gamble and we don’t do that.”

Asked how a bureau de change makes money, Mr. Mulligan replied: “There’s always a difference between the inter-bank rate and the buying and selling rate, no matter who you are buying and selling currency from. We just take a narrower margin than other institutions. It’s tiny margins, but if you do enough quantity, you will make a living.”

Operating from the Border allows his business to thrive but also makes him aware of the fragility of the economy at present. He voted to remain in the EU and, on BREXIT, he stated: “I don’t see an upside for Fermanagh from BREXIT. We are surrounded on three sides by a Border with the Republic. I cannot see how anything that makes the free cross-Border trade in and out of towns like Enniskillen and Lisnaskea more difficult, can be advantageous.” 

Evaluating the local economy, Mr. Mulligan said: “We have our southern trade back in town and that’s helping local retailers and the hospitality industry but I only see that as a short-term thing because it can change so quickly. 
“For me, there are far too many empty premises in Enniskillen and Lisnaskea.

It’s not an easy environment to start a new business these days and a huge reason for that is rates. On that note I am very supportive of the Business Improvement District (BID) scheme that is being mooted at the moment. I would encourage anyone within the BID boundary area to vote Yes because it will enhance the town. The money raised will be spent wisely.”

In the long-term he would “love to see Fermanagh attract more jobs in bigger numbers.” He continued: “I always consider Fermanagh to be a backwater in that, if you took the population of Fermanagh to Old Trafford, you wouldn’t even fill it. It’s a small pool that everyone is trying to make a living out of but it would be great to see more investment here.”

He is a member of Enniskillen Business Partnership, which recently discussed the roads infrastructure between Belfast and Fermanagh with First Minister Arlene Foster.

Mr. Mulligan pointed out: “I opened The Impartial Reporter and saw the Looking Back column which refers to the new bypass in 1966 – It’s ironic that we are still fighting for that 50 years later.”
Overall, he is pleased with his business decision back in 2006. “I am happy with what has happened. Compared to what I did before, you can get to your bed at night, and I am employing 10 staff.”
The key to success, according to Mr. Mulligan, is to “be happy in what you are doing.” He concluded: “You need to be able to take the risk try the thing in the first place. You will make mistakes but there’s a saying: ‘The person that never made a mistake, never made anything.’”