THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: Jas Mooney is the entertainment entrepreneur who gave Belfast back its nightlife after three decades of the Troubles and now he wants to expand operations to the Republic, writes Francess McDonnell, Northern Ireland Business Correspondent.

Mr Jas Mooney may not look like the archetypal matchmaker but he is happy to take the credit for bringing more young lovers together in Belfast after dark than Cupid could aim an arrow at. In the past 10 years he has become one of the city's favourite sons, with his portfolio of 14 establishments among Belfast's top entertainment venues and his name now synonymous with the revival of the city's nightlife.

His company, Botanic Inns, grew out of its namesake, a pub on the city's Malone Road, which was already a legend among students and local residents before Mr Mooney decided to create an empire.

Mr Mooney's comes from a family that ranks among the best known in the North's hospitality industry and he has worked in family establishments since the age of 12.

"It's certainly in the blood, I was born and bred in Belfast, and I think we have played an important role in other people's lives during the years, particularly over the last 10 years in the city. I like to think that at least one or two marriages came about from a chance meeting in one of our establishments," he says.

Ambitious though the Mooney family may have been, without Jas's vision it is unlikely Botanic Inns would be the company it is today, with more than 750 employees and an estimated turnover of £20 million sterling (€32.2 million).

After a stint at the University of Ulster, where he studied hotel and catering, he decided to travel around the world. That took him to Australia, where he met his Welsh wife. Had it not been for his sister's wedding a few years later, he might never have returned to Northern Ireland.

"We loved Australia and we were happy there. I had seen a lot of different places so, when I came home and then went into the business, I had a clear idea of the types of experiences I wanted to create. I suppose what drove me when I was starting out was that Belfast had been cocooned because of the Troubles from the late 1960s to the ceasefires in 1995. But it was always a two-university city and, looking back, it is easy to say that its population was then under-served by its nightlife," Mr Mooney says.

"Belfast has 40,000 students but, back in the early 1990s, there was really only four places to go to at night - the Cutter's Wharf, the Eglantine Inn, the Botanic Inn and the Wellington Park - because the rest of the city stayed in their own areas.

"Belfast was very much marginalised and segregated into east Belfast and west Belfast, and consequently there was no real investment in the night-out entertainment experience.

"We set about putting our money where our mouth was. I suppose I have gone from being an entrepreneurial spirit, where we just went out and did it, to trying to plan where Botanic Inns is going strategically, both within Northern Ireland and aspiring to the all-Ireland market," he says.

He continues to believe that Belfast will deliver new business opportunities for the company.

"The changes I have witnessed, both in our business and in Northern Ireland, gives me great confidence for the industry and for the future of the city. Belfast has to be the leader in terms of being the capital city of Northern Ireland and the investment that is now being made bodes well for its long-term stability.

"There is always an undercurrent in Northern Ireland and nobody can deny that undercurrent will be there in two years' or five years' time. It is how we deal with it and make it a wee bit better year after year," he says.

The company has recently relocated its head office close to the Ormeau Bridge in south Belfast - an area that, in the past, witnessed its fair share of conflict between the nationalist and loyalist communities.

Mr Mooney believes Botanic Inns' decision to relocate there reflects the group's fundamental culture and his own beliefs.

His family remain his number-one priority regardless of his business success and he tries to promote the idea of a balanced family life outside of work to his employees.

"We have moved from our former head office, which was located in the plushness of south Belfast, to what has been a hot spot in the past in south Belfast - and it is important to recognise what that says about the company and the city.

"We are an equal-opportunity employer. I don't imagine my mother would really like me to say this but I don't really have any religion or any religious affiliations," he says.

"I am more interested in someone's inner spirit rather than if they are a Catholic or Protestant. None of my five kids are baptised - I don't know what that says but for me it doesn't say they are bad people or it doesn't say I am a bad person.

"Perhaps it just says that this is how I want to live my life and the fact that I now find myself on the Ormeau Bridge, which is in between two communities, symbolises for me that this is a company that stands for equal opportunities," Mr Mooney adds.

He believes the city is attracting new investment and changing rapidly - a welcome step - but it also makes his business environment more competitive.

"Belfast used to be the best kept secret in the world. All that is changing now and we are looking at where Botanic Inns is going in the future. We have the market experience and the natural next step for us is into the southern market. We have been looking for the last couple of years and we are now right structurally and as an organisation.

I would like to be in the South and we see good opportunities, mainly outside the Dublin market," he says.

He believes his personal motto - always look after your customers and employees - will help him achieve his ambitions.

"Enthusiasm and belief has been fundamental to the success of this company and we have always supported our people in what they want to do, while giving them a clear direction of where we want to go as a company.

"We have a great team of people and we know that the experience we can offer people in the Republic is something they will want to try. You have to understand the market-place and understand what you want to give your customer - which at the end of the day could be anyone's customer. Our establishments have to deliver something unique to be successful," Mr Mooney says.

He is hoping Botanic Inns will soon be in a position to identify the best location to realise its ambitions in the South. In the meantime, Mr Mooney may be found reflecting on the future in one of his favourite bars in Belfast, but one that he is unlikely to get the chance to purchase - the Crown Bar, owned by the National Trust.

"Belfast is growing up as a city - it is a good place and a more positive place to live and do business in.

"I would like to think that, if you ask most of our employees, they would say that Botanic Inns stand for the future of what Northern Ireland's society should be," he says.