Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson has kicked off the Virgin Media Voom tour.

“The Voom bus is going on tour to seek out brilliant Irish and British entrepreneurs, and to help them break down the business barriers in their way,” said Sir Richard Branson, co-founder of Virgin.

Start-ups across the UK and Ireland will be vying to win a share of €1.2m in prizes as part of the Voom pitch tour.

Over the next six months, the Voom tour schedule will include Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Winchester.

The national competition will return in March 2018.

Words by John Kennedy