![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/c5174e7b-001d-46c2-b323-24672ca8340b.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJohn Walker, who founded the investment and development company Magell, passed away on Friday.<\/p>\n
A death notice said Mr Walker, from Broughshane, died peacefully at Causeway hospital. He was 86.<\/p>\n
A well-known personality in the north Antrim area, he also established The Country Garage BMW in Ballymena.<\/p>\n
North Antrim MP Jim Allister led tributes.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of John Walker, a towering figure in Ballymena\u2019s business community and a man whose entrepreneurial legacy will long outlive him.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn was a man of drive and determination. From humble beginnings, he built remarkable business success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI offer my sincere condolences to the entire Walker family at this time of loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
John Walker. Photo: Country Garage BMW\/Facebook<\/p>\n
News Catch Up – Friday 16 May <\/p>\n
Former MP Ian Paisley said Mr Walker\u2019s business influence was \u201clegendary\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn Walker was one of life\u2019s true characters, and when he was made, the mould was shattered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“An irreplaceable man of action. He was a significant entrepreneur and one of the true big business beasts of Ballymena.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an online post, the Country Garage said Mr Walker would be \u201csorely missed\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith hearts that are heavy, we share the news that our founder, John Walker, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 86,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you will know from our anniversary celebrations last year, The Country Garage was started by John over 50 years ago with a handful of cars and a vision – a vision that no doubt surpassed his expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile not actively involved in the running of the business in recent years, John always made a point of visiting for a cup of tea and a scone, and always had time for conversation with staff and customers alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis presence in the showroom will be sorely missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Walker was also known for founding Magell, which is now run by his grandson, Ryan.<\/p>\n
It plays a prominent role in acquiring, developing and managing commercial real estate throughout the UK.<\/p>\n
Mr Walker\u2019s funeral will be held in Ballymena Gospel Hall on Monday at 2pm followed by interment in 2nd Broughshane New Cemetery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Walker, who founded the investment and development company Magell, passed away on Friday. A death notice said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1999,1211,50259,1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-110776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-adrian-rutherford","9":"tag-antrim-news","10":"tag-jim-allister","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114526912752763352","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}