Merrion Hotel co-owner to create 150 jobs in Belfast

Hotel operator Hastings is to create 150 jobs as part of a new plan to develop a £30 million luxury 200 bedroom hotel in the tallest commercial building on the island of Ireland.

The chain, which co-owns the Merrion in Dublin, last month bought the landmark Windsor House office complex in Belfast for £6.5 million (€9 million)from the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) last month.

Nama seized the building, which was developed by a consortium including Glenkerrin's Ray Grehan, in 2012 when it appointed receivers over the assets of a business called Lauderdale Properties.

Hasting said on Wednesday that it intends to develop a new hotel to be called the Belfast Grand Central Hotel. upon completion in 2018 the hotel will operate at the upper end of the 4-star market offering 200 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, 18 serviced apartments and a range of office accommodation.

Windsor House is 80m high, with 22 storeys, about a third higher than Liberty Hall in Dublin.

"The Belfast Grand Central Hotel will fulfil the requirement for much needed city centre accommodation in Belfast. Tourism in Northern Ireland continues to thrive and it is the ideal time to extend our portfolio of hotels with more high profile events coming to the city as well as an increase in business tourism which will be helped by the expansion of the Belfast Waterfront next year," said Sir William Hastings, chairman of the hotel chain.

Hastings currently operates a number of well-known hotels in the north, including the Europa in Belfast, and Slieve Donard in Down.