THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW - Len O'Hagan, chairman of Belfast Harbour Commissioners:LEN O'HAGAN bounds down the wide staircase in Belfast Harbour Commissioners' fine Victorian-style head office and offers a warm handshake.
The recession might have taken the wind out of the harbour commissioners’ sails of late – trade volumes were down 9 per cent in the first six months of 2009 – but O’Hagan has retained a positive outlook, buoyed by the successful recent visit of the Tall Ships race and the multimillion-pound Titanic Quarter development, which aims to rejuvenate 185 acres within the docklands and make it a vibrant extension of Belfast city centre.
“As Belfast harbour, we are only as good as the economy,” O’Hagan admits, as we settle into soup and sandwiches in his roomy office overlooking the busy harbour. “We have got a big property portfolio. It’s a question of how are we going to promote ourselves?”
To that end, the commissioners’ office has hitched its wagon to the ill-fated Titanic, which was built in Belfast by Harland Wolff before meeting an icy grave on its maiden voyage in 1912.
The centrepiece of the Titanic Quarter development is the £97 million (€110 million) Titanic Signature Project, which will have at its heart a visitor museum telling the story of the luxury liner’s only voyage.
“I think it’s going to be a big driver for tourism in Belfast,” O’Hagan says. “The brand is immense in terms of Americans and Japanese.”
But isn’t it odd to associate Belfast so closely with a ship that sank with the loss of 1,200 lives? “There was nothing wrong with it when it left Belfast,” O’Hagan replies.
Some Titanic historians might disagree with that statement but, if all goes to plan, the visitor attraction should be completed in 2012, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the liner’s sinking.
“There’s a complete fascination with the Titanic, there’s an insatiable appetite. I could see a situation where we will actually have flights in from the [United] States specifically for the Titanic.”
O’Hagan says recent concerns that the project would not be completed in time are unfounded. The funding is in place and work began on the site about six weeks ago. “It will be built by 2012, I have no doubt about that. There’s no issue,” he says.
O’Hagan estimates that the museum will attract at least 400,000 visitors a year, with one-third of those from overseas.
“I think that’s probably [a] pessimistic [figure]. When you think about it, the most popular visitor attraction in Ireland, and lord knows why, is the Guinness Storehouse . . . If [the] Titanic is to Belfast what Guinness is to Dublin, then we’ll be in great shape.”
Developing the Titanic Quarter is a North-South affair, involving both public and private money.
Titanic Quarter Ltd is charged with the development of the site. This is a joint venture between Dublin-based Harcourt Developments, led by Pat Doherty, and financier Dermot Desmond.
“It’s a big plus to have someone like Dermot Desmond investing in Belfast,” O’Hagan says.
Within that development, the Titanic Signature Project is being co-funded by the Northern Ireland Executive, Belfast City Council, Belfast Harbour Commissioners and Titanic Quarter Ltd, which is chipping in £20 million.
The overall development involves apartments, office blocks, a hotel, a new metropolitan college and a public records office.
O’Hagan says that all bar about 30 apartments in the initial phase of 500 have been sold, while two of three office blocks that have been built are let to financial services giant Citi.
“The issue is how fast will the demand be from financial services-related companies for additional space?” he says.
Belfast port handles about 60 per cent of the North’s goods, specialising in paper and grain. Its turnover rose last year by 5 per cent to £32.7 million, while its operating profit was up 10 per cent at £14.8 million.
The recession means that 2009 will be a different story, and the port has responded by freezing its charges. “Nothing’s growing at the moment,” O’Hagan says.
Nevertheless, a plan is in place to double container capacity over the next couple of decades, and the commissioners’ office is drawing up a master plan for a commercial development on a 20-acre quay site close to its boundary with the city centre.
O’Hagan is three years into his term as chairman of the harbour body. The role pays him pin money – about £29,000 a year.
When he is not steering the port’s activities, O’Hagan works as a consultant with OHC Corporate Advisers, his own company.
Clients have included Merrion Capital in Dublin and ESB. “It’s a one-man show and if I need people I bring them in,” he says.
His career has seen him work with two of the giants of Irish business: Michael Smurfit and Sir Anthony O’Reilly.
Having earned a degree in economics, O’Hagan started his own paper recycling business in the North, which ended up as part of Jefferson Smurfit.
O’Hagan ran Jefferson Smurfit’s waste paper operations north of the Border before being “invited” to become Michael Smurfit’s personal assistant in 1984.
Ironically, O’Hagan’s father was in competition with Smurfit at the time. “Fair play to Michael, he didn’t see that as a problem.”
So what was Smurfit like as a boss? “He’s a great operator. He was a hard taskmaster, but very fair. I liked him,” recalls O’Hagan.
“He knew more about the paper industry than anyone else.”
In 1990, O’Hagan was headhunted by O’Reilly’s Fitzwilton investment vehicle, where he was involved in running the Wellworths retail business in Northern Ireland.
“Tony had a marvellous vision,” O’Hagan says. “He developed companies through the corporate route. He was a great motivator, very bright, and had a great memory.”
How did Smurfit and O’Reilly rate against each other? “They are two totally different individuals who had the same ambition, not just for themselves, but a sense of nationalism. They wanted to do a lot of good for the country through the companies that they were running.”
After leaving Fitzwilton, O’Hagan and a business partner took a licence from Waterford Crystal to manufacture Christmas products in China around the turn of this decade.
“I did that for just 12 months . . . I sold it to my partner. The time of your life to be manufacturing in China is probably 25, not when you’re nearly 50. China is a different country; a country for young men.”
As for the sale price he achieved: “I didn’t do too bad.”
O’Hagan’s term as chair of the harbour body ends in 2010. Given that the Titanic project won’t be ready for another two years after that, will he seek a second term?
“I’m certainly enjoying what I’m doing,” he says diplomatically.
“I don’t want to influence the Minister. It’s for others to choose.”
ON THE RECORD
Name:Len O'Hagan.
Position:chairman, Belfast Harbour Commissioners.
Age:55.
Home:Holywood, Co Down, and Sandycove, Co Dublin.
Family:Married to Maureen with one son and one daughter.
Hobbies:Skiing, sailing and golf when he can.
Something you might expect:He owns a squib sailboat. "This season it hasn't gone in the water yet; I've been too busy."
Something that might surprise:He is chairman of Rockingham, a motor-racing venue in England. "It's one of those things I fell into. We're the only carbon-neutral racing track in the world
