The recent letting of more than half of Dunloe Ewart's speculative office building at Lanyon Place in Belfast reflects the gap between demand for office space and the supply of prime accommodation in the city, according to one of the North's leading commercial agents.
Alan Gowdy, recently appointed managing director of Insignia Richard Ellis Gunne in Northern Ireland, also predicted that the North would benefit from an overspill in the software and technology boom in the Republic.
There were already signs of multinationals located in the Republic seeking accommodation in Northern Ireland. The companies are attracted by the educated labour force and relatively low wages and rental levels.
He said the Northern labour market and rental levels also offered multinationals better options than provincial centres in the South like Cork, Limerick, Waterford or Galway.
"These companies are willing to pay higher rents but are expecting to get higher quality space than has been developed before now. The quality of building before was such that you could only expect £9 to £10 sterling per sq ft. If we are going to achieve a high levels of rents, then we need the same quality of product that there is in Dublin, Glasgow and London."
He was commenting on his agency's letting of 79,000 sq ft of accommodation in the Dunloe Ewart office building, 9 Lanyon Place, in the Laganside area close to the landmark Waterfront Hall. The rental of £13.50 per sq ft does not include car-parking, usual in most Belfast lettings. Parking spaces at Lanyon Place are available at £1,000 per annum. The letting is the largest at the top end of the scale in Belfast. Mr Gowdy said Insignia Richard Ellis Gunne expect to let the remainder of the 150,000 sq ft Lanyon Place building in the near future - and that there was enough interest to let the remainder "twice over".
Underlining the demand for prime office space in the city, Lisney in Belfast has announced the letting of the last remaining new-build office space in the city's regenerated docklands. The Clarendon Dock lettings total more than 10,000 sq ft. The offices, on Clarendon Road, Clarendon Dock, Belfast, are let to the Department of Health and Social Services, management recruitment consultants Merc Partners and Oce (UK) Ltd.
Office building 10B/10C, extending to 5,070 sq ft, was let at £57,000 per annum (£11.25 per sq ft) on a new 15-year lease with five-yearly reviews to the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety.
Office building 12B is 2,552 sq ft, and was let at £28,700 per annum (also £11.25 per sq ft) to Merc Partners, which has taken a new 15-year lease with five-year rent reviews. The offices at 12C Clarendon Dock are also 2,552 sq ft, and have been let to Oce (UK) Ltd, at a rental of £28,000 per annum (£10.97 per sq ft). Lisney surveyor, Joseph McGeehan, said: "The letting of almost the last available space in Clarendon dock has firmly established it as one of Belfast's premier office locations. Undoubtedly there is a need for further development of mixed use schemes in the locality given the strong levels of demand that we have experienced whilst marketing the suites."
Other occupiers at Clarendon Dock include Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Tesco, Prudential, CCEA, Phoenix Natural Gas, Lagan Group, Grant Thornton, Barclays Bank, Barnet and Company and Regus.
