ULSTER Bank is planning to vacate 10 of its Belfast offices and relocate about 600 staff to a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters. The bank has already given specifications for the new office building to a number of developers with suitable sites at their disposal in the centre of Belfast. It expects to make a decision on the location within the next six months.
The Ulster Bank chief executive, Ronnie Kells, said the decision to centralise the Northern operation follows a similar move in the Republic when its headquarters relocated to Irish Life's landmark George's Quay development in Dublin.
The bank has yet to decide whether it will rent or buy the new Belfast property, and will only make its choice after a developer has been chosen, according to Mr Kells. "It depends on the specifications, and how the developers respond to the specifications... we have no preferred option."
Centralising the bank's Northern operations would result in relinquishing about 10 office buildings occupied by bank staff and other group companies. Offices which are expected to be vacated include those of Lombard & Ulster and Ulster Investment Bank in Linenhall Street and the bank's regional office in Avenue House, Rosemary Street.
The centralisation will bring "a significant cost saving", according to Mr Kells, but will have no impact on the Ulster Bank retail branch network in Belfast.
The company has no particular architectural stipulations for the new office block, save that it be "a fine building which would be in keeping with the rest of the environment".
One of the Belfast sites under consideration is the Laganside urban development area, close to the River Lagan. But despite recent reports to the contrary, the river-front site has not been selected and is merely one of a number of options, said Mr Kells.
If Ulster Bank does plump for a Langanside location, it will be one of several major corporations to set up offices in the area. AIB's Northern subsidiary, First Trust Bank, has its headquarters at the Abercorn Centre, while the publicly-quoted Belfast developer, Ewart, is building a £30 million office block for British Telecom at nearby Laganbank.
The Laganside development is also home to a new £29 million concert hall and conference centre, which is owned and managed by Belfast City Council. A £20 million Hilton hotel, which is situated beside the Waterfront Hall, is due to open in 1998.
In Dublin, Ulster Bank took two blocks of 110,000 square feet in the George's Quay development and relocated 600 staff from a number of its departments and group companies. It retained its College Green premises, which doubles as the head office for its retail network in the Republic and is the bank's main Dublin branch.
