One of Belfast’s prime Grade A office buildings has become the first in Northern Ireland to reach a rental level of £20 per sq ft, it was revealed today at MIPIM. The building at 9 Lanyon Place has been occupied by US insurance firm Allstate since its completion in the year 2000.
The new lease terms, negotiated by Causeway Asset Management on behalf of the landlord Kilmona Holdings will see Allstate remain as tenants until at least 2018.
Speaking from the MIPIM property exhibition in Cannes, France where Kilmona is a main sponsor of the Belfast pavilion, Patrick Kearney, managing director of Kilmona Holdings commented:
“This is a very important breakthrough in the Belfast office market and reflects a number of factors including the rising level of high quality inward and indigenous investment in the city and the rapidly improving quality of our Grade A office space. Allstate will be moving to its own city centre base in a few years’ time but we have no fears about re-letting this building then and indeed we are in the process of a submitting a planning application which will almost double its size. We also have a further 400,000 sq ft of proposed Grade A office space for Belfast city centre in planning at the moment reflecting a £200m plus investment in the city and also reflecting our very positive view of the future prospects for Belfast.”
Also at MIPIM Damian Mitchell, director of Causeway Asset Management, the asset management arm of Kilmona Holdings said:
“We are delighted to be involved in negotiating Belfast’s first £20 per sq ft office letting. We are confident that rents of £20 per sq ft and above will become the accepted norm for prime office space in Belfast City Centre as our economy continues to grow and the corporation tax cut comes into play from 2018.
“Interest in Belfast is increasing and as rents break into the region of £20 per sq ft developers can now financially justify the creation of high quality offices. This, coupled with our highly skilled workforce and relatively low occupational costs make Belfast an attractive prospect for market leading international companies to invest here.”
Kilmona Holdings and Causeway Asset Management were assisted and advised in the transaction by Stuart Draffin, Head of Agency in Lambert Smith Hampton’s Belfast Office.