NI office space 'costs 50% less'

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 21-09-2011

Office space in Northern Ireland can be rented at around half the price of similar units in the Republic of Ireland, estate agent CBRE has reported.

The cheap costs are likely to attract investors to the region, according to the firm’s commercial property bulletin.

Belfast had "significant entrants" to its office rental market in the first half of the year, such as lawyers’ practices Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith.

This year Royal Mail office space in the city was sold for £1.25 million to someone described as a "one-off investor".

CBRE said it was disappointed about Westfield and Hermes’s failure to sell Castlecourt shopping centre in Belfast, being unable to find a buyer to meet the asking price.

Bulletin author Marie Hunt, also CBRE chief executive, insisted: "This puts Northern Ireland in a very competitive position in terms of attracting much-needed foreign direct investment to the region."

Copyright Press Association 2011