The landmark Windsor House office building in Belfast city centre has been sold to the Hastings Group.
The building is the home of the Parades Commission and has featured on countless news bulletins.
Hastings is one of Northing Ireland’s leading hotel groups, owning and operating several high-profile hotels, including the nearby Europa Hotel, the five-star Culloden Estate and Spa, and the famous Slieve Donard in Newcastle, Co Down.
The future of the building has been the subject of much speculation and interest over the past six months.
Dubbed ‘Ireland’s tallest commercial building’, it is 80m tall and covers approximately 122,557 sq ft set over 23 floors.
It was sold to Hastings for a reported price of £6.5m – £1.5m over the asking price.
Gavin Elliott of agents CBRE said: “Windsor House was been traded a number of times over the last 10 years with each landlord having proposed a variety of schemes for redevelopment. It has however only recently been viable for a full redevelopment to take place as the building nears complete vacancy.
“This purchase presents a huge opportunity for Belfast in particular with strong demand for hotel and leisure space in the city centre.
“We see this as an endorsement for Bedford Street as a key street for business location in Belfast city centre. Particularly with Invest NI headquartered in the street and another of Belfast’s top office locations, Bedford House, located opposite.”
He added: “Given the amount of liquidity still in the UK market, as well as the lack of opportunities to acquire key assets in major UK cities, Belfast is currently a very attractive city for investors looking for core development opportunities at realistic prices to which they can add value. We expect to see a continued activity in the property market across all sectors throughout 2015.”
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Caption: Windsor House office building in Belfast city centre has been sold to the Hastings Group
