Business

Longbridge House in Belfast city centre sold to former bookie BJ Eastwood's family property firm

Longbridge House is set for a major revamp
Longbridge House is set for a major revamp Longbridge House is set for a major revamp

THE Belfast city centre office block which once housed the north's industrial tribunals courts has been sold to the property investment firm run by former bookie Barney Eastwood's grandson.

Holywood-based Wirefox confirmed yesterday that it has paid an undisclosed sum to snap up the prominent Longbridge House on the corner of Waring Street and Hill Street for an undisclosed sum.

The company - which earlier this year shelled out a seven-figure sum to acquire Oxford and Gloucester House in Belfast city centre - says it has plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of the site, transforming it into suites of state-of-the-art grade A office accommodation.

And Wirefox says it is "already in talks" with several potential tenants for the Cathedral Quarter site.

The company's director of asset management Michael Wright said the top three floors of the building offer 16,000 sq ft of grade A office space, which they plan to refurbish and pitch to international clients.

It is understood Longbridge House, which had been in receivership, is in dire need of a refresh.

Indeed as far back as summer 2008 its previous owners Straben Developments - which owned the Adelaide Exchange office development in Belfast city centre until it was placed into receivership by Ulster Bank - proposed to demolish the building and develop a seven-storey office building with ground floor retail.

That mooted £10 million scheme was eventually withdrawn in February 2009 after planners said they were minded to refuse permission for the application.

The purchase of the four-storey building in Cathedral Quarter further adds to the Belfast city centre portfolio of Wirefox, which has assets across the UK and Ireland.

In April it announced plans to provide Grade A office accommodation after acquiring Oxford and Gloucester House on Chichester Street, which is home to civil servants working for the Department of Finance.

Mr Wright described Longbridge House as a "strategic acquisition" for Wirefox in one of Belfast's premier locations, where there is significant demand for office accommodation as well as for restaurants, bars and hotels.

He said: “We have major plans for a change of use on the ground floor, comprising 4,500 sq ft, and have received significant interest from local and national operators.

“The building is currently unoccupied and we are engaging with consultants on an extensive refurbishment, which will result in a more suitable open-plan floor space configuration which can be tailored to meet the exact demands of the market."

He added: “The lack of quality office supply in Belfast has been well documented, and Wirefox’s ongoing investment programme will help strengthen the city’s office offering.”

According to Lisney's 2015 commercial property report, at the end of last year there was only 150,000 sq ft of grade A office accommodation available in Belfast, which isn't sufficient to meet current demands.

A number of potential international clients are understood to be sizing up the city centre as possible investment locations, but won't commit to Belfast if it can't meet their office demands.

Invest NI are also actively courting overseas companies, using the north's lower corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent from April 2018 as a selling tool, and are keen to see the office offer increased.

Longbridge House's new owner Wirefox is controlled by the businessman BJ Eastwood.

Last year it bought substantial housing development lands near Lisburn.