THE Northern Ireland Investment Fund has backed its second major scheme - the development of a 575-space multi-storey car park in Belfast and 7,000 square feet of office space with a gross development value of approximately £20 million.
The McCausland’s - which already operate a number of car parks in the north along with taxi firms - meets the £100m investment fund’s infrastructure funding objectives and provides debt where the traditional market will not.
The development of the new car park on McCausland's existing site on the Grosvenor Road aligns with the car parking strategy for the city, releasing pressure from low density ground-floor car parks and complements the development of employment and hotel space under way in the city.
Christopher McCausland from McCausland’s said: “This is an exciting development for us and will answer a very real need for parking space in Belfast.
“The backing of the Northern Ireland Investment Fund is essential to get projects like this off the ground and will benefit everyone in the city.”
The investment fund, launched a year ago and agreed by the previous Stormont Executive, is managed by CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, part of CBRE Capital Advisors.
It provides debt finance for real estate, regeneration, low carbon and infrastructure projects.
Managed on behalf of the Department of Finance and the NI Strategic Investment Board, £28m of the initial £100m has now been committed (it previously backed the Merchant Square project in Belfast which is being developed by Oakland).
CBRE senior director William Church said: “It's exciting to have completed another transaction on behalf of the Northern Ireland Investment Fund. It is one of a pipeline of a mix of projects and will be swiftly followed by more investments. Applications for funding remain open.”
Sue Gray, permanent secretary at the Department of Finance, added: “I welcome the continuing growth of the Fund as it continues to invest in the areas of regeneration, office and low carbon projects to deliver economic growth. It will play a significant role in supporting private sector investment in key areas of local development over the next decade.”
