ITS number could be up for the Department of Finance and Personnel as far as staying put in its current Belfast office base in Chichester Street.
Because property investment and development firm Wirefox has paid an undisclosed seven-figure sum to acquire Oxford and Gloucester House in the city centre.
It plans to spend "several million pound" revamping and modernising the outdated 1970s block and transforming it into suites of state-of-the-art grade A office accommodation.
And Wirefox - which is run by Bernard Eastwood (31), grandson of former bookie Barney Eastwood - is likely to need to oust DFP from the building once its tenancy agreement runs out in the next two years.
Oxford and Gloucester House, which comprises two interconnected office buildings arranged over ground and six upper floors, with secure on-site car parking, offers nearly 70,000 sq ft of office accommodation.
It is the latest acquisition for the Holywood-based company, which has assets across the UK and Ireland including its own housing lands in Belfast, and which has deep pockets.
Wirefox's director of investments Steven Flannery said: “Wirefox has a diverse range of property within our portfolio and we expect to expect make further investments within Northern Ireland in the coming months.
“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, and that figure has reduced since then.
“There is a market requirement for this type of high-end space, and Wirefox is confident that over the coming years we will play our part in placing Belfast on strong footing by providing more Grade A office capability."
He added: “The purchase of Oxford and Gloucester House follows our procurement last year of 42,000 sq ft of office accommodation at Corporation Street in Belfast, which is part of a broader office portfolio strategy.”
Belfast commercial law property specialists Davidson McDonnell advised Wirefox throughout the acquisition.
Meanwhile in another major development in Belfast's commercial property sector, the city's largest warehouse space - the ‘King’s Works’ premises at Channel Commercial Park in Titanic Quarter - has become available to let from today.
And as well as being suitable for suitable for a variety of purposes including distribution, logistics, warehousing and manufacturing, the versatile 102,000 sq ft space, scalable up to nearly 140,000 sq ft, will have a particular lure to the film and tv production sector, where Belfast is emerging as a European hub for the creative sector.
The park comprises 89,505 sq ft of warehousing, 9,736 sq ft of offices, 2,745 sq ft of amenity space and two acres yard and car parking, and there is an additional option to let a further 36,997 sq ft.
Commercial property agents Lisney and CBRE have been jointly appointed by Titanic Quarter Ltd to market the premises.
Andrew Gawley at Lisney Belfast said: “King’s Works is a landmark unit representing a major commercial opportunity with a scale and location that sets it apart from the rest of the market.
"It is one of the largest and most versatile warehouse units currently available, and its location within Titanic Quarter, so close to Belfast City Airport, Harbour and the motorway network, helps make King’s Works truly unique.”
Lisa McAteer from CBRE added: "King’s Works has the potential to support a diverse array of business requirements, and we expect to see competitive interest, especially given that the expectation for 2016 is that there will be a demand for industrial space from global logistics companies looking to establish or expand operations in Northern Ireland."
Channel Commercial Park is already home to tenants such as HBO, Bombardier, UBI Ltd, Sulzer and Catagen, and there are more than 100 companies employing 4,000 people already located within Titanic Quarter.
