NEWS
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT DOUBLES IN 2021 The Northern Ireland commercial property market recorded its strongest year since 2017 in terms of investment volumes, research by CBRE NI shows. The data reveals that investment activity in 2021 more than doubled year-on-year with almost £290 million invested across 30 transactions. The most significant deal in 2021 was undoubtedly the sale of Merchant Square in Belfast city centre, which was sold to a Middle Eastern investment fund for £87 million in what is the largest ever office investment deal recorded in Northern Ireland. Other notable investments included Balloo Retail Park in Bangor to Supermarket Income REIT for £24.8 million and Shane Retail Park in Belfast, which was sold to DS Properties for £23 million. CBRE’s research shows that Offices and Retail were the key investment sectors across 2021, accounting for approximately 43% and 40% respectively of the overall spend. Industrial and Alternatives made up around 11% and 6% of activity respectively but both sectors are expected to increase their market share to help more evenly spread volumes across all sectors in the coming years.
MCAVOY GROUP WINS PORTON CONTRACT Offsite manufacturing specialist, The McAvoy Group, is to deliver a new research and innovation facility at world renowned science hub, Porton Science Park. Located within the Porton Science Park site, close to the village of Porton, the new two-storey, 22,000 sq ft building will provide a mix of sector specific conferences, seminars, workshops and oneto-one support in addition to a mixture of serviced labs and office facilities, with scope for further development depending on tenant demand.
INDEPENDENT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY FINYX ESTABLISHES NI BASE
Boutique technology advisory firm Finyx, is expanding its operations into Northern Ireland, creating 20 new jobs. Finyx, which is headquartered in London, provides digital services and advice to central government departments and large organisations such as financial institutions. The company’s Northern Ireland team will Directors Matt Price and Alasdair Frazer. be based in the Urban HQ building in Belfast city centre, providing its new employees with access to health and wellbeing services, catering, and a roof top bar, as well as state-ofthe-art technology. NI Directors Alasdair Frazer and Matt Price, who both originally hail from NI, will head up the local team and say Finyx’s decision to open an NI office was based on the region’s strong talent pipeline.
KINGSBRIDGE MAKES A ‘GIANT’ SIGNING WITH NEW MEDICAL PARTNERSHIP Kingsbridge Private Hospital Belfast, part of the Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, has announced their role as Medical Partners for the Belfast Giants. As Medical Partners, the Belfast Giants will have access to state-ofthe-art equipment, Private GP service Tanya Neilson (NPD & Hub Innovation Manager at Willowbrook Foods), Enya Rooney (Senior Buyer at and over 300 medical specialists, Lidl Northern Ireland) and John McCann (Founder and as well as the Kingsbridge Sports CEO of Willowbrook Foods). and Physiotherapy Clinic at Queen’s University PEC over the next three seasons. Belfast Giants legend and Head Coach Adam Keefe commented, “Having access to innovative sports medicine and fast and effective treatments is a huge benefit to our players and the team as a whole. We are very much looking forward to working with them to ensure the optimum fitness and health of our team. We have exciting plans in the pipeline for health and wellbeing related content that will also benefit fans in the future.”
NEW £45M NRC CAMPUS CONTRACTOR APPOINTED Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed confirmation that Heron Bros Ltd has been appointed as lead contractor to develop a new £45million campus for Northern Regional College in Ballymena. Located at Farm Lodge, the new Karl McKillop (Construction Director at Heron Bros); campus will see teaching at the Economy Minister Gordon Lyons and Gillian McConnell (NRC Governor). college’s existing sites at Farm Lodge, Trostan Avenue and the Lamont Building in the town consolidated onto one state-of-the-art campus. Initial preparatory work is expected to begin in January, with construction onsite commencing in June 2022. The new campus is due to be operational for the start of term in September 2024 with all works, including the new car park, fully complete for December 2024.
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