Belfast Newsletter - Well well well. There is a whole different side to Belfast that I suggest many people have been totally unaware of - to their loss. So you are familiar with city centre shopping, Belfast City Hall, The Cathedral Quarter, the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, the Golden Mile, the Victoria Square and environs, Lisburn Road and the Troubles Tours in the west of the city?
But what about the Titanic Quarter as a weekend leisure designation?
Never thought of it? Me Neither.
But that all changed with a stay in the delightful Titanic Hotel.
One of Ireland’s largest privately held companies, Harcourt Developments, has unveiled the results of the first phase of a €20 million investment in its hotel portfolio - The Harcourt Collection, at County Donegal’s five-star Lough Eske Castle.
The new additions are named “The Donegal Suites” and showcase furnishings, artworks and amenities sourced and created by local craftspeople and businesses. Overseen by Harcourt Developments Creative Director, John Doherty, interior features include working with world famous local tweed weavers Magee 1866.
A short film about the amazing artist Angela Conner FRBS who created a series of large kinetic sculptures for Park West Business Park in Dublin including the 40m (129ft) high, 20-tonne 'Wave' - the tallest kinetic sculpture in Europe, which is powered only by the wind. Our chairman Pat Doherty was delighted to be interviewed by the filmmakers Laura Warner and Dreweatts 1759.
Hollywood, Los Angeles - the team at Titanic Belfast were delighted to accept a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement – Visitor Experience Re-envisioned at the ‘Oscars’ of visitor attractions.
The THEA Awards, organised by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), recognise achievement, talent and personal excellence from those who bring incredible experiences to life for people around the world. This is the first time an attraction has won twice in its 30-year history.
Belfast City Council - He sums up its work as bringing “step changes” to Northern Ireland, such as the emergence of a new film and TV industry in the 2000s after Harland & Wolff’s old Paint Hall was transformed into Titanic Studios.
It's among the milestones for Titanic Quarter witnessed by James Eyre since he joined Titanic Quarter Ltd, the company behind the massive seafront development, as a surveyor in 2006.
James, who studied estate management at UIster University, was last week named its new chief executive – the first at the company since a restructuring in 2015.
A new report has revealed that Titanic Belfast has generated an estimated £430 million in direct spend for the Northern Ireland economy since it opened its doors 10 years ago today.
The report, carried out by Deloitte Northern Ireland, also revealed that in its eight to tenth years of operation, the combined economic impact of Titanic Belfast has been £79 million, highlighting the vital role the iconic building continues to play a decade on.
Ulster Business - It’s been quieter in terms of footfall over the last year or so, but Titanic Quarter has continued to develop and build while the tourists, and many of the workers, are at home. John Mulgrew speaks to its commercial director, James Eyre, about planning to double its £600m investment in the coming decade, office demands post-Covid, bringing forward new schemes and bringing back the visitors.
While tourism may have effectively stopped for a year and many offices lay empty, all wasn’t quiet in Titanic Quarter during the pandemic.
Park West is home to two winners of the Great Place to Work Ireland awards – with Certification Europe recognised as a ‘Best Small Workplace’, and Workhuman winning two awards – Ireland’s #2 ‘Best Large Workplace’ and ‘Best Workplace for Women’.
Niamh Graham, vice-president of global HR at Workhuman said, “Our Irish workforce is made up of 45 per cent women and we have successfully and substantially increased our female demographic in technology in our Tech HQ in Park West, Dublin.
Irish Independent - HR tech unicorn expanding in Park West offices as revenues approach $1bn.
Workhuman, the Irish HR technology company which achieved unicorn status last year with a valuation of $1.2bn (€1bn), is planning to double its Irish workforce to 800 people by 2023.
Irish News - For Derry man Mickey McLaughlin, it was a long drought.
As he downed his first pint of draught Guinness at The Harbour Bar in Buncrana yesterday, it was everything he had been dreaming of for three months.
“The days couldn’t go in quick enough. It tastes even better than I remember,” the Creggan man said.
Irish Times - The success of the Park West scheme continues with four lettings amounting to a total of 34,634sq ft agreed so far this year. While one deal saw the increase of existing tenant Sysnet’s footprint within Block 71 from 10,700sq ft to 15,000sq ft, the other transactions saw the arrival of three new companies to the west Dublin business park. In the first instance, medical services giant Affidea made the decision to relocate its Irish head office to Park West, taking 4,500sq ft in Block 71
WinterisComing.net - It’s been quite a run for HBO and Titanic Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the network shot much of the footage for Game of Thrones for 10 years. But that’s all about to change, as the premium cabler has given notice that it plans to vacate its home in the Titanic Quarter
Estates Gazette - The online retail giant has occupied a 40,000 sq ft unit in Channel Commercial Park at the Belfast Harbour site since late 2018.
However, Titanic Quarter, which is controlled by Dublin-based Harcourt Development, has secured planning to demolish this site to make way for a new, larger facility.
The online retail giant will lease a circa 80,000 sq ft warehouse facility as well as a three-tiered van storage centre accommodating 479 spaces.
Las Vegas Review Journal - Life Time Fitness purchased nearly 15 acres of land at Durango Drive and Sunset Road from Ireland-based Harcourt Developments in November.
Harcourt had partnered with a Las Vegas firm in 2006 to build Sullivan Square, one of numerous high-rise proposals from Las Vegas’ bubble days that never materialized.
The Irish News - one of Belfast's most prominent office buildings, the Gateway Offices at Titanic Quarter, has been sold to sitting tenants Citi in a deal understood to be worth in the region of £35 million
The building comprises three accommodation blocks, central feature courtyard and underground car parking, and has been let to Citi since the building was completed in 2009.
James Eyre, commercial director at Titanic Quarter, said: "This sale is good news for Belfast. Having a high-quality occupier and employer such as Citi acquire its principal building, demonstrates its long-term commitment to Titanic Quarter and Belfast.”
Dublin is emerging as a popular destination for firms looking to relocate as Brexit uncertainty continues. Why is this the case and how will it impact real estate in the area?
We asked David Reddy, associate director at Knight Frank, about Brexit and the effect it is having on the Dublin office market.
Irish Independent - The five-star Lough Eske Castle hotel in Co Donegal last year recorded profits of €1.54m.
The luxury hotel, which is part of Pat Doherty's Harcourt Developments, enjoyed the profits after revenues increased to €8.56m for the year.
Harcourt Developments finance director Nick Doherty said: "2016 was a strong year for Lough Eske where overall revenues grew by 6pc. "Overall, in terms of geographical market share, we witnessed strong growth both from the Irish and US markets, which more than offset a slight decline in the UK market."
Irish Independent - The hotel arm of Pat Doherty's Harcourt Developments group last year recorded revenues of €60m and said that its experience of Brexit to date has been positive.
The Harcourt Collection comprises seven hotels and resorts spread across Ireland, the UK and the Caribbean along with Titanic Belfast and a spokesman said yesterday that it is "very pleased with the performance of the hotels".
Irish Times - Globoforce, an Irish software firm that operates employee reward and incentive schemes for many of the world’s leading companies, is planning to move to a larger headquarters building in Park West beside the M50 in west Dublin.
The company has been based in a 929sq m (10,000sq ft) block in the park since 2006, but is now relocating to another building almost five times that size.
Irish Times - Park West business campus on the edge of the M50 in west Dublin has finally got the recognition it deserves. Apart from being one of the great successes of the current property boom, the entire project has won an Opus Building of the Year Award for its architectural achievements. Tim Darmody of Project Architects was commended for his architectural skill and his ability to "raise the standard of speculative office parks above the basic norm."
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