A PROMINENT Belfast city centre office building has been sold in the biggest deal of the year so far.
The nine-storey Metro Building on Donegall Square South has been purchased by a private property trust in a deal said to be "well in excess" of the £21 million asking price.
Developed in 2003, the Grade A office space, placed on the market in May, is home to a host of tenants including Capita, Johnston Publishing and Yell, while the property also features two levels of underground car parking, accommodating 50 cars.
Nicky Finnieston, investment director at Lisney, who handled the sale along with Osborne King, believes the price achieved represents a "great result" for the client and rounds off a busy summer for the firm.
"The office sector in Belfast presents a great opportunity for investors and as such, the level of competitive demand for this asset was not surprising," he said.
“With strong occupier demand and significant rental growth in recent years the market presents a compelling narrative. This is our second large office investment sale of the summer having sold Obel 68 in July and we have seen a very diverse investor base look at these assets, a considerable positive for Belfast.”
Paul Henry, director of Osborne King added:
“The process has yielded an excellent result with active competitive bidding. The sales evidence is some of the strongest on record. With the Belfast office market having seen prime rents move from £15 per square foot to £21.50 over recent years the new purchaser has an excellent platform in the Metro to exploit its considerable reversionary potential.
“The Metro Building is located in the heart of Belfast, the opportunity to purchase a building of this quality in this location doesn’t come along very often and we were delighted to have been involved in the sale.”
