US insurance giant Aflac has announced it will set up its new Belfast technology centre in the City Quays at Belfast Harbour.
The Georgia-headquartered company specialises in covering the additional costs incurred by people undergoing medical treatment. It has around 50 million customers and employs around 11,000 globally.
Aflac first announced plans to create 150 jobs in the north in October.
The Irish News revealed in October that the US firm was closing in on an 11,000 sq ft premises in Belfast.
Now Belfast Harbour has announced that the US insurance group has signed a ten-year lease to set up an IT and cybersecurity innovation centre at its City Quays 2 building.
The £22 million office development, which was completed in 2017, is already the Belfast base for a number of high profile companies, including UTV and law firm Baker McKenzie.
Aflac had initially established its Belfast team in River House on High Street. The new City Quays 2 premises will give the company the capacity to grow toward its goal of recruiting 150 people over the next five years.
The firm’s chief operating officer Virgil Miller said the insurance giant had wanted a location that would allow the Belfast operation to scale up in future.
He revealed that after initially making contact with Invest NI in 2016, Aflac selected Belfast over 14 other cities.
Keith Farley, who relocated from the US to Belfast to become the company’s managing director and vice president in Northern Ireland, said: “City Quays offers an ideal location for technology innovation with its modern facilities and amenities.
“This lease is another sign of our commitment to the long-term success of this centre and the community of Belfast.”
Belfast Harbour’s sprawling office footprint has continued to expand in recent years, with Centra recently establishing the business park’s first convenience store on the ground floor of City Quays 2.
Work is already under way on City Quays 3. The £50m building will feature 250,000 sq ft of office space over 16 storeys.
Chief executive of Belfast Harbour, Joe O’Neill said: “City Quays has a wide range of tenants across multiple sectors and we are delighted to welcome Aflac to the Belfast Harbour community following their selection of City Quays 2 as the home for their new Belfast centre.
“Intrinsic to Belfast Harbour’s property strategy is a commitment to develop flexible space in a manner which aligns with our tenants’ requirements, helping create an economic hub with like-minded tenants at City Quays aligned with the City’s ambitions.
“There are currently over 5,500 workers based in City Quays and Clarendon Dock, and our ambition is that City Quays on completion will accommodate 13,000 people living and working on Belfast’s waterfront.”
