THE former British Home Stores (BHS) building in Belfast city centre has been bought by Belfast property firm Alterity Investments.
The large unit that links Castle Lane with Castle Place and Cornmarket was synonymous with BHS for more than half a decade until it closed in August 2016.
Previous owners M&G Real Estate secured planning permission to divide the building into smaller units.
Irish department store chain Guineys moved into a 21,679 sq ft unit on Castle Place in mid-2018.
Now Alterity Investments has snapped up the remaining 70,000 sq ft, confirming plans to refurbish and reconfigure the building.
The property firm, formerly known as Deramore, said its plans include the subdivision of the ground floor facing Castle Lane into multiple retail units.
It’s also intending to work with Belfast City Council to rejuvenate the Castle Arcade passageway as part of the ongoing entries project.
It’s unclear what Alterity Investments will do with the considerable floor space on the three upper floors of the building. But the company has sought to turn the upper floors of an adjacent building into residential accommodation.
It bought Castle Buildings on Castle Place three years ago. Previously home to Mothercare, it has already secured planning permission to covert the second and third floors into flats.
Last month it lodged another application to do the same for the first floor of the building.
Commercial director Richard Faloon said the Belfast company had predominantly invested in property in England and Scotland in recent years.
“We are delighted to be committing to this major investment into Belfast City centre,” he said.
“We are confident about the retail sector’s ability to bounce back from the difficulties of the past year and this strategic acquisition adds to the existing holdings the company already has in the Castle Lane and Cornmarket area.”
Frazer Kidd have been retained as commercial agent for the property.
Brian Kidd said: “Alterity is an investor with a proven track record in urban regeneration and it is a vote of confidence in their home town that they have committed to bringing this landmark building back into use.
“The property is a blank canvas that can be redeveloped in a flexible way to meet the needs of modern retailers as they adapt to how customers are now using city centres.”
