The company behind the north’s top monthly magazine, the Ulster Tatler, is to relocate its Belfast operation.
Ulster Journals Ltd has confirmed it will leave its base on the Boucher Road after 41 years.
The group, headed by Chris Sherry, said it has secured a new premises at the Ormeau Business Park, in Belfast’s Gasworks estate.
The publisher’s existing commercial site on Boucher Road, which sits opposite Tesco’s Northern Ireland regional distribution centre, is now on the market for £650,000.
Founded in 1961, Ulster Journals first published the Ulster Tatler in 1966.
The widely read social magazine is both the north’s longest established and its bestselling local glossy.
Ulster Journals also publish sister magazine Ulster Tatler Interiors; the Northern Ireland Chamber’s Ambition magazine; and Perspective, the Journal of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.
The move back into the centre of Belfast comes as the Tatler prepares to celebrate its 60th birthday next year.
“We have had many happy and successful years on the Boucher Road but we feel it’s time for a change,” said managing director Chris Sherry.
“The Boucher area has undergone immense development over the past decade or so and has become a thriving shopping and recreational destination.
“Our parent company, Ulster Journals Ltd, began life in the early 60s in premises on Athol Street and it’s great to be moving back into town, to an area which has seen significant growth and development in recent years.
“As part of Northern Ireland’s flourishing creative industries, we want to return to the centre of activity in our sector.”
Ulster Journals’ first headquarters was originally based in Athol Street, next to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
The company later moved to the Lisburn Road in the late 1960s, where it remained until 1983.
The operation then made the move to its current premises on the Boucher Road.
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Alongside its publishing business, the Tatler group has steadily grown the digital and events side of its business, with the Ulster Tatler Awards now in their 19th year.
Welcoming the latest addition to the Ormeau Business Park, site manager Patricia McNeill said: “I am delighted to welcome the Ulster Tatler Group, the latest company to have chosen to relocate to the Ormeau Business Park, situated on the regenerated Gasworks site within Belfast’s Linen Quarter.
“We look forward to welcoming the Ulster Tatler Group, whose decision to be based here is highly encouraging and demonstrates that there is a strong demand from leading local brands to relocate within this dynamic business district of Belfast.”
The publisher’s site at 39 Boucher Road, which includes a car park and 5,000 sq ft building, is now being marketed by McKibbin Commercial.
