£6m call centre pre-let to power group

Agents Richard Ellis Gunne have pre-let a 55,000 sq. ft call centre developed on the site of the former Cyril King carpet factory on the outskirts of Belfast.

The speculatively built centre has been let at a rent equating to £8.15 sterling per sq. ft on a 10-year lease.

The £6 million development will be finished in a high-tech metal cladding and tubular steel exterior with accommodation for 500 staff. The site was originally developed in the 1960s as a factory for the North of England carpet tycoon, Cyril Lord. The head of Comtec Development, John McIlroy said: "We always believed that Belfast had the right credentials to become a first-class call centre destination and our success with this development has proved this."

Mr McIlroy, one of the North's most innovative developers, pointed out that his company had already secured a second site and is actively pursuing other sites for more call centre developments within the greater Belfast area. The new building, which will be finished later this summer, will be the headquarters of Sx3, the North's largest business process out-sourcing company and part of the Viridian plc power group. It will have 270 car spaces.

"This letting re-inforces the potential of Northern Ireland, and Belfast in particular, as a leading call centre location within Europe. There is an available and well-educated workforce and the private sector is capable of delivering high-quality space on very competitive terms," said Alan Gowdy of Richard Ellis Gunne. The call centre sector has been one of the most active elements of the office market in the North. In the past three years, several major international companies have set up call centres in edge-of-town sites.

It is understood agents for the major UK building society Halifax have been searching for a significant office building for use as a call centre. Two other building societies, Prudential and Abbey National, have already located centres in the Laganside area.

Other major call centre operators in the North include British Telecom, which opened a £9.1 million centre at Apollo Road, in south Belfast last year, the BBC, British Airways, P&O Ferries and US company Stream International.

Last year, the North's Industrial Development Board signalled there was foreign operator demand for three major call centres. Local developers McAleer & Rushe are currently building a 30,300 sq. ft call centre building at Fortwilliam Business Park, at Dargan Road, on the city's north foreshore area. The building is being marketed by Hamilton Osborne King's Belfast office.