Merchant Square to ‘transform Belfast’

Belfast’s newest commercial property development, Merchant Square, was handed over to PwC at the end of June, and developer Oakland Holdings has signed off on a major refinancing of the building.
By Claire Cartmill
Published 28th Jul 2020, 13:00 BST
Geoff Sharpe, Danske Bank, Adam Dickson, Oakland Holdings, Brian Loughran, Radius Corporate FinanceGeoff Sharpe, Danske Bank, Adam Dickson, Oakland Holdings, Brian Loughran, Radius Corporate Finance
Geoff Sharpe, Danske Bank, Adam Dickson, Oakland Holdings, Brian Loughran, Radius Corporate Finance

Construction began on Merchant Square in 2018, and the 10 floor building which provides 230,000 sq ft of Grade A office space was funded through a combination of Oakland Holding’s own investment, and loans from Fairfield Real Estate and the Northern Ireland Investment Fund.

The Northern Ireland Investment fund was established in 2017 and is managed by CBRE UK. Merchant Square was NIIF’s first investment. Will Church, Senior Director, CBRE Capital Advisors, said: “We are delighted by the early repayment of the Fund’s first loan. Acceleration of this type of development in a market short of funding options is exactly what the Northern Ireland Investment Fund was created for.

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“The ability for occupiers to see sites under development before committing to taking space is critical in completing the funding circle. The location of 3,000 jobs in Belfast by PwC and the early refinance by Danske Bank have been made possible by Oakland’s development skills coupled with NIIF’s funding provision.”

PwC will centralise its Northern Ireland operation in Merchant Square which will house 3,000 employees when fully occupied. It is hoped that with long-established credentials in the technology sector, PwC’s Merchant Square base will be one of the city’s most innovative digital spaces.

As well as being the firm’s global hub for blockchain, and PwC Research, the firm will also relocate the Google Innovation Lab which currently sits within the firm’s existing base in Waterfront Plaza.

The refinancing of the Merchant Square development was overseen by Radius Corporate Finance. Brian Loughan, director of Radius Corporate Finance, said: “This refinance helps bookend a very successful project by Oakland Holdings, and is indicative of the calibre of projects that Oakland Holdings will seek to continue with in the years ahead.”

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Geoff Sharpe, Head of Corporate at Danske Bank, said: “We were delighted to be appointed as the funder and to play our part in the completion of this landmark project.”

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Related topics:PwCBelfast