Video revealing the extensive four-year restoration project of Primark Belfast

Belfast’s flagship Primark store is set to reopen this Tuesday, four years on from the devastating fire which saw the building gutted.

Following an extensive four-year restoration project, Primark’s newly refurbished Bank Buildings store will re-open with the first shopper allow in at 10am.

It is believed that following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Primark colleagues will line the entry of the building as the doors open and the first shoppers enter the brand-new retail space for the first time in four years.

The redevelopment project is part of Primark’s ongoing commitment to investment in Northern Ireland, which includes the re-opening of its Bank Buildings store and the opening of a new Primark store in Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon, later this year.

Since the devastating fire in August 2018, it has been Primark’s ambition to restore the iconic Bank Buildings original structure and re-open it as a flagship store in Belfast. It has been a complex redevelopment, spanning four years of retention, demolition and re-building the site, but works at this historic building are now finally nearing completion.

The new Primark Bank Buildings store will feature 88,200 sq. ft. of brand-new retail space, (an increase of 76% from the previous store), with a new fifth floor in-store which will house a new Home department featuring Primark’s full homeware range of accessories, bedding and small furniture for the first time. The store will also feature a brand-new Disney café located on the second floor and a new nail and beauty studio for customers.

Primark’s existing store on Castle Street will merge with the restored Bank Buildings site to create the new larger store. As part of this, the smaller Primark store at Fountain House, Donegall Place will close in the days before the Bank Buildings re-opening, with all employees transferring back to the new store.

Jacqui Byers, Primark Northern Ireland area manager, added: “Restoring this much-loved historic building has been an important and passionate project for our business. Our teams have approached it with such care and consideration, of course with the wider city of Belfast in mind.

“We would like to thank our colleagues, customers, the business community, and wider city of Belfast once again for their continued support following the fire, as without them we would not be in this position to reopen The Bank Buildings. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our beautiful new Primark store in the heart of Belfast next month to celebrate this significant moment with us.”

Alongside Primark’s significant investment in the re-development of its Bank Buildings site, it is also looking forward to its new store opening in Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon later this year.