Metro Building sale second big city centre office deal in months

THE sale of the Metro Building for well above its £21m asking price is the second major office deal for the city in months.

The block on Donegall Square South, home to tenants including outsourcing firm Capital and The Newsletter, was sold by agents Lisney and Osborne King.

An unnamed private property trust bought it for “well in excess of its £21m asking price”, the agents said.

The nine-storey building, which was developed in 2003, also has two levels of underground car parking.

In July Lisney announced the sale of part of the Obel building in the city centre in a deal worth over £15m.

Demand: Metro Building

Nicky Finnieston, investment director at Lisney, said: “This deal rounds off a very busy summer period for us and the price achieved represents a great re- sult for our client.

“The office sector in Belfast presents a great opportunity for investors, and as such the level of competitive demand for this asset was not surprising.

“With strong occupier demand and significant rental growth in recent years, the market presents a compelling narrative.

“This is our second large office investment sale of the summer, having sold Obel 68 in July, and we have seen a very diverse investor base look at these assets, which is a considerable positive for Belfast.”

The private property trust that bought the building was instructed by business advisers BDO.

Earlier this year Lisney acted in the £16.4m purchase by Corum Asset Management of 40-46 Donegall Place in Belfast.