Tel: 0800 084 3061 | Tel (International): +44 20 3051 2375 Get office space prices
Last updated on

Belfast Office Space Guide

[Last updated March 2023] A guide to serviced offices and office space for rent in Belfast as well as general information that may be useful if you are thinking of renting office space in the city.

For further offices information or to search office space for rent in Belfast just click. Or contact us for any other query.

Belfast and Northern Ireland

Belfast is the largest city in Northern Ireland and the driving force behind the bulk of the region’s economic activity. The origins of the city extend several thousand years into antiquity, while its more recent history has encompassed periods of significant growth as well as eras of notable stagnation and decline.

Goods have been heading to and from the city’s docks on a significant scale since at least the 18th century and a strong presence in a number of major industries soon established Belfast as one of the busiest and most important ports in Europe.

Much of what the city became and how it remains to this day is based on the boom years of the industrial revolution, which saw it earn a reputation as one of the foremost ship-builders anywhere in the world and an absolute powerhouse when it came to linen exports and production.

The population of the urban area beneath the mountains to the north and the sea to the east swelled dramatically during this period and for a brief period at the end of the 19th century, Belfast was the most economically active city in Ireland, taking precedence even over Dublin.

Economy

For several decades, the city maintained a proud shipbuilding tradition, despite the unfortunate demise of one of its greatest achievements, namely, the construction of the ill-fated RMS Titanic in 1912. With the same major companies at the forefront, Belfast shifted much of its attention from ship-building to aircraft construction as the 20th century wore on.

These efforts, however, could not prevent the decline of the city’s economy in the second half of the century, which was not helped by the large-scale destruction it suffered during the Belfast Blitz of World War II, or by the Troubles, which divided local communities along religious lines for many years.

The main landmarks of Belfast pay testament to both its recent history and to its time as a major industrial city. Two primary examples of this dual architectural basis are the City Hall building, which was established in an Edwardian style soon after city status was officially granted back in the late 1800s and the iconic Waterfront Hall, built at a cost of tens of millions of pounds in the 1980s.

Since the ceasefire

Since the signing of a comprehensive ceasefire deal between warring parties and the Good Friday Agreement, which effectively signalled the end of the Troubles in the late 1990s, the people of Belfast have been better able to work towards a brighter collective future.

As evidenced by the past two decades in which there has been dramatic growth in the economy of Northern Ireland and large-scale investment in Belfast, which has been at the heart of the region’s recovery.

Response to the Great Recession

The scale of investment and the rate of redevelopment in Belfast prior to the economic downturn was unprecedented and though the pace of change has slowed, there is still plenty of activity ongoing across the city. In fact, close to half a billion pounds worth of new developments were opened in 2010 and the £1 billion regeneration of the so-called ‘Titanic Quarter’ continued.

Office space for rent in Belfast

Remnants of the Ulster Plantation era can be found along the narrow alleyways of the Entries, and the Obel Tower is now the tallest building on the Irish mainland.

The Tower sits on the Belfast waterfront and 50,000 sq ft of Grade A office space has been made available at the site, which also incorporates a range of residential apartments.

There is a number of other commercial property success stories in and around the city. Among them is the Northern Ireland Science Park, which has seen a formerly neglected and de-industrialised region of the city transformed into a vibrant office space location, and commercial properties such as Titanic Suites and Ormeau Baths.

In 2023, there sits over 1.3 million square feet of empty office space in Belfast due to the widespread adoption of remote working and reduced number of office lettings.

In 2022, 314,916 square feet of space was taken up over 53 completed deals and this represented an 84% increase on the previous year which totalled 170,804 square feet. 

However, it was 64% down on the 885,023 square feet from 2018 and 40% below the 517,380 square feet transacted in 2019.

The Paper Exchange which is located on Belfast’s Chichester Street brought another 155,000 sq ft of office space onto the market when it was completed in early 2023.

Grade A office space is priced at £24 per square foot and between £18 and £20 per square foot for refurbished space.

Despite supply outweighing demand, Belfast office agents predict that prime office rents will increase in 2023.

As the city adopts flexible working practices, the flexible office space and workspace solutions offered by providers such as BE Offices, Blick Shared Studios and Regus are increasingly being sought out.

These provide solutions including private serviced offices, managed office suites and corporate coworking desk space membership plans.

There are 13 flex space providers in Belfast and profiles of all of them can be found in this directory.

Tourism 

The number of people visiting Belfast on an annual basis has increased dramatically since the end of the Troubles in 1998 and the city is now well-established as one of the most popular weekend-break destinations in Europe.

Partly as the result of massive investment and regeneration efforts on the part of local authorities, Belfast was able to attract more than seven million visitors per year, with the local economy benefiting hugely from the ongoing tourism boom.

Many of these are drawn to the city as many scenes in HBO’s hugely successful, Game of Thrones, were filmed in the locality.

Transport links

Public transport in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the public corporation known as Translink, which operates a variety of local railway systems and bus routes that serve the people of the province on a daily basis.

Aside from local public transport, the principal means of getting into and out of Belfast is via one or other of its two major airports, or else by road and the motorways that link the city with all other parts of Ireland.

Sport and culture

Northern Ireland has a proud sporting and cultural history, the latter of which has been entwined in no small part with its turbulent political and religious history, particularly over the course of the past century or so. Songs by pop music heavyweights like Simple Minds, Elton John and U2 have all been inspired by the city and its troubled past, while orchestras, operas and musical groups from around the world are now helping Belfast build a renewed reputation for cultural excellence.

Participating in and watching sports has been an integral part of life in Belfast for generations, with Gaelic Football, Association Football and Rugby Union among the most popular traditional games played in the city. The national and local teams ply their trade in front of packed houses each week and are a match for those anywhere else in Europe – as was the nation’s greatest sporting icon and football legend George Best, for whom the city’s airport is now named.

 

Our office space search, advisory and acquisition services are FREE, always. Our Belfast office space brokers and agents are globally regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) ensuring the highest standards of commercial property advice and service at all times.

The Office Providers are Regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

The Office Providers is Regulated by the RICS

Belfast Street Address Guide



  • UK Street Guides