The Odyssey Pavilion in Belfast has been put on the market for a price of over £10m.
It is being sold on the instruction of the administrator KPMG, with the sale being handled by real estate advisors Savills.
Part of the landmark Millennium development project in Belfast city centre, the venue adjoins the Odyssey Arena and W5 Science Centre and features a 12 screen multiplex cinema, ten-pin bowling alley, an IMAX Cinema and a range of restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.
Ben Turtle, Head of Belfast Office and Director of Investments at Savills, said; “The Odyssey Complex is Belfast’s only dedicated large scale leisure facility and the sale of the Pavilion offers a fantastic opportunity to reposition and rejuvenate this already popular leisure destination to suit the changing leisure marketplace. The Odyssey Pavilion enjoys a very prominent landmark position within Belfast city centre, and alongside the Odyssey Arena, W5 and the now expanding Titanic Quarter we believe it represents one of the most exciting leisure investment opportunities within the UK and Ireland.”
He added: “Belfast is already a very popular tourist destination with approximately 7 million visitors each year who generate a total annual spend of circa £313 million. With the recent addition of the internationally acclaimed Titanic Belfast visitor attraction, which is expected to attract over 500,000 visitors a year, we expect the leisure pound to become even stronger in the city, making this opportunity even more attractive. We appreciate the significance the overall Odyssey complex once had in helping to put Belfast on the visitor and leisure destination map and are focused on achieving the best result possible to ensure it continues to be a world class facility. The word ‘Odyssey’ represents a long and eventful journey and we hope that through this sale we can put the Pavilion firmly on a new and exciting path in that journey and help the whole development realise its full potential.”
In July the developer behind the property, Belfast businessman Peter Curistan, pledged to continue his legal battle with the former Anglo Irish Bank after a judge put its claim for loans of more than £1m on hold.
Mr Justice McCloskey deferred an appeal by the bank until related High Court proceedings issued by Peter Curistan are resolved. The property developer said he was delighted by the ruling.
He claimed: “By this judgment Anglo has failed to frustrate my efforts to have my day in court.”
Anglo, now renamed the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), was challenging the refusal of its application for summary judgment against Mr Curistan over three personal loans to him and his wife.
In total £1,050,000 plus interest is being claimed.
Mr Curistan, the developer behind the Odyssey Pavillion in Belfast, was also involved in a wider legal battle with the bank in cases involving loans of more than £70m.