A mark of confidence in the economic health of Northern Ireland’s property sector has come from one of its leading property consultants.
BTWShiells announced today that its two long standing operations - BTWShiells and BTWCairns – will combine to become the only Property Services Company in Northern Ireland to offer every aspect of property services across both the Commercial and Residential Sectors. The company which will be known simply as BTWShiells will employ over 100 people within its commercial team based at Clarence House, May Street in Belfast, and its residential team based at two strategically placed offices at Holywood and Lisburn Road, Belfast.
Simon Brien, Director BTWShiells says the move allows both arms of the business to benefit fully from a strong, now shared corporate identity. Significantly, it recognises changes in the property business and allows BTWShiells to speak ‘with one voice’ to clients with property interests in both the residential and commercial sectors.
He said: “In business terms the traditional distinction between residential and commercial sectors is no longer valid. Increasingly, investors and private clients who are ‘in property’ have interests on both side of the coin and our new structure reflects our determination to provide a service which is as seamless as it is professional.
“We’re not ‘talking up’ the market, but our mood is one of optimism in residential and this latest move will position us to support a changing climate there. Market conditions have continued to stabilise throughout 2012 with a significant increase in sales volumes, particularly in the first time buyer sector, and also with exceptional value, investors are also seeing opportunities in the market with strong yields and medium to long term growth potential.
“We are optimistic about the prospects for 2013, and whilst we do not anticipate growth in house prices, we are already seeing increased interest and sales activity in the middle and upper sectors of the market, particularly in the Greater Belfast and North Down areas. We’re currently selling over 1,000 private residential homes across Northern Ireland and we represent most of Northern Ireland’s main house builders with 70 prestigious new developments already offered for sale.”
On the commercial side, Keith Shiells, Director, predicted that 2013 will be another tough year given the challenging economic backdrop in Northern Ireland particularly in the retail sector.
He said: “We are still involved in a large number of transactions for example across our portfolio of managed shopping centres throughout the province with retailers still acquiring shops albeit at lower rents”.
He added that there was a shortage of prime office space in Belfast and predicted there will be a number of significant office lettings in 2013.
“With regard to investment transactions, we are witnessing a number of the UK Funds coming back into the market e.g., Scottish Widows, CBRE Investors, L&G and Mansford, because they are now beginning to see real value.”
On the consolidation move, Mr Shiells reinforced the view that the market expects a fully integrated property service.
“The split between Commercial and Residential is largely historic from our perspective and we are merely aligning our business to provide what the market expects” he said.