Citigroup buys out its Belfast office in Titanic Quarter

Citigroup has bought its Belfast office in the Titanic Quarter, switching from renting to ownership as part of an investment in reducing long-term costs.

US-based investment bank and financial services company Citigroup has been renting the Gateway building in Belfast's Titanic Quarter for the past ten years, but has now committed to buying the site outright for an undisclosed sum. The building had been on the market for £34m and hosts around half of Citi's 2,600 Belfast-based staff.

Citigroup originally came to Belfast from the US, with its headquarters currently located in New York. The group previously announced its commitment to stay in Belfast back in 2017 following talk of several firms leaving the area due to Brexit complications, and buying its offices outright is a good sign of that commitment.

The organisation has been buying up property around the world recently, including the £1bn purchase of its huge office in London's Canary Wharf earlier this year. It also spent $2bn US in 2016 to buy out its headquarters in New York's Tribeca area. The acquisitions are part of internal investment plans that will reduce costs in the long term.

Speaking about Brexit, the Citi's head of UK operations said "There is no fundamental reason why Belfast's attractions to us should change as a result of Brexit. I don't see that standing in the way of either what we've got in Belfast or our plans to continue developing."

Source: BBC News