Tech firm Kainos today announced it is seeking the planning permission for its new headquarters to be located at Bankmore Square, Dublin Road in the former Movie House Cinema building.
The new office development will support the company’s ongoing expansion and recruitment drive.
The digital services firm expects that the development will provide around 150 jobs during the construction phase.
Kainos' new workplace will allow its Belfast-based workforce of over 700 people to relocate one central location. Currently the employees are working across multiple office spaces in south Belfast.
The organisation announced that it had purchased the cinema site in February of last year, with plans to move existing staff into the premises in spring 2021.
The business - which began Belfast operations in 1986 - is currently recruiting for more than 40 roles spanning a range of technical and non-technical, experienced and entry-level positions.
Brendan Mooney, CEO at Kainos commented that the firm “is committed to providing exceptional careers and working conditions, and the development of new contemporary offices will ensure we maintain these standards.”
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The Movie House cinema site was chosen primarily to minimise disruption for staff travelling to the city. The company said it was also to allow staff to benefit from the rail and bus links that will be offered from the future Belfast Transport Hub at Weavers Cross.
Mr Mooney continued: “At Kainos, we are extremely proud of our people; they are central to everything we do and vital to our success. Therefore, we want to provide them with a terrific working experience and that includes contributing to a comfortable commute and we believe this prime spot on Dublin Road will benefit our existing and future talent in this regard.”
The proposed development will demolish the existing Bankmore Square structure and construct a new state-of-the-art office space.
Mr Mooney added: “The new building signals our commitment and continued investment in Belfast, and to retaining and attracting the best people to work with us. Kainos has a rich history of working in the Queen’s Quarter and surrounding south Belfast sites and we want to preserve this sense of heritage in the new site. The Bankmore Square building has been an important landmark for the city and we hope to retain some of its iconic characteristics throughout the design process.”
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A proposal of application notice has been submitted to Belfast City Council which marks the beginning of pre-application community consultation; including a public exhibition that will be held at the Clayton Hotel on Wednesday 1 April 2020 from 3pm – 7pm.
Philip Stinson, Director at the project’s planning consultancy Turley commented: “We are pleased to be involved in developing the new headquarters for Kainos. We look forward to the Community Consultation ahead of submitting the planning application.”
Source: Written from press release
