Tughans Invests in Future with New Headquarters in the Ewart

05 Jan 2023

Leading Belfast-based law firm, Tughans is moving to new headquarters in the recently completed Grade A office building, The Ewart. Located at Bedford Square in Belfast, the firm’s new office space spans approximately 23,000 sq. ft. across the 11th and 12th floors, boasting enviable panoramic views across the city.

Tughans is one of Northern Ireland’s largest commercial law firms, providing specialist legal advice across all business sectors. The firm has been recognised as the most active law firm in Northern Ireland in each of the last seven years by the Experian MarketIQ M&A League Table, having advised on deals worth over £1bn.

From its inception over 125 years ago to the progressive firm it is today, the Ewart was a perfect fit for Tughans. Based in the heart of the city’s historic Linen Quarter, the former Ewart’s warehouse on Bedford Street has recently undergone an £85m restoration of the Grade B+ listed site, with the addition of a 17-storey new build extension. Built by property developers, MRP, The Ewart has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, making it Belfast’s most sustainable new building. The redevelopment of The Ewart has merged a historic building imbedded in the fabric of Belfast with a dynamic, cutting-edge work environment that will redefine the city skyline.

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Axa Insurance and MCS Group become tenants at The Ewart office development in Belfast

05 Jan 2023

Two new tenants have been signed up to The Ewart – a new £85m Belfast city centre office development.

It is now on course to be fully let after Axa Insurance took space on the 14th floor, while recruitment company MCS Group is due to be on the 10th floor.

Business advisory firm Deloitte and financial services company Evelyn Partners have already been signed up for 81,000 sq ft and 11,484 sq ft respectively. 

The restoration of the listed Grade B+ former Ewart warehouse is the final phase of the Bedford Square regeneration project, led by MRP. The warehouse building has been transformed to connect to a new 17-storey tower at the back.

Stephen Surphlis, managing director of MRP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Axa Insurance and MCS Group, two successful and ambitious businesses, to The Ewart.

“They will significantly add to the dynamic and diverse range of global businesses that are locating their head offices in our landmark office in Belfast city centre.

“This level of demand for The Ewart, which we are confident will continue in the weeks ahead, is a testament to the innovative, sustainable and high-quality features within the iconic building, which is now one of the most sought-after office spaces in the city.”

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Wealth management firm Tilney Smith & Williamson signs up for offices at The Ewart

31 Jan 2022

A wealth management and professional services group has become the latest tenant to sign up for offices at The Ewart.

The new 17-storey development at Bedford Street in Belfast included the restoration of the once-derelict Ewart’s Warehouse.  

Now Tilney Smith & Williamson, which employs around 40 people at its current Belfast offices in Linenhall Street, has become its latest tenant.  

The group provides private individuals, families, institutions and charities with specialist financial planning advice and investment management services, and looks after £56bn of clients’ assets.

Tilney Smith & Williamson will occupy part of the 13th floor of the building. 

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Former linen warehouse restoration unveiled in Belfast city centre

13 Jan 2022

A former linen warehouse in Belfast city centre has undergone a transformative restoration as it prepares to reopen as new city centre offices.

The Ewart Building on Bedford Street has been subject to part of an £85m development.

Developers McAleer and Rushe have revealed the restored Victorian front of the sandstone warehouse this week after being boarded up for a number of years.

In their project description, McAleer and Rushe said: “Construction of new 17-storey office development providing 213,000 sq ft exemplar Grade A office accommodation in arguably the best location in Belfast City Centre.

“The listed Ewart building is the only remaining part of the former Ewart’s linen manufacturing complex, dating from the late 1800’s and will be sensitively restored. The historic building and the new build structure will be linked at first and second floor, grouped around a central courtyard.

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Belfast’s £85m new office development, The Ewart, is awarded a Gold standard Cycle Friendly accreditation

02 Nov 2021

The Ewart, one of Belfast’s most significant and sustainable new office developments, has received a Gold standard in Cycling UK’s Cycle Friendly Employer accreditation for Developments (CFE-UK).

Having completed the accreditation as part of an LQ BID initiative supporting businesses to become more cycle-friendly, the Ewart will provide the largest covered cycling provision within any Northern Ireland Grade A office to date.

The Ewart will also be the first grade A office building, ever, to achieve this standard both in the UK and across the whole European-wide consortium that delivers the cycle-friendly employer accreditation.

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The Ewart marks topping out phase with 124,000 sq ft still on the market

21 Aug 2021

ONE of the biggest new office projects still under development in Belfast has marked its topping out phase.

The Ewart, built by McAleer & Rushe, is a part regeneration and part speculative office tower on Bedford Street.

Deloitte is due to relocate to the £85 million development as an anchor tenant, taking 100,000 sq ft across two buildings.

The business services giant will take over the entirety of the smaller listed Ewart building facing onto Bedford Street, as well as five floors of the 17 storey tower behind it, including the top two levels.

But it’s understood that around 11 floors, or around 124,000 sq ft of office space remains on the market.

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Large-scale relocations ‘will go ahead’ despite office-use challenges

08 Dec 2020

A NUMBER of Belfast companies planning multi-million pound office moves in the coming months insist they “won’t be radically revising their plans” despite challenges regarding the future use of office space.

Business services giants Deloitte and PwC are among those due to relocate to vastly larger premises which between them will house more than 3,000 staff.

But given new-found home-working habits, many businesses have been reassessing their space requirements.

This has resulted in some parts of the UK and Ireland of firms exiting their leases and others seeking smaller spaces to accommodate a workforce that operates part-remotely.

And despite speculation in some accountancy circles suggesting that Deloitte was considering back-tracking on its proposed relocation a few metres up Bedford Street to the new £85 million Bedford Square scheme, the firm has issued a categoric denial.

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