Our second ULI Ireland event for 2024 saw a full house gathered at the 200-year-old Shelbourne Hotel in the heart of Dublin city to hear from a range of excellent panelists from the Belfast City and Region Place Partnership about investment and development opportunities in Northern Ireland.

Marie Hunt, Chair of ULI Ireland welcomed more than 150 guests on behalf of ULI Ireland and introduced the host for the evening’s event, well-known broadcaster Pat Kenny. In her opening address, Marie compared ULI Ireland’s focus on the responsible use of land and the creation of thriving communities with the work of the Belfast City & Region Place partnership, which very successfully brings together public and private sector bodies to collectively and proudly market and promote the Belfast region.

Marie said that the city’s already strong investment case is bolstered by the recent restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive, the negotiation of the revised deal on the Windsor Framework and the recent announcement of the largest ever package of Government funding for cross-border initiatives, which include provision for an hourly train service between the cities of Dublin and Belfast. The time has never been better to exploit the opportunity that the Belfast region offers. The event was therefore an excellent opportunity for all stakeholders in the Dublin real estate sector to learn more about initiatives and opportunities in Northern Ireland and to foster greater collaboration between north and south.

Speakers at the event, some of whom will be promoting Belfast at MIPIM 2024, included:

Joe O’Neill, Chief Executive of Belfast Harbour

Steve Harper, Executive Director at Invest NI

Marie Doyle, Partner at Deloitte NI

Dr Ryan Feeney, VP Strategic Engagement & External Affairs, Queen’s University, Belfast

Ellvena Graham OBE, Chair of Tourism NI

Johnny Hanna, Partner-in-Charge, KPMG Northern Ireland

Leigh Meyer, Site Lead at Citi Belfast

John Walsh, Chief Executive, Belfast City Council

Dan Batterton, Head of UK Product Development, Legal & General Investment Management

Simon Bedford, Partner, Deloitte, and

Robert Ditty, Executive Director, CBRE.