Landmark office building reopens after multimillion-pound refurbishment
Riverside Tower has reopened after work that marks BT’s investment and plans to expand in Northern Ireland.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A landmark Belfast city centre office building has reopened following a multimillion-pound refurbishment.
The Riverside Tower building at Lanyon Place houses over 2,000 employees of BT Group.
The new building boasts state-of-the-art technology and marks Belfast as a significant long-term location for the communication company.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris said: “This is great news, with BT Group’s significant investment in its Belfast base showing just what an attractive place for business Northern Ireland is.
“BT’s fantastic new office will provide a boost for the local economy, creating jobs and increasing footfall in the city centre.”
Brent Matthews, BT Group’s property and facilities services director, said: “As a major employer in the city, our presence will support local economic growth and employment opportunities.
“We recently announced plans to recruit 100 people into digital roles, such as artificial intelligence (AI), as well as graduates and apprentice roles.”
The rejuvenation of Riverside Tower comes as part of the company’s better workplace programme.
Programme director Sue Glew said: “This is such a perfect location and an iconic building, the Riverside Tower.”
In an era of increased remote working, Ms Glew stressed the value of such a large investment into office space.
“Here we felt the size was perfect. We haven’t wavered from the investment. We think now with this lovely physical environment with a focus on what colleagues want and need, we’ve got more chance of enticing colleagues to come in.”
The benefits of the investment at Riverside Tower is predicted to extend beyond BT, with Paul Murnaghan, the regional sales director for NI, saying: “I often say that Northern Ireland is very important to BT but today BT is very important to Northern Ireland.
“It’s not just about our colleagues, it’s also about all of the external stakeholders, customers, public and private utilising this facility that is now here for us, but also for them.”
BT Group is responsible for directly generating £1 in every £110 produced in Northern Ireland, according to an independent report from consultancy firm Hatch.