The Bar of Northern Ireland has taken up a 4,000 sq ft space in Belfast City Centre to provide the base for Northern Ireland’s first specialist mediation centre.

The new facility will be based in The Boat, a 14-storey building in Queen’s Square close to the Bar Library and the Laganside Courts, following a letting facilitated by CBRE.

David Mulholland, chief executive of The Bar of Northern Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to embark on this new relationship with CBRE, The Boat is a wonderful space with the prestige and location expected of a top class mediation centre.

“This development is a positive step to offer local businesses and individuals’ quality, local dispute resolution. Successful mediation allows parties to mutually arrive at a blend of legal and non-legal solutions suited to their needs and we will be offering a suite of services.”

David Wright of CBRE added: “The Boat is one of the few prime Grade A office spaces available in Belfast currently.

“It is a state-of-the art space and is extremely well positioned to cater for the unique requirements of this new Mediation Centre for Northern Ireland to a high standard.

“Benefiting from a range modern advantages such as two high-speed passenger lifts, individual comfort heating/cooling on each floor and audio visual access control, the space will undergo a bespoke fit out to the exacting standards of an international mediation facility.”