Harcourt gives guarantee for £29m loan to Belfast project

PROPERTY FIRM Harcourt Developments is guaranteeing interest repayments on a £28.6 million (€32.5 million) loan to Titanic Quarter Ltd, for which it is building a £97 million tourist attraction in Belfast.

Harcourt’s subsidiary, Harcourt Construction (NI), is the main contractor and project manager for the redevelopment of the 185-acre Harland and Wolff docklands site in Belfast, which is being led by Titanic Quarter Ltd (TQL).

Work on a £97 million tourist attraction that will form the centrepiece of the commercial and residential development has been delayed by five months by a dispute between the various parties involved. Harcourt was due to begin site excavation there in January.

According to documents just lodged with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), Dublin-based Harcourt Developments is guaranteeing interest repayments on a £28.6 million term-loan from Ulster Bank to TQL. A declaration filed by Harcourt states that it will guarantee up to £1 million in interest repayments on the debt.

It is not known if the guarantee is connected with the dispute that has held up work. According to a number of reports yesterday, the dispute is close to being settled and site excavation is set to begin shortly.

The Northern Ireland Executive, Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Belfast City Council and TQL are jointly footing the bill for the tourist attraction, which they hope will be open in time for the 2012 centenary celebration of the Titanic’s launch.

However, the delay has given rise to concerns that they will not meet the deadline. The overall redevelopment of the Harland and Wolff site is designed to boost Belfast’s economic fortunes. The “signature” tourist attraction will provide 600 jobs in the city’s hard-pressed building industry.

Harcourt’s executive directors Pat Doherty, Robert Langdon, Conal Harvey and Patrick Power signed the guarantee lodged with the CRO. Mr Harvey is also a director with responsibility for operations of TQL.

The declaration states that TQL is “connected” to a director of Harcourt. It also points out that the company will benefit from the guarantee as it is charging fees and costs for its work on the Belfast site. Harcourt’s non-executive directors include former broadcaster Mike Murphy. The company has commercial and residential interests in west Dublin and in other parts of the country, and it is involved in developments in Florida and Las Vegas in the US.