Watts Group Strengthens Reputation Across Ireland

From Ulster University’s new main campus in central Belfast to the prestigious refurb of 28 Fitzwilliam in Dublin’s commercial heart, Watts Group is building a reputation for providing key input to prestige projects in the public and private sectors across the island of Ireland.

The property and construction specialist has a strong team in Belfast covering work north and south of the border, one of the group’s seven offices across the UK and Ireland employing close to 100 people.
 
The team’s work across Ireland is largely focused on building condition services, producing a range of bespoke reports and project management work, handling contract budgets, procuring contractors and contract administration.
 
In the Republic, the group is building a portfolio of commercial work with private sector clients.
 
Harry Dowey, a Director of the Group and head of the Belfast office explains: “A good share of this is technical due diligence work for Irish and European investment funds and asset managers.”
 
That involves inspecting properties and providing surveys and condition reports to prospective purchasers, providing clients with expert information and advice upon the technical and statutory risks pertaining to their target asset and setting a sound basis for decision making.  
 
The team will also work for vendors, providing independent reports about a property’s condition to inform and provide a level of comfort to potential purchasers.
 
The group’s commercial work in Ireland spans residential apartments, commercial offices, warehousing and light industrial and mixed-use projects. It has been involved extensively with retail parks while student accommodation is another important market.
 
One example is the team’s due diligence work on Fitzwilliam 28, a super-prime landmark building fronting Fitzwilliam Street in Dublin’s central business district. The property is very much a “bespoke build” employing a mix of traditional and modern materials to retain the Georgian symmetry of the locality.
 
The group carried out an initial TDD exercise and then began monitoring the construction operations after the build was approximately 25 per cent complete.  The team continues to provide technical support to the property managers.
 
Still in the south of Ireland, the group’s public sector work covers social housing and higher education. It is nearing the completion of the second phase of stock condition surveys for Tuath, the biggest publicly owned housing association in Ireland. The project to inspect 2,600 homes across all 32 counties of Ireland has taken around 12 months to complete.
 
Watts’ social housing activities in Northern Ireland have recently included refurbishment projects for Hollywood-based Radius Housing and Ballymoney based Triangle Housing where energy conservation has been a fundamental driver of the projects.  
 
Watts Group fulfilled the role of Principal Designer for the Ulster University’s Greater Belfast Development. The multi-million-pound project saw the university’s main campus relocated from the suburbs to a city centre location, exponentially expanding upon the small existing campus.  The development had the twin aims of providing modern, easily accessible facilities that are attractive to students and revitalising an underused part of the city.  
 
Watts Group’s work was focused upon ensuring that the works were executed in accordance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, protecting the health and safety of the workforce and the public during site operations and enabling its client, the university, to meet the legal obligations imposed by the regulations.
 
This is one of a number of interesting projects that the group has worked on in higher education, including project managing a state-of-the-art Spatial Computing and Neurotechnology Innovation Hub opened by the Princess Royal in 2020 on Ulster University’s Magee campus.
 
On the social housing front, north and south of the border, a common theme is emerging. “Everything is geared towards carbon zero,” explains Harry Dowey.
 
Sustainability is also a high priority for local authorities. The team is currently completing a project for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council focused upon improving the thermal efficiency and hence the sustainability of one of the local authority’s headquarters buildings.
 
The group’s public sector client base in Northern Ireland covers several local authorities as well as work in the health sector for a number of NHS Trusts.
 
With a large area to cover and numerous projects, Belfast is a busy office, but the team still found time this year to raise nearly £1,000 for Watts Group’s chosen charity, Mental Health UK, walking 14,000 steps accompanied by three dogs, around the perimeter of Tolymore Forest Park near Newcastle, County Down.

Harry Dowey MSc MRICS MaPS
Lead Director
+44 (0)7894 586306
harry.dowey@watts.co.uk