The Clover Group secured planning permission in 2023 to convert office buildings at 35-37 Donegall Street into a hospitality complex featuring a 20-room ‘pod’ style hotel, a bar/restaurant, and a large outdoor beer garden with a live music stage. The site is adjacent to Commercial Court, home to the Duke of York pub and the iconic umbrella installation.

Belfast City Council approved the application from ‘3 Wise Men Pubs Ltd,’ a subsidiary of the Clover Group, in November 2023. The group, owned by publicans Mark Beirne, Jim Conlon, and Paul Langsford, operates several well-known venues, including White’s, Henry’s, Margot, Fountain Lane, and The Boneyard.

The property last changed hands in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, selling for well above its 450 thousand pound guide price. It is now listed at more than four times that amount.

According to the market listing, the sale presents “the rare opportunity to acquire an absolutely prime hotel/bar development site in Belfast’s most popular nighttime destination.” It adds that the site, with full planning permission, offers “the chance to create a highly profitable business adjacent to the successful leisure offering which already thrives in this part of the city”.

The existing buildings are subject to short-term leases and license agreements, generating 85,930 pounds annually.

The sale follows continued investment in Cathedral Quarter’s hospitality sector. Nearby, chef Niall McKenna is planning a new food venture in the former Hadskis restaurant, while The Foundry, a new boutique hotel and bar, opened in July 2024.