Primark announces target opening date

Following an extensive four-year restoration project, Primark’s newly refurbished flagship store in Belfast will re-open later this year, with a target opening date of the first week in November. The redevelopment project is part of Primark’s ongoing commitment to investment in Northern Ireland, which includes the re-opening of its Bank Buildings store and the opening of a new Primark store in Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon, later this year.

Since the devastating fire in August 2018, it has been Primark’s ambition to restore the iconic Bank Buildings original structure and re-open it as a flagship store in Belfast. It has been a complex redevelopment, spanning four years of retention, demolition and re-building the site, but works at this historic building are now finally nearing completion.

The new Primark Bank Buildings flagship store will feature 88,200 sq. ft. of brand-new retail space, (an increase of 76% from the previous store size), with a new fifth floor in-store which will house a new Home department featuring Primark’s full homeware range of accessories, bedding and small furniture for the first time. The store will also feature a brand-new Disney café located on the second floor and a new nail and beauty studio for customers.

Primark’s existing store on Castle Street will merge with the restored Bank Buildings site to create the new larger store. As part of this, the smaller Primark store at Fountain House, Donegall Place will close in the days before the Bank Buildings re-opening, with all employees transferring back to the new store.

Paul Marchant, Primark CEO, said: “We want to thank the people of Belfast for their ongoing support and patience whilst we undertook the extensive re-building works at our iconic Bank Buildings site. We recognise how much the business community and wider city of Belfast has been affected by the devastating fire at our store back in 2018. We have put our heart and soul into retaining, conserving and restoring this much-loved historical building. We are nearly there with this re-development, and we cannot wait to finally re-open the doors and welcome our customers and our colleagues back into our Bank Buildings store.”

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tina Black, said; “This is a major investment in Belfast city centre after a challenging time for our local economy. The devastating fire at Bank Buildings in 2018 was a turning point for our city; it acted as a springboard in bringing elected members and city partners together to examine and trial new ideas and concepts to support recovery and regeneration and increase what the city centre has to offer. Many of these projects have now been incorporated into our Future City Centre programme.
“This has been a long and complex restoration project, and local traders and shoppers have shown great patience and resilience. We hope the opening of Primark’s extended flagship store will provide a major boost to businesses, particularly in the run-up to the busy Christmas season.”

Customers to the new Bank Buildings store can look forward to shopping the latest affordable autumn fashion trends, in addition to Primark’s great value essentials across women’s, men’s, kids’ and homeware, as well as beauty and accessories. It will be home to a new dedicated denim trend space featuring a variety of core styles, including its ever-growing collection of denim from the Primark Cares range made using cotton from Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme.
Alongside Primark’s significant investment in the re-development of its Bank Buildings site, it is also looking forward to its new store opening in Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon later this year, all part of its ongoing commitment to customers and the economy of Northern Ireland. The retailer also recently announced its commitment to protect prices on more than a thousand of its essential kids’ products this autumn, as it seeks to help family finances go further amid the rising cost of living.

About Primark

Primark is an international clothing retailer employing more than 70,000 colleagues across 14 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penneys brand, Primark aims to provide affordable choices for everyone, from great quality everyday essentials to stand-out style across women’s, men’s and kids, as well as beauty, homeware and accessories. With a focus on creating great retail experiences in-store, Primark continues to expand across new and existing markets with the aim of reaching 530 stores by the end of 2026, including upcoming new markets of Romania and Slovakia.