60p in every £1
Our estimate of what Portview spends within five miles of the site.
Regenerating the MillOur Impact
Our impact goes beyond the space we provide. Portview supports businesses to start and grow, creates opportunities for learning and employment, brings historic space back into productive use and plays an active role in the regeneration of East Belfast. These stories show that impact in practice.
40+Businesses
42+Years as Portview
3+Learning partners
Impact built over time
A social enterprise model
Today, we operate a social enterprise model, recognising the need for affordable business space within the area and committed to growing the social resilient economy within our portfolio. As a non-profit we invest our modest income into supporting the restoration of the buildings and development of the site for future opportunities.
Community owned. The mill is held for East Belfast.
Businesses at work. Local firms rent space and create jobs.
Income goes back in. Rent helps pay for repairs and new space.
Empty floors return. Reinvestment and funders bring vacant space back into use.
Belfast gains. Local spend, skills, markets and culture reach the community.
Impact built over time
Learning and opportunity
Through the Portview Greenhouse and its delivery partners, the site supports training and education with a focus on the local community and the needs of employers.
Impact built over time
Measuring our impact
Portview tracks its contribution through business growth, learning activity, employment pathways, community partnerships and the continuing reuse of the historic Mill. As a non-profit, we put what we earn back into the Mill, and our surplus supports the charitable work of our parent charity, BURC. We estimate that around 60p in every £1 we spend stays within five miles of the site, through local suppliers, contractors and wages.
At a glance
Portview in numbers
Figures as at November 2026 unless stated. The local spend figure is our own estimate.
Impact built over time
Banana Block: culture and enterprise in the Mill
CULTURE & ENTERPRISE
Banana Block opened in October 2021, bringing around 700 sq m of vacant mill space back into use. Supported by Tourism NI investment matched by Portview, it has become a cultural events space and the centre of a small business ecosystem, delivered in a short period and before the larger capital projects begin.
Banana Block events attracted more than 100,000 visits a year in the 2024-25 visitor count. Its opening has led to five new independent businesses (Hi Burger, Sound Advice Records, Green East, Base Arcade and Bodega Bagels), alongside the East Block Bazaar market, and it supports around 25 full-time and part-time jobs.
A recurring calendar of events, including the Belfast Beer & Cider Festival, East Block Bazaar, RENDR Festival and regular gigs and music nights, keeps bringing new audiences and new customers into the Mill.
Impact built over time
Impact beyond our gates
PLACE & REGENERATION
Portview's future cannot be separated from the future of the Newtownards Road. That is why Portview has taken part in the wider partnership work behind Our Vision for Newtownards Road 2030 and in economic-regeneration conversations across East Belfast. Portview contributes time, experience and a major physical asset to that process because the success of the Mill and the success of the surrounding neighbourhood are interconnected. The ambition is not simply to improve one property, but to contribute to a stronger East Belfast.
Impact built over time
Creating a platform for independent traders
LOCAL ENTERPRISE & DESTINATION
East Block Bazaar has turned parts of Portview and Banana Block into a regular platform for independent makers, artists, food businesses and traders. The market creates a relatively low-barrier way for small businesses to test products, meet customers and build audiences without immediately taking on permanent premises. It also brings new visitors into Portview, creating additional footfall for businesses across the site and the wider Newtownards Road.
Impact built over time
Skills without borders
LEARNING & EMPLOYMENT
Portview's learning activity has developed through long-term partnerships rather than standalone training courses. Through BURC and partners including LMETB, FIT, the International Fund for Ireland and the Irish American Partnership, Portview has supported programmes connecting people with digital skills, advanced manufacturing and future employment. More than 200 students participated in a cross-border manufacturing programme during 2023-24, while SparkStart Digital was designed to support 350 participants over three years.
Impact built over time
From brewery to hospitality business - Boundary Brewing
ENTERPRISE & SOCIAL ECONOMY
Boundary Brewing took the keys to its Portview brewery in 2015 and grew its production, membership and reputation from the site. In 2022, members raised £80,000 to help create a permanent taproom beside the brewery. In the same year, Boundary took on the leasehold management of The John Hewitt, the Belfast city-centre social-enterprise pub owned by BURC. Boundary's journey shows how Portview can provide a base from which an organisation can invest, diversify, create jobs and expand while retaining a strong social purpose.
Impact built over time
From Portview to Belfast city centre - Flout
BUSINESS GROWTH
After opening at Portview in 2021, Flout built a loyal following that regularly brought queues of customers to the Newtownards Road. In 2025, the business announced plans for a second location in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, which opened in 2026. For Portview, the journey demonstrates the value of providing independent businesses with distinctive, flexible space in which to establish an idea, build a customer base and grow into their next stage.