LETTING agents in Newport and Cardiff are hoping that "the luck of the Irish" will rub off on them in their attempts to find a tenant for the flagship building on Celtic Springs business park.

The Bank of Ireland has got the 60,000 sq ft CS 1000 building on a shortlist of six potential sites across UK and Ireland.

It is looking for 50,000 sq ft to combine a joint venture with the Post Office (to sell financial services over its counters) with a regional centre for its Bristol and West subsidiary.

If the move went ahead at least 300 jobs would be created.

CS 1000 is owned by AWG and is one of the best available buildings in South Wales. It combines immediate M4 access (junction 28) with car parking facilities and grant opportunities with the Assembly/WDA.

It was built speculatively to an open-plan design with a call centre operation in mind. The building was finished in January 2003 and has been unoccupied for almost two years.

It was almost let on two occasions, first to the Cauldwell Group, owner of the phones4U brand, and then to the Inland Revenue. The latter wanted to house a call centre operation but chose a site in Newcastle instead.

Robert Carew-Chaston of Newport agent Hutchings & Thomas, said: "We are confident that this building will be let soon, if not to Bank of Ireland then to another party. There are very few premier sites left in this area, you would have to look at Talbot Gateway in Port Talbot or Caspian in Cardiff. But the Caspian letting is £17.95 per foot which makes Celtic Springs look like excellent value at £14.50."

The Bank of Ireland originally wanted to have people on seats in the first quarter of 2005 but this has now slipped to the second quarter.

Mr Carew-Chaston said: "In terms of logistics I would say that CS 1000 is the bank's best option, but other things come into play at this level. The bank's origins may dictate that sites in the Republic are prioritised, alternatively the grant situation may decide it.

"A third factor is that the call centre operation may be outsourced to a contractor in the UK or overseas."

Matthew Phillips of joint letting agent Knight Frank in Cardiff said: "Over the last 18 months the large office market has been quite slow, but in the last six months things have speeded up.

"There are only about six 'grade A' buildings in South East Wales and four of these have now been let. CS 1000 is a lovely building on an excellent site and I think it will go soon."