Dublin office market take-up reached 815,000 sq ft in the third quarter, with professional services firms leading the way.
Estate agent Savills said the largest letting of the quarter was attributed to A&L Goodbody’s pre-let of 155,000 sq ft at 25 North Wall Quay which is being redeveloped by IPUT and will increase the floor space by 36%.
The office development is designed to achieve zero carbon and to be Ireland’s lowest carbon office development.
The law firm also took 63,000 sq ft in 3 Dublin Landings for relocating operations during the redevelopment of North Wall Quay in what was the third-largest deal of the quarter.
These deals drove the share of take-up from professional services firms to 33% in Q3, the largest share of various sectors.
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Tech take-up, quieter than previous quarters, led by TikTok, who signed the entire 83,000 sq ft in the Tropical Fruit Warehouse in the quarter’s second largest deal.
The firm previously committed to 216,000 sq ft at the nearby Sorting Office on Cardiff Lane at the end of last year. In the fourth-largest deal, Goodbody Stockbrokers agreed to take 60,000 sq ft at 12 Dawson in D2.
Savills said the new office lease deals were more than double that achieved in Q3 2021, and higher than the ten-year Q3 average for the Dublin office market.
However, no space was taken up in the fringe market during the July to September 2022 period.
Savills said city centre stock remained the choice of occupiers at 80% of total space taken, and the top five deals took place in Dublin 1 and Dublin 2, with the remaining 20% signed in suburban assets.
The difference between old city centre stock and new space with better energy efficiency has moved from €10 per sq ft to €15 per sq ft in the past year, according to the estate agent.
Shane Duffy, director of Office Agency, commented: “The activity in the Dublin Office market has picked up significantly this year following the full reopening after the pandemic.
“Although nervousness remains surrounding global recession, hiring freezes, interest rates and the energy crisis, continued appetite for high quality offices is illustrated by the strong year-to-date take-up figures.
“The market is set to end the year strongly with 1.6m sq ft of stock currently reserved, although demand could ease somewhat once these requirements are fulfilled.”
Duffy also noted CSO data pointing to a 10% increase in public transport journeys in the past month.
“As the winter months roll in, there is potential that employees will be prompted to work from the office more often in order to offset energy bills at home,” he mused
