Nearly one-third of all Dublin office space is being sublet by larger companies to smaller companies, in part because large tech firms are laying people off, a property report by Lisney estate agents has said.

This rise in 'grey space' - where one company sublets to another company to avoid the cost of breaking a lease - is a big opportunity for Irish businesses, which can get fully fitted offices at reasonable prices.

Remote working is also adding to the huge amount of so-called grey space in the Dublin office market, according to Lisney's 2023 property outlook report.

The report said that layoffs in the global tech industry and continued remote, or hybrid, working contributed to the rise of grey space, and there is now 180,000 square metres available, or 32% of all supply.

Lisney said that while this rise in grey space "appears to be bad news for the market's short- to medium-term outlook", it is actually allowing companies more flexibility.

In Association with

International big tech has dominated the office property market in recent years.

"We now expect to see some of the smaller scale companies, many of whom are indigenous, take advantage of recent trends, hiring staff and taking additional office space," the report noted.

It said many large tech firms had ambitious staffing targets over the last three to four years and may never have been able to fill all the space they hold.