- Total take-up for Q3 2021 stood at 442,738 sq ft, bringing take-up for the first nine months of the year to 669,272 sq ft. This is the largest quarterly take-up total since Q1 2020, reflecting a notable pick-up in office occupier activity in line with Ireland’s successful vaccine rollout and increased clarity in relation to the return to the office.
- There were 50 lettings completed during Q3, with the average deal size standing at 8,855 sq ft – again a significant increase relative to previous quarters. The top 5 deals were all in excess of 25,000 sq ft, with the largest two in the south suburbs. The largest city centre deal was 29,773 sq ft where Colliers were involved in an off-market lease assignment on behalf of Walmart.
- 48% of the take-up was in the city centre and 52% in the city fringe and suburbs, with the south suburbs seeing strong levels of activity. TMT was the top performing sector, accounting for 33% of total take-up this quarter, followed by Professional Services at 25%.
- The level of reserved space is up slightly at just over 1 million sq ft, with 75% of this in the city centre. This figure does not yet include KPMG’s potential acquisition of 337,000 sq ft at Harcourt Square where Hibernia REIT report both parties have agreed a non-binding heads of terms pre-let of the majority of the scheme. Most new office enquires are city centre focused where demand is predominantly for flexible, fitted, quality space.
- Q3 also saw the return of larger requirements in the CBD. Stripe and TikTok are reported to have kicked off searches for expansion space of 150,000 to 200,000 sq ft and a large law firm and international bank are seeking proposals from developers to accommodate footprints in excess of 100,000 sq ft.
- As expected, all flex space operators are reporting a post-covid surge in demand with many now operating at close to full capacity.
- Rental levels throughout the greater Dublin area have remained stable and quoting rents for new/ pipeline Grade A stock have not changed, standing at €60-€65 per sq ft in CBD / €35 per sq ft in the suburbs.
- Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in relation to the closure of construction sites, more than 1.9 million sq ft of new or substantially refurbished office space has been delivered since March 2020 with 58% of this pre-committed prior to completion. A further 1.8 million sq ft is expected to reach completion between now and the end of the year, and again a large proportion (88%) of this space has been pre-committed.
- The overall vacancy rate is stable at 10.6% and expected to contract further in the coming months in line with increased demand for office space.
- Q3 saw further clarity on Ireland’s corporate tax rate where the Government has agreed that an increase from 12.5% to 15% will only apply to companies with a turnover in excess of €750 million.
