Dublin Office Market Q1 2020
Special Focus: Impact of Covid-19
- 817,000 sq ft was let in what was the second strongest opening quarter ever.
- The vacancy rate declined to 6.5%, down from 7.0% a quarter earlier.
- The TMT sector was the main driver of activity, comprising 91% of the entire space let.
- €363.9 million worth of office investments changed hands in Q1.
- Real estate markets across the globe hit by Covid-19 exogenous shock.
Overview
Strong opening start to 2020 masks the severe disruption to the real estate market that is currently being caused by the outbreak of Covid-19. This quarter’s report features a special focus on the Impact of Covid-19.
817,000 sq ft of office space transacted in Dublin in Q1 in what was the second strongest opening quarter on record, only behind Q1 last year when 1.4 million sq ft was let. The vacancy rate fell to 6.5% from 7.0% at the end of Q4 while the vacancy rate in the city centre declined to 5.0% from 5.3% previously.
Occupier activity was driven firmly by the TMT sector which accounted for 91% of the market. The largest transaction was Mastercard’s taking of 249,000 sq ft at One and Two South County Business Park. Mastercard is the epitome of the transition made by many financial companies towards the technology sector, with One and Two South County incorporating a new European Technology Hub which will develop the company’s capabilities in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security
and blockchain. The campus style development is also in tune with recent trends seen within the technology sector in Dublin with Microsoft, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google having led the way in this regard. One South County was completed last year while Two South County is a pre-letting which will be completed in 2022.
The second largest deal was Slack’s pre-letting of 135,000 sq ft at Fitzwilliam 28, with delivery of the redeveloped former ESB headquarters expected later this year.
Click to read the Dublin Office Market Q1 2020 Report in full.