DUBLIN has slipped from the 17th most expensive office location in the world to 26th, according to this year’s Office Space Around the World report published by Cushman Wakefield, Lisney’s international alliance partner. Total occupancy cost (rent plus taxes and service charges) for prime office space in Dublin at the end of 2010 was €448 per sq m (€42 per sq ft) compared to €511 (€47) the previous year – a drop of 12.5 per cent.

James Nugent of Lisney says there has been a noticeable upswing from overseas corporate occupiers now re-examining Ireland as a location for business – they include call centres, research and development companies and IT-related businesses.

In some instances, it had been independently confirmed to them that Ireland was now back on the list of international potential locations as a result of the downward trend in occupational costs. This was clearly positive news and a very important message both for Ireland to sell abroad and for the recovery of the office market, he said.

Other key markets have seen sharp increases in rent. After recording the largest slippage in rents in 2009, Asia saw a sharp bounce back in values in 2010 with rents in Hong Kong rising by 51 per cent. Hong Kong has now overtaken Tokyo and London to become the worlds most expensive office location.

Rents in Shanghai, the second most expensive location in China, climbed by 28 per cent.

There was a huge rental boost in Brazil, reflecting the fast recovery in its economy. Rio de Janeiro knocked New York off the top spot in the Americas – the first South American location to do so. In London, rents were up by 27 per cent in the West End and 25 per cent in the City, the highest annual rises in Europe in 2010.