Planned Dublin office space ‘enough’ to house Brexit migration

New office space planned for Dublin will be enough to accommodate companies seeking to relocate in the wake of Brexit, property group Savills has claimed.

According to its latest Skyline Survey, 136 new office buildings – totalling over 12 million sq ft – are being planned for Dublin over the next five years, enough to house 100,000 new employees.

The survey notes that 39 office developments are currently under construction in Dublin, 13 of which have pre-commitments from tenants, while a further 97 either have planning or are in the planning stages.

While Savills acknowledged that not all planned developments would proceed, it said that even if half advanced to completion Dublin would have enough office accommodation to reap any potential benefit of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

"If any UK-based companies decide to move operations to Dublin on foot of Brexit – and we believe they will – it will not happen immediately," Andrew Cunningham of Savills said. "A gradual migration, spread out over a number of years up to the final Brexit date, is far more likely, by which time supply should be able to cope with demand."

Occupiers

However, Mr Cunningham said the on-off nature of the date for final Brexit was causing reactions amongst occupiers, with a noticeable increase in inquiries since British prime minister

Theresa May

signalled the possibility of triggering article 50, the formal exit mechanism, next March,

While the number of planned office buildings and refurbishments for Dublin is high, many projects are expected to fall foul of tight credit conditions.

“We are observing large-scale postponement of schemes, especially those in need of pre-lets to commence on-site. As a result, there is little chance of us reaching a point of oversupply any time soon,” Mr Cunningham said.