The take-up of office space in Dublin is expected to rise by almost 50% compared to 2021, new figures have revealed.

Property advisor Savills Ireland has released provisional figures which show market take-up will likely surpass 500,000 sq ft in the final quarter of the year. This will bring total take-up for the year to at least 2.25 million sq ft, indicative of the recovery in the market post-pandemic, although it is still slightly below the ten-year average of 2.5 million sq ft.

Further deals are likely to sign before year end, boosting volumes further. In particular, this does not include the 300,000 sq ft Citigroup deal on the north docklands which may also sign before year-end, and which would boost volumes beyond the 2.50 million sq ft mark. 

City centre stock was the focus of the year, although the final quarter saw a return of activity in the city fringe which accounted for 7% of space taken, largely boosted by the pre-let of Le Pole Square in Dublin 8 by Etsy. Suburban locations also saw an increase in Q4 with 29% market share while the remaining 64% was located in the CBD. While this is the lowest city centre share since Q3 2021, the top three deals in the quarter were still all located in the city centre. In annual terms, 77% of deals and all of the top ten deals in 2022 were located in the city centre, demonstrating the continued flight to quality.

The largest letting of the quarter - and second largest of the year – was SMBC's acquisition of the entire of Fitzwilliam 28. Savills represented SMBC on this transaction. Meanwhile, BDO signed for 46,000 sq ft at Miesian Plaza, the former Bank of Ireland HQ, in a relocation and expansion play that will allow the firm to add more than 100 jobs. This follows a trend of job announcement in professional services, especially in accountancy firms which have been broadening their service lines, some even into legal services. The third-largest deal was completed by Horizon Therapeutics who signed for 33,000 sq ft in 75 St. Stephen's Green, adding to their current HQ at 70 St Stephen's Green.

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Savills was involved in four of the top five deals in 2022, acting on either behalf of the landlord or the tenant. These included A&L Goodbody deal for at the new 25 North Wall Quay, TikTok at Tropical Fruit Warehouse, and An Post at EXO. Despite the negative sentiment towards tech, it still accounted for the largest share of space taken this year at 36%, followed by finance at 22% and professional services at 17%. A more diversified occupier base was evident with 18% of take-up attributed to 'others' which includes aviation leasing firms who were active this year.

ESG continues to be on top of occupier minds, with the topic of embodied carbon coming to the fore in the debate between 'retrofit and extend' versus 'demolish and rebuild'. While retaining the original building comes with limitations, the whole life-cycle carbon impacts are being weighed-up more carefully by occupiers and developers alike. Increased focus is also being placed on improving the 'In-Use' energy performance of buildings. New accreditations focused on these metrics such as BREEAM In-Use and Nabers are becoming more commonplace. This could impact the pricing of older buildings which cannot be removed and rebuilt with bigger floorplates. As always, this will need to be applied on a case-by-case basis rather than a broad-brush standard as sites with obvious scale or more efficient use should be acted on.

Andrew Cunningham, Director of Office Agency at Savills Ireland, commented: "Despite the economic uncertainty and energy cost inflation taking effect in the second half of 2022, the market has shown resilience with healthy take-up figures recorded in Q4. There is also positivity in the diversification of the occupier base. Indeed, it is significant that three of the largest office space requirements currently active in the market are professional services firms while aviation leasing and pharma have also been expanding. Although an easing of demand is expected in the early part of next year until inflation eases, the underlying base of demand from other sectors has remained resilient and will support take-up levels in 2023. The State are yet to enter the market with its 2030 commitments approaching. 

"Changing occupier demands regarding how the office is best utilised will continue to heighten the appeal of the best quality buildings, namely those with top ESG credentials in core locations. As older stock becomes vacant in-line due to poor energy performance metrics, there may be opportunities presented to owners. As such, this has brought forth the discussion on retrofit versus demolition with councils likely to encourage the retention of existing structures where possible and sensible."