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A SURGE IN the number of new companies set up this year has led to a shortage of office space, analysts have warned.
But this is some much-needed good news for one industry. It is stoking the construction sector, which is also experiencing an increase in the number of new start-ups.
Figures from Vision-net.ie reveal that 4,438 new companies were set up in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 21% on the average across the past five years.
One-fifth chose to locate in either Dublin 1, 2 or 4, or in what has now been dubbed the Silicon Docks tech-hub.
Christine Cullen, managing director of Vision-net.ie, said the growth in commercial sectors is “very positive news for job creation and overall economic rejuvenation”.
However, she stressed that a rent bubble must not emerge.
A balance between supply and demand is needed to ensure “the long-term survival of new business start-ups”.
A recent report from Savills revealed that 57,000 square metres of office lettings were signed in the first three months of 2014 – a 32% increase on last year.
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Personally I think that’s BS, walk around certain areas of Dublin and see all the boarded up offices and business units. Figures are as usual being manipulated to suit an agenda. I wonder if they included the 24 postal codes in Dublin and the outlaying “County Dublin” would they get the same statistics ? There’s a whole lot more to Dublin than just Dublin 1,2 & 4 in all fairness.
It’s not BS. There is a shortage of office space in good areas.
The positive people want to be around each other rather than dragged down by the moaners.
Your right Stephen. They’re are thousands of empty units. Me thinks someone is trying to create demand where there is none.
A place I deliver to outside Athlone, near the M6 (so great access) is “renting” a whole industrial unit for free. They only pay maintanence and utilities. The owner a few years back could not rent the place out so in order to have it “lived in” and maintained he gave away a € Zero lease.
Plenty such units available outside Dublin, fully kitted out but standing empty.
Shortage in certain areas without a doubt, I smell a building boom coming
With little access to skilled resource pool. If you were setting up and needed 15-20 highly skilled staff do you think you’d be giving yourself the best chance of success if you setup in athlone or would you setup in a location that the largest pool has access to? Report 3 weeks ago in times on a recent startup couldnt guys to even come in for interview in Dublin as they weren’t on a dart line.
With little access to skilled resource pool. If you were setting up and needed 15-20 highly skilled staff do you think you’d be giving yourself the best chance of success if you setup in athlone or would you setup in a location that the largest pool has access to? Report 3 weeks ago in times on a recent startup couldnt guys to even come in for interview in Dublin as they weren’t on a dart line.
What a rubbish article. One minute we are supposed to be in the doldrums, the next we are heading towards Celtic Tiger Mark2! The country is awash with vacant office space. This is typical estate agent speak to buoy up the the real estate market. Property porn is alive and well
Agreed, it even comes complete with tabloid headline “There isn’t enough office space in Dublin to fit all the new start ups” and then you find out the headline is not true when you analyse the graph to find out that almost 15% of Dublin offices are lying empty….it’s poor journalism that doesn’t report the facts and instead seeks to sensationalise a story that doesn’t exist.
At least Broadsheet.ie are able to report the truth on this story rather than spinning it on behalf of estate agents
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2014/06/11/pretty-vacant-2/
People have to move on from the idea of working in the centre of Dublin . I live in the dun loghaire area . There are shops and offices empty here
The problem with that is you have to have other companies supplying your business and businesses your supplying to. So you go where the money is.
It makes no sense to open up a company in an area that is half empty unless all you do is export out of Ireland.
try hiring skilled staff, who are very hard to find, into your startup office in a boarded up industrial estate in the middle of leitrim that requires a car.
the moaners on the forum would have trained themselves online in rubyonrails, but instead spent the past 12 months complaining about the government not helping them.
Inflexibility of the workforce cannot work anywhere.
What good is a skilled workforce if you cannot afford the lease or if the skilled workforce arrives not in time due to traffic congestion or – god beware – a strike in Dublin?
People need to un-tribe themselves.
a lot of people drive, especially very skilled workers who hate living in say Dublin city, they want the countryside now, if the pay matches up then why not? even it don’t, rent and houses are cheaper down rural so it should balance out. I think many would, if someone has the confidence to set up a business that will do well and does their research, its a no brainer – they will attract the staff. Did you know that a lot of IT/Digital work is done in the cloud? Nothing wrong with broadband down rural in many parts, very good connection, doesnt have to be Leitrim. Apple computers is not even in the Cork City, its outside. Intel – outside Dublin as well. Jayzuz lads ye dont have to get too close to the spire for the want of sitting on top of it!
ha Intel, making some of the fastest computer chips in the world and up to a 1 hour drive from all this mess and panic. Work it out.
Ok move outside Dublin problem solved.
Incredibly stupid comment.
Not stupid at all in fact, dope.
No, he’s right. It is stupid.
There are loads of spaces in Dublin. The problem is everyone wants the swankiest, cheapest and commuter friendly units possible.
One of the dumbest things our architects and builders did during the boom is to build most of the new buildings with retail space on the ground floor. Look at most of the urban areas of America. What they did was to insure all buildings had sub – level parking, residential space and office space incorporated in new buildings. Where sub – level parking wasn’t possible, the first through whatever floor was designed for indoor parking and the rest of the building was used for residential and office space.
In Denver, along with such designs, the created a beltline technical area that held most of their high rises of office space and residential space.
I believe no more buildings should go up in the city centre unless some horribly designed decrepit buildings come down or semi – historic buildings that display the look and feel of Ireland is retrofitted.
Clive is correct. It will take a few more companies to take the bull by the horns and show them it can be done as it always has been.
“….but but sure theres noooo broadband outside Dublin”
:/
We’ll take them in Waterford.
Sounds like a excuse to put rents up,
supply and demand.
Pure BS! Down in Baldonnell Business park which is 20 mins from Dublin there’s a huge empty office complex lying idol the last 3 years. In the same business park there are numerous other empty offices. Lovely location close to the city so I’m confused. Where do these stories get their facts from? If what they’re saying is true then these offices would have been filled.
The scientist in me is dismayed at the pseudo analysis here! A company produces a report of the location of startups – most (4/5) are outside D1,2,4 – which leads to the MD making an opinion on a rental property boom, which is neither related to the CRO records or the locations described.
Randomly, a report by a property company has a similar increase in lettings which is included with no correlation (all those lettings could be by established companies) and this puts 2 and 2 together to make ¥?
It’s almost like the journal is interested in stoking up rental prices. Oh.
Alien8 – don’t be DAFT
They should have specified in the headline that they were talking about Dublin … oh wait, they did.
Actually Johngahan, Baldonnell IS in Dublin. It’s down the N7 opposite Rathcoole.
“Idle”
if you ask me, these IT professional they desperately seek just love riding the spire every weekend. The money they’re earning must be burning a hole in their pockets, they need to party.
Doesn’t matter anyway, next year 70% of these wishfuls will be history and we’ll have more hopefuls.
Is this a real article or just an ad for Bord Gais?
Getting harder to tell.
buy office space today before it costs double the money tomorrow! buy now!
Build taller, landmark buildings
build up around the docks its pointless constructing 4 storey buildings in the heart of the CBD
The CBD? lol
Half of the docklands empty and merrion sqaure is a ghost area as well. What a load of nonsense this news.
Half the docklands are empty? Untrue, very little space to let in the docklands.
Build tall buildings. Problem solved.
This is total bs empty offices all around the city I pass several of them on my way in , east point business park empty offices park west empty offices !
Notice the article talks about STARTUPS, not real businesses. Startups have a very high fail rate so expect lots more space to be available in a few years.
So everyone will try the startup thing once and once only and then forget about it?
but they’ve got an idea for a very useful app ; )
If you’re looking for office space, East Wall is awash with vacant places dying for a bit of life. And Raheny, Malahide Road, North Wall, all along the Docklands, Phibsoboro, Cabra, Kilmainham … and on and on and on and on. There’s more to Dublin City than Dublin 1 and 2.
This article is bringing us back to square one, well done for pushing an agenda. Did you always aspire to sell out to The Man, Nicky?
Bottom line is, Savills are the last people we should trust
Or any estate agent for that matter…
nah Charlie, wouldnt be swank enough for them, they’ve got high notions remember.
There are many vacant units, some unfinished and some overpriced.
It is incredible that office buildings lie unfinished in Dublin city centre despite the shortage. The same could be said for apartments.
There should be a massive tax on keeping vacant buildings in Dublin city centre.
Of course it is the NAMA that chooses to keep them vacant, so that probably won’t happen.
We found an office overlooking Google HQ no problem and rent was reasonably low for this year anyway so don’t think there’s a shortage…
There’s a pile of empty office space here in Leitrim. 1.5 hours of straight N4 from Dublin. Good broadband and infrastructure too.
it would actually be funny if Facebook moved there, you’d see them all swarming west to ‘start-up”
Lots of (Tiger era ) empty office and retail space in Ashbourne.
Plenty of space in Cork
We need a proper underground transportation system in order to get into the city, in addition to more office space.
Yet there are so many office blocks up for rent in the IFSC and in Dublin 2?
Startups have no money
Liberty Hall should re-name itself Tech Tower and put all those unused floors to good use.
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