Reasons to be cheerful for Dublin office market

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Sarah McDonnell

Sarah is Director of Project Management for the TFT Dublin office. She brings over 25 years of industry experience to TFT and has worked on a wide range of work overseeing all project management processes from purchase, through to design development and construction contract completion.

Her extensive experience includes projects across all industry sectors. Prior to joining TFT, Sarah worked on both client side for a prominent Irish property developer and also leading the refurbishment and Fit-Out division of one of Ireland's leading contractors.

Past clients include IPUT, Willis, JP Morgan, Google, KPMG and Hines. Outside of the office, Sarah sits on the Board of ALONE, a charity dedicated to enabling older people to live independently at home and is also on the judging panel for the Irish Construction Excellence Awards.

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The commercial office market faced a new wave of uncertainty this year when tech giants began rounds of cutbacks and redundancies. But despite Dublin's exposure to the sector, the Irish capital is coming out strong.

Through the years working across Ireland and Northern Ireland from our bases in Dublin and Belfast, our team has seen how commercial property in the region is diversifying and how it's strengthening its resilience for the future.

Bisnow caught up with Sarah McDonnell, Director of Project Management in our Dublin office, to understand the sources of optimism and if there were any concerns for the future.

Sarah explains a number of reasons to be cheerful:

Our experience of the Dublin market reflects strong confidence in the region from investors and occupiers around the world. We are currently helping firms from diverse sectors including aircraft leasing, technology and pharma to secure premium office premises, as well as research and development space.

In addition, a number of major HQ relocations and consolidation projects have driven a welcome uptick in activity from office occupiers committing to the city.

But what's coming in the future? Is the market ready for increased expectations for existing buildings?

Dublin’s attraction doesn’t mean that tenants don’t have clear expectations on sustainability. If the region’s office stock can continue to meet these expectations, it will continue its upward trajectory. But that also means more existing buildings in the city will need ambitious retrofit or refurbishment works.

“The Irish Government has set the benchmark for its public buildings: they must all be rated BER B or higher for energy efficiency by 2030. Unless landlords upgrade their buildings, we can expect public occupiers to use lease breaks to vacate underperforming spaces in the coming years, opting for high performing spaces which will be well placed to welcome them as strong tenants.

Owners must take this market activity as a sign to act swiftly on improving their existing properties with a holistic view of performance.

Rating systems such as NABERS are a good starting point and multidisciplinary teams of surveyors, engineers and sustainability specialists are essential to deliver works which provide carbon and cost savings for occupiers.

Read the full article on Bisnow, here.