City Gate Park: 94% of office take up in Q2 2013

Take-up in the Cork office market was approximately 7,900 sqm in Q2. This represents a 238% increase on the previous quarter and a staggering 620% increase on the same quarter of 2012. In spite of this, there were only six transactions and results were skewed by two large lettings in the newly completed City Gate Park development in Mahon. In City Gate Park, the largest deal comprised a 4,650 sqm letting to EMC, an IT storage provider from the US. This company has had a presence in Cork since 1988 when it opened its first manufacturing plant outside the US in Ovens. Also in City Gate Park, Ronan Daly Jermyn Solicitors took 2,790 sqm. Combined, these transactions represented almost 94% of the total office space taken in Cork in Q2 and all of the activity in the south suburbs region. All of the accommodation taken was Grade A. The remaining four transactions were in the city centre region. These were all less than 500 sqm and all were for older grade stock. This total city centre take is small in comparison to the norm. Examples from Q2 included Savills taking 42 sqm at 11 South Mall and Total Fundraising taking 76 sqm in Lawley House on Monaghan Road. With the two large deals in the south suburbs region greatly distorting take-up figures for Q2, the various analysis statistics based on size are relatively meaningless. However, if the results from Q1 and Q2 are combined, then the average amount of space taken per transaction was approximately 643 sqm. This is significantly larger than that seen in 2012, when it was 274 sqm per transaction.

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