Technology, telecom sectors driving leasing activity in capital, says report

Technology and telecom & companies have for the first time outnumbered financial services firms in terms of demand for commercial property, research shows.

The information also notes Dublin accounted for the highest technology and telecom&-related office take-up of anywhere in Europe, in the first six months of the year.

The findings — from international commercial property consultancy, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) — show that the technology and telecom& sector is now driving leasing activity across Europe.

The first half of 2012 saw such firms take-up 520,000sqm of office space in key European cities — including Dublin — against 420,000sqm accounted for by financial services firms.

“Dublin and now London are established as western Europe’s tech hubs; with Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg seeing increased take-up by T&T companies.

In Eastern Europe, a handful of markets are emerging as popular destinations for companies in the sector; including Warsaw and Moscow, where a spike in technology and telecoms& leasing activity has been evident over the past 18 months,” CBRE said.

“London, Berlin, and Dublin are European hotspots: these three cities are among those that have benefited most from the recent wave of technology and telecoms& occupiers deals.

Their dynamic and creative environments are luring a variety of younger and more established businesses and seeing a proliferation of new start-ups,” it added.

CBRE’s data also showed that — with regard to Dublin — in the first half of this year, technology and telecom &firms accounted for a quarter of all commercial property take-up.

This was the highest proportion for any city in Europe and was boosted by leases taken by the likes of BSkyB, LinkedIn, and Dell.

“This activity continues a trend which has been evident since 2008, when 17% of leasing activity in Dublin was undertaken by companies in the technology and telecom &sector.

The establishment of Dublin as a tech hub is largely attributed to the relatively low corporation tax rate in Ireland and the availability of a young, skilled, and English-speaking workforce,” the company added.