Why competition in financial services is paying off for Cork 

Less than ten years after arriving in Cork, Grant Thornton talks about the future of the city and their position in it

Audit partner Michael Nolan and financial accounting and advisory services partner Ger Walsh at Grant Thornton's new office at Penrose Dock, Cork.

Despite the uncertainty faced by every business across the globe at the moment, one part of Cork has its eyes firmly on a positive future.

On the city's North Docks, a number of key office and hospitality developments have reached completion giving the city, and wider region, a sense of optimism.

The Dean Hotel next to Kent Railway Station opened its doors this week to strong bookings and nearby, accountancy firm Grant Thornton has completed its move from the South Mall to the penthouse office on the new Penrose Dock development built by John Cleary Developments.

Audit partner Michael Nolan and financial accounting and advisory services partner Ger Walsh brought the Irish Examiner on a tour of the premises. Across the new office, the stamp of Cork is clear with conference and meeting rooms labelled Shakey Bridge, Where's Me Jumper and even Sir Henry's. 

Having first opened in Cork in 2013 providing two services, the company has expanded to now offering consulting, advisory, financial accounting and advisory services to multinationals, audit and tax. Grant Thornton is continuing with expansion plans setting a target of between 150 and 180 staff working in Cork by 2023. 

Mr Nolan admits Grant Thornton is declaring its intentions for the future by taking over the penthouse of Penrose Dock.

"It's a huge statement and a huge commitment to the city," he said. "Cork is now branded as the second city rather than a regional city." 

"Cork is quite a fragmented market for accounting firms in that you have the big firms and a lot of smaller firms but we don't have the medium-sized firms. We are definitely filling a gap that was there. We will be good for the market here. It has created a bigger market." 

His point is that without a large financial services presence in the city, Cork would lose out on other investments.

"The big Dublin law firms would not necessarily have looked at Cork without that critical mass. We have Matheson making a big investment below us, you have William Fry, you have other firms looking at Cork which is all good for the city. All of a sudden stuff doesn't have to go to Dublin. The capacity and knowledge base is all down here."

"And Cork people like to do deal with Cork people, there is that parochial element," he said.

Ger Walsh backs up this view and says Cork can also take advantage of the Covid situation as the pandemic has removed many of the geographic barriers that existed.

"We are really excited about the potential for the city," he said. "I have lived in Barcelona, Brussels and Dublin. It’s still laughable when people talk about a traffic jam in Cork when it compares to what other cities have to deal with. With developments like these and the quality of life here, the city has huge potential.

"People are blown away by the plaza when they walk down here," Mr Nolan said. "There is going to be the bones of 2,000 people working here by next summer. There are firms here like Qualcomm, Varonis and Cadence. There is an element of the city's future down here and we want to be at the centre of that."

Having confirmed the move in March at the height on the Covid uncertainty, the company never had second thoughts. "This move is not just about the next 12 months. This is a five-year or a 10-year project," Mr Nolan said.

Mr Walsh said there is now a critical mass of financial services in the city and this is on top of the huge amount of accountancy work that multinationals are already carrying out themselves.

"Apple, Amazon, Red Hat and Gilead. They are all doing accounting for multiple countries from their locations Cork. In all of those companies, they may need additional expertise where we can help or even fully outsource the entire accounting focus to us."

As accountants and consultants, firms such as Grant Thornton are pouring over the books of businesses small and large as they face down the impact of closures that have lasted months and restrictions that reduce income.

"When the first lockdown came the multinationals and the State bodies were all able to keep operating but the indigenous businesses were a lot more worried because they may not have had the infrastructure," Mr Nolan said.

"However, one good thing we did have coming into this crisis that we did not have going into the last recession was we didn't have massive debt. Even on the small scale, an awful lot of businesses had cash and then the Government supports kicked in which provided further protection.

"What we have seen is everyone had a dip in April and May and all came back strongly in the summer, even the hospitality sector. We have a number of hotels and restaurants as clients, they all had difficult first lockdowns but all came back strongly."