Dublin seventh in office rents table

Dublin is now the seventh most expensive place in the world to rent prime city centre office space, costing more than other cities such as Hong Kong, Milan, Madrid and New York, a new survey has revealed.

The analysis of 174 cities worldwide, conducted by the commercial real estate company CB Richard Ellis, reveals that average Dublin office rents in the city centre are now €723 a sq m per year.

This represents an increase of of €69 per sq m compared to this time last year, with figures taking into account total occupation costs.

These include the rates and charges which accompany renting office space.

The new figures, which are compiled on a six-monthly basis, mean Dublin has climbed one place to seventh in the list of cities surveyed compared with the end of 2004.

It follows a similar survey last year which revealed that Grafton Street had become the fifth most expensive street in the world in which to run a shop, behind New York, Paris, Hong Kong and London.

In comparison to Dublin, Hong Kong, which appears at eighth position in the CB Richard Ellis list, has rental rates of €675 per sq m a year, while midtown Manhattan in New York is at €478.

The average annual rent in Milan is €543 a sq m and €471 in Madrid.

However, at €1,591 per square metre per year, London's West End remains by far the most expensive place to rent prime business space. Other cities which appear above Dublin in the list include Tokyo, Paris and Moscow.

According to Paddy Conlon of CB Richard Ellis Gunne in Dublin, while overall vacancy rates in prime city centre locations currently stand at around 12 per cent, in some areas such as Dublin 2 and Dublin 4, rates are as low as 6 per cent.

These areas include Harcourt Street, which would seem to have benefited from the introduction of the Luas line, and the Grand Canal area.

Mr Conlon said the past 12 months have seen a "tightening up" in the supply of prime city centre business properties.

"I think the figures show confidence from occupiers in the market that they can sustain these rents," he said.