The amount of industrial and logistics space taken up in Dublin by companies in the first half of the year was up 54 per cent on the same period last year, according to new data from commercial property firm CBRE Ireland.
The group confirmed that a total of 112,845 sq m of industrial and logistics take-up was completed over the six month period.
The second quarter totalled 57,304 sq m, which was a 3 per cent increase on the first quarter, as deal flow continued to recover following a slow 2024.
“Following some initial hesitancy in the aftermath of the April 2nd tariff announcements in the US, occupiers refocused as the quarter progressed and began to move ahead with plans to lease and acquire space in Dublin in advance of their competitors,” CBRE said.
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As a result, the second quarter saw the highest quarterly level of take-up since the last three months of 2023.
Third-party logistics groups continued to be “particularly active”, with a number of parties pursuing and winning new contracts, which in turn led to requirements for new facilities.
Outside of larger-scale deals, there were a number of requirements for units and sites in the multi-let industrial and industrial open storage sectors, respectively. The rise in demand for the latter area in Dublin follows a trend seen in the UK market in recent years.
CBRE said the outlook for deals for the second half of the year in Dublin looks “healthy”, with a number of high-profile transactions “progressing well” and expected to complete in the coming months.
Among them is an agreement for lease that has been signed at M7 Real Estate’s Ballymount Logistics Hub, which is expected to boost take-up in the second half.
That deal, among others, will leave the market on course for annual take-up of over 200,000 sq m in 2025, which would represent at least a one-third uplift on last year.
“Despite some macroeconomic uncertainty, we continue to record strong occupier demand, particularly from third-party logistics providers seeking to expand their distribution footprint in Dublin,” Garrett McClean, executive director and head of industrial and logistics at CBRE, said.