PRIME office rents rose faster in Dublin than in any other European city during 1999, according to the latest world office rent survey from Richard Ellis St Quentin in conjunction with Gunne Commercial. Top rents in Dublin have been rising steadily in recent years, increasing by 75 per cent since 1995. New space is now making around £30 per sq ft. The report says that Dublin is still very competitive in terms of rental costs. It remains cheaper than London, Manchester, Glasgow, Frankfurt, Leeds, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Take-up of office space in Dublin was down to 1.5 million sq ft because of the restricted supply. Most of the space let (47 per cent) was in Dublin 2,4 and the International Financial Services Centre, with the suburbs accounting for 44 per cent.