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Ireland is now firmly established on the path to economic recovery. Growth has been recorded in seven of the last eight quarters, and recent data show that GNP expanded by 4.6% in the second half of 2013. This momentum appears to have continued into the first quarter of 2014 - The number of social welfare claimants fell by 7% in the year to March, and in turn this has led to an 8.9% rebound in retail sales.
Approximately 35,000 sq.m. of industrial space was taken-up during Q1. This is about one third lower than in the same period of 2013 and reflects the fact that very few deals were carried over from Q4 when a new record for industrial take-up in Dublin was set. It also reflects the fact that the average deal size was well down on previous quarters with only one transaction of over 2,000 sq m. This notwithstanding, the total number of industrial transactions actually increased by 11.4% year-on-year in Q1, while total take-up was 45% higher than in Q1 2012.
The improvement in Ireland’s retail economy is now impacting strongly on the logistics sector. Illustrating this, the number of commercial vehicles licenced for the first time increased by 53% year-on-year in Q1, while transport and storage operators accounted for 29% of industrial space taken-up. We expect continued strong demand for logistics space throughout the remainder of 2014 as the consumer recovery becomes more deeply embedded.
Source : Savills
