Of this, 620,000 sq ft transacted in Q2 which is in-line with the five-year average. However, there was also a further 300,000 sq ft investor acquisition completed in North Dublin for an alternative industrial development, and which is further indicative of the strong market sentiment.

The largest deal consisted of the 113,000 sq ft P2 Horizon Logistics Park which was a design and build completion for WestRock, a packaging solutions firm. This was followed by Rexel Group’s, an electrical distribution company, signing of Unit G Mountpark Baldonnel, which represented the only pre-let this quarter. The 96,000 sq ft unit will serve as the firm’s national distribution centre and is illustrative of their further commitment to Ireland.

The third-largest deal was the former Cuisine de France building on Belgard Square North. The building forms part of a site earmarked for redevelopment by Marlet for a residential led scheme dubbed Belgard Gardens. A sublease formed the fourth-largest deal as DHL signed for 65,000 sq ft at Unit 5 Dublin Airport Logistics Park from Holland and Barrett. DHL have been considerably active with deals completed in four of the past five years, one of which was the significant pre-let of 206,000 sq ft for Unit 1, Quantum Logistics Park.

Looking at the macroeconomic picture, Ireland’s industrial and logistics market is heavily influenced by multinational activity, particularly by pharma exports. However, even though the value of pharma exports is down 17% so far this year, it is necessary to put this in the context of the extraordinary performance of the pharma sector throughout the pandemic, with the value of pharma exports still up 46% compared to the same period in 2019.

John Ring, Director of Research, commented:

“The Irish economy is particularly tied to multinational activity from sectors like tech and pharma. Given the recent slowdown in manufacturing activities and pharma exports, GDP has been revised downwards across a range of forecasting bodies. However, pharma exports are still high relative to pre-pandemic with exports values inflated significantly through the pandemic from vaccine production and increased medical production. While these global factors could impact the Irish market in the short to medium term it is not anticipated to cause major disruption. Indeed, we have experienced significant pharma expansion requirements.”

Construction activity has ramped up this year with 1.2m sq ft delivered in Q2, the highest on record. The most significant delivery was the 240,000 sq ft Site R, Aerodrome Business Park which is available to let. 79% of anticipated delivery for the year has already been completed with just five units under construction and due to finish in the remaining six months. Of this future supply, one unit has been committed, another reserved with three available to let.

Provisional vacancy figures point to a marginal rise from 1.3% in Q1 to 1.4% this quarter. Just three of the 38 vacant units are new builds, indicating that the vacancy is comprised of mostly older stock. Two of three of the available new builds were added this quarter, and are likely to also be absorbed in the coming quarters. In this context, one can see that there is a limited supply of modern stock available for occupiers.

Jarlath Lynn, Director of Industrial and Logistics, noted:

“While uncertainty remains in the global context, we know Ireland’s position is strong relative to the rest of Europe. Structural demand drivers such as population growth and ecommerce will continue to underpin future demand. In the short term, vacancy has risen slightly given the significant addition in Aerodrome Business Park but which is expected to let in the coming months due to strong levels of enquiries. The market remains limited in terms of new supply with just 9% of Dublin’s industrial and logistics market built in the past two decades and only three of these buildings available for immediate occupation.”