The Case for Cork – Investing In Ireland’s Second City

CBRE has released a comprehensive new report focussing on the unique attributes of Ireland’s second largest city Cork, which is fast gaining prominence and generating interest from occupiers & investors alike.

According to Denis O’Donoghue from CBRE’s Cork office, “Cork is now a modern entrepreneurial European region that competes for Foreign Direct Investment on a global stage. Within this new report which is entitled ‘The Case for Cork – Rationale for Investing in Ireland’s Second City”, we explore the region’s key attributes and its pricing relative to Dublin as well as the potential for this region to double in size over the next 20 years, as is the aspiration of the Irish Government in their Ireland 2040 project. We believe this report will appeal to both investors and occupiers and will be of particular interest to those that have yet to deploy capital in the city and region, reaffirming their decision to consider locating in Cork as opposed to Dublin or other competing centres”.

Attributes which CBRE feel will be of particular interest to occupiers and investors include:

• The Cork region’s 220,000 population is expected to grow by 50% by 2040, having been specifically earmarked for expansion by the Irish Government;
• Cork is home to more than 150 FDI employers from a range of international locations;
• 8 of the world’s 10 leading pharmaceutical companies have a presence in Cork;
• The city is also synonymous with life sciences & ICT and is home to a number of technology clusters;
• More than 66,000 students are enrolled in various third level colleges within commuting distance of the city including international students from over 100 different countries;
• In 2018, the Financial Times cited Cork as ‘The best small city in Europe for FDI’and recently ranked the city as one of the ‘Top 25 European Cities of the Future’;
• The city boasts high-quality infrastructure, superior broadband connectivity, quality buildings and occupational & living costs that are considerably lower than those prevailing in Dublin and other competing centres;
• Office occupancy costs in Cork are approximately 50% lower than those prevailing in Dublin while house prices are approximately 27% cheaper than the capital city;
• There is currently approximately 88,289m² (950,000 sq. ft) of office stock under construction in the city meaning there is sufficient accommodation in the pipeline to satisfy end user requirements;
• The quality of life that Cork offers is second to none with a myriad of cultural, retail, sporting and leisure pursuits available

Read the full report HERE