High-spec city offices critical to attracting international companies

Galway City is unable to attract major international employers, because of a lack of ‘high-spec’ city centre office space, according to one of the country’s biggest property developers and investors.

And the IDA has echoed the calls for more suitable office accommodation, describing it as “essential” for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The Comer Group – which owns commercial and residential properties across the city – has warned that larger employers now want modern office blocks in the city in order to attract a workforce that has become increasingly mobile.

New research from DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald shows that in the second quarter of this year, Galway had the lowest vacancy rate for office space (5.1%) of any city in the country.

In a submission to the City Council under the Draft City Development Plan 2017-23, the IDA said: “Property is becoming more and more of a differentiator in where companies choose to locate their investments.”

In their submission, the Comer Group said: “The requirements of many international companies have altered over the years. More and more, they have expressed the need to identify city centre locations for their new high-spec offices.

“The mobility of labour is at an all-time high and therefore competition for talented employees is now international. The provision of attractive, cutting-edge office accommodation, centrally-located and services by the full array of entertainment and leisure options, is becoming more and more relevant to prospective employees.”

For more on this story and the IDA and Comer Group submissions, see this week’s Galway City Tribune