Dublin is now a global hub for investment and has become the bridge between North America and the European Union following Brexit, according to Niall Gaffney, chief executive of IPUT Real Estate, Ireland’s leading commercial property company.
‘Dublin is a vibrant market, a digital hub for Europe that’s experiencing a real recovery at the prime end of the office market and also a real structural opportunity in logistics,’ he told PropertyEU at Expo Real in Munich. ‘Dublin is being underestimated. We see a major recovery play in Dublin right now as we go to 2025.’
Gaffney pointed out that IPUT itself is a prime example of Dublin’s appeal. ‘We raised money for IPUT in 2013-14 and became an internationally owned fund from that period of time,’ he said. ‘We're now 50% owned by some of the biggest real estate investors in the world now, so institutional capital. IPUT is the true home for institutional capital that wants to invest in real estate, that wants exposure to the Irish economy.’
Moreover, Gaffney said, investment into Ireland is set to increase in the coming years. ‘We expect that to intensify into next year,’ he said. ‘Dublin is a hub; a bridge [for investment] headed to Europe, not just from North America but also from China and other major global investors. It’s about EU membership, English speaking, common law… all those simple things are incredibly vital now.’
He added: ‘The reason a lot of multinationals are based in Ireland is because they see Dublin as an entry point to a labour force of 400 million people. We don't have a problem with visas and with people from the European Union joining the workforce. We try to make that happen for businesses.’
