Take-up of office space in Cork city is ‘well down’ on last year

Cork accounted for two-thirds of the office take-up across regional cities during the first half of the year, as total transaction activity saw a significant slowdown, a new report has found.

In its latest quarterly report into regional office leasing, commercial estate agents Cushman & Wakefield said that a total 20,400sq m of regional office space was taken up during the first half of the year, which was “well down” compared to the 44,600sq m taken up during the same period in 2025.

Office space take-up in Cork during this time amounted to 13,400sq m across 11 deals. While this was below the 33,500sq m recorded in the first half of 2025, it was broadly in line with the more moderate levels of activity seen in recent years.

The largest transaction was Cork City Council’s purchase of the Counting House, accounting for 6,040sq m, while other notable deals included Motorola Solutions leasing approximately 1,380sq m at Navigation Square One and EY taking about 1,100sq m at City Quarter, Lapps Quay.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, city centre locations are “tightening”, which is having knock-on implications for prime rents regionally, particularly in Cork, where prime rents rose to €455 per square metre during the first half of the year, up from €430 last year.

Outside the city centre, Cushman & Wakefield said activity was concentrated at Tellengana House on Blackrock Road, where two deals were completed. Other notable transactions included the sale of Building 4600 at Cork Airport Business Park and the HSE’s lease of approximately 530sq m at University Technology Park.

Of all office space take-up in Cork, 83% was in the city centre.