Lessons from the month of December

Socialising, Christmas trees and end-of-year panic be gone – the last month of the year is (thankfully) behind us. But, it wasn’t without its lessons. Here’s what we learned in those 31 festive days..

1. The Dublin office market is at a turning point.

Seemingly things could all change this year re: the capital’s office market. A poor first quarter in 2024 saw just 170,000 sqft leased, was swiftly followed by a significant turnaround in the following six months, which saw 1.5 million sqft transacting — more than what was let throughout all of 2023, according to the Irish Times.

Q4 saw another strong quarter, with total take-up for 2024 at nearly 2.2 million sqft. Optimism regarding the economic outlook – supported by falling inflation, retreating interest rates and continued employment growth, along with growing efforts by employers to move the hybrid ratio towards greater in-office attendance – has facilitated greater corporate decision-making about office relocation and expansion plans. The re-emergence of larger tech deals in 2024 was also encouraging; Workday chose College Square to house its enormous 416,000 sqft requirement (expected to close in 2025) while Stripe took 156,000 sqft at One Wilton Park. The result? Following a poor few years in the Dublin office rental market by way of Covid’s work-from-home policies, prime rents are expected to edge upwards in 2025, with more significant increases expected in 2026.

2. The Trump Effect on Leinster House.

December also saw a frantic, month-long decision process to forge a new coalition government – one strong enough to withstand the economic threats posed by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Nothing had been officially confirmed by month’s end, but it’s a given that centrist parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as well as regional independents, were hellbent on creating something meaningful from the pieces of their long-connected parties.

What we do know is that, according to senior governmental sources, a government is likely to be formed by January 22, with “significant” changes expected in all departments. This date was likely given to accommodate Trump’s inauguration on January 20, as well as the consideration that they must launch a charm offensive to sway the President-elect from targeting Irish corporation taxes and exports with tariffs in the new year.

3. The one sector set for a hiring boost in 2025 is…?

Ireland’s Healthcare & Life Sciences sector, according to ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook survey. The report says the sector’s Net Employment Outlook has increased to +46%, up from +23% last quarter. This is the highest hiring level reported since the pandemic.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 420 employers across Ireland. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter, January to March. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind. “We’re anticipating the start of a hiring boom across the pharma sector in 2025,” said Jonny Edgar, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Ireland.

4. Amazon has named its first Irish country manager.

A hearty congratulations to Alison Dunn, Amazon’s first Irish country manager, ahead of the launch of Amazon.ie next year. Dunn was born and is based in Dublin and has been with Amazon for almost a decade, She has previously held roles in both Amazon’s retail business and Amazon Web Services (AWS), its web hosting business, which already has a strong presence in Ireland. Prior to joining Amazon, Dunn consulted for supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda on customer and category strategies.

The Irish-domain Amazon store will offer more than 100m products and is intended to offer Irish customers a more localised shopping experience as well as low prices and fast, convenient delivery and returns. Last year, Irish SMEs selling on Amazon recorded export sales of €170m, with more than €100m going outside the EU, and those businesses have created 2,500 jobs in Ireland to support their sales on Amazon.

5. TikTok; not just for dancing.

TikTok Shop, the social media platform’s growing retail arm, launched in Ireland in December. As a result, the company says that Irish influencers and content creators, as well as other businesses, are now able to market and sell products and services to TikTok users directly without having to go to other web services. Local launch partners included Chapters Bookstore, the beauty brand Cocoa Brown and the cosmetics brand Smooth Company.

TikTok launched the shop to its 2.2m monthly users in partnership with Guaranteed Irish, with solely Irish-based businesses, creators and influencers taking part. “We hope that this platform will be a new way for them to share their stories, highlight their craftsmanship, and connect with customers in real-time,” said Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish.

TikTok Shop is now a major retail outlet in the US, outselling Shein and Temu in this year’s Black Friday sales season, according to the data firm Facteus.

6. M&As.

As for the big-ticket mergers and acquisitions, we had a few to choose from:

B&Q Ireland Ltd bought three Homebase stores for €3.9m; two from HHGL Ltd, which is controlled by Hilco Capital, and one from HHGL (ROI) Ltd. Following the conversion of the Homebase stores in Letterkenny, Navan and Waterford, B&Q will have a combined total selling area of more than 9,300 square metres in the Republic.
Vodafone’s mega-merger with Three was cleared by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to create the largest mobile network in the UK, with 27m customers. The merger was fiercely opposed by competitors EE, owned by BT, and Virgin Media O2.
Bord Gais Energy Limited acquired sole control of Ardrar Holdings Limited, a holding company with sole control of two companies: Ardrar Limited (trading as Swyft Energy) and Ardrar Technology Limited (trading as Pipelyne). Swyft Energy provides home heating services and Ardrar Technology Limited owns the customer relationship management software that connects Swyft Energy with its customers and manages the business digitally.
Data centre operator Equinix agreed to acquire BT Group’s data centre business in Ireland, which includes two facilities in Citywest and Ballycoolin. The €59m deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, subject to competition and regulatory clearance.
And finally, Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. announced it has concluded an agreement with Irish air-conditioning installation and maintenance company, Crystal Air Holdings Limited, to acquire all of the shares in the company. The acquisition of Crystal Air follows Mitsubishi Electric’s establishment of MEHITS (Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems S.p.A.), which specialises in applied air-conditioning solutions for comfort, process, and IT cooling.

In summary:

Well, thank God that’s over. We’re joking, naturally, but my God – December had a lot to say for itself. From politics to end-of-year business transactions to a new Amazon, it was a big month for pretty much everyone. And that’s before you consider turkey, 12 pubs of Christmas, tins of Roses and Santa lists. But the less of that said the better. In more up-to-date news, take solace in the fact that everyone else is miserably cold, too. And, we’re also all eating salads. As if January wasn’t brutal enough.

In the meantime, TV is great – you’re surely supplementing your time without a Government for BBC’s The Traitors, right? – and Demi Moore is excellent in body horror The Substance, for which she won a Golden Globe this week. And if she can do it at 62… Then surely the ten years we all collectively aged last month mightn’t be doing us any harm.

Nollaig na mBan faoi mhaise dhaoibhse and see you next month.

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