COMPETITION FOR DUBLIN OFFICE SPACE COULD SQUEEZE IRISH FIRMS – The Irish Times reports that soaring demand for office space in Dublin city centre could result in many indigenous firms being priced out of the market, Lisney has warned.
In its annual property review and assessment, the estate agent said demand from international IT and financial services companies was continuing to outstrip supply and drive up rents.
This trend was likely to be exacerbated by the impact of Brexit-related lettings, it said.
“The net result of this activity is that as demand grows, which will drive rental returns further higher in Dublin’s central business district, the majority of indigenous Irish companies selling to the Irish market may not be in a position to compete with major international companies generating revenue serving overseas markets,” the agency said.
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IRISH AIRCRAFT LEASING SECTOR GEARS UP FOR SURGE BASED ON ASIA GROWTH – Strong growth in passenger numbers in the Asia Pacific region continued into 2016, and there's no sign yet that the market has reached its peak, according to the Irish Independent.
The papers says that according to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 20-year forecast, the Asia-Pacific region will see 7.2 billion airline passengers in 2035, up from the 3.8 billion estimated for 2016 – and China is set to overtake the US as the world's largest aviation market.
Why is this significant to Ireland? Approximately 40% of the world's commercial aircraft are not owned outright by airlines, but are leased, and forecasts show this figure will increase by 50% by 2020.
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OVER 100 PEOPLE JAILED FOR FRAUDULENT CLAIMS IN RELATION TO BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL – More than 100 people have been jailed for making fraudulent oil spill claims against BP, highlighting the scale of fraud the energy group faced as it tried to contain damage over the US’s largest environmental disaster in 2010, according to the Financial Times.
The publication says the data, released by the US Department of Justice after a freedom of information request, showed that 311 people had been convicted by last September, with 102 sent to prison.
Seven of those have been given five years or more in jail, including one sentenced to 15 years.
BP has paid out billions of dollars in compensation claims over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
