Investec Wealth & Investment Year Ahead Conference
Investec’s Wealth & Investment team today hosted its annual ‘The Year Ahead’ outlook conference in its Albert Quay-based Munster office which included its Chief Economist, Philip O’Sullivan, giving his views on economic outlook for the Irish economy and Munster region as well as Investec Wealth & Investment’s Investment Strategist Daniel Moroney, sharing his perspectives on global investment options for 2019.
Investec’s economic outlook for the Munster region included an upbeat assessment of the potential Cork has in taking advantage of Foreign Direct Investment opportunities and being a highly credible and competitive alternative to Dublin where the supply of commercial property is at historic lows and where the city remains unable to keep pace with demand for housing.
Investec Wealth & Investment’s Chief Economist Philip O’Sullivan commented:“Shortages of commercial property space in Dublin are serving to create enhanced opportunities for Cork to prosper from Ireland’s foreign direct investment (FDI) boom. The Dublin office and industrial vacancy rates (7.4% and 3.1% respectively) are both flirting with their all-time lows, which is likely to push more investment away from the capital towards other parts of Ireland. The availability of keenly priced, high quality office and industrial space in Cork is likely to act as a magnet for firms seeking to grow in the Irish economy.”
O’Sullivan’s view is supported by recent research from Knight Frank on Brexit relocations which shows that Cork has received the same number of investment wins as major European cities such as Barcelona and Munich.
O’Sullivan added, “The city is also well served with third level institutions, good transport links and an open, business-friendly culture that has helped Cork to act as a hugely successful base for some of the world’s leading IT and pharmaceutical companies. That track record will further reassure potential investors of Cork’s suitability and we expect to see a steady stream of investment wins for the city over the coming quarters.”
Speaking on the global investment outlook,Daniel Moroney of Investec Wealth & Investment reassured investors that despite turbulence on the global markets in recent months, that opportunities remain for investment, commenting:
“The global economy has clearly slowed, but there is little sign that the US is close to entering a recession. This being the case, there is a strong probability that we have seen a significant market low in December, when there was evidence of investor panic. We feel comfortable investing against this backdrop.”
Investec Wealth & Investment will also bring ‘The Year Ahead’ conference to the Killarney Park hotel, tomorrow, Friday 1st February.