The Future Of Office In Ireland: Weathering The Storm

Patrick Phelan is the Managing Director of Ballymore in Ireland – a real estate professional with broad experience in real estate in the UK, Ireland and the US, acquired over a twenty-five year career. During his tenure, Ballymore has created new headquarters for major corporations and institutions including the Central Bank of Ireland, Microsoft, and the National Treasury Management Agency. Patrick along with his team were responsible for a forward fund of 435 units in 8th Lock, the last piece of the puzzle in Royal Canal Park in Ashtown, Dublin. Under Patrick’s leadership Ballymore acquired a landbank for over 4,000 units in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, including Sea Gardens, Seamount Rise, Stonehaven, River Walk, Aster Park and Station Walk.

Miles is Head of Investment Management for the UK and Ireland at Union Investment, with a focus on the office and residential sectors, a role he has held since the opening of Union Investment’s London office in April 2022. Key components of his role include the origination, analysis, underwriting and execution of property transactions to match fund investment criteria. Miles facilitates the implementation of investment strategies for Union Investment’s various funds through his in-depth knowledge of the UK and Ireland markets and financial analysis skills. Prior to joining Union Investment, Miles was a Director in the European Transactions team at Invesco Real Estate, concentrating on the same geographies however with a broader sector focus which included offices, logistics, retail, life sciences and residential. Miles started his career at CBRE, with roles in its City of London Office Agency, Frankfurt Office Agency and Central London Investment Agency teams, working on off-and-on market transactions for pan-European and international clients. Miles was also the Chairman of the CBRE UK Junior Board and Board Member of the CBRE UK Charitable Trust in the earlier stages of his career. Miles completed an undergraduate degree in French and German at Bristol University before gaining an MSc in Real Estate from Kingston University. Miles is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Financial Analyst Society UK, having earned the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).

John Tuohy is founder and CEO of OOHPod Smart Lockers, an Irish company providing subscription based Self Service parcel lockers at public locations like retail outlets, and private locations like PRS / BTR developments. The company provides a range of flexible solutions to solve Out of Home secure delivery of parcels for consumers and businesses. John was formerly CEO and cofounder at Nightline / Parcel Motel Group.

Clare Kelly is a Director of Glandore, an award winning family business and leading all Ireland provider of flexible workspace in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. Glandore celebrated 22 years in business this year and the recent addition of its 10 th location in Ireland – Bottlworks on Barrow Street, Dublin. Clare and her family also own and operate Suesey Street Restaurant and the exclusive private venue No.25 Fitzwilliam Place in Dublin, winner of the RAI National award for Best Private Dining and Club. Glandore has played an integral role in the growth and success of over 1000 international and indigenous companies setting up on the island of Ireland- providing flexibility, scalability and the operational support to achieve their goals. Alumni include local start ups and SME’s to international tech giants like Meta, Twitter, Microsoft and Rapid 7. Since joining Glandore in 2008, Clare has spearheaded Glandore’s member and alumni engagement activities, establishing the Glandore Network and events series which facilitates unique networking opportunities between Glandore members, alumni and the wider business community to foster collaboration and innovation. Her experience as an Occupational Therapist has fuelled her passion for workplace wellbeing and initiated a complimentary wellness programme for Glandore members that also contributes to the recruitment and staff retention efforts of its member companies. As a family business, Clare and her two sisters are passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and mindful of the obstacles that prevent women realizing their full potential. Clare founded Glandore’s annual ‘Hear from Her’ event which seeks to connect, support and celebrate inspiring women in the business community. Glandore are very proud sponsors of Women in Business NI, Enterprise Ireland’s Starting Strong mentorship programme and Awaken Angels supporting female entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions.

Peter Hester a chartered surveyor is the Global Director of Asset Management for Corum. Peter as an MBA from UCD Smurfit Business School. Corum's funds have over €6.5 billion of AUM in 285 commercial properties across 17 countries in Europe and Canada nearly 700 tenants and in excess of €400m annual rental income which is distributed to Corum's investors on a monthly basis. Peter is a voting member of Corum's Investment Committee and has seen Corum's commercial property funds grow by €2bn in the last two years. In relation to Ireland, Corum has 28 commercial properties in Ireland amounting to over €650 million located across Ireland including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Shannon etc. Recent acquisitions in Ireland include George's Quay in Dublin (reported in the press at over €80m) and F1 Cherrywood (reported in the press at over €30m) . Peter has grown his asset management team from six asset managers two years ago (based in three of Corum's offices) to a team of 25 located in five offices: Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Lisbon. Although based in the Dublin office, Peter spends his time travelling between Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Lisbon. To add to his already full agenda, Peter is currently undertaking the Institute of Directors' Chartered Directors Programme.

Jim is a Director of Offices at Knight Frank and is one of Ireland’s leading office agents. With over 21 years of property experience, Jim has consistently advised on some of the largest and most complex office developments. He takes a holistic approach to each instruction, providing input into master-planning, building design, marketing, leasing approach and place-making.

Peter Browne is Head of Business Development at the multi-award-winning mac-group, one of Ireland’s largest construction companies. A Chartered Construction Manager Peter has over twenty years’ experience in the construction & real estate sectors. He is responsible for mac’s profitable growth across their specialist sectors of logistics and commercial interiors. Peter is also an advocate and expert in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) having previously spent 15 years with The McAvoy Group expanding their offering across the healthcare, education, commercial and aviation sectors. Peter is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building and currently sits on the CIF’s MMC Working Group and the RIAI’s DfMA Consulting Group.

David Conway is Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC and charged with delivering the single largest programme of investment in real estate outside of Dublin for commercial, public, and residential facilities. Limerick Thirty DAC is a unique special purpose vehicle established by Limerick City and County Council to undertake this scale of development for the city of Limerick and the region. A Limerick native, he is former CEO of the National Sports Campus Development Authority responsible of the delivery of Ireland National Sports Campus which involved developing and operating the National Sports Campus, the National Aquatic Centre, and National Indoor Arena. He also sits on the Board of Grangegorman Development Agency responsible of a new urban quarter in Dublin’s inner city. A former teacher, MBA graduate, Project Manager and CEO, David was previously involved with the University of Limerick on the first National 50 m Swimming Pool, the Program office to the Special Olympics World Summer Games and advises internationally.