TikTok in talks on office space for 2,500 additional workers in Dublin

TikTok’s plan to grow its Dublin-based workforce to 5,000 has moved up a gear with negotiations now underway on securing two additional offices in Dublin’s south docklands.

Just seven weeks on from its formal agreement to lease the entire 202,000sq ft (18.766sq m) at the Sorting Office, the Chinese-headquartered social media giant is understood to be in talks to rent both the 177,000sq ft of office space at Marlet Property Group’s Shipping Office scheme and the 80,000sq ft available at Iput’s Tropical Fruit Warehouse. Should deals be agreed for the two properties, their combined 257,000sq ft of office accommodation would give TikTok the capacity to add some 2,500 workers to the 2,000 people it will be able to accommodate at the Sorting Office.

Although The Irish Times understands that heads of terms have yet to be agreed between the various parties, deals for the Shipping Office and Tropical Fruit Warehouse would give TikTok’s Irish operations an overall footprint of 459,000sq ft across three office buildings within a short walk of each other in the city’s south docklands. The Sorting Office is situated on Cardiff Lane while the Shipping Office and Tropical Fruit Warehouse are located on either side of it on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.

Deal signed

In the case of the Sorting Office, TikTok signed a deal at the end of November to occupy the property on the basis of a 15-year lease with 10 years’ term-certain and a rent-free period of about 18 months. The rental level agreed for the office scheme is understood to be between €55 and €60 per square foot.

While the Sorting Office has stood ready for occupation since its completion by the Marlet Property Group in July 2020, both the Shipping Office and Tropical Fruit Warehouse are under development and due for completion later this year.