TikTok has pulled back from its plan to locate hundreds of its employees in offices at the Tropical Fruit Warehouse in Dublin’s south docklands, The Irish Times can reveal.
While the social media platform had committed to a long-term lease of the property in August 2022 and was in the process of having it fitted out for use by up to 800 workers, a decision has now been made to bring all of the company’s Dublin-based staff together at its European headquarters in the Sorting Office on nearby Cardiff Lane.
TikTok’s management communicated its decision in an internal memo, which it sent to staff this afternoon. The memo, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times, stated: “After careful business review and consideration of various factors, including post-pandemic working patterns, we have concluded that there is sufficient capacity both in terms of desk space and meeting rooms for all staff to be based at the Sorting Office. As a result, we are adjusting our plan and instead bringing our entire Dublin employee base together under one roof.
“The Sorting Office has become a vibrant space since opening last year. We think that having one single location for all employees will foster a stronger ‘one-team’ culture and simplify in-person collaboration right the way across the business.”
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While the Sorting Office’s 18,766sq m (202,000sq ft) of office space won’t be large enough to hold TikTok’s near 3,000-strong workforce simultaneously, it will be of a sufficient size to accommodate the company’s post-pandemic working patterns. The majority of the social media platform’s staff are based in the office three days a week with only a small number of teams required to be present from Monday to Friday.
TikTok’s decision not to occupy the Tropical Fruit Warehouse follows its withdrawal two years from negotiations for 16,443sq m (177,000sq ft) of space at the Marlet Property Group’s Shipping Office development on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. Some 7,432sq m (80,000sq ft) of that accommodation has since been taken up by international financial services giant BNY.
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TikTok’s plans for the Tropical Fruit Warehouse remain unclear at this point. Having signed a long-term lease with the building’s developer Iput in 2022, and committed to a rent of about €60 per sq ft, the company may look to sublet all or part of the 7,897sq m (85,000sq ft) there to one or more occupiers or to assign the lease in part or its entirety.
With companies now looking for the most sustainable office space as part of their respective efforts to meet their ESG (environmental, social and governance) targets, the Tropical Fruit Warehouse would be viewed as a more attractive proposition for prospective occupiers than some of the older office stock available in the city.
Developed within the structure of the last remaining original warehouse on the city’s quays, the property, which dates to 1892, has been restored fully and now comprises a six-storey office block with the highest sustainability and efficiency credentials. The building was one of the first refurbishment projects in the Irish market to be completed to the new Nearly Zero Energy Buildings standards. It also meets LEED Platinum standards, the highest rating achievable in the green building classification process and the building is WELL-Gold enabled.
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