John Finnegan
Our Why Dún Laoghaire campaign is back for the New Year and this month we hear all about how one company based in our town is offering businesses flexibility when it comes to in person and remote working.
Operating since 1996, Dublin Service Offices has branches in the city centre and in Dún Laoghaire.
We speak to one of the company’s directors John Finnegan, who was born and raised in the area, about DSO and what makes our town great for businesses!
Dublin Serviced Offices – Allowing start up companies the space to flourish in Dún Laoghaire
We asked Mr Finnegan to tell us in his own words just what is Dublin Serviced Offices and what they offer businesses and enterprises.
“We provide quality serviced office solutions and virtual office solutions for customers who want to locate in Ireland and Dun Laoghaire,” he said
“Otherwise known as executive suites or serviced offices, that is what we provide.”
“We’ve had a number of start up companies come to us, they started out as a virtual office then turned in to a customer that rented actual office space and they have scaled significantly over the years.”
John continued: “We have had businesses such as the Digital Marketing Institute who started with us and became a great success. Global Medics started out with us and they too scaled from Dún Laoghaire.
“The start ups that come to us are able to start small, within their budget, and as the business grows they’re able to scale within the building and we’ve lots of options.”
SnapFix is a company that is currently with Dublin Serviced Offices, and who have previously featured in a previous Why Dún Laoghaire campaign.
“There is a definite shift to flexible office space because of Covid”
“Our business has held up quite well during the pandemic and we’re seeing that a lot of people who are living in the locality also want to work in the locality and not necessarily in their own house,” says Mr Finnegan
“They don’t want that commute into the city centre and some organisations want to operate a ‘hub and spoke’ type business model where the ‘hub’ is in the city centre but the ‘spoke’ is in the suburbs.”
He says there is “a shift to flexible office space because of Covid, because people want this hybrid model of working from home but because people need physical office space sometimes to go to”.
What makes Dún Laoghaire great for business? A good labour pool and less of a commute to work!
We don’t want you to just take our word on why our town is so great for businesses to call it home, so we asked DSO’s John Finnegan on how he feels about Dún Laoghaire.
“Dún Laoghaire is definitely a great position for office space because you have that lifestyle in terms of the seafront, the shops and the restaurants. There are great amenities, it’s close to home and you don’t have that commute,” he said.
He continued: “It has absolutely got great transport links and also you have a really good labour pool, and that’s been a big thing at the moment with staff shortages. You’re able to really address a whole labour pool of people in Wicklow, Wexford and the south east which is well serviced by Irish Rail and the DART.
“There’s a lot of people living along that corridor that are willing to commute to Dún Laoghaire, who might not be willing to go all the way into the city centre.
“I know there are already companies in the town that have taken advantage of that fact in accessing talent nearby.”
“I want to see Dún Laoghaire thrive” – John Finnegan
When we asked John about the current market climate for office space in the Dún Laoghaire area, he expressed that we need more office space developed.
“What I would be concerned about is there is not enough office space in Dún Laoghaire,” he said. “I see some retail space will probably have to be repurposed.”
Mr Finnegan continued: “I think that will happen over time and will evolve but I do think repurposing retail space is the only option.
“There’s certainly some options above the shops.”
With Dún Laoghaire being John’s hometown, there’s certainly a personal and professional interest in the town being a success.
“I grew up in Glenageary, so Dún Laoghaire is my hometown,” he shares. “I went to school in Glasthule, so I have a personal link with the whole area and I still live here, in Dalkey actually.
“I have a lot of connections here and I want to see Dún Laoghaire thrive.”
