There is no rush of foreign investors looking for glossy new offices in Northern Ireland at the moment. In fact, according to a new industry survey, the number of potential foreign investors making investment enquiries has dipped sharply in the last quarter.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ latest commercial market survey shows enquiries specifically from foreign investors are continuing to fall. Feedback from local RICS members also reveals evidence that some firms currently located in Northern Ireland are looking to relocate away from the UK in response to the EU referendum vote.
There is no indication where these firms might go or whether they are considering hopping across the Border to the Republic. But the fact that foreign investment sentiment is decidedly flat, at least in the local commercial property market, appears to be somewhat at odds with what the North’s First Minister is telling everyone.
Arlene Foster believes Brexit “represents the biggest economic opportunity” for Northern Ireland in decades. But as a former minister for enterprise, trade and investment from 2008-15, Foster also knows how critically important the EU market is for local businesses.
