Proptech in Ireland: looking beyond COVID-19

The speed by which people have adopted technology both as a business continuity tool and as a means of staying connected during the pandemic is shining a light on the potential opportunities for Proptech in Real Estate. Consideration of its role in ESG strategy is also gathering interest as the emphasis shifts somewhat from environmental to sustainability and employee wellbeing. But just what role will Proptech play in the post pandemic approach to real estate and development schemes in Ireland?

Until now some might say that Proptech was aspirational, reserved for the more sophisticated corporates with ESG mandates keen to satisfy its investors. The pandemic has propelled it into centre stage as thoughts now pivot to how Ireland resurrects its economy from hibernation. In terms of recent activity we see that online auctioneer platform BidX are reporting steady transactions in Ireland to the value of just under €7m in April and £5.2m of UK, with the overall win being the relative ease around the use of this online platform. Flatfair has launched an online tool to allow Landlords track rent arrears. Project Etopia is leading a charge to create the “Tesla of housing” manufacturing carbon positive homes built around smart home technology.

The Roadmap for Reopening Business and Society and the Return to Work Safely Protocol prescribes the measures which must be taken in order to reopen and continue to operate. The protocols may be varied and supplemented and inspection powers and enforcement powers are reserved requiring improvements or cessation of work activities and include penalties and criminal sanctions for employers and senior management. The ability to monitor and enforce safe ways of working and social distancing will become increasingly important and arguably difficult for companies to monitor and enforce. Technology enabled tracking of employees’ whereabouts within a building may become the norm and will inevitably pose challenges from a GDPR perspective.

The use of data analytics have been adopted in varying degrees in certain sectors in Ireland such as retail but not greatly in others. As Ireland prepares to reopen the ability to track footfall and to manage crowd control may give certain companies competitive edge and allow retailers to re-open sooner if they can demonstrate an element of control. If pandemics become a way of the future, the ability to satisfy Government directions around crowd control in an audited manner may become strategically important, particularly from a corporate governance perspective and if director’s statutory duties are broadened to include accountability in this area. An ability to understand footfall mapping, dwell times and conversion rates allow landlords to better understand which amenities or retail stores provide the highest footfall or yield higher turnover, which can in turn guide spatial planning looking to the future. It can also help identify areas in need of refit to protect against deterioration over time. The ability of the Government to understand the movements of citizens, traffic flows, public transport use, parks and outdoor amenities will help define urban planning, land use and mobility planning in a post pandemic world

Intelligent data boosts asset management strategy. It could allow agile landlords to redefine their relationship with their tenants in a more collaborative manner and enable them to make decisions around customer and staff attendance, stock control and opening hours. Consideration of footfall as a factor in the overall calculation of turnover rents may be informative as debates arise around the relevance of traditional leases gather traction.

Technology may not be a panacea but it may allow both landlords and tenants to react swiftly, particularly if we are facing into new waves of pandemics in future. Adaptability and agility will be key.

For more insights please join the Simmons & Simmons Real Estate Team and Cushman & Wakefield for our joint webinar series beginning on Monday 18 May 2020 at 9.30 a.m. when we will be looking at real estate and operational considerations as we prepare to return to our workplaces, and learning from experiences in Asia and elsewhere.

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