A lack of available industrial and warehouse space in Galway is putting pressure on businesses seeking room to expand, with storage specialists warning that making better use of existing buildings could provide an alternative to finding increasingly scarce floor space.
Businesses in Galway facing difficulties securing additional warehouse and industrial space may need to look upwards rather than outwards, as a shortage of available premises continues to constrain the market.
The lack of available stock has become a particular issue for companies seeking to expand their storage capacity. Cushman & Wakefield’s Q4 2025 national industrial market report recorded no industrial and logistics take-up in Galway during the quarter, attributing this to the current lack of available stock.
The situation reflects wider pressures across Ireland, where industrial vacancy rates are falling and rents continue to rise, particularly in Dublin.
According to Savills Ireland’s Q3 2026 Dublin industrial and logistics report, the capital’s vacancy rate fell to 2.6%, down from 2.8% in the previous quarter. In the south-west suburbs, availability was even tighter, at just 1.5%.
Savills described Dublin as remaining among the tightest industrial and logistics markets in Europe.
Prime industrial rents increased by €0.25 per square foot during the quarter to €14.75, equivalent to approximately €159 per square metre. This represented the sixth consecutive quarterly increase.
The supply of new premises is also struggling to keep pace with demand. Just over one million square feet of new industrial and logistics space is expected to be delivered in Dublin this year, compared with a five-year average of 1.4 million square feet.
For businesses unable to secure additional premises, storage specialists RackZone believe the answer could lie in making better use of the vertical space within existing warehouses.
Industrial rents are calculated according to floor area, meaning businesses pay for the entire footprint of a building regardless of how much of its available height they use.
At Dublin’s current prime rental rate, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse would cost €147,500 annually in headline rent, before rates and service charges.
RackZone argues that companies can potentially increase their storage capacity without taking on the expense of relocating by installing or upgrading pallet racking systems and mezzanine floors.
For example, a pallet stored directly on the ground occupies one section of floor space. Installing pallet racking with three additional beam levels above the floor can allow four pallets to be stored within the same footprint.
However, increasing storage capacity is not simply a matter of installing additional shelving.
RackZone says businesses must consider the load capacity of the racking uprights and beams, the strength of the warehouse floor and the maximum safe lifting height of their forklifts.
Fire safety arrangements must also be considered, with landlords and insurers consulted before any significant changes are made.
The Irish standard I.S. EN 15635, published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, provides guidelines for the safe use and maintenance of steel storage systems.
Ciaran Duffy, director of RackZone, said many businesses were looking for larger premises when the additional storage capacity they needed could already be available within their existing buildings.
“Rent is charged on the floor, so every metre of height you don’t use is space you’ve paid for and left empty,” he said.
He added that businesses should carefully assess their equipment, flooring and safety requirements before expanding vertically.
With Galway experiencing a shortage of available industrial premises and wider market conditions putting pressure on warehouse supply, making more efficient use of existing space could become an increasingly important consideration for local businesses.
For companies struggling to find somewhere to expand, the solution may not be another warehouse, but making better use of the space above their heads.
