4Front Project Management

Niall Shanahan, managing director of 4Front Project Management, seems to have found a gap in the market.

At an average cost of €120 for every square foot of office space located and fitted out, project managing an office relocation is a valuable business. Add to that the fact that he is having to turn down work because demand is so high, and it would be fair to assume he's on to something here.

Set up at the end of 1997, 4Front is one of only a few project management companies in Ireland. While several of the large estate agents offer some aspects of the business, there are very few that offer the full service of assessing the company's options; fitting-out the new location; transferring and setting up of all necessary IT and telecoms requirements; and, finally, the relocation of the staff, says Shanahan.

"People often don't realise all that is involved with relocating, or the benefits of employing a truly independent firm to represent them throughout the move," he says.

4Front has grown steadily since its creation nine years ago, though things have picked up over the last 12 months. In fact, staff and profit both grew by 100 per cent in the year to the end of March and Shanahan is forecasting growth of 50 per cent in the current financial year.

"There is no shortage of work around and that's not something I see changing," he says, adding that the group has started to turn work down for fear of growing too quickly.

"We have had to focus ourselves on certain types of business otherwise we would have grown too quickly and lost some of our quality," he says.

Growth and change is something of a common theme in this business. Both aspects create work for 4Front and, as a result, Ireland's buoyant economy and, in particular, its hot property market provide an excellent background for the group's work.

As much as 56,374sq m (606,800sq ft) of office space is expected to be signed up in Dublin this year, according to CB Richard Ellis, showing demand remains high.

Google, one of 4Front's clients, has seen its headcount increase from 30 to 800 since 4Front started working with them and the group has overseen all aspects of this growth. "There is plenty out there to keep us busy," he says, adding that the company is keen to boost its staff of 16 should the right candidates become available.

Shanahan estimates that the group fits out about 46,451sq m (500,000sq ft) of office space a year at an average cost of €1,292 per sq m (€120 per sq ft). Add to that the fact that most businesses that move do so on average every five to seven years and it becomes apparent that this is not an industry to be ignored.

In addition to working for companies looking to upsize or relocate - 4Front has recently worked on the logistics of Northern Trust Bank's merger with ING Baring - the company also works with developers, such as Treasury Holdings and Paddy and Simon Kelly, as well as construction groups fitting out offices and liaising with estate agents for the purpose of finding a tenant for the property.

According to Shanahan, just over half the business is developer services led, with the remainder coming from the occupiers. In addition to this, it also offers a complete in-house IT service. In fact, according to Shanahan, telecoms are one of the hardest parts of any refit.

The two main benefits of employing a group like 4Front are to save time and money. "We can save people a lot of work and money," says Shanahan. "We take the administrative work away from people that have to continue with their day-to-day job, but return to them when any important decisions need to be made."

In contrast with other markets, Ireland is small. After all, the country has a population half the size of London and, as a result, 4Front is working in the UK too, though admittedly most of the work is with Irish clients who have offices in the UK. In addition, it recently opened a sales office in New York and is now looking at expanding its operations in the region.

"Irish companies working overseas want a trusted source and that's us," he says, adding that the potential for growth is huge, in fact it maybe a little too huge.