Ireland’s economy expanded by more than a quarter last year as companies moved their tax address to the island nation. Gross domestic product rose 26.3 percent, compared with a previously reported 7.8 percent, the Central Statistics Office said on Tuesday. The revisions are partly linked to firms inverting to have an Irish base, it said. The economy grew an annual 2.3 percent in the first quarter. Economists had predicted GDP growth of 7.3 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. “We are a very small economy, and if we get a big increase in assets, this is what happens,” Michael Connolly, an official at the CSO, told reporters in Dublin. “A level shift has occurred.” Tax inversions artificially inflate the size of Ireland’s economy as all global profits may be counted as part of the nation’s gross national income when the headquarters of a group of companies becomes resident. Since 2008, corporate relocations have boosted Ireland’s GNI by about 7 billion euros, according to Finance Ministry estimates. Corporate Relocations In 2015, several companies, including an entire airline-leasing firm, moved to Ireland, Connolly said, adding that the shifts won’t have a significant impact on job creation. He said he couldn’t give an underlying figure for growth last year. Among firms that have inverted to Ireland, mostly through acquisitions, are Perrigo Co. and Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc. Many conduct little manufacturing or service activity in Ireland. The Irish economy contracted 2.1 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, when it grew a revised 2.3 percent. Economists predicted an expansion of 1.5 percent. The data are typically volatile and not an adequate reflection of the economy’s underlying momentum. Still, growth could continue to be weaker than anticipated as Ireland digests the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union. Forecast two months ago to be the fastest-growing economy in the 19-nation euro region in 2016, Ireland may now suffer from a Brexit-induced economic slump in the U.K., the nation’s closest trading partner. Companies Grafton Plc and Abbey Plc have already warned that Britain’s Leave vote is clouding the outlook for the rest of the year. “The Irish economy is not immune to a recession in the U.K.,” said David McNamara, an economist at Davy, Ireland’s largest securities firm. “Brexit brings added downside risks to Irish growth, but the GDP numbers should be shielded somewhat by the large multinational sector, which is broadly unaffected by any slowdown in U.K. growth or changes to trading relationships.”