To get a perspective on how the data center industry is faring in European markets during the pandemic, host Raymond Hawkins tapped Andrew Jay, Head of EMEA Data Centre Solutions, Advisory & Transaction Services for CBRE, to help him unpack what’s happening.

The need for co-location space is growing in Europe, as demands for data storage are at unprecedented levels and have been for several years. Specifically, London is one of the largest areas of need.

“There’s an absolute feeding frenzy at the moment of developer operators trying to secure land. And then there are the usual issues around power, planning, fiber and risks. The prices of these sites are going through the roof at the moment," Jay said.

Due to the lack of real estate around London and the high demand, there is intense competition for sites. And Jay said he’s seen deals around London going north of six million pounds per acre.

With London pricing many out of the market, what’s the next area of opportunity for data centers? Jay said North London, where there’s a lot of land interest. 

“What we haven’t seen is East London yet, and we have a couple of really good quality data center builds there, but the demand hasn’t quite got there yet,” he said.

As for the state of data centers in other European markets, Jay cited Milan as an example. 

“For years, there was no demand there. Suddenly, about three to four years ago, we got calls from people asking if we had any land available in Milan," he said. "So, that market’s gone from being a 15-megawatt to a 60-65-megawatt market.” And Jay believes that could easily double shortly.