Investment in data centre markets to reach new heights

Author: Simon Rowley

CBRE, a commercial real estate service company, is expecting an unprecedented amount of new data centre supply to be delivered in Europe this year, as providers aim to keep pace with fierce demand.

According to the latest research from the company, there is 937MW of new supply expected in European markets this year. If this data centre supply is delivered, it will reportedly set a new record for Europe and would represent an increase of 282MW more than the 655MW of capacity delivered in 2024.

More than half (57%) of this capacity is expected to be delivered in the leading European data centre markets – Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin (the FLAPD region).

In 2024, facilities of unprecedented size were delivered across Europe for the industry’s largest customers, but demand for colocation data centre space continued to outstrip supply, at 706MW and 655MW respectively. It is being reported that customer appetite for capacity has grown despite the difficulties data centre providers are having sourcing power and available land for new facilities.

Nevertheless, CBRE believes that a greater proportion of supply will be delivered to Europe’s smaller secondary markets than ever before. The firm expects double-digit supply growth in five of the 10 secondary European markets tracked in 2025. There are seven markets, such as Milan and Madrid, which are expected to have 100MW of supply or more by year-end, compared to just four markets at the end of 2022.

Kevin Restivo, Head of European Data Centre Research at CBRE, comments, “The data centre construction boom will continue unabated. Available power and appropriate land, government incentives, and hyperscaler ambitions are key factors that are driving the rapid growth of markets such as Milan, as well as the continued expansion of leading markets like London and Frankfurt.”

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