The cost of securing data centre capacity in Europe’s five largest markets is expected to rise by an average of 12% in 2026, according to new research from CBRE.
In Europe’s FLAPD markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris), the cost of securing 20MW or more of future data centre capacity is expected to reach as much as £145 per KW in London and €145 per kW across the other four largest European markets.
Supply constraints and increasing development costs are the key drivers behind rising costs, with demand continuing to accelerate across the region.
Andrew Jay, head of data centre solutions, Europe, at CBRE, said: “There is a widening gap between the cost of capacity associated with traditional air-cooled data centres and facilities designed to support AI workloads. As higher-density data centres become a larger part of the European landscape, pricing is set to increase, assuming demand remains strong.”
Kevin Restivo, director, European data centre research at CBRE, added: “Larger, more technically complex data centres require advanced cooling systems and higher-specification infrastructure, which significantly increases build costs. As demand for these environments grows and availability tightens, providers are increasingly passing these costs on to customers.”
