Europe's data center market will see the biggest growth in 2020

It seems that the coronavirus pandemic has not affected the European data center market in any way. According to forecasts of the real estate consultancy CBRE, the FLAP markets (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris) will achieve 200 MW this year, which is almost the same as last year's figure of 201 MW.

Mitul Patel, head of data center research in EMEA, noted that the first quarter was relatively quiet for cloud companies, with demand at just 26 megawatts of computing power. But CBRE analysts expect significant growth in the future, as requests from cloud providers for new data center infrastructure in Europe will not decrease. By the way, CBRE does not believe that Covid-19 is directly responsible for the low indicators in the quarter, believing that this is more likely due to the peculiarities of accounting for the provision of services and the timing of the commissioning of new capacities.

According to CBRE, at least 138 MW of additional capacity has already been reserved or will be offered on FLAP markets by the end of the year. Adding additional deals that are likely to hit the market before the end of the year, there is a strong likelihood that the FLAP markets will hit 200 MW for the second consecutive year.

FLAP Markets currently have a total data center capacity of 1,699 MW, adding 30 MW in Q1 2020. Frankfurt and Amsterdam account for more than 95% of new offerings this quarter, mainly due to the expansion of existing sites. The share of vacant space in the FLAP market is about 21.6%. Moreover, in Amsterdam, one of the highest rates - 25%, and in Paris, it fell to 12%, the lowest level in four years.

CBRE believes that this figure will not reach critical levels, although supply chain disruptions due to Covid-19 are difficult to predict. Frankfurt is the market with the highest risk of losses in the event of any construction or supply problems, as it remains the most efficient market in Europe. The strongest position is in London - this year it will place orders for the lease of computing power for 800 MW - twice as many as four years ago.

Cloud purchasing trends have also changed, with an increasing number of large companies purchasing entire properties capable of delivering more than 15 MW of capacity. Separately, the arrival of very large players is noted, ready to lease the entire 20+ MW site. It is expected that their number will increase to 9, while in 2019 there were 4, and in 2018 - only 1.