Colliers: Power scarcity reshaping EMEA real estate investment and performance

According to new research from Colliers, power constraints are increasingly impacting real estate performance and investment strategies across EMEA.

Lottie Tollman

The convergence of ageing electrical grids, rapidly increasing demand, and the ongoing energy transition is leading to tighter power supplies, with significant implications for asset performance, the feasibility of new developments, and the long-term resilience of property portfolios.

Colliers' findings indicate that energy risk is now a primary consideration in investment strategy, asset planning, and location decisions. The availability of reliable and affordable power is becoming a more critical factor for real estate investors throughout the region.

Historically viewed as a technical detail, energy availability is now directly influencing broader investment outcomes. The research highlights how supply limitations, infrastructure capacity, and regulatory exposure are increasingly defining risk profiles across various locations and asset classes.

The report, "Building Resilience: 5 Megatrends Redefining Corporate Real Estate," identifies energy scarcity and security as a key global megatrend reshaping investment decisions. Deteriorating infrastructure, a surge in demand from data-intensive applications, and the complexities of the energy transition are tightening supply in some markets, introducing new risks to development pipelines and the long-term viability of assets.

What was once an operational challenge has evolved into a portfolio-level concern. Factors such as energy availability, reliability, and regulatory exposure are increasingly affecting operating costs, project timelines, and long-term value creation, particularly for properties with high or evolving power requirements.

Data centres are a prime example of these pressures. The rapid growth in electricity demand from digital infrastructure is intensifying competition for power capacity, underscoring the critical need for early planning and alignment with infrastructure.

Lottie Tollman, head of Data Centre Advisory, EMEA, commented: “Energy availability is fast becoming one of the most decisive factors in data centre strategy across EMEA. Power constraints are no longer a future concern - they are shaping site selection, delivery timelines and expansion plans today. Projects that fail to factor energy resilience into early planning risk being delayed, displaced or no longer viable as competition for capacity intensifies.”