EMEA data centre sector faces explosive growth and supply crisis

A new report from global property consultancy Knight Frank reveals that the EMEA data centre sector faces a demand for over €422 bn in development capital to fund its burgeoning pipeline, with €122 bn announced in just the first half of 2025.

Data centre

The region's operational data centre stock is currently valued at €226 bn, projected to grow by 11.4% in 2025.
The EMEA market now boasts an aggregate supply exceeding 50GW, a 27.8% increase from 2024 by mid-2025. Live IT capacity has reached 11.3GW, with 649.6MW delivered this year. A robust pipeline of 39.1GW is committed, under construction, or in planning, with 2.8GW already underway.
Paris emerged as the fastest-growing hub and a major source of new capital demand, requiring €32.9 bn (including €17.2 bn in H1 2025). Supply growth is forecast at 22.3%, boosted by a planned 1.4GW AI-focused campus.
Frankfurt leads in leasing activity, with a €30.4 bn capital requirement and €19.4 bn market valuation. It saw 207MW take-up in the past year, largely driven by public cloud.
London remains the largest market, needing over €44 bn in capital and valued at €32 bn. Capacity has grown 15.3% to 5.1GW.
Milan is forecast for the fastest growth in the region at 47.9% this year, requiring over €33 bn in development capital.
Dublin illustrates maturity with a €14.8 bn requirement but a high market valuation of €25.7 bn.
Overall take-up reached 1.1GW in the past year (487.5MW in H1 2025 alone), with public cloud accounting for 61% and AI 12%. However, supply is severely struggling to keep pace. The live colocation vacancy rate across EMEA is 9.5%, but drops sharply for larger requirements (5.2% for >2MW, 2.9% for >5MW). In key markets like Frankfurt (0.6%), Dublin (1.3%), Paris (3.4%), and London (5.9%), vacancy is critically low.
Over half of all capacity under construction (55.2%) and 22.1% of committed capacity has already been pre-leased. Dublin (94.8%), Milan (92.6%), and London (87.8%) demonstrate extreme demand-supply imbalance through their high pre-leasing rates. The report highlights an urgent need for massive investment to meet escalating infrastructure demands, particularly driven by AI.