Wholesale data centre take-up in London this year reached more than double the levels witnessed by the end of 2011 according to global property advisor CBRE. Wholesale take-up has soared to 9,855 sq m up to Q3 2012, more than twice the 4,140 sq m transacted in 2011. In a new report, CBRE also notes that co-location take up of data centre space in London and Paris is on a par with the total levels reached at the end of 2011, at 12,305 sq m in London and 5,540 sq m in Paris, against the figures of 12,120 sq m and 5,590 sq m seen in 2011 respectively.

Occupier enquiry numbers have remained encouraging across the top tier European markets, although widespread economic uncertainly means that this has yet to translate to a meaningful increase in overall take-up. Technology, media and telecoms (TMT) companies continue to drive new enquiries and are currently outstripping interest from other corporates and the financial services sector.

In particular an increase in new cloud-based products entering the market has proved to be a fruitful source of new business for data centre operators. As uptake of this technology increases further, cloud will continue to factor highly in future data centre revenue. Also expected to boost take up in the future is data storage requirements driven by ‘Big Data’ and compliance requirements.

Andrew Jay, Head of EMEA Data Centres, CBRE, said: “TMT occupiers have been responsible for the majority of activity across Europe this year, whilst take-up from other sectors has been understandably subdued. However, we are certainly noticing significant numbers of enquiries and these should convert to a rise in take-up once the economic situation in the Eurozone stabilises for a meaningful period.”

CBRE’s data centre report examines demand, take-up and supply across five tier-one markets across Europe. These are: London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Madrid.