European data center operators added 1.7 million square feet of space in 2007, including 558,500 square feet in the fourth quarter alone, according to market data from CB Richard Ellis (via Zero Downtime. The full-year figure equated to growth of 148 percent from the previous year.
Sixty four percent of the new space was in the shell market (new construction) while 36 percent was in the carrier-neutral market, according to CBRE. Two large shell space deals in the London market supported the growth. London accounted for 45 percent of the new space, followed by Frankfurt (22 percent) and Amsterdam (18 percent). Andrew Jay, head of Technology Practice Group at CB Richard Ellis, said the pace of growth may subside a bit. "Given the current economic climate post credit squeeze and concerns over the potential high amount of new supply, we expect to see a cautious start to 2008, particularly in the first two quarters," said Jay.
