Investors, developers and occupiers met in London to tackle one question: how do we turn ready capital into working digital infrastructure, at a speed and a price everyone can trust?
Europe doesn’t have a capital problem. It has a certainty problem.
Almost €790bn of infrastructure capital is waiting to be deployed. Demand for data centres is accelerating, and UK grid applications have jumped from 41GW to 125GW. Yet projects are slipping, costs are drifting and investors are pricing that uncertainty into every deal.
That was the tension at the heart of the Investors, Developers and Occupiers Forum, hosted by Woodalls. Tom Tugendhat MP opened the day with the geopolitical stakes, and two panels moved from where capital should go to how it actually gets built.
“It’s not that it has to be the cheapest, it actually has to be the most certain price.”
— Karsten, data centre advisory
What we heard
The discussion pointed to seven findings:
- Power is the gating item. Secure the grid connection and the power strategy first, and build where the power is.
- Capital is ready; certainty is scarce. Investors want a fixed price, a firm programme and a delivery partner with a track record.
- Delay is the biggest cost, and it’s decided early. Two in three data centres are delayed, and three months can be the difference between profit and loss.
- Design for density, and for tenants you haven’t met yet. Build flexibility into cooling and power from day one.
- Planning, policy and communities set the pace. Simplify the regime and bring communities in early.
- Energy cost decides competitiveness. In the UK, the cost of running data centres matters more than the cost of building them.
- Talent decides who keeps the advantage. The UK has to attract, train and keep the best people.
