Construction services group CB Richard Ellis reports that the first three quarters of 2007 saw the largest take-up of data centre facilities and technical real estate in Europe since the foundations of the information age were laid in the late 1990s.

According to CBRE, the rush to occupy carrier-neutral facilities resulted in 1.14 million square feet of data centre space being filled in the first nine months of 2007.

This represented a 140% increase on take-up during the same period of 2006. Across Europe there has been a steady stream of new facilities coming online to meet this demand. However the one area where demand threatens to outstrip supply is London.

In the third quarter of 2007, the amount of available space in London dropped by 14%. With such strong demand for data centre space, prices are likely to continue rising.

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