END USER INSIGHT
We caught up with Michael Umfreville , Head of Data Centres at BNP Paribas Real Estate , to find out more about the UK data centre landscape and how he will lead his team to success .
Can you tell us about your role and responsibilities at BNP Paribas Real Estate ?
I ' ve recently been made Head of Data Centres at BNP Paribas Real Estate . It ' s a really exciting role . I ' m now giving real estate advice to my data centre clients that I ' ve been working with for the last two and a half years .
The intention is to grow the team as much as possible and focus on our key clients ’ existing requirements as far as real estate is concerned .
Also intending to grow to complement the wider BNP real estate teams and , for example , we ' ve got a team over in Berlin who do a lot of work not only throughout Germany , but also in mainland Europe too . So we ' re trying to keep a good balance between ourselves and them and looking to help our clients where possible .
What trends are you seeing when it comes to the leasing and building of data centres , particularly across the UK ?
Over the last 24 to 30 months , BNP Paribas Real Estate has been advising clients on both the leasing and buying opportunities within the London and South-East markets . We ' ve seen a number of deals where landlords and developers are seeing greater value in dealing with data centres , as opposed to industrial occupiers , which is the big competition for the data centre market . Data centres will hold longer-term leases which allows income strip style deals to be made with developers or landlords and then the landlords can further sell on that interest to annuity funds as well . So there ' s a triple layer value there . It ’ s also been clear that a lot of the operators remain focused on ensuring their future and as such , are looking for land banking opportunities , which is another clear trend we ' re seeing across the market partly because there ' s a small monopoly growing in West London in particular , which a lot of the data centre operators need to try and avoid if they can .
What are the key requirements when assessing a new site and why are these important ?
I think with any site that we ' re looking at currently it ' s about de-risking it , particularly from an operator ' s perspective . If I think about my operator clients , they ' ll look at a site and consider where the power is for that site and when it is coming through . And then they ' ll also look at the planning position and consider whether they ’ re likely to get planning for a data centre on that particular site .
How would you describe the current UK data centre landscape and how do you predict this will change ?
The data centre market is quite niche , one way or another and particularly within the real estate industry .
So there ’ s a small number of people who ' ve been doing this for longer than I have but there are some investors that are now growing in their multiples , and as a result , there ' s a good opportunity for BNP Paribas to join this sector . But with
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