he data centre market is experiencing
T explosive growth, fuelled by an almost insatiable demand for cloud computing, AI and other data-intensive technologies. This surge is creating ample opportunities within the sector, but there remains a significant challenge: finding enough suitable land for new data centres.
JLL ' s Global Data Centre Outlook 2025 forecasts a phenomenal pace of growth for the sector, projecting a 15 % compound annual growth rate( CAGR) through 2027, with the potential to reach 20 %. This translates to a considerable global data centre market expansion driven by ongoing and planned developments.
The supply of appropriate locations to build further developments is struggling to keep up with demand, with constraints around power availability, fibre connectivity and skilled workforces further intensifying the pressure. These centres are critical to technological infrastructure, and so a failure to find locations for new sites risks limiting further growth and development in areas such as AI.
Tom Glover, Head of Data Centre Transactions at JLL, tells us that with the surge in data volumes and the rise of new technologies, the need for strategically positioned data centres will keep growing.
The capital barrier to entry in the data centre market is substantial, and land values fluctuate dramatically depending on location. As the JLL report highlights, approximately US $ 170 billion in data centre asset value will require construction lending or permanent financing in 2025, underscoring the significant capital investment involved. Deploying billions of dollars on a 100MW data centre demands a certainty of success, and land acquisition is paramount to that equation. So, what constitutes a‘ good’ location?
The answer hinges on the type of data centre and its intended purpose. Let ' s consider two key categories: AI training facilities and cloud / inference data centres.
LAND AND LOCATION:
CONSIDERATIONS IN AN EXPLOSIVE DATA CENTRE MARKET
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