European Data Center Boom to Generate Over 8 Million Sq Ft of Logistics Demand, Savills Reports
April 15, 2026
The rapid expansion of data centers across Europe is creating a significant secondary wave of demand for industrial real estate, according to new analysis from global real estate services firm Savills. The firm projects that development in key European data center markets will catalyze demand for an additional 8.462 million square feet of logistics space over the next three years, highlighting a previously underexplored ripple effect of digital infrastructure growth on the broader supply chain.
Savills based its forecast on a detailed study of the Dublin market, where it observed that occupiers linked to the data center supply chain accounted for 10% of the annual logistics space take-up in 2025, totaling 225,000 square feet, with a further 500,000 square feet in the pipeline. By comparing this take-up volume to the growth in energy demand from data centers, Savills developed a correlation, suggesting that for every megawatt of data center capacity, between 7,250 and 10,560 square feet of supporting logistics space is required.
Applying this metric to the broader European market reveals the scale of the impending demand. With live data center capacity in Europe currently at 10.9 gigawatts and an additional 2 gigawatts under construction, the need for adjacent logistics facilities is substantial. Kevin Mofid, Head of EMEA Logistics Research at Savills, noted, "Much of the commentary around the growth of the DC market is focused on land sales and power, yet very little has been written about the ripple effect into the logistics market." He added, "Whilst our analysis is at an early stage, it is interesting to observe that in markets which have seen exceptional growth in DCs we are now seeing the suppliers to the DC community take traditional logistics warehouses."
Focusing on the dominant FLAPD markets—Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin—where 950 megawatts of data center space is currently under construction, Savills estimates an average demand of 8,900 square feet of logistics space per megawatt. This extrapolation leads to the forecast of 8.462 million square feet of new logistics demand. Evidence of this trend is already emerging, as illustrated by UK-based DC power solutions and AI infrastructure firm AVK SEG leasing 140,000 square feet of logistics space in North West England. The phenomenon is not confined to Europe, with global logistics providers like DHL recently announcing plans to expand their US warehouse footprint specifically to serve the data center sector.
The findings underscore a critical shift in the industrial real estate landscape, where the logistics sector is increasingly intertwined with the technological backbone of the economy. As data centers, particularly those built for high-density AI workloads, continue their aggressive expansion, their extensive supply chains for hardware, spare parts, and cooling infrastructure will necessitate a parallel and sizable build-out of storage and distribution facilities, creating a substantial new driver for the European logistics property market.
Source: datacenterdynamics
