Report Summary:

MARKET SIZE - COLOCATION REVENUE: USD 9.01 Billion (2030)

CAGR - COLOCATION REVENUE: 13.94% (2024-2030)

MARKET SIZE - UTILIZED WHITE FLOOR AREA: 18.81 million sq. feet (2030)

MARKET SIZE - UTILIZED RACKS: 510.5 thousand units (2030)

MARKET SIZE - UTILIZED IT POWER CAPACITY: 4,030 MW (2030)

BASE YEAR: 2024

FORECAST YEAR: 2025-2030

UK Data Center Colocation Market Reaches 10.35M Sq Ft with 82% Utilization

As of December 2024, the UK data center colocation market had a white floor area of approximately 10.35 million square feet, with around 82% already utilized. Driven by strong demand, the market is projected to reach a cumulative utilized area of 18.8 million square feet by 2030, marking an absolute growth of 121% from 2024. The government's push for Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) further supports investment, offering incentives, tax exemptions, and robust infrastructure, enabling enterprises to efficiently establish and operate data center facilities across cities like Humber, Liverpool, Plymouth, and Thames. While industrial land costs vary, Greater London faces high prices and limited availability due to rapid data center growth. Cities such as Glasgow, Woking, Byfleet, and Cardiff are emerging as attractive alternatives for large-scale developments, positioning the UK as a strategic hub for colocation expansion.

Factors Attracting Colocation Investments in the UK:

• Strong Employment and Skilled Workforce: UK's employment rate at 75.3% (June 2025), with over 34.2k employed; high STEM graduate output (59% in Science & IT), including 35% women, supports tech talent availability.
• Focus on Renewable Energy: UK aims to produce 95% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, addressing energy sustainability for data centers.
• Robust Digital Connectivity: 57 submarine cables connect the UK globally, with four new cables in 2025 set to enhance international digital links.
• Supportive Regulatory Environment: GDPR ensures strict data privacy; the Digital Economy Act (2017) fosters digital infrastructure development.
• Resilience to Environmental Challenges: Investment considerations account for floods and extreme temperatures, highlighting the need for sustainable and resilient data centers.

UK's Digital Transformation Drives Unprecedented Demand for Colocation Facilities

The UK is witnessing a major surge in digitalization, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and 5G connectivity, which are transforming industries and accelerating digital adoption nationwide. In March 2024, the FCDO launched the Digital Development Strategy 2024–2030 to promote digital transformation, inclusion, responsibility, and sustainability across key sectors.

Complementing this, the UK Government partnered with Microsoft in October 2024 through a five-year agreement to provide public sector digital solutions and support nationwide digital modernization. These initiatives, together with the rapid adoption of emerging technologies, are driving increased demand for data processing, creating significant opportunities for the development of new data center facilities across multiple cities in the UK.

Liquid Cooling Drives UK Data Centers into the Next Era of AI and HPC

Liquid cooling is redefining the way UK data centers manage heat as AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and large-scale cloud workloads drive computing densities to new levels. Traditional air-cooling systems increasingly struggle to maintain recommended operating temperatures between 18°C and 27°C, prompting operators to adopt advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip and immersion solutions. These systems not only efficiently dissipate high thermal loads but also improve energy efficiency and equipment reliability, enabling data centers to handle more intensive workloads without compromising performance. As the adoption of AI and HPC continues to accelerate, liquid cooling is emerging as a critical strategic investment, positioning UK data centers to support the next wave of digital innovation while meeting sustainability and performance goals

Vendor Landscape

Existing Colocation Operators

• Virtus Data Centres
• Equinix
• Ark Data Centres
• Vantage Data Centers
• NTT Data
• CyrusOne
• Yondr Group
• Colt Data Centre Services
• Global Switch
• KAO Data
• Iron Mountain
• Pure Data Centres Group
• Echelon Data Centres
• Datum Datacentres
• Green Mountain AS- Data Centres
• AtlasEdge
• Lunar Digital
• SUB1 DATA CENTRES
• Digital Realty
• CapitaLand
• DataVita
• nLighten
• Rackspace Technology
• Castleforge & Galaxy Data Centers
• Redcentric
• Edgecore Digital Infrastructure
• Pulsant
• ServerChoice
• CentersquareDC
• Lumen Technologies
• Custodian Data Centres
• Serverfarm
• Stellium Data Centres – The Data Meridian
• Keppel Data Centres
• Global Technical Realty
• Telehouse
• Others

New Operators

• Ada Infrastructure
• Alandale Group of Companies
• Anglesey Group
• Greystoke
• Teesworks
• Digital Reef
• QTS Data Centers
• SWI Group
• DC01UK
• SEGRO Plc
• Tritax Group
• Corscale Data Centers
• Patrizia SE
• Pinewood Group
• CloudHQ, LLC
• Elite UK REIT
• SineQN
• Wycombe Film Studios
• Link Park Heathrow LLP
• Nscale
• Valore Group
• Latos Data Centres
• Wilton International
• Deep Green
• Blackpool Council
• Digital Land & Development
• Western Bio-Energy
• Northtree Investment Management
• Lasercharm
• Yotta Data Center (Media Datacentre)

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