Kearney: UK data centre market lags behind Europe despite soaring demand

Consultancy Kearney has labelled the UK one of Europe's slowest-growing data centre markets, with demand set to rise just 17.6% annually to 2030 versus 36% in Ireland. High land prices (€2.25m per MW against €600k in the Nordics), energy costs and slow grid connections are blamed.

• UK demand growth of 17.6% a year to 2030, versus 36% in Ireland
• Site costs: €2.25m per MW in Western Europe versus €600k in the Nordics
• Finland and Norway forecast 37.6% and 36.8% annual demand growth
• European data centre consumption to rise from 96 TWh in 2024 to 236 TWh by 2035