London, 8 December 2009 - Attendees and speakers at the recent Finance and Investment forum for data centres, hosted by consulting firm BroadGroup expressed strong optimism for growth among leading players in Europe which could be more than 25% in the year ahead.

The 3^rd annual Finance and Investment forum for data centres, held in London last week was attended by investors, private equity funds and professional intermediaries as well as regional and global service providers. Speakers perceived strong demand which varied across multiple sectors, with financial, media and government being particularly vibrant.

Some of the key findings from the forum included:

• The data centre market is maturing with further industry consolidation expected and also better user understanding of their requirements
• Large players are beginning to become much more differentiated with, for example,an ability to win multi-site deals and lower build costs
• Quoted players are finding easier access to capital, and the forecast is that at least four IPOs from the sector will hit the market in 1H 2010
• Start-ups have largely focused on the UK market and particularly in and around London.Some funding is available for these companies, but typically they are very dependent on anchor tenants
• In Central and Eastern European markets, the notion of outsourcing data centres is becoming much more widely accepted

“Although the market is vibrant, there is a major concern that the impact of environmental legislation is still unclear and could place the UK at a disadvantage,” commented Steve Wallage, managing director of BroadGroup Consulting.

“However the feeling of the forum is that this would not leave to the exit of many data centres. However, the focus on key locations such as Frankfurt, Paris, London and Amsterdam, is beginning to lessen as power availability and costs lead to other locations becoming more compelling.”

Data Centre investment activity is brisk in both the European and North American markets, and BroadGroup sees key opportunities in the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern regions arising in 2010.