The flood of capital entering the data center sector is seen by many investors as an opportunity to gain exposure to a high-growth sector with strong structural tailwinds, according to a new study by INREV (European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles), the European industry body for nonlisted real estate. As cloud computing, AI and the wider digital economy drive demand for digital infrastructure, this interest is only expected to grow. The key challenge is that the data center sector is a sophisticated and fast-evolving ecosystem that requires a complex skill set and operational know-how to enter and fully understand.
The paper, titled “Data centers: navigating a fluid asset class,” draws on in-depth expert interviews with investors, fund managers, developers, and operators representing combined global alternative assets under management of more than €1 trillion ($1.16 trillion). It identifies the inherently hybrid nature of data centers — a
