Article

The rising demand for data center capacity driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is leading to a wave of debt offerings in Europe. At least five issuers are expected to launch asset-backed or commercial-mortgage backed securities linked to European data center campuses in 2026, potentially totaling €3-€5 billion ($3.5-$5.8 billion).

This follows only two previous public syndications in the region. The increased securitization aims to facilitate financing as Europe seeks to compete with the US and China in data center development. Major tech firms such as Meta and Microsoft are expected to back these securities.

Challenges such as regulatory hurdles and high energy demands persist, and a recent outage at a CyrusOne facility highlighted operational risks. Despite concerns regarding potential oversupply and AI valuation bubbles, analysts maintain that the demand for data centers will remain strong in the coming years.