London, UK: Europe's real estate investors have not run out of money. They have run out of patience for anything that lacks scale, resilient income or structural growth. That is the message of Colliers' latest EMEA Capital Markets Snapshot (Q3 2026), which shows capital piling into data centres, living and logistics while higher financing costs keep activity in check elsewhere.
Luke Dawson, Head of Global & EMEA Capital Markets at Colliers, said: "Capital is available, but deployment is becoming much more targeted." He added: "Investors want conviction - whether that comes from resilient income, structural demand, scale or a clear route to creating value." The result is a growing role for portfolios, platforms, joint ventures and structured deals, while offices and retail draw targeted investment in quality assets, defensive income and active asset management.
Data centres show the shift most clearly. EMEA has around 12.5GW of operational capacity, and European AI-focused colocation signings jumped from 89MW in the first half of 2025 to 420MW in the same period of 2026. CPP Investments and Equinix agreed a deal worth about €3.4bn to acquire atNorth in Q3. Power, grid and planning constraints in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Dublin are steering attention to Madrid, Milan, Lisbon and the Nordics.
Elsewhere, multifamily and build-to-rent lead living, PBSA is recovering, and logistics benefits from rental growth and limited speculative supply. EQT agreed to buy 14 European logistics assets from Logicor for €532m. In offices, Landsec sold 123 Victoria Street in London for about €247m, and Pontegadea paid about €850m for Capital 8 in Paris, the largest single office deal in continental Europe since 2022. Damian Harrington, Director, Head of Research, Global Capital Markets & EMEA at Colliers, said: "The picture is increasingly differentiated, while financing costs and incomplete repricing constrain activity." He added: "This divergence is evident geographically, with Spain, Poland, Ireland and Italy all recording strong transaction growth to date in 2026."
The numbers back him up. Spain recorded €16.8bn in the first nine months, up 28.2%, led by living at €5.9bn. Poland rose 90% to more than €4.8bn, while incomplete revaluations continue to hold Germany back. Some deals may slip into the first quarter of 2027. What the snapshot does not address is the cost of delivery. Turner & Townsend found this week that Europe is the world's most expensive region to build data centres, with costs up 13%, and that only 19% of European experts consider contractor capacity manageable. For investors backing data centre platforms, build costs and skills could erode returns even where demand is strong.
People mentioned
- Luke Dawson, Head of Global & EMEA Capital Markets, Colliers
- Damian Harrington, Director, Head of Research, Global Capital Markets & EMEA, Colliers
Image Source: Generated image for illustrative purposes only.
Companies mentioned
- Colliers: global real estate adviser; publisher of the EMEA Capital Markets Snapshot (Q3 2026)
- CPP Investments: joint acquirer of atNorth
- Equinix: joint acquirer of atNorth
- atNorth: data centre operator acquired by CPP Investments and Equinix
- EQT: acquirer of 14 European logistics assets
- Logicor: seller of the 14 logistics assets to EQT
- Landsec: seller of 123 Victoria Street, London
- Pontegadea: acquirer of Capital 8, Paris
- Turner & Townsend: programme management company; publisher of the Data Centre Construction Cost Index
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