Colt is expanding its carrier-neutral data center facilities in London and Hamburg to meet increased demand for colocation space in Europe.

Colt said the expansion of the two facilities follows the pattern of continuous growth in the colo market and the European market for colo at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 17.6% over the next five years.

An additional 1,000 sq m of data halls have been added to Colt’s London 3 data center in Welwyn Garden City, which brings the total space available to 6,500 sq m.

London 3 was built with Colt’s modular design and is the largest of the company’s data center hubs in London. The expansion was completed in March with a total of 11 data center halls.

The facility has also been awarded the Uptime Institute’s Management and Operations Stamp of Approval and is built to Colt Tier III standards.

Colt’s Hamburg 1 data center serves multiple customers in Germany’s data center supply. Hamburg accounts for approximately 5% of the country’s total supply.

Hamburg 1, built in 2001, is being expanded by 565 sq m from its current 535 sq m and is the facility’s first expansion. Work should be completed by August.

Colt’s EVP of data center services Detlef Spang said the demand in both facilities is increasing.

“We see the increase in demand as a positive sign that businesses are becoming more focused on their data and the importance of where it is located, in the short and long term,” Spang said.