Data Centre Advisory Group

As the demand for computing power, data storage, and general business continuity accelerates, so too does the importance of an organisation’s data centre services. The C&W Data Centre Advisory Group (DCAG) provides strategies and real estate services for the technology intensive, 24/7 facilities that businesses and governments rely on to support and protect their people, equipment, services and data.

The professionals within DCAG represent the real estate industry’s most experienced advisors and practitioners within this highly specialized sector and asset class. Concentrating on data centres, telecom switches, network providers, disaster recovery sites, and critical operations centres, DCAG includes real estate and financial consultants, transaction specialists, appraisers, and project and facility management professionals servicing the EMEA markets.

Engage the DCAG team and leverage the intellectual capital of a team that has worked with owner, occupier and investor clients on numerous technical real estate projects. Our understanding of technical implementation, complex power and HVAC requirements, regulatory issues, and sensitive security considerations of these facilities is informed through practical and expansive experience. Whether an owner or user, acquiring or disposing of an asset, looking to increase efficiency or expand operations, the DCAG team will help you align your real estate assets with the short- and long-term goals of your organisation.

Who should use our services?

Technology intensive operations, banks, IT services providers, technology companies, network providers, education, financial services providers and cable and hosting companies. In fact any organisation interested in computing power, storage and protection of their assets (people, equipment, services, and data), increasing efficiency and lowering costs.

We work with owners, occupiers and investors interested in strategic advice, acquisitions, disposals and/or investments in data centres.

How we can help

Strategic Advice

Understanding technical requirements and your business needs, we provide you with the strategic advice which help you align your real estate assets with the short and long term goals of your organisation.

We will work with you to develop a comparative financial analysis of total cost of ownership, including utilities, telecommunications requirements, construction estimates, local incentives and more.

Leasehold Acquisition & Disposal

We take on the “intelligent client” role in managing transactions you are interested in. Our consultants will advise and facilitate a smooth transaction whether leasehold acquisition, relocation or disposal, negotiating the optimum contractual solution. Our professionals, who are highly attuned to the time sensitivity of real estate requirements, fast-track acquisitions, disposals, lease negotiations and other activities through innovative marketing and transaction structuring. Transactions are executed for maximum value, regardless of location or market conditions.

Tenant Representation

Our integrated resources help tenants meet their objectives in all markets and locations. We analyse each tenant’s business objectives and match them with the optimum real estate solution. We provide services for: Relocations, consolidations, subleases, acquisitions and disposals include strategic planning, demographic and site consulting, comparative financial analysis, construction and post-occupancy services. We are dedicated to securing our clients with solutions that optimise affordability, flexibility and functionality

Landlord Representation

We offer integrated brokerage/transaction services designed specifically to fit landlords’ needs. Our brokerage professionals develop strategies to enhance the value of a real estate asset through four key elements: positioning the product in the marketplace, identifying all suitable prospects, creating customised marketing strategies and tools and managing all of the steps associated with the leasing process. Due to our experience with tenant representation, we are able to understand tenants’ needs and thus position and lease properties for landlords as effectively as possible.

Finance & Investment

C&W Corporate Finance is part of the European Cross border team that structures and co-ordinates complex Pan-European real estate transactions. The corporate finance team concentrates on the origination and restructuring of debt, throughout the capital stack. In addition C&W offer an advisory and placement business for investors (LPs) and fund managers (GPs) within the indirect real estate market. The team has a diverse range of professional backgrounds including corporate finance, fund structuring and management, financial modelling, investment banking, accountancy and research as well as real estate.

Our Capital Markets Group are one of the leading players in the industry, specialising in the acquisition and disposition of income producing and opportunity properties. We strive to meet our clients’ investment and owner-occupier requirements by offering a comprehensive array of services designed for their specific needs, offering buyers and sellers a variety of services to maximize the value of their investments. Our team have been handpicked from the property and finance industries to set us apart from others in the industry.

Project Management

C&W’s project management professionals have in depth knowledge and experience in data centre deployment, construction, build-out scope development, team selection, cost management, schedule management, installation and commissioning. The team provide essential services to our clients and advise client side technicians on the detailed aspects and design requirements that impact costs and efficiencies that factor into site selection and negotiation strategies.  

Facilities management

Globally, C&W manages more than twenty million square feet of technology space and nine million square feet of raised-floor data centres. Our DCAG professionals draw on the practical experience of our in-house management and engineering personnel to deepen their technical knowledge of these facilities.

Valuation

We can provide you with valuations and due diligence reporting for loan security, portfolio, M&A assignments and going concerns. We have conducted numerous assignments for a range of clients, managed through by our market-leading global Valuation Advisory Services Group.

Sustainability Consultancy

Data Centres consume a substantial amount of power and specifically in the UK, in the spotlight in relation to the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC). CRC, the UK’s new mandatory carbon cap-and-trade scheme which came into force in April 2010, is one of the most far reaching government policies to impact property in recent years. There are many challenges associated with it for landlords, tenants, occupiers and investors alike.

Since the CRC affects issues such as reputation and financial trading as well as energy use and sustainability, a multi-disciplinary approach is needed at each stage. For this reason C&W has joined forces with the Building Research Establishment (BRE).  Complementing C&W’s leading property skills, BRE is the UK’s centre of excellence in sustainability within the built environment.  BRE operates the BREEAM sustainability rating method for non-domestic property, built the software used to calculate EPC and DEC ratings and has a diverse range of service products designed to help an enviable list of clients improve the sustainability performance of their buildings and portfolios, across all asset classes. 

Harnessing our combined skills, we are assisting a growing number of clients in achieving the operational and strategic readiness required for a successful response to CRC, and our clients are already telling us that the service we offer is ahead of the market. Our team of specialists would be happy to advise your business on these matters to ensure compliance with specific   requirements, minimise your liability under the scheme and optimise the opportunity for profit. 

Planning

Our team will support your organisation’s goals through every stage of your planning and execution process, beginning with a comprehensive requirements study and ending with a real estate product ideally suited for your needs.

Ancillary Services

Our objective is to provide clients with an unbiased, objective view of their needs and the services that they require. To that end we are able to refer you to third party providers in respect of the below services. We do not have any formal ties or retainers with these service providers, ensuring that the client has full control and choice with whom they wish to partner. 

• M&E Design and Engineering
• Architects
• Cost Consulting
• Fibre Audits

Adding value - the benefits of our approach

High service standards

Our highly qualified and experienced professionals pay close attention to detail and offer the best standards in client care. Our strong ethical approach to zero conflict of interest is our key differentiator. We are adept in working in a true partnership with our clients and are experienced in interfacing, managing and understanding the needs of multiple stakeholders both within and outside the business.

Understanding your business

Our research, knowledge and experience in data centres and real estate markets in general means we can help you be in the right locations, at the right time for the right cost for your business.

Lower costs

We can help you reduce real estate costs and, where appropriate, raise capital.

Locational Analysis

Whether you are seeking to occupy, build, dispose our enter a new market, our consultancy covers the relationship and proximity of locations to surrounding development and infrastructure; security risks; demographic profiles of surrounding communities; access to low-cost power supply; the proximity of potentially hazardous facilities and/or land features; and the region’s transportation infrastructure.

Experience and Resources

We have a strong track record of working with data centre occupiers, owners and investors both in Europe and globally. Specifically in Europe, from our hub operations in London, UK,  we work in tandem with our experienced teams in-country who have the knowledge and relationships to leverage and optimise negotiations delivering a true value-add service.

Whilst the EMEA region covers a wide geography and multiple languages, we are proud of our ability to collaborate effectively and efficiently with all our core service lines to deliver intelligent real estate strategies and consistent, co-ordinated, quality services for our clients. Indeed we are able to provide a fully integrated global coverage in partnership with our fellow DCAG professionals in the Americas and Asia supporting clients with multi-national requirements.