Begoña is Associate Director in Colliers' Capital Markets department. She specializes in data center investment, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and strategic advisory. Since joining Colliers in 2018, initially in the Valuations team, she has developed a solid track record in complex transactions, urban planning, and feasibility studies.

Throughout his career, he has led both buy-side and sell-side mandates in M&A transactions and greenfield projects, advising international funds, developers, operators, and institutional investors. Among his most notable achievements is his key participation in such significant transactions as the acquisition of Nabiax by Aermont Capital and the purchase of Adam Data Centers by CVC DIF. He has also led some of the largest greenfield transactions in Spain and Europe in recent years.

He currently oversees investment opportunities in M&A and greenfield projects valued at over €1 billion, working closely with key players in the digital infrastructure sector.

Before joining Colliers, Begoña led the design and execution of various residential and commercial projects at Morph Studio. She holds a degree in architecture from the Madrid School of Architecture (UPM).

 

From Colliers' perspective, what is currently the main limiting factor for the growth of the data center market in Spain: energy, the grid, regulation, or investment capacity?

At present, the main limiting factor for market growth in Spain is access to grid power, both in terms of transmission and distribution. This challenge is not unique to our country, but it is particularly critical for the sector. That said, it cannot be interpreted as an isolated limitation: the real challenge is to guarantee power where, how, and when large customers need it, and by extension, operators and investors. Market competitiveness will depend on our ability to align grid availability and strategic location with the development schedules required by demand.

All of the above, of course, must be accompanied by regulation (e.g., declaration as critical infrastructure) to bring our market in line with other European countries and thus leverage our competitive advantage in the development and operation of renewable energies.
 

The emergence of artificial intelligence is dramatically increasing rack density and technical demands. Is the current data center infrastructure ready, or will we see significant asset obsolescence in the coming years?

The data center sector has always evolved at the pace of technology, and Spain is no exception. Most of the current stock, more than 300 MW IT compared to 120 MW just four years ago, is newly built and, in part, is equipped with certain adaptations to accommodate higher densities than those associated with traditional cloud computing. However, what is really important is that the development pipeline, some 330 MW IT under construction and 2.6 GW in earlier stages of development, is being designed with the technical demands of AI in mind, from higher densities per rack to liquid cooling solutions.

For all these reasons, at Colliers we believe that the Spanish market is very well positioned to respond to current and future demand, although it is true that some legacy or enterprise assets—generally smaller in size—may be less suited. In any case, technological advances do not mean that existing assets lose their usefulness: they continue to be in demand for uses that do not require the specifications of AI-oriented developments.
 

The saturation of the electrical grid in large areas such as Madrid and Barcelona is beginning to influence new investments. Are we facing a structural change in the map of data centers in Spain?

Although the saturation of the electricity grid in areas such as Madrid and Barcelona is beginning to affect certain developments, the change in the map of data centers in Spain is not solely due to this factor, but above all to the growing diversification of demand. This evolution is transforming investment strategies in terms of location, scale, and commissioning times.

The emergence of AI, with less stringent latency requirements, is driving relocation to locations where greater power capacity and more competitive land and energy costs are available. At the same time, we are seeing significant growth in the retail sector in Tier II cities, where greater capillarity and ultra-low latencies are sought.

Despite this diversification, a project with actionable power, viable deadlines, and an attractive location will continue to attract strong interest among cloud operators, especially in Madrid due to the weight of the hyperscale customer. These markets remain strategic as long as access to power is guaranteed.

 

In the current context of interest rates and increased pressure on profitability, are data centers still a core asset for large investors, or is their profile within portfolios changing?

The fundamentals that have historically positioned data centers as core assets remain fully valid: long-term contracts, very stable income streams, tenants with high creditworthiness, and high migration costs due to the critical investment they make in the asset. However, technological developments and the emergence of neoclouds introduce new variables: risk of technical obsolescence, greater capex requirements for repositioning, and a tenant profile that may have a more direct impact on expected returns. This is shifting part of the market toward more value-add than core strategies.

As a result, the number of assets that strictly meet the core criteria has declined. But precisely because of this scarcity and the sector's operational resilience, data centers that do fit into this category continue to show greater stability than other types of assets in the current macroeconomic and interest rate environment.

 

Some time ago, there was talk of an investment of around €8 billion in the sector in the short term. Is this realistic, or is there a clear risk that part of this investment will not be made?

Final demand will determine the extent to which the announced projects will be implemented. However, if we only consider the assets that are already under construction, with estimated start-up dates between 2026 and 2027, we could be talking about a construction investment volume of around €3.25-3.5 billion.

 

To what extent is energy availability now weighing more heavily than location, land, or tax incentives in investment decisions?

Today, energy availability, or the certainty of a viable path to obtaining it, has become the first filter for any data center investment decision. Without a clear and actionable power solution, a project does not even enter into analysis. However, energy alone does not make an asset viable. For a project to succeed, the critical paths of power and land must be perfectly aligned in the schedule, and the location must meet certain minimum requirements: proximity to Tier II or III urban centers, accessibility, and good public and private transport connections.

Investors are increasingly adept at distinguishing real opportunities from unviable projects; they know that tax incentives can help, but they can never replace the need for available power or compensate for a poor location.

In any case, data center project developers and operators have shifted their investment guidelines toward achieving the best time-to-market as long as the location is in demand.

 

Is reusing existing infrastructure gaining ground over building new data centers from scratch in order to reduce risks and deadlines?

In our experience, converting existing assets into data centers is not always feasible and does not guarantee lower risks, timelines, or costs. Reusing infrastructure is a valid alternative mainly for retail operators with less demanding requirements who are looking for well-established, very central locations where finding land is difficult. For large operators, however, greenfield developments remain the most efficient and secure option.

Only projects with previous industrial activities that guarantee access to power in relevant multiples are the ones that move forward. In general, these are opportunistic projects.

 

If you had to point out the biggest strategic mistake that data center developers in Spain are making today, what would it be?

In general, both sellers and buyers of data centers have become much more sophisticated over the last four years, which is why there are not so many transactions in the sector. But if we had to name one, it would be failing to properly analyze the risks involved in a power solution. Having letters of access does not mean you have a viable data center project.

 

The Colliers 2026 Global Investor Outlook points out that data centers continue to attract capital, but with access to energy as the main obstacle. Can Spain take advantage of this interest, or is it losing competitiveness compared to other European markets?

Spain is in a very favorable position to attract this capital, but our actual ability to take advantage of it depends, above all, on having power where demand is concentrated. If we can offer energy access solutions in a more agile and predictable way than other European markets, we will have a clear competitive advantage.

In addition, the publication of Red Eléctrica's eagerly awaited Five-Year Plan will be key to determining the extent to which we will be able to convert this interest into actual investment. Finally, regulatory aspects such as designating data centers as critical infrastructure or as large industrial energy consumers would help us to be very competitive with other European regions in terms of cost on rack.