Strongest Leasing Since 2008 for Digital Realty

dlr-singapore

Digital Realty Trust has already leased 80,000 square feet of space at its new Singapore data center, pictured above.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR), the largest operator of wholesale data center space, signed new leases for more than 289,000 square feet of space in the second quarter of 2011, representing more than $42.9 million in annual revenue. Digital Realty executives said it was the company's best quarter since the economic downturn began.

"In our strongest performance since the third quarter of 2008, we saw very good demand from customers for our Turn-Key Datacenter solution in all three international regions," said Michael Foust, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Trust.

Digital Realty's leasing included deals for 205,000 square feet of Turn-Key Datacenter space leased at an average annual GAAP rental rate of $193 per square foot, and 84,000 square feet of non-technical space at an average rate of $20 a square foot. The Turn-key Datacenter program offers customers finished ”plug and play” raised-floor data center space, which shifts the data center development costs from the tenant to the landlord, and allows for much quicker deployment than if the customer built a new facility on its own.

Here's how the leasing broke down by geography:

For the quarter ended June 30, Digital Realty Trust commenced leases totaling $29 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue. A lease commences when the tenant occupies the facility, which often lags the lease signing by a few months. Commenced leases totaled approximately 476,000 square feet, consisting of over 123,000 square feet of Turn-Key Datacenter space, approximately 225,000 square feet of Powered Base Building, and nearly 98,000 square feet of non-technical space.  Powered Base Buildings are improved shell facilities designed for customers that prefer to build out and operate the data center using their own personnel and resources.

Digital Realty Trust is the world’s largest owner of data center properties, operating 96 properties spanning 16.9 million square feet in 28 markets throughout Europe, North America and Singapore.