Data center firm Global Switch has confirmed that it is seeking an investor for its UK operations.
Global Switch recently announced that the sale of its Sydney data center business to HMC Capital had closed, and has officially confirmed previous reports it was seeking external investment for its London campus.
“As part of its financing strategy to drive future growth, Global Switch has also recently appointed UBS as financial adviser to explore co-investment opportunities for its super-prime London data center portfolio,” the company said.
Reports that Global Switch was seeking an investor for the London campus first surfaced in October. Though it hasn’t disclosed details, the company is said to be seeking up to £1.5 billion ($1.95bn) in additional capital.
“Current market conditions, where demand for AI and HPC data centers continues to outstrip supply, present an ideal opportunity to recycle capital and fund further growth,” Global Switch added. “The formal process of exploring co-investment in the UK has commenced in London and the company will provide a further update in due course.”
The company operates two data centers in London’s Docklands - London East and London North - and last year officially announced plans for a third site, London South, which will offer 40MW across 27,000 sqm (290,625 sq ft). When complete, it will take the size of the company’s London campus to 115,000 sqm (1.2 million sq ft).
The company said the site has secured access to a total of 224MVA of power over the coming five years. It also noted the site has “one of the largest HPC deployments in the UK,” with more than 10,000 Nvidia H100 and H200 GPUs present.
Despite shedding its footprint in Australia, Global Switch said it is seeking further opportunities to grow.
“The net proceeds of this transaction have further strengthened the company’s balance sheet and provide substantial further capital for Global Switch to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities it has identified,” the company said. “The company continues to see attractive opportunities predominantly in its existing core Tier 1 markets of Europe and Asia-Pacific and also in selective new, high-growth Asian markets.”
It added: “The company continues to pursue a dual-track growth strategy of redeveloping and densifying existing data centers together with developing new sites, often adjacent to existing assets.”
Founded in 1998, London-based Global Switch operates more than a dozen facilities across Europe and Asia. Chinese steel giant Jiangsu Shagang Group took control of the data center company over a three-year period beginning in 2016. The company has been flirting with a sale for nearly four years, but so far the Australian divestment is the only deal made.
Investment manager HMC Capital acquired the Ultimo site in October for AU$2.12 billion (US$1.41bn). The campus has been rolled into a new publicly-listed data center REIT.
