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Segro has announced a joint venture with Oaktree-owned Pure Data Centres to develop a £1bn fully fitted data facility, with the FTSE 100 commercial property group describing the potential for high returns in this area as “too large to ignore”.
Segro, the UK’s largest listed landlord known for logistics, has for many years leased what are called “powered shells”, or buildings with enough electricity to be fitted out as data centres by its customers.
The step up to its first “fully fitted” centre, which will be based in London, means adding systems such as cooling, cabling and emergency power. Customers who ultimately lease the facility will still install their own servers.
Chief executive David Sleath said last month that this strategy “involves a lot more capital going in, but the margins are very significant . . . too large to ignore”.
The attractive returns in developing data centres has led commercial landlords to take greater risks in the fast-expanding sector, where growth expectations have been fuelled by artificial intelligence.
Segro will provide cash investment of £150mn alongside the land for a new £1bn facility in Park Royal in west London, in a 50-50 joint venture with Pure.
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