New Zealand-based infrastructure fund Infratil has announced plans to invest up £130 million (US$ 177m) into Kao Data, a UK colocation data centre developer and operator backed by Legal and General (L&G) and founded by Goldacre, part of the Noe group.
Kao Data was established in 2014 and owns the Harlow Data Centre Campus, a 15-acre site located midway between London and the science and research hub of Cambridge. Once fully constructed the site will house four facilities and run on 100% renewable energy. Work will begin on the second data centre later this financial year.
Infratil already has exposure to the data centre sector via its investments in Australian operator CDC Data Centres and Vodafone New Zealand, but this will be its first acquisition in Europe. Infratil’s investment will allow Kao to expand through the acquisition of two UK banking data centres with anchor tenant agreements in place. This purchase will enable Kao to expand its potential capacity up to 55MW and deliver multi-site solutions to clients.
On conclusion of the deal, Infratil will hold 40% equity in Kao Data alongside existing shareholders L&G and Goldacre.
