The new KAO Data Campus, the UK’s biggest data centre campus to date, has raised £33m in funding.
The second round of funding which was led by Downing LLP and managed by Goldacre Ventures brings the total amount raised by the company to £68m.
Downing, an investment manager with over £700m assets under management, is known for its strong focus in the data centre industry. The debt facility offered to KAO is to be its fourth investment in the sector in recent years.
The £33m raised is set to be the final round of funding before construction completes on the KAO Data London One site.
Previously announced in 2015, KAO’s Data Campus will include four data centres totaling to around 150,000 sq. ft. net technical space.
When construction is complete, it is expected to represent an investment of £200m in the 35-acre site.
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David Bloom, Chief Executive, Goldacre Ventures said: “This latest raise represents an important milestone in the KAO Data Campus development project, emphasising a continuing commitment by investors into the UK’s technical infrastructure regardless of the current political uncertainty.
“We are delighted to have secured this investment from Downing- they are an experienced data centre investor and throughout the fundraising process have demonstrated their ability to move quickly and understand this market.”
The company’s KAO Park, its Enterprise Zone and the London-Stanstead-Cambridge corridor has also received strong interest from life science businesses and organisations.
Raytheon UK and electronics supplier Arrow Electronics previously took 55,000 sq. ft. each of space at the KAO One office. This takes the KAO Park to 60 percent let ahead of its first completion.
Power utility contractor, Matrix Networks has been confirmed with delivering the UKPN adoptable 33Kv/11kV 43.5MVA sub-station to provide capacity in support of the whole campus.
The sub-station is expected to be completed in April 2017, with practical completion of its first data centre scheduled for the end of 2017.
