A new data center is being proposed in the Newham area of East London, UK. The listed applicant has links to UK operator Kao Data and its owners.
At the same time, Newham is also set to be the home of GLP’s previously announced data center campus, its first in the UK.
Kao comes to East London?
Data center developers SineQN and IXDS recently filed with Newham Council for planning permission to develop what the former is calling the Bidder Street Data Center.
The company is proposing the erection of a multi-story data center totaling approximately 60,510 sqm (651,325 sq ft), an adjacent connected plant building, and an energy center on land at Bidder Street in Canning Town. It will be close to a number of new residential developments planned in the area.
Planning documents suggest the facility will offer 77MW. The energy center will comprise water pump rooms, electrical substation and transformers, cable distribution, and switchgear. The plant building will contain generators, batteries, and electrical switchrooms. The site will reportedly be able to heat around 13,000 local homes via a heating network.
Documents list IXDS Ltd as the applicant. People linked to IXDS on Companies House include a number of Kao Data, Noé Group, and Goldacre executives.
In the application, IXDS is described as an entity owned by Legal & General and Goldacre, which together with sineQN the development management partner will deliver the project.
A Kao spokesperson said the project is a ‘L&G and Goldacre/Noé Group venture,’ without adding further detail.
The 1.88-hectare site was previously the European Metal Recycling (EMR) scrap metal yard. Plans for a data center on the land have been in development since 2021, and was known as the Mayer Parry Wharf Data Center.
According to previous planning documents, the facility was previously set to span 87,500 sqm (941,840 sq ft) across 12 floors with an on-site substation – and listed as 'Project Coleman' by KD4 Limited in some documents – in a single large and windowless building.
Founded in 2007, SineQN develops what it called ‘Urban Hyperscale’ powered shell and core data centers offering capacity close to urban centers.
Little information is available about the company’s previous projects, but its website suggests locations in Belgium, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway. Planning documents suggest the facility will be ‘one of the first new generation Urban Hyperscale data centers in London.’
The company is led by Gavan Mackenzie, who previously held roles at JP Morgan Chase within its construction services unit, and Morgan Stanley. Former Bulk Infrastructure development director Mark Ruff is SineQN’s CTO.
The companies are working with Barratt London-owned Crown Wharf for the project.
Kao, founded in 2014 and owned by Goldacre, Infratil, and Legal & General, currently operates sites in Slough, Northolt, and Harlow. The company is developing a new campus in Manchester.
GLP’s Ada Infrastructure coming to Newham
The Docklands area of East London is a major data center hub within the capital. The likes of Telehouse, Equinix, Digital Realty, and Global Switch have a presence in the area; Global Switch officially announced a new 40MW development in the area this week.
One of the newest players in the area is APAC logistics firm GLP. The company recently launched its new Ada Infrastructure division, announcing a 210MW campus in East London’s Docklands. The site will be ready for service in 2026 and will consist of three eight-story buildings, though precise details haven’t been shared.
However, a planning permission application from last year with Newham Council has revealed where the company is planning to develop its campus and more building details.
The application from GLP UK – for land at the former Allnex Paint Factory on North Woolwich Road in Silvertown – seeks to develop a 64,245 sqm (691,530 sq ft) data center building (LCY01) and substation, with future plans to develop two more data center buildings totaling 142,170 sqm (1.53 million sq ft).
Set across six floors, LCY01 will feature two meet-me rooms. The project will reportedly feature a dedicated waste heat recovery room to connect to any future district heating networks in the area. It will feature initial capacity to export ~20MW, offering water at ~30°C (86°F).
In 2022, PropertyWeek reported GLP was considering nixing plans to build a multi-story warehouse in the Newham area of East London in favor of a potential data center scheme. Planning documents note part of the GLP data center site was previously earmarked for redevelopment as a three-story storage and distribution warehouse.
“The applicant has reviewed its intentions for the site and proposes to bring forward a data center campus instead,” the application said.
