UK firm Netwise is looking to further expand its London data center.

The company this week announced plans to Netwise London East (NLE) facility after taking full control of the free-standing units on the south side of the Datapoint Estate in East London – occupying Units 5, 6, and 7 – adding another 12,000 sq ft (1,115 sqm) of available data center space.

The total NLE facility footprint now spans 38,000 sq ft (3,530 sqm), and is expected to house around 500 racks across all active data halls once fully deployed.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for Netwise, as we deploy further space at our flagship London East facility. The demand for high-quality data center space in London only continues to grow, so ensuring we have maximum availability at all times - for existing and emerging deployment trends - is vital,” said Matt Seaton, Netwise director.

Netwise said initial refurbishment works are already underway in the newly acquired space, with adjustments being made to increase the front compound and install more perimeter security.

After announcing plans in 2020, the NLE site launched around 2021 with 256 racks and 1.5MW of capacity. Data Halls 3 and 4 opened in the last two years, and the company is currently working on NLE Phase III, which will see Data Hall 5 come online in 2026. Data Hall 6 is expected in 2027.

Netwise, formerly Netwise Hosting, was founded in 2009.

The company’s 11,000 sq ft (1,020 sqm) London Central site opened in Bermondsey in 2016 and closed last year.

Netwise previously operated a London South facility in Sutton, which was decommissioned prior to the London Central site. Netwise also offers services out of Telehouse North, Equinix’s LD8, and 80 Clifton Street.

Plans to close London Central were announced in 2023, with Netwise saying the site was no longer meeting its standards around efficiency and sustainability, was facing power limits, and had several major infrastructure components reaching their end of life.

“While refit was an option we workshopped for a considerable period (until very recently, in fact), it would have still required completely gutting the site to bring it up to standard, and there are some aspects of London Central (namely available power in the area) that would still leave the site lagging behind our future capability requirements as we continue to expand operations,” the company said at the time.