UK data centre firm Kao Data plans to invest £350m (€395.7m) to develop its first data centre in the North of England.

Kao Data, which mainly operates data centres in the east and west of London, said it has secured a 39,000sqm former industrial site for the redevelopment of the new 40MW data centre at Kenwood Point in Manchester. 

The project is expected to become operational in late 2025.

Spencer Lamb, Kao Data’s chief commercial officer, said the move into Manchester marks an important next step in the continued evolution of the company.

Lamb added: “We believe our new facility will set a new standard for sustainable data centres within the region and will provide a piece of foundational infrastructure that supports both Northern England’s advanced computing clusters, and the UK government’s ambitions to become a technological and economic powerhouse for HPC and AI.”

Kao Data is owned by Australian infrastructure group Infratil, Legal & General and Kao Data founder Goldacre.

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