LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - Private equity giant
Blackstone has proposed building a multi-billion pound
'hyperscale' data centre in northern England, according to
documents published by a local council on Monday.
The world's largest commercial landlord has proposed
building the major data centre on a derelict site in Blyth,
Northumberland, that had previously been earmarked for a major
electric vehicle battery factory, the documents show.
Previous plans for the site fell through when UK startup
Britishvolt collapsed last year, in a blow to the country's
hopes of building a home-grown battery industry.
Power-hungry data centres have proved a rare bright spot for
commercial landlords like Blackstone, as investors have been
roiled by tumbling prices of other assets such as emptying
post-pandemic offices.
Blackstone's project could lead to investment of up to 10
billion pounds ($12.5 billion) and create hundreds of jobs, the
council document said.
Northumberland County Council will vote on Blackstone's
proposal on April 23, which would entail the local authority
amending an existing buyback agreement it has on the site.
In return, the council would be paid 110 million pounds over
time, which it said it would use to establish a fund to create
further jobs in the region.
Blackstone has held initial talks with the National Grid and
other power providers about how to secure the energy to run the
project, the document showed.
"Blackstone and (data centre arm) QTS have the capital,
expertise and track record required to deliver on growing demand
for data centre infrastructure," a Blackstone spokesperson said.
($1 = 0.8027 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers
Editing by Ros Russell)