STARTING WITH 100MW LONDON FACILITY

Real estate investor and manager Cromwell, has entered into a partnership with Stratus Data Centres to setup up a data center fund that is worth US$1 billion.

The new Stratus Cromwell Data Centre Fund (SCDC Fund) seeks to invest in and manage the rollout of a data center property platform across Europe and Asia Pacific. Powered by its data center industry experience, Stratus will be responsible for project development, leasing, design and construction, leveraging the network of its parent company EXS. Cromwell will bring in the capital alongside its funds management and real estate investment experience.

“The partnership is another good example of our ‘Invest to Manage’ strategy in operation. We are delighted to be able to partner with a specialist organization of Stratus’ caliber to create an exciting investment opportunity that we know will be in strong demand from both leading hyperscale data center operators and international capital partners,” said Rob Percy, Chief Investment Officer of Cromwell.

As announced, 25% of the fund portfolio has already being identified through the first two data center sites. The first project is a two-stage 100MW data center, which will sit on a 6-acre London site. Expected to be completed in 2021, the facility will be located on fiber optic routes in the east of the city, and powered by renewable energy.

The second facility will be a multi-stage 300MW project on a 34-acre site in Frankfurt, Germany. Upon full build, the project is expected to yield one of the largest data center campuses in the country and Western Europe. 

“The London and Frankfurt projects are just the beginning, with further projects identified in key gateway cities in Europe including Dublin and Milan, and in Asia, including Tokyo, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai. As a specialist ‘developer of developers’ in Asian real estate, EXS is excited to bring our network of regional local partners to the SCDC Fund,” said Eric Solberg, Chairman of Stratus and EXS.

Pre-leasing agreements and planning processes are underway for the London and Frankfurt data center facilities.