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Kao Data, Legal & General’s datacentre business, receives £120m expansion boost from Infratil
Infratil announced today it has agreed to invest up to £120-130 million in Kao Data, a leading UK developer and operator of advanced data centres for high performance colocation.
5 Oct 2021
Since commencing operations in 2018, Kao Data has created world-class digital infrastructure systems that deliver high performance colocation services for enterprise, cloud, HPC and AI organisations.
Kao Data owns a 15-acre data centre campus, built on the site of Sir Charles Kao’s pioneering discovery of the fibre optic cable in 1966. It is located in the UK Innovation Corridor, one of the country’s fastest-growing economic regions between London and Cambridge. Its campus is an ultra-sustainable and carrier-neutral development that once fully operational, will become home to four energy efficient data centres, all powered by 100% renewable energy. Construction of its second building will begin later this financial year.
As part of its continued expansion, Kao Data has recently signed an agreement to acquire two UK prime location data centres with a long-term anchor lease from a large financial services business. This purchase will enable Kao Data to deliver multi-site services for its clients and expand potential capacity to c. 55MW, while delivering long-term trusted operations for clients' mission-critical infrastructure.
Infratil's initial investment will fund this growth, after which Infratil will hold 40% of Kao Data, alongside current shareholders, Legal & General Group, one of Europe’s largest asset managers and Goldacre, founder of Kao Data and part of Noé group.
Morrison & Co has deep investment and operating experience in digital infrastructure, managing investments in businesses such as Vodafone New Zealand, Fore Freedom, and CDC Data Centres.
Morrison & Co is actively growing its European investment portfolio with current equity investments in water, energy distribution, renewable energy, transport and digital infrastructure.
Infratil CEO, Jason Boyes: "With global demand for connectivity continuing to rise, this is an excellent opportunity to expand our digital infrastructure portfolio and build on our successful data centre platform investment in Australia and New Zealand. We were an early mover into this sector, acquiring CDC Data Centres in 2016, which has delivered exceptional performance.Kao Data provides a compelling strategic growth opportunity for Infratil. It is a rare opportunity to be able to invest in one of the fastest growing data centre markets in the world, alongside blue chip partners. We will bring our sector experience alongside our partners’ capability and relationships to continue to scale up this business, with the aim of delivering a sizeable multi-site, multi-geography platform."
Vincent Gerritsen, Head of UK and Europe for Morrison & Co, the manager of Infratil Ltd: "We look forward to working with the Kao Data management team and existing shareholders to continue the build out of best-in-class, high-performance, sustainable data centre solutions and scale up the platform through attractive growth opportunities in the pipeline."
Lee Myall, CEO, Kao Data: "I welcome today’s announcement of Infratil Limited’s investment in Kao Data, and on behalf of our management team, we look forward to working with them on the next stages of this exciting journey. This investment presents a strategic opportunity to accelerate our mission of supporting the computing requirements of advanced industries, and to do so sustainably."
Matteo Colombo, Strategic Capital Investment Director at Legal & General Capital: "Kao is fast becoming one of the UK’s leading compute providers to the life sciences and financials sector, amongst others, delivering critical infrastructure to enable a productive and inclusive society. We’re thrilled to welcome Infratil with its international experience and significant sector acumen."
David Bloom, Founding Partner at Goldacre, Noé Group: "This is another landmark moment for Kao Data, both for the continued growth of the firm and for the development of the wider data centre industry. We saw immense potential in Kao Data back in 2014 and are proud to see the team continue to go from strength to strength, transitioning into a widely respected market leader. Given the ever-growing importance of the data industry, we look forward to working with Infratil and our existing partners to create further opportunities to accelerate the emergence of state-of-the-art infrastructure and enter new markets around the globe."
Further information
Lauren Kemp
Group Head of Corporate Media & Issues
Group Communications
T: 07946 514 627
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management (as at FY23) of which c40% (circa £0.5 trillion) is international.
We have a highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. We are a leading international player in Institutional Retirement, in Retail Savings and Protection, and in both public and private markets through our Asset Management division. Across the Group, we are committed to responsible investing and dedicated to serving the long-term savings and investment needs of customers and society.
As at 7 June 2024, we estimate the Group’s Solvency II coverage ratio to be 224%.
As at 11 June 2024, Legal & General has a market capitalisation of £14.6 billion.
Legal & General Capital (LGC) is Legal & General Group’s alternative asset platform, creating assets for Legal & General Retirement and third-party clients in order to achieve improved risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. LGC has built its capabilities in a range of alternative sectors, including in residential property; specialist commercial real estate; clean energy; alternative credit; and venture capital, which are all supported by long-term structural growth drivers, meet a financing gap, and respond to a scarcity of supply that is underpinned by enduring societal needs.