Gravity Edge launches to deliver next generation enterprise data centres across the UK

Gravity Edge has launched as a new data centre platform established through a joint venture between BlackRock and DGP, a specialist digital infrastructure investor and advisor. The platform will acquire, expand and refurbish enterprise data centres in key UK markets where supply has been constrained by power availability.

BlackRock has announced plans to commit up to £500m to an investment programme delivering next generation enterprise data centres across the UK, supporting evolving demands from businesses for high-density compute capabilities.

Gravity Edge will build out a portfolio of state-of-the-art 5–20 MW data centres that are engineered for enterprise customers. These will provide higher-density racks, resilient power, advanced cooling and ultra-low latency connectivity to support businesses in deploying more advanced AI workloads, digital transformation initiatives and other high-performance applications.

As part of the joint venture, BlackRock will leverage its global scale, real estate capabilities and access to capital, while DGP will bring its deep domain expertise and operating knowledge through its track-record in building digital infrastructure platforms across Europe.

Gravity Edge has launched with an off-market acquisition of an enterprise data centre strategically located west of London, which is underpinned by a tier 1 financial services tenant. The facility has near-term expansion potential to 20 MW with sub-millisecond latency to the London catchment. With an initial investment of over £100m, the site will be modernised to unlock further capacity, improve operational efficiency and meet the needs of high-density enterprise compute.

With capacity to deliver more than 5 MW of critical load to new customers, the site is part of a select group of facilities in the London area equipped to meet the UK’s evolving enterprise data centre requirements.

Thomas Mueller-Borja, Global Co-Head of Real Estate at BlackRock, said, “With capital markets largely focused on the hyperscaler end of the market, enterprise data centres play a crucial role in boosting overall compute capacity and serving UK plc with more sophisticated digital capabilities. With the launch of our investment programme, we are enabling our clients to access new opportunities across the data centre value chain and unlocking capital for what we believe will be a transformational platform in the data centre market together with our experienced partners at DGP.”

Thor Johnsen, Managing Partner at DGP, said, “We are thrilled to partner with BlackRock in building out this data centre platform in the UK, which has the potential to scale across select sites in Europe. Our shared vision is to establish Gravity Edge as the default choice for customers requiring high-performance, mission-critical infrastructure, with operations designed for modern enterprise use cases in proximity to major urban hubs.”

As part of this £500 million programme, Gravity Edge will play a key role in boosting the UK’s overall data centre capacity — modernising operational enterprise data centres to better serve blue-chip companies with enhanced hybrid cloud solutions.