Catenaa, Wednesday, November 05, 2025- Equinix announced plans to invest £3.9 billion in a new data centre in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, aiming to create one of Europe’s largest facilities with more than 2 million square feet of floor space.
The site, acquired from DC01UK, was previously developed as a joint venture between Griggs Group and Chiltern Green Energy.
The Hertfordshire Campus will support around 2,500 construction jobs and employ 200 permanent staff once operational.
Equinix projects direct and indirect employment could generate up to £120 million in wages, with construction contributing up to £3 billion in annual gross value added and operational activity adding £260 million.
The facility will adopt air cooling to minimize water use, retain 54% of the land as open space, and create new habitats targeting a 10% net biodiversity gain. Equinix has committed to powering all its sites with renewable energy by 2030.
Officials said the development aligns with the UK’s AI growth ambitions, offering businesses faster global connectivity and supporting sectors from life sciences to finance.
The company already operates 14 UK data centres, but rising demand for AI infrastructure and sovereign AI initiatives has driven the expansion.
The UK recently secured multibillion-pound AI infrastructure commitments from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia. Google also opened a new data centre in Hertfordshire as part of a £5 billion UK investment plan.
Analysts forecast global hyperscale data centre capacity will double again over the next four years, reflecting a surge in demand for AI-ready infrastructure.
The project signals continued UK investment in digital infrastructure as competition intensifies across Europe for AI and cloud capabilities.
