DATA centre developer and operator DataVita has secured a £300 million debt facility to expand and build two data centres in the North Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, unlocked by a £202 million financial guarantee from the National Wealth Fund.
The facility has been raised with participation from a syndicate of lenders including ING (acting as advisor and coordinator), ABN AMRO, Santander (acting as agent), the Scottish National Investment Bank and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank.
The National Wealth Fund’s guarantee is provided against the £252.5 million of lending delivered by ING, ABN AMRO and Santander equating to 80% of this tranche. The remaining portion provided by SNIB and Siemens Financial Services is uncovered.
The investment will expand DataVita’s existing DV1 data centre and fund the construction of a new data centre, DV3. The capacity of both is contracted to AI cloud firm CoreWeave under a 15-year lease agreement.
The financing will enable the delivery of Scotland’s first AI data centres within a designated AI Growth Zone. This development of DV1 and DV3 will act as the first step in a larger planned data centre campus in the area. The two developments financed by this facility are expected to create around 600 jobs during construction as well as around 100 permanent high-skilled jobs once completed.
DataVita delivers AI infrastructure end to end. Customers include central government, local authorities and universities. Earlier this year, DataVita’s North Lanarkshire site was awarded Scotland’s first AI Growth Zone designation.
This project marks the National Wealth Fund’s first support for domestic compute capacity and supports both the Government’s Compute Roadmap and Scotland’s recently published five‑year AI strategy.
UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan said, “AI is already helping scientists discover new medicines, supporting better public services and helping businesses get more done. The countries that build the infrastructure behind this technology will be the ones that attract investment, create jobs and help shape the industries of the future. That’s why today’s announcements matter. They will help ensure Scotland is at the forefront of one of the biggest economic opportunities of our time, bringing investment, re-industrialisation and opportunities to communities like Lanarkshire. For local people, that means more than new buildings and technology. It means the chance to develop new skills, access new careers and benefit from the growth and investment that AI can bring.”
The Scottish Government’s economy secretary Stephen Flynn commented, “This investment marks a milestone in the creation of Scotland’s first AI Growth Zone in North Lanarkshire. I welcome the economic growth it is set to deliver across the region – including more than 3,400 new jobs and private investment totalling more than £8 billion. The Scottish Government’s AI Strategy sets out a clear plan to harness the economic and social benefits of AI to help ensure we translate our innovation and expertise into more businesses, jobs and investment. We will continue to work closely with DataVita and Growth Zone partners to realise the full economic and employment opportunities of this investment over the coming years.”
Oliver Holbourn, National Wealth Fund CEO, said, “New compute capacity is key to unlocking the UK’s future, yet private finance can be difficult to secure for emerging infrastructure at this scale. The National Wealth Fund’s guarantee is helping address that gap, giving lenders the confidence to invest. By laying the foundation for the wider Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, we are helping support innovation and local economic opportunity, while delivering critical compute capacity for the UK’s sovereign AI ambitions.”
Danny Quinn, MD at DataVita, added, “There is plenty of talk about AI infrastructure just now. This project is being delivered: work is well advanced on site, every megawatt is contracted, and the first facility completes this year. DataVita delivers AI infrastructure end to end, from the energy that powers it through to the applications that run on it. We have been doing this in Scotland for more than ten years. The UK needs its own AI capability, built here and run here, and we are grateful to the National Wealth Fund and our lenders for backing a project that is already delivering it.”
