Sector · Data Centres and AI
Data centre investment: capital for powered land, colocation and AI infrastructure
Data centres and AI infrastructure have become one of the largest destinations for institutional capital, and power has become the deciding constraint. We help developers and operators raising £10m and above evidence what data centre investors underwrite, in the order they underwrite it.
How investors see it
Data Centres and AI: where capital comes from, and what it needs.
Every data centre assessment now starts with power. Grid connections at the scale modern facilities need are scarce in most markets and take years to secure, so investors ask for evidence before anything else: a connection agreement with capacity and dates, or a credible private supply strategy with named counterparties. A site with power nearby is not a data centre opportunity.
After power come land, consent and connectivity, and then the commercial question that defines the capital: the tenant strategy. Hyperscale pre lets support infrastructure style financing. Colocation needs a demand case and a leasing pipeline. High density AI facilities add questions about contract length, tenant covenant and technology obsolescence.
Who we work with
- Developers of powered land and data centre campuses
- Colocation operators seeking growth or development capital
- AI and high density compute infrastructure projects
- Edge and regional data centre platforms
Investor criteria
What investors check before they invest
The Investor Readiness Review tests each of these against your materials before an investor does.
| What investors check | What they expect to see |
|---|---|
| Power | Connection agreement with capacity and energisation dates, or a documented private supply strategy. |
| Land and consent | Site control, planning status and the scale of development permitted. |
| Connectivity | Fibre routes, latency and proximity to the network points the target tenants need. |
| Tenant strategy | Pre lets, agreements for lease or a demand study and leasing pipeline, with tenant covenant. |
| Delivery | Design, construction strategy and a team with comparable scale experience. |
| Sustainability | Power usage effectiveness targets, renewable supply and water use, which tenants and investors now require. |
Capital providers
Who invests
Infrastructure funds
Stabilised, leased facilities and large platforms
Value add and opportunistic real estate capital
Development and powered land
Sovereign and pension capital
Large scale campuses, often through joint ventures
Private credit
Construction and development financing
Strategic operators
Acquisition of pipelines, sites and platforms
Common issues
Where raises stall
Power unevidenced
The single most common reason data centre opportunities stall.
No tenant story
Speculative capacity with no demand evidence or leasing pipeline.
Underestimated capex
Cost per megawatt that does not reflect current equipment and construction pricing.
Team without scale experience
No record of delivering facilities of comparable size.
FAQ
Data Centres and AI: questions
Who invests in data centres?
What do data centre investors look for first?
Do you cover AI infrastructure?
Find out what an investor will see before approaching the market.
The Investor Readiness Review is a fixed fee assessment of your opportunity, written from the investor side of the table. You receive a scored report, the issues most likely to stop an investor, and the order in which to address them.