Harworth Group has identified six sites in its portfolio that are capable of housing data centre developments and has entered into an exclusivity agreement with a data centre provider for the sale of one of the sites.
On 5 August, the company said it was in advanced negotiations for the sale of the site, which benefits from “excellent planning prospects and an accepted power connection offer and has the potential to deliver significant value gains”.
The group’s first hyperscale data centre transaction was a £106m two-plot powered land sale at Skelton Grange to Microsoft with a development agreement for enabling works.
Harworth has identified the opportunity in its current portfolio for up to six hyperscale data centre land sales, comprising: Skelton Grange; two further sites that benefit from accepted power connection offers totalling 0.4GW; one site that has a written indication of a power connection offer of 0.1GW, with a formal connection offer expected in due course; and a final site where there is anticipated power availability sufficient to deliver a hyperscale data centre.
In addition to these opportunities, the group has identified the potential for further smaller-scale digital infrastructure projects across its portfolio, such as for co-locator and edge providers.
Lynda Shillaw, chief executive of Harworth, said: “Harworth provides a compelling opportunity to invest in powered land for data centres, having established a strong track record in this area with our first powered land sale in 2024 for a hyperscale data centre and now our entering into an exclusivity agreement for a second hyperscale transaction.
“We are confirming today that we have the potential to deliver up to six hyperscale data centres across our irreplicable land portfolio which, coupled with our in-house expertise in planning, power, servicing and deal execution, will deliver strong, through-the-cycle returns to investors. Our approach of crystalising value from powered land sales provides attractive returns and capital light exposure to this growing sector, and underpins our growth ambitions as a powered land and industrial and logistics specialist.”
