UK Grid invests £2m in rapid expansion

DATA centre provider UK Grid has said it plans to invest £2m in drastically increasing its overall site capacity, and has already begun the extension of its Manchester Science Park site.

The Manchester company, which also has data centre sites in London, is installing an extra 170 racks of data storage space at the Science Park during the first phase of its fast-track expansion plan.

Chief executive Rob Garbutt said the investment is intrinsic to the company reaching its target turnover of £10m by the end of its 2012/13 financial year.

Phase one of the expansion project will be completed within 12 weeks, with Phase  two set to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2010 – providing UK Grid and its customers with over 400 more racks at a new Synergy DC3 site with 1MW of power.

Phase three will involve enlarging UK Grid’s London base near the Docklands, which will add an extra 10,000 sq ft and a 4MW capacity for data centres. This final phase will be completed before the end of 2010.

Mr Garbutt said: “The company has been growing organically since its formation in 2004, and is now a provider of carrier neutral data centres. This expansion plan is a real statement of intent and we are confident that this level of site investment will not only help us attract new customers, but keep us ahead of the curve in data centre management, when it comes to mixing capacity, flexibility and value for money, with high environmental and energy efficiency standards.”