DataCentred plans £50m Sharp Project investment
DATA centre and cloud computing firm DataCentred is planning to invest £50m at The Sharp Project over the next five years after agreeing a lease on 60,000 sq ft.
The east Manchester media centre will be the second base for the firm after MediaCityUK and is part of of plan to launch a total of eight centres in the UK and abroad in the coming years.
DataCentred expects to employ around 270 staff cross the two Manchester sites within five years.
The business, set up by Telecity founder Dr Mike Kelly two years ago, secured £4m earlier this year from a group of investors including venture capitalist Jon Moulton, the North West Fund and the Greater Manchester Investment Fund.
Dr Kelly expects to fund the expansion by securing further investment and through cashflow. He would consider a flotation but admits, “we’ve got plenty to get right first”.
Big Data, video-on-demand and heavy applications are driving substantial growth in the demand for storage capabilities, known as co-location, and cloud computing services.
Last year Manchester IT group ANS pulled out of a plan to base a data centre at the Sharp Project, deciding to rent space with data centre companies instead.
Dr Kelly, a former Manchester University academic, said: “DataCentred will soon span The Sharp Project and MediaCity, the two biggest digital business hubs outside of London, which will enable us to establish a much needed local internet network, supported by multiple telecoms providers, linking these key locations.
“Our presence at The Sharp Project brings DataCentred one step closer to implementing our strategy of increased regional connectivity, which we are leading, as companies increasingly seek regional solutions to their data centre requirements.”
Sue Woodward, who set up the council-owned Sharp Project, said: “It’s fantastic to partner up with such a leading force in the data centre sector. Not only will our tenants and other local businesses benefit from having this resource on site, but, by creating a digital bridge across to our neighbours at MediaCityUK, the region’s biggest media hubs will be linked enabling even more collaboration.”
Mark Canning at Canning O’Neill advised DataCentred on the acquisition.
