Macquarie makes £73 million debt investment in UK data centre sector

Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions (MIDIS) today announced its first transaction in the data centre sector, supporting Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centre campuses, in its acquisition of Next Generation Data, Europe’s largest data centre campus.

Next Generation Data is a 180 MW data centre campus located in Newport, Wales. The campus offers wholesale out-of-town data centre space for some of the world’s largest companies via an existing 72 MW facility and 108 MW of expansion capacity. Vantage Data Centers acquired the facility from its founders and InfraVia in July 2020 as part of an ongoing strategic expansion across Europe.

MIDIS was one of the largest participants in Vantage Data Centers’ £320 million debt financing package arranged by Natixis, providing £73 million of the debt facilities to support the acquisition and future expansion of the campus. The investment, which was made on behalf of UK, European, and Asian pension fund and insurance clients, represents MIDIS’ continued strong appetite to finance high quality assets in the growing digital infrastructure sector.

Tom van Rijsewijk, Managing Director, MIDIS, said: “Data centres play a key role in supporting the world’s fast-growing digital economy. We see a growing role for MIDIS in the sector by partnering with leading sponsors to meet the rising demand for connectivity and exponential data growth expected globally over the years ahead. We are pleased to support Vantage’s European growth plans, and with the partnership and unmatched operational expertise of Digital Colony, we are confident this capital will enable Vantage to deliver hyperscale capacity to customers globally.”

Jon Mauck, Managing Director, Digital Colony, said: “This investment and the continued support of MIDIS, further validates Vantage Europe’s growth strategy and, is a strong endorsement of the numerous benefits the Next Generation Data acquisition provides in the region. We look forward to continuing to support Vantage, one of the premier, global hyperscale data centre platforms, as it continues to expand its footprint to meet the growing requirements of its customers.”

Digital infrastructure assets such as data centres and fibre networks represent an increasingly attractive sector for MIDIS, offering its institutional clients exposure to assets with strong visibility on cashflows and resilience to economic cycles, typically underpinned by long-term contracts with credit-worthy customers. Digital infrastructure assets also offer additional portfolio diversification benefits to investors whilst providing an essential service to the communities they serve. 

Contact

Wil Barber
Macquarie Group Corporate Communications
wil.barber@macquarie.com

About Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions

Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions (MIDIS) was established in 2012 and has quickly become one of the world’s largest infrastructure debt asset managers – raising more than £8.1 billion of commitments from some of the world’s most prominent institutional investors for its investment grade and sub-investment grade strategies.

MIDIS is part of Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) – the asset management arm of Macquarie Group. MAM is a top 50 global asset manager, providing investment solutions to clients across a range of capabilities, including infrastructure and renewables, real estate, agriculture, transportation finance, private credit, equities, fixed income and multi-asset solutions. As at 31 March 2020, MAM had more than £299 billion of assets under management.

Macquarie Group is a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management and finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs 15,849 people in 31 markets.
 

About Vantage Data Centers

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across six markets in North America and six markets in Europe, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

For more information, visit www.vantage-dc.com
 

About Digital Colony

Digital Colony is one of the world’s largest dedicated digital infrastructure investment firms with over US$20 billion in assets under management. Launched in 2017 by Digital Bridge and Colony Capital, Digital Colony brings together Digital Bridge’s industry, operational and investment expertise, and Colony Capital’s (NYSE: CLNY) global operating platform and capital markets access. Digital Colony is a leading investor, owner and operator enabling the next generation of mobile and internet connectivity through investments in mission-critical infrastructure around the globe. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Singapore, the firm closed its first discretionary fund dedicated solely to investing in digital infrastructure with approximately US$4.1 billion in commitments in 2019.