Tag / news

by Matt Seaton

Netwise to further expand London East facility

We’re very pleased to officially announce further development and expansion plans at our Netwise London East (NLE) facility.

The ink is now dry on a deal which sees us take full control of the freestanding units on the south side of the Datapoint estate – occupying Units 5, 6 and 7 – adding another ~12,000ft2 of available data centre space.

The total NLE facility footprint now spans ~38,000ft2, and is expected to house around 500 racks across all active data halls once fully deployed.

Unit 7
Unit 7 joins prior phase developments at London East; Unit 6, Phases 1 and 2, and Unit 5, Phase 3 (the latter of which is still under development)

Initial refurbishment works are already underway in the newly acquired space, with adjustments being made to increase the front compound, and to install perimeter security to our exacting specifications.

This comes just 12 months after beginning work on our first expansion project at NLE (Phase 3), which is expected to see initial completion and client occupation in 2026, as Data Hall 5 comes online. The modular deployment of the initial expansion project will continue into 2027, with the onlining of Data Hall 6.

Updates continue to flow into our much-lauded build blog, which allows readers to follow along with a behind the scenes look at progress in active development phases. This newly planned phase of expansion works will flow into the build blog in due course.

Unit 7
The initial renovation works are well underway, to prepare the space for our future conversion works

We now have full operational occupation and control over the south side of the Datapoint estate, with both buildings either side of the active facility forming part of the London East footprint. This gives us full control over the entire freestanding building, with the full perimeter and all external areas now under Netwise authority.

The addition of Unit 7 will see the total footprint of the London East facility grow by nearly 200% since Phase 1 began in 2020.

Unit 7
As with both prior development projects, this new space will also carry with it a host of additional amenities for clients to enjoy

Plans for the internal fit-out of this new space are still pending. Early stage plans centre around an additional two data halls (7 and 8), which are likely to become high-density spaces to cater for increasing demand from the HPC and AI/ML sectors, particularly for inference applications that require edge facility locations in critical markets.

Unit 7
The new space will enable continued growth and expansion at our high-demand London East data centre, which sits within the UKs most important data centre ecosystem

Total power delivered to the site is to be significantly increased, with final plans and figures as-yet unannounced.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for Netwise, as we deploy further space at our flagship London East facility. The demand for high-quality data centre space in London only continues to grow, so ensuring we have maximum availability at all times - for existing and emerging deployment trends - is vital."

Matt Seaton, Director

We continue to invest heavily in the development of our portfolio across the board, as the market expands more broadly, placing increasing demand on the infrastructure that drives the modern economy.

Unit 7
Adding Unit 7 to our London East estate is the final piece of our property control plan for this location

This multi-pronged approach to growth and development within the organisation has been a cornerstone of the Netwise formula since day one, with an in-house team capable of managing a wide range of ongoing projects concurrently.

"Our aim has always been to take full control of the south side of the Datapoint estate. Adding Unit 7 to the London East footprint sees this plan through, giving us maximum flexibility over where we take the next chapter of the London East story. We're extremely excited to see continued growth here at our flagship London data centre. With Netwise turning 16 this December, we have much cause for celebration."

Matthew Butt, Managing Director

Having additional capacity available in London’s ever-popular data centre ecosystem is vital for growth-minded operators in this sector, as demand for critical infrastructure continues to outpace sector build rates. Staying ahead of the curve and building world-class facilities that clients from all across the globe can rely on is of paramount importance as we look towards the next decade.

You can follow along with early stage progress on our build blog – keep an eye out for updates as we head into 2026.

by Matt Seaton

Netwise to expand London East facility

This month we’re very happy to officially announce the next major phase of development and expansion at our Netwise London East (NLE) data centre.

We’re facilitating this expansion by pushing into the adjacent building on the Datapoint estate, which sits alongside our existing four-hall facility. This will result in a single expanded facility housing six high-specification data halls.

Exterior
The new space will be a direct continuation of the design language already employed in the existing spaces at NLE
Exterior
The initial unit refurbishment works to prepare the space for the main technical fit-out have begun

The initial fit-out phase began in July, with the main internal schedule of technical works set to begin in early 2025. This project will expand NLE by 168 racks, increasing the total internal area of the building by around 13,000ft2.

The new building is being fully refurbished – both inside and out – following the departure of the previous occupants, ahead of the main work schedule which will start thereafter.

Interior
The new space will house an additional 168 racks, across two data halls, alongside a range of other client and staff amenities

This is our first major step towards developing NLE into a campus-style facility, which spans multiple buildings on the same estate. The two units will become a single operational building, with multiple pass-through points for clients and staff, as well as for the sharing of core services.

Alongside the additional rack capacity, this new space will also introduce further amenities and technical features, including increased capacity for staff, a second loading bay and storage area, more on-site parking and EV charging, as well as improvements to our water handling capabilities.

There will also be flexible space held for future use, which will provide additional service options for potential wholesale customers, for things such as private on-site NOC capabilities.

Exterior
This new addition to NLE will create an impressive frontage, and allow for the segregation of facility entrances for staff and clients
"This represents another seven-figure investment by Netwise in its own future, and the future of its clients. To be announcing this level of growth at NLE only a couple of years after the first clients moved in is something we're very proud of; it's a testament to the strength of this sector, and our own position within it."

Matt Seaton, Director

The uptake of services at NLE has been extremely impressive since it soft-opened in the spring of 2022, with the phased fit-out schedule just keeping pace with demand. The current building now has three of the four data halls deployed. The final hall in this building is scheduled to be online by the end of 2024.

Interior
A view inside the new space, as early-stage works begin – this includes a new roof, as the shell is prepared ahead of occupation by our internal fit-out team

The two new halls coming as part of the facility expansion project will be larger than the halls in the current building, housing 84 racks per hall at maximum rack density – a 33% increase per hall. These new halls will house three containment pods each, giving greater scope for private space options.

In June, the Netwise London Central (NLC) facility officially closed, having served clients for 10 years. The forthcoming expansion at Netwise London East would become one of the main driving factors behind the decision to shutter NLC, as many core components within the site reached end of life.

The large seven-figure reinvestment required to adequately refresh NLC has instead been diverted to the new facility, which has the forward-looking scope to springboard Netwise into the next phase in its growth cycle.

Matthew Butt, Managing Director, and Matt Seaton, Director, stood outside of NLC on the day of its final closure
Matthew Butt, Managing Director, and Matt Seaton, Director, stood outside of NLC on the day of its final closure, after a decade of active service

The NLE expansion comes as Netwise continues to welcome an exciting range of new clients into its facilities, as well as facilitating the growth of its long-standing customers.

"We always knew that we'd be expanding NLE in time, to facilitate our growth trajectory, however to be at that stage already is a tangible demonstration of our performance and reputation in this industry. I'm very excited by this next phase, particularly as we come out the back of the NLC closure, which required considerable care and attention."

Matthew Butt, Managing Director

The expansion of NLE will bolster our position as a leading data centre operator in the high-demand East London / Docklands region, as we further the already significant investments made in our flagship facility, which has been in operation since mid-2022.

Interior
The entire Netwise team is extremely excited to see this next phase take shape

While finer details of the technical plans are still expected to develop over the closing months of 2024, the overarching plans are already locked in, and can be discussed with interested parties that may be looking to utilise bulk space in the new side of the facility.

Exterior
This expansion will dramatically increase the total size of the NLE facility, taking the total internal area to around 26,000ft2 – external compound space will also be increased for parking and plant areas

The Netwise team cannot wait to show you around the new side of the facility as it develops. And as always, the #buildblog will be back in action, documenting the entire build process, so be sure to keep an eye out for new posts.

by Matt Seaton

Announcing our new London East data centre

Today we are officially announcing plans for the opening of our brand new London data centre, set for launch in 2021.

The state-of-the-art 13,000 square foot facility will be named Netwise London East (NLE), and will join our existing estate of private and partner on-net data centres next year.

A preliminary facility page is now live on our website.

Exterior front elevation
Exterior front elevation

While we’re not releasing a full technical specification just yet, we can say that this will be a 1.5MVA build, housing up to 256 rack footprints across four data halls.

This will be the third private design and build project in our 10 year history, having completed our first small-scale London South build in 2011, and our 11,000 square foot London Central facility in 2016. The new site will interconnect with London Central, as well as primary points of presence across our growing metro network.

We will continue to push focus on hyper-efficient technologies, opting again to deploy an evaporative system for primary cooling, enabling a design capacity PUE as low as 1.05 – one of the lowest for a colocation facility anywhere in the world.

All energy will once again be purchased from entirely renewable sources, to match energy commitments at our existing London Central facility.

This will be inner London’s first new data centre for several years, continuing the trend of capacity growth inside the capital. We are one of just a small collection of independent facility and network operators investing this heavily in the city’s technical infrastructure.

This announcement comes off the back of a 12-month planning and design cycle, which involved several site options and design iterations being put through their paces. It’s incredibly exciting to finally reach the point of publicly announcing London East, and to break ground on what will be a long but very rewarding build phase.

Matthew Butt, Managing Director

London East will give us private coverage over another of London’s key data centre hotspots for the first time. The new facility is just a short distance from the large Telehouse Docklands campus, which stands as one of Europe’s most important interconnection locations.

This will also be our first foray into carrier neutrality, with NLE being the first of our privately-operated colocation facilities to welcome third party network operators into the fold. While clients will still enjoy access to our wide array of connectivity options, they’ll also be able to connect in with their own carriers on-location for the first time.

To say the entire team at Netwise is excited about the new facility is an understatement. Building bespoke data centres is what we do best, and what has enabled us to grow in the way we have, delivering a range of services to our customers that you simply won’t find anywhere else. London East will again take us to the next level in terms of capability and capacity, just as London Central did back in 2016.

Matt Seaton, Senior Manager

We have several key anchor tenants already in early discussions regarding space options at the new site, however details are being kept highly confidential.

We will be resuming our much-lauded Build Blog throughout the course of the project, detailing developments as works progress throughout the year.

Hard hat tours will be available in small numbers each quarter. We advise interested parties to request more information on when these will be available through the ‘Book a Tour’ function on our website.